Sept 16/07 Caribbean Princess- First Time Cruisers

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Cdn_BudGuy

Guest
Hi all,

We are first time cruisers =docdance and we are leaving on Sept 16th/07 for our honeymoon :couple to the Caribbean. We have a balcony cabin on the Baja deck at the front of the boat. Does anyone know how the balcony and rooms are in that area? Do you have any information that would be usefull for us to make sure that we have a great time. I have read alot about people bring alcohol onboard, comments? What tours would you suggest? How about places to eat? Anything would be awsome. We are 30 & 34 yrs old. What is the age of people we are going to see onboard? If anyone wants to get together for a drink well onboard just let us know. I just checked out the website and there is still balcony rooms open for those people that are looking at coming on this tour. Look forward to it and maybe meeting some of you..

1 Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 5:00 PM
2 Princess Cays, Bahamas 9:00 AM 4:00 PM
3 At Sea
4 Ocho Rios, Jamaica 8:00 AM 4:00 PM
5 Grand Cayman, Islands 7:00 AM 4:00 PM
6 Cozumel, Mexico 8:30 AM 6:30 PM
7 At Sea
8 Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 7:00 AM 5:00 PM
9 At Sea
10 At Sea
11 St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles 7:00 AM 6:00 PM
12 St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands 7:00 AM 6:00 PM
13 At Sea
14 Princess Cays, Bahamas 9:00 AM 4:00 PM
15 Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 7:00 AM


Thanks, Shawn
 
G

Gayle V

Guest
Hello Cdn_BudGuy,

welcome to CruiseAddict's and to the world of cruising. And congratulations on the nuptuals.

What a fabulous honeymoon! 15 days,including two visits to Princess Cays. WOW. I've never seen that on an itinerary before. Sounds like heaven.

About the balcony: can't help as haven't been on this class of ship yet. Soon, but not yet. Glad you chose a balcony though, as that will really make it a great cruise. A balcony is worth every extra penny it costs.

About the age range, well I have to say they you will likely be among the younger people on the ship. At first glance I thought is was a longer cruise; and longer cruises tend to draw in a more mature crowd, as the younger people don't seem to be able to spare that kind of time or money. But this seems to be two cruises back to back so you won't have that affecting your cruise. Still Princess does draw all ages, but more mature than, say, Carnival.

As for excursion ideas, well everyone has their own likes and dislikes, so this is just my opinion.

Well,Jamaica is not my fav place, because you have to be a bit careful there. Safety issues. Be prepared for the local venders to be very, very push. And don't be tempted by the offers of pot. There are police around, who don't seem to make the place a lot safer, but they do watch you. So my suggestion there is to definitely stay with a cruise line sponsored excursion. And the one not to be missed thing to do in Jamaica is climbing Dunn's River Falls. Several excursions take you there. We did the Sundance Yacht tour and loved it.

In Grand Cayman, the one not-to-be-missed excursion is swimming with the stingrays at Sting Ray City. It's an phenomenal experience. The rays are huge, 3 to 6 feet across, and there are hundreds of them. Just looking over the rail of the tour boat as you approach the area is amazing. Dozens of them will be racing with the ship. When you get in the water with them they will eat right out of your hands. It feels a bit like feeding a soft, wet Hoover vacumn. :grin

In Cozumel, you have so many choices. All good. Some of the best snorkeling we've ever done was on a Catamarran tour to a reef area near Coz. And there's a fabulous park, where you can beach it, or snorkel AND see some Mayan Ruins, Chankanaab National Park . Or if you're into history, this is you chance to visit a Mayan Pyramid. That's a long day, but worth it if you like that kind of thing. Cozumel has some great scuba diving nearby, if you do that.

In St. Maarten there are several great excursions. Two of the very best ones we ever done are there. First there's the America's Cup Yacht racing. You get to help crew a real America's Cup Yacht in a mini race. You don't have to know anything about boats. They will teach what you need to know. They assign you one job, you learn that and then you do it when the captains say. One warning being the grinder is hard work. Boy was I sore after that. The race is fast and exciting. You'll never forget it.

The second great excursion in St. Maarten is the Rhinoriders. We've done it three times already. The Rhinos are a bit like a jet ski, a one man vehicle but has an inflatable edge that makes it more stable, as you will actuall be out in the ocean. You have a guide who leads a group of about six or seven along the coast of the island, few stops for snorkeling and to see the planes land overhear at Maho Bay. Another very fact, exciting and memorable day.

As for St. Thomas, there is so much to choose from, I couldn't suggest just a few. Several great beaches, lots of great shopping, especially if you're interested in Jewelry. Also ton's of boat and catamarran trips to nearby islands. Hubby and I usually do one of those when here. We once took an excursion boat tour over to Trunk Bay, and learned to Snuba (Like scuba only the air tanks float in a little raft overhead, and you are tethered by your 20 foot air hose, so you can't really go down so far.) Interesting experience if you don't already scuba.

As for Princess Cay, that's the Princess private island. Beautiful place. It's a beach day, so you don't reall have to do anything to have a great day. Just swim, sun, and enjoy the BarBQUe that Princess provides. You can rent ski-dos or go horseback riding if you want something more.

I'm sure you'll love your cruise. If you are looking to meet up with some fellow cruisers, be sure to post your cruise in the Cruise Tracker. You'll find the link at the top of this page. Look in the yellow bar, just under the revolving sun face.
 
W

Whimsy

Guest
Welcome!

We will be sailing with you on the 23rd! 70 more days to go!

You will find people of all ages on the CB. We sailed last year in October and just loved the ship so we booked it again for this year. We are doing the Eastern Itinery this time.

We did not care for Jamaica at all. I guess if I were to pick something to do there for a future visit it would be river tubing. If you are adventurous climb the falls.

Grand Cayman-Without a doubt do the sting rays. We booked with Native Way on our own and saved about half the price over the cruise line. Great experience!

Cozumel-We took a cab to Paradise Beach. I wanted to do the Passion Island excursion but the weather was a bit iffy so we decided to stick closer to the ship. We did shopping in the afternoon.

Loved Princess Cays! Just a great day on the beach!

This trip we are doing the America's Cup sailing race. If you decide to do that we are doing the first one of the morning if you would like to find another addict on board!

In St. Thomas we are doing a private day sail with Rumbaba.

We would love to meet up with other members of this forum!
 
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