Royal Caribeean cruisers

[kdibattista]

I know I posted this previously but we now are actually booked

I'm soooo excited!!!! We are booked in a Royal Family Suite (Cat. AA) on the May 8th, Navigator of the Seas, Eastern Caribbean (Nassua, St. Thomas, San Juan, Labadee (sp??)). Anyway, I would reallly appreciate any tips/comments/suggestions as this will be our first cruise ever.

Thanks again!!!

 

[Karista]

We loved Labadee! When you get on the island, keep walking to the left, bypassing the first beach. Lots of people stopped at that first beach area and it got very congested in a short amount of time. At the far end is a very nice beach area (great snorkeling) and almost empty because people stop at the first beach! The BBQ is really good. Remember to take a lot of small bills if you plan on doing any shopping. No matter what time of day it is, the natives never had any change - go figure!

 

[DawnCt]

Someone recommended Sail Winifred in St. Thomas so I booked it for our April vacation. It is a classic sail boat that takes six passengers for a 6 hour sail. There are various snorkeling stops including St. John, lunch and of course a beautiful sail boat. The cost is $100 pp which to me is certainly in line with what is being offered. Check out the web site www.sailwinifred.com. I hope I spelled winifred right. In San Juan, definately go to El Morro and walk around old San Juan. It is one of our favorite places. Another good idea is to take the rain forest tour. Very nice. I am doing the eastern Carribean in April and I haven't made any plans for Nassau. I would welcome ideas. Also, when you pack, pack light and remove half of what you put in your suitcase. I take 4 bathing suits, parreos, and two pairs of shorts. Evening wear is something you can't get away from however.

 

[FOJMO]

Originally posted by kdibattista
Anyway, I would reallly appreciate any tips/comments/suggestions as this will be our first cruise ever.

The only comment I have is too bad you didn't book on Disney Cruise Line. After 3 cruises on the Disney Magic, I'd be spoiled against any other line...

Have fun, anyway!

 

[tkyes]

You made a great choice with a Royal Caribbean cruise!

You will LOVE it!! It's a wonderful cruise line with a great staff and the ships are gorgeous!!

We went western caribbean so I can't help you with the excursions.

Labadee is fun. I wasn't very hungry for the bbq so I think I just had some lemonade and a cookie. We rented the beach mat on the island, well worth the $10 to relax in the water.

If you drink, you MUST get a Mango Tango - I could go for one right now It's a layered pina colada and mango daquiri - yum!

Have a wonderful time!


Tamie

 

[Margie J]

That's a fabulous cabin category. The cabin should be spacious and nicely appointed. Royal Caribbean has great service, entertainment and food.

I've sailed that route a couple times. Both Nassau and St. John (a boat ride from St. Thomas) have great snorkeling spots. In the Bahamas the water is spectacular and crystal clear.

St. John is one of my favorites so I always stop there when in St. Thomas. The island is naturally beautiful. St. Thomas has a cute shopping area close to the port.

Have a wonderful time!

 

[WeirdEyes]

I am booked on the Explorer of the Seas in May. I love cruising the Caribbean! I fell in love with St. Thomas! Megan's Bay is absolutely breathtaking. (See picture below.) Head on over to the Cruise Critics message board for Royal Caribbean (the other board I frequent). Here's a link: http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?q=Y&a=frm&s=927093444&f=408097554

You are going to have soooo much fun!!!

 

[WeirdEyes]

Oops! The picture didn't work....I'm trying to learn how to do that. Here's a link to the picture of Megan's Bay: http://community.webshots.com/photo/51031112/51031239YaYnow

 

[Seahunt]

We were on the Navigator inaugural sailing, and after 25+ cruises were absolutely blown away by this ship - you will not believe what you are going to experience!

A couple good websites (if you haven't seen them yet)
Check out the packing list on this one:

http://www.cruisereviews.com/

and for 360 tours of the rooms:

http://www.virtualtoursusa.com/navigatorseas.htm

This site has scanned copies of the Eastern daily cruise compasses:

http://www.new-horizons-travel.com/Nav021503.htm

 

[kdibattista]

WOW!!!! I can't thank you all enough!!! I really appreciate all the comments and suggestions.

 

[wovenwonder]

We've sailed DCL three times and are very spoiled by them. I am hoping that our next trip - RCCL Navigator will live up to DCL.

We will be sailing on the eastern trip right before yours - April 24th thru May 1st. We booked this in June of 2002! So I am glad that our countdown is less than a year now!

 

[Karel]

Friends of ours are leaving for Bermuda on Sunday. I'm trying to give them tips but I had a question. They are leaving from NYC. Am I correct in telling them that their bags will be taken from them when they board and will be delivered to their room? My friend hadn't thought of that - they've never cruised before. I know they haven't done much research!

TIA

 

[Kteacher]

i recently booked my 9th cruise (8th Royal Caribbean). We're sailing on the Adventure of the Seas for a second time next July-San Juan is a wonderful port! Go to the cruise critic site for tips. Some things I've learnd- make sure you pack a higher spf sunscreen than you usually use or think you'll need. I tan easily, but wear 25-30 spf in the Caribbean. My fair-skinned Dh wears 45 spf. Ziploc bags- I keep them in all my suitcases. I use them to store shoes in, wet bathing suits, toiletries, suntan lotion. shore Excursions- you can usually do better on your own . You will find taxis and tour guides at every port waiting to take you where you want to go- make sure you set up a return time with the driver In St. Thomas take the ferry over to St. John- much less commercial and less crowded than St. Thomas. Have a great time!!!!

 

[Kteacher]

Karel- I just sent you a pm about Bermuda

 

[kdibattista]

last night my brother informs me that he can't go the week of the 8th so I had to change it to May 22nd..... almost $800 more!!!!!! Hopefully a price reduction will come my way

 

[Karel]

Thanks for the info. One more question - my friends have luggage tags, two for each family member for their baggage. Is this all they can take or can they take a backpack etc. I thought maybe the tags were for checked suitcases only and they could carry on other things. They are driving themselves to NYC.

Thanks

 

[WeirdEyes]

You only need the tags for checked baggage. You can put them on your carry-on, but don't need it.

 

[Linda/MA]

Karel --

We just got back from the Bermuda cruise out of Boston on the NCL Majesty. If you have any questions, let me know. The baggage tags they are given have their room number on them so that they will be delivered to the correct room. You can carry on backpacks, etc., but they will need to go through security -- just like boarding a plane. Make sure to tell them to carry on a bathing suit, etc., so that they can change if they want to sit by the pool. Sometimes the bags don't arrive for a few hours.

 

[christineann]

We cruised the W. Caribbean on the Voyager in June - our first cruise and had an incredibly fantastic time. We took the last kayak tour on Labadee, and the line to get on the tender back to the ship was rather long (end of the visit), so we got Coco Locos, crawled into hammocks and waited for the end of the line. You will have a blast. Royal Caribbean had great food, great staff, great entertainment. Loved it!

 

[Lezah]

We just returned in April from Navigator on Western Caribbean. Labadee is beautiful and was very fun. We didn't do any shore excursions, just went off the ship at each port and had fun. The ship is spectacular. Make sure that you take highlighters (one for each member of the family in a different colour) to highlight the compass (list of activities) with all of the ship activities that you would like to try. Make sure that you take all the formal photos just to see them, you don't have to buy them, but it is a great experience! We ended up buying most of them. We had a blast! I'm sure you'll love it. Any questions PM me. Good luck and have a wonderful time.