Additional Notes on Sun, 1/5-12, 2008

[Teapot]

There have been several great reviews; here are a few more thoughts.

We flew to FLL on 1/4, and rented a car to drive to Miami. The car we had reserved was way too small for 3 adults and all our luggage, but we were easily able to get a larger one. Saturday morning's drop off at Hertz downtown at first appeared to be a scene of utter chaos, but it was actually quite well organized, and it was easy to get the shuttle to the ship. Here's the hint: coming back, via the BAGS program, you can arrange to obtain boarding passes and luggage tags for many airlines. The you claim your luggage on the pier, take it to the truck outside, and retrieve it on the luggage carousel at your final destination. It worked well for us, and we were able to stay with a smaller car on the way back. DS didn't want to check all his scuba equipment with the extra transfers, but DH and I used the program. The $30 charge was less than renting a larger car, and it was a lot less lugging!

 

We ate primarily in 7 Seas, 4 Seasons, and the Outdoor Cafe, and really enjoyed the food.

 

We have been on a good number of cruises (11 for me, 9 for DH, and 8 for DS), and we agreed that the bands on board were among the best we have heard. The Caribbean band is fabulous! We especially enjoyed a pianist in the Windjammer. He had a laptop with words and melodies for thousands of songs, so could play almost every request!

 

We have also never come home so exhausted and sore from playing too hard!

We used the ship's excursions. DS went scuba diving 3 days, liked Cozumel the best. DH and I did the Canopy/Tabyana Beach tour. The zip line is a blast- but be prepared to be able to lift your own weight to get on and off at each stage (the guides help). The snorkeling was wonderful, although we went out to the far side of the reef and had trouble finding the opening to get back! We did the trip to Lamanai in Belize. It's a VERY long day, but it was really neat to climb to the top of a 112 foot pyramid. In Cozumel we did the clear Kayaks/snorkeling. The clear boats are great- but a little small, so DH and I had a lot of paddle collisions. The paddles are all chipped, so we weren't the only ones with that problem! We had fabulous weather at the private island, and wound up taking one of the last tenders back to the ship! We'd recommend any of the excursions to folks who are reasonably fit- DH and I are both 60 years old- so they are not just for the youngsters!

 

All in all- an excellent experience!

[gemsm]

DH and I did the Canopy/Tabyana Beach tour. The zip line is a blast- but be prepared to be able to lift your own weight to get on and off at each stage (the guides help). All in all- an excellent experience!

 

Can you give me more info about this? I am recovering from Rotator cuff surgery and I am not supposed to lift anything with that arm for another month. Am I going to have an issue doing this excursion?

[doornbos]

Hertz has a shuttle from it's Downtown Miami location to the pier? How much did that cost?

[Teapot]

The zip line involves first being strapped into a harness, which consists of a belt around the waist, with gear for the wire, and a strap around each leg. Then you are fitted with a helmet and handed a rather grungy pair of very heavy gloves. You need to jump/pull yourself up to attach to the wire. Then you hold the attachment gadget with one hand, to hold yourself upright, and reach up and behind yourself with the other arm, to grasp the cable. Pulling down on the cable acts as a brake.

 

I obviously do not know the condition of your shoulder, but if it is not 100%, I'd avoid this activity. We do not have shoulder or back issues, and we were really sore afterwards. They rate it as a level 3 activity, with good reason.

 

As for the Hertz rental car: we booked everything with a ta, so we may not have had a fully detailed bill. However, as far as I can tell, the shuttle from the downtown location was free, and they also had shuttles back when getting off. (They did have a list of people to be met.) Hertz has this weird thing where you can buy a tankful of gas as you take the car, but if you go under 100 miles, they only charge $0.15 per mile, and adjust the charge. It's a lot simpler than hunting for gas stations. For three people and our flight schedule, it was simpler to rent cars. For others, it may be simpler/cheaper to use NCL shuttles.

 

Hope all this helps!

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

Thanks for sharing TEAPOT!

 

We're all looking forward to our trip on the SUN in March!

 

If you have a chance, could you tell us more about the Lamanai trip? We just booked that one this morning. Besides being a long day, was it fun??

 

We're signed up for general sightseeing and shopping tours in Roatan and Cozumel, though, as it will be my parents' first time to either place! You got me thinking about the Canopy/Tabyana one though!

 

Thanks!

 

:)

[Teapot]

My apologies for the long day in responding.

 

Belize harbor is very shallow, so the day begins and ends with a tender ride. If you use the ship's excursions, they have you gather in a restaurant for the earlier tender trips.

 

The trip starts out with a comfortable bus ride- maybe 45 mins. to an hour. It stops at a modern facility with clean rest rooms, and some artisans selling stunningly beautiful handicrafts- especially the wood carver.

 

Next it's the boat- sort of a speedboat with a canopy. That takes you on a ride through the jungle- a broad river flowing through mostly lower-growing trees. We did see a few animals that are unusual to us.

 

Once you arrive at the ruins site, lunch is provided. We had chicken, beans and rice, cole slaw, and a pastry- seems to be the typical fare. (We had basically the same thing at Tabyana the day before.)

 

Then there is a long walk through the jungle, with basically three large ruins to see. One is open to climbing- VERY steep steps. The walking path is nice and wide, and fairly level. However, the day we were there it was rather muddy. Just wear good closed-toe walking shoes. We saw and heard the howler moneys- very weird to us, indeed! Our guide was very well informed.

 

There is a nice small museum with artifacts that were found on site, and clean rest room facilities.

 

Then the boat returns (rapidly!) to the bus, and then back to the port. Don't plan on shopping.

 

It was a very interesting, pleasant day, and fun climbing a pyramid!