live2ski

I'm doing some checking on taxi's and buses on St. Thomas. There will be five of us and we need to get from the dock to the airport (helipad). The taxi rates that I've been quoted so far is $100 round trip. That seems extermely high considering it's about 13km round trip. Does anyone know about the bus system? I've heard it would be $1 or $2 pp each way. But I'm curious about the relablity and timeliness. Anyone have knowledge in this area? Thanks, Live2ski RCCL Freedom of the Seas 11/21/2010

We are planning on being in St. Maarten on Thanksgiving day. There will be five in are party. We are planning to go to the Loterie Farm for the day. Does anyone know the approximate cost of a taxi between the port and the Farm? I'm trying to figure how much cash I need to have. Does anyone have any other recommendations as things to do on St. Maarten? Thanks,

Driving was a thought but the drive is about 1700 miles one way. The kids need to be back at school Monday after the Sunday we arrive back in the Cape. So, we must fly. I am hoping the airfares will come down to a managable fare. A couple of the flights I've check on so far have a stop in Denver so we may have to go west to get to the east.

Hello All, We are planning a family cruise in Nov. over Thanksgiving. Trying to decide whether to purchase the Cruiseline (RCCL) airfare/transfer package or go with our own travel arrangements. I'm trying to figure out the best and least expensive way to get five people plus luggage from the airport to the pier. We are open to flying in a day early, but how will we arrange ground travel? Does anyone have any ideas, contact info. and approximate costs? Does anyone have thoughts about airline ticket prices? We are flying from MSP (Minnesota) to MCO (Orlando) and right now the cost for tickets is close to $500 each. Do you think they will come down? Howlong would you wait to buy? Thanks, Drew Freedom of the Seas Nov. 21 2010

I'm ruling out Carnival and NCL. I haven't seen much for activities on Celebrity or Princess, so a suppose that leaves RCCL. We were not impressed with NCL Dawn last Dec. and we are afraid that Carnival will be loud. We have heard that Carnival is the party line and we just don't want to deal with that.

Not sure yet. I've just started looking and I don't want to choose a ship with extra options only to find out there are charges for them. It wouldn't be any fun if all we could do is watch.

I'm starting to plan a vacation for the family. We have three boys (21,18,15), My wife and myself. None of us are partiers or gamblers but we don't want to sit around all day and night either. I'm trying to find a ship that we will all find something to do on. Does anyone have any suggestions? I have a post out there about additional costs of the new onboard stuff like; water slides, zip lines, bowling, ice skating, etc.

I have been looking into taking the family (wife, three boys (21,18,15)) on a cruise over Thanksgiving 2010. In looking at the number of cruises and ships out there I have found that there are a lot of ships that offer climbing walls, water slides, surf pools, etc. Is there additional charges for these activities? I can't seem to find that out on the cruise line websites. I would hate to stretch the budget and book a cruise on one of these ships and not be able to let the kids enjoy the added activities.

I have a question about the Dawns menus. I thought I read someplace that the Dawns main dining rooms only had one menu for the duration of the cruise is that correct? On the past cruises I have been on there was a new menu for every evenings meal. We are going to Grand Cayman and Cozumel for a 5 day cruise and there isn't any info. about that intinery on NCL's website. Thanks,

Hello All, Glad to be back checking out the Cruisers world again. I've booked a surprise cruise for my wife over her birthday (Dec. 14th). I'm trying to keep her in the dark as much as possible about what we are going to do. She knows we are going for five days the week of her birthday, she knows she needs a passport. I want to make this trip especially hers. I'm trying to figure out what to tell her to pack. We've never been on NCL before and we've never done the FreeStyle Cruise before. With that in mind what should we wear for dinners, on deck, and in the entertainment venues? Do we pack for formal dining? Can we get by with shorts, jeans and shirts? What ever info. or opinions you can give me it will be appreciated. Ports we are visiting are Grand Caymen and Coxumel. Thanks, Live2ski 12/13/2009 NCL Dawn

Go for it. Don't let other people ruin your plans. When we take our children on family vacations during the school year, we do the same thing - talk to the school and teachers. We get the homework done before we go. We have never had a problem. I think it's a great experience for the kids and the family.

When we went in December 2005, we HAD to go barefoot. The rubber soles of can hurt the stringrays. The bottom of the ocean is all sand, so going barefoot is no problem.

We booked with Captain Bryan's and went out on the Hanibal. We mostly stayed on deck execpt to use the head. They didn't offer to stow our gear so we just found a spot on deck. I suppose you could maybe change below in the head. I would highly recommend Capt. Bryan's. There were less then 15 of us on the the boat as compared to some boats that had what looked like 50 people on board.

Thanks To You All!! What a great way to start a great week!

Thanks, Do you carry the the cert. into port with you? The only trip we are planning at the moment is this cruise to the Western Carib. in early Dec. Are they going to start requiring a passport to get into Canada as well?

Where and how often do you have to show your birth certificate when cruising the Western Caribbean? We don't travel outside the US very often so we decided not to get passports. We do have that proper raised seal birth cert. We also are going to bring copies of them with us, when could you use the copies instead of the original?

I have been thinking about trying a Transatlantic cruise. Has anyone else "been there done that"? How important is it to have a balcony? Is it as exciting in real life as it is thinking about it? When is the best time to go, or is it a seasonal cruise? Any insight is greatly appreciated.

I have been thinking about trying a Transatlantic cruise. Has anyone else "been there done that"? How important is it to have a balcony? Is it as exciting in real life as it is thinking about it? When is the best time to go, or is it a seasonal cruise? Any insight is greatly appreciated.

Has anyone heard of, or used Banana Bank in Belize for Horseback riding / river tubing / or River boat trips? Thanks in advance,

Where is the best place to get advice on private shore excursion companies for the ports in the Western Caribbean? We are going to Belize, Costa Maya, Grand Caymen, Cozumel on the Grand Princess. Looking for known companies that have a good/great reputation.

Can I bump this?

Yes I booked thru a TA. I might call her to see if I can get the booking number now. My DW and I have been on one other cruise about ten years ago that some friends setup, so we didn't have anything to do with the planning or booking. In some ways this is like our first cruise. We will be flying out of Minneapolis, MN for the Dec. 3 2005 sailing. We purchased the "Cruise Air" package. Just because then we shouldn't have to worry about transfers and the ship leaving without us. I think that with the shore excursions we'll mix and match. Right now we're planning to go with some private company's and some cruise tours and maybe at one port just wing it on our own.

Good Morning Judith, Why did you switch to the Dolphin Deck? Did you cruise the Princess or are you going to cruise? When? I'm so exicited. I haven't booked any shore execursions yet but have a pretty good idea of which ones we are going to take. We don't have a booking number yet so I can't do anything online at the Princess Website which is a bummer.