btate

Joey, Your review seems like the ship experience was mostly negative, but the scenery and canal were amazing. I look forward to sailing through the Panama Canal in a few years or so. What a fun experience. As for the ship, I have never sailed Carnival, but have heard similar experiences from many who have sailed with them as far as being clean and the 'little' details. Perhaps that is why I have not chosen them yet. I have only sailed RC and even though the ships were not the newest, I was VERY impressed with the shape of the ship. I will be sailing Princess in a couple weeks as to be well versed on the different lines so I can one day pick a favorite and make sure I am not missing anything that appeals to my own taste. Thanks for the review, you are a good writer. I enjoyed reading your experience.

Robert Frost said to take the road less traveled by. . I would do that.

( (Nerd) Just teasing Robert. . . That's lots of stuff! Men bring practical things, Women bring Clothes and Makeup and Shoes and on and on and on. . . Blah Blah Blah

I don't think Jason is old enough to be drinking. For the rest of you, drinking and posting can be haxardous and confusing to the rest of us.

After doing a little looking, it looks like a Limo-Taxi service will be about $150 each way + Gratuity. A rental car was about $35 (Includes tax) and will allow them to pick up at the airport and drop off at the port and vice versa. . . Rental car is the cheap way to go and it looks like I95 will take them almost directly to the port. Thanks for the advice and this is why I love you guys on this board.

bump

I am looking to get my Mother and Sister from West Palm Beach Airport to a hotel for a night then to the pier the next day. Do any of you locals know a hotel that offers a shutle from the airport and then to the pier the next day that is reasonable? They are sailing the Voyager of the seas out of Miami March 3. They also need transportation to a hotel on March 10 and then to the airport early in the morning on the 11th. It is their first time sailing out of Miami. Any ideas are welcome. You have my thanks!

The guy who has to unclog the toilets when they won't flush. Cleaning the handrails comes in a close second. You ask why I would want to do that? All the other jobs would seem like they were the best in the world after doing that!

I would have to say . . . Trying to convince my wife that we are only going on a cruise for a week and having her luggage reflect one weeks worth of clothes instead of a couple months. "No Honey, there is not room for your extra 18 shirts, 12 belts, 6 bags of makup, 6 bathing suits, 8 pairs of pants, 9 dresses, 5 hats, and 18 pairs of shoes, in my bags!"

I have an upcoming cruise with friends in Feb. The way we are going to work it is we all looked through the excoursion book the cruise line gave us before we met and then decided what we all wanted to do. We are all going to do one together that appealed to everyone. Others just the guys are going, and the girls will go shopping or whatever they want. Another a few of us are going snorkeling and not in an organized excoursion, just a place that someone has been. We will be renting a car for this one and it is very inexpensive and very flexible. . The other day is not planned and we will most likely just do whatever we want with whoever we want. That seems to work for us. . . On the boat, we will all have the option to do whatever we want whenever we want as well. We do look forward to eating dinner together and dressing up on formal nights. Not sure that helps, but that is what we are going to do and we look forward to it.

I have had fun with pictures that are of sunsets, sunrises, and just things that remind me of part of the ship that look fun to everyone else, but have a special meaning to me and the person I am with. Not sure it makes sense, but it does to me and I have fun with it.

I renewal passport always takes a lot less time than an new application or name change. I know because I have helped several people do both. As for you needing a passport, I understand that you can still leave for about any Caribbean cruise with a Birth Certificate throuth 2007 at least. A decision was made by our government that people on cruises can still use a birth certificate for an additional year.

This very thing attracted me to this site. I also welcome anyone looking for tips and ways to make the most of your cruise to hang out here. You WILL find the things you are looking for. You will find oppinions from very fun and experienced cruisers and also some VERY knowleageable travel agents. Please come back often.

Robert, we are leaving out of Galveston again and going to Hondoras Belize, Coata Maya and Cozumel. I am looking forward to Cave Tubing in Belize very much! I would love to hook up with you on another cruise sometime. Hope you are feeling better.

As usual, JohnG always knows. . . Thanks for your knowlege, wisdom and dancing. I have been impressed so far with what Princess is doing. I am really looking forward to the cruise. Thanks for helping me.

I have to admit, this is my first time sailing with Princess. Just got docs today. . . Don't sail for another 2 months plus?! There are luggage tags - No cabin assignments. . No numbers on them. . and just instructions to go to the web site to register and print out a boarding pass. . . I have only sailed Royal Caribbean so far, and their process seemed pretty easy. It made sense when they send out docs. . . This just seems a bit early? I know Princess is just moving to the eticket, but not sure how well they thought this through? Seems like more work for me in the long run? I do like that they sent out a Cruise Answer book that answers just about everything you can think of from formal wear, to contacting the ship to passport regulations to dining. . . Booklets are very well put together and well planned out. . . Very informative. Perhaps they are just wanting to cut down on postage a bit? Needless to say, I am excited to sail the Grand Princess.

With RC, you still get docs in the mail. It doesn't sound like Princess will be sending anything? We will see in a couple of months. As for people who don't have a PC, they are always happy to print up your borading pass at the pier. It is not required that you have then, it just speeds up the process.

If I could do a longer cruise, I would do a relocation that goes through Panama. I WILL do this one day, just need to have a bit more time on my hands. You can't beat some of the prices either!

I am sailing Princess in Feb. Sounds like they are doing what Royal Caribbean is doing. I found it really easy and fast on RC. I bet Princess will also be easy. I will let you know in March!

Thank goodness for good writers and memorable experiences. . . Glad you got to see the ruins. Check out the ruins in Costa Maya if you ever make it South of Cozumel.

I have found that many airlines have so many restrictions on FF miles, that they are very difficult to use. I have learned to hate Delta. I have always loved to fly Southwest. The people who take care of you seem to be just a little nicer. . . At any rate, FF miles are very over rated in most cases. Too much effort to try to use them. That said, I use them every time I fly for a cruise as I travel out of Salt Lake City.

JohnG is correct. I was there in October and it was still in the rebuild stage and slow at that. I did have some friends who did the Dolphin swim and said it was one of the coolest things they have ever done. I think swimming with dolphins is just plain cool anyway. Until the island is completely rebuilt, I would recommend to anyone to rent a car and just drive South until you find a nice beach, pull over and enjoy the beach. A car is only about $50 and the island has a very low crime rate and is almost impossible to get lost on as there is only one road. We rented an air conditioned car and locked our stuff up in it. We spent a lot of time on the beach and saw the sites at our own leasure. We used about a half a tank of gas and it cost $10 to fill the tank when we were done. Renting a car was a great way to spend the day in Cozumel.

SMB, I just got back from Ochos Rios and Grand Cayman a month ago. Jamaica: I don't have a lot of good to say about Jamaica. . . Did not have a comfortable experience. I will list this in good things and bad things Good things: Jamaica is absolutely beautiful. We got a cab to the Dunns falls (10 minute ride) for $10 each way. People wanted us to pay as much as $30 and would not go down on price. . . Remember this was a 10 minute ride (Should this go on the bad list?) The Falls were beautiful. I did not climb them, but the people I talked to who did loved it. At the Falls, there do not accept travelers checks, because of this, they let us in for about $10 a person(resident rate) vs the $30 a person (non resident rate) because we only had $20 in cash. Bad things: We took 2 taxis and getting a fair price was not easy. When we did get a price that seemed fair, somehow we felt guilty? Every time we got out of a taxi, some angry person wanted us to get right into their taxi. We could not turn around without having someone try to sell us drugs or want to take our picture and expect a tip. I guess we could just not enjoy ourselves because everyone just wanted our money. Bottom line: I think we would have enjoyed just about anything that would have been in an organized tour. I would check www.shoretrips.com and also the cruise line shore excoursions. If the price is even close, go with the ship. The ship will refund your money if you somehow miss the port and they also give you priority when disembarking the ship to go on the tour. It looked like there were many fun things to do, but not going on a tour, we got to fend for ourselves with these people who only want your money. Cayman Islands: I did an organized tour Snorkeling with the stingrays an catamaran. This was one of the coolest things I think I have ever done. The catamaran was a couple more bucks, but not as many people do it so there were only 6 of us on the whole boat that holds 50!. The crew was really cool and really fun to be with. I loved being with the stingrays. They are very tame and really fun to feed and hold. I was a bit nervous at first, but they proved to be more like puppys than animals that hurt people. Very memorable! Don't forget that underwater camera! There were no people at the Cayman Islands like in Jamaica. It was more like the US than any island I have been on in the Caribbean.

I think it really depends on the ship. I have heard that Carnival rooms are much smaller than Royal Caribbean. That being said, I think both are true, it just depends on the ship. I have never sailed Carnival, but have heard very good and very bad comments. I have heard the same about Royal Caribbean. I have only sailed RC, and have only loved it. I did just book a cruise with Princess so I can see the differences for myself.

I am sure it is different for everyone, but my wife gets very carsick, unless she is driving. . On a cruise however, the only time she gets sick is when there are 20ft swells and the boat is rocking back and forth like crazy. I have heard the same thing from many people.