SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO

OLD AND NEW SAN JUAN TOUR WITH AIRPORT DROP-OFF via Celebrity
April 21, 2012
$34.75 per person

On our April cruise, our return flight was scheduled at 5:30 PM so we booked the Old and New San Juan tour with airport transfer via Celebrity. It was an easy tour and kept us occupied for a few hours before our late flight. We boarded our tour bus at 8:30 AM and left the terminal at 8:53 PM. Our large luggages were loaded into a truck to be sent directly to the airport. We had a guided ride on our way to San Cristobal Castle. We stayed there for 45 minutes.

We then drove to El Morro San Felipe Castle for a brief history while in the bus then we headed to Plaza de Colon. There was a display of sports cars around the plaza. We stayed there for another 45 minutes.

We then had a guided ride through New San Juan on our way to the airport. We arrived at the airport around noon to see our luggages lined up right outside the airport terminal. We didn’t notice anyone looking after the luggages, even on our November trip.

ARECIBO TOUR via Natural Wonders PR
November 23, 2012
$95 per person

On our November cruise, we arrived 2 days early so we stayed in San Juan for 2 nights and did the Arecibo tour with Natural Wonders PR. We’ve toured with Asha before and had fun. It was like a private tour coz it was just me and my husband, and Asha was flexible with our requests. The tour was more off the beaten path, but we enjoyed it a lot. Highly recommend Natural Wonders and the Arecibo tour for those who are physically capable, the tour required some hiking.

Asha picked us up at our hotel, Conrad Condado Plaza at 10:15 AM. We went to La Ventana cave first. It rained and the path and cave was more muddy than usual so wear appropriate footwear. Bring a flashlight too as it is very dark in the cave. Cold bottled water was provided.

We then drove around to the river you see from the cave to get a view of the cave from outside.

We proceeded to Charco Hondo falls, a smaller falls behind a private property. We went to Martin’s BBQ for lunch. The barbecue chicken was supposed to be good there, but my husband and I didn’t order chicken. Food was okay.

Last but not least, we drove to the ocean side of Arecibo to Del Indio cave and the arches. It was beautiful out there.

On the way back, we stopped to get coconut drinks on the roadside.

There was a beautiful beach across the road.

We got back to the hotel at 6 PM. It was exhausting, but very nice day. The tour was one of my favorites.

BACARDI RUM DISTILLERY WITH AIRPORT DROP-OFF via Celebrity
December 1, 2012
$32.75 per person

The Bacardi compound was beautiful. We started at the visitor’s pavilion where we got 2 free drink tickets each and rode the shuttle to their visitor center.

The center was nicely planned out just for visitors. We started at the lobby with a brief history of how Bacardi was born from one of the tour guides. We were then sent to a small theater for the full documentary of the company. After the short movie documentary, we went to an area with replica of the distillery years ago including a replica of an office. We then went to a room with videos about Bacardi. Sorry, photos were not allowed.

The next room was my favorite. The room had a few “cubicles” with little barrels hanging from the wall. The barrels contain different kinds of Bacardi rum – just shake the barrel and smell.

The next room had a bar and seating area. One of the guides demonstrated 3 drink cocktails. Then we were off to another room with displays.

We boarded the shuttle back to the pavilion for some shopping at the gift shop and for our free drinks.

ST. THOMAS / ST. JOHN, USVI

SKYRIDE via Celebrity
April 20, 2012
$21.75 per person

We decided to do a lazy relaxing day in St. Thomas. We purchased Skyride tickets via Celebrity for $21.75 pp. It was just a short walk from Havensight cruise terminal. We got there and the tickets cost $21 (I don’t know if taxes were included). The view was amazing.

There were birds, goats, ducks, etc.

ST. JOHN BEACH AND SNORKEL via Celebrity
November 30, 2012
$67.75 per person

We boarded to boat to St. John at the the end of the pier where the Summit was docked. It was a very scenic ride. USVI is beautiful.

We arrived at St. John and boarded one of the “buses” to Trunk Bay. Trunk Bay is beautiful. Snorkeling was off the beach and there were plenty of fishes.

Celebrity Summit
Southern Caribbean cruise 2012 series:

• Introduction: Little details and tips
  
• Part 1:  Flights and Pre-cruise accommodations
• Part 2:  Embarkation/Disembarkation and Cabins (inside, oceanview, regular balcony, concierge, aqua class, Celebrity suite, Royal suite)
• Part 3:  Public areas (including Persian Garden and Fun Factory)
• Part 4:  Food and Entertainment
• Part 5:  San Juan PR, St. Thomas
• Part 6:  Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua
• Part 7:  St. Maarten, St. Croix, St. Kitts
• Part 8:  Dominica, Grenada
• Part 9:  Celebrity Today, Specials, Packages, etc

COSMOPOLITAN RESTAURANT
(Main Dining Room)

APPETIZERS / SOUPS / SALADS

Baked Farm Goat Cheese Tart 2/5
- I found the balsamic vinegar too strong for the tart

Crab Stuffed Mushroom Caps 4.5/5
- DH and I loved this, even our neighbor. I ate it even though I’m allergic to crab! No, it’s not Escargot, though it looked it

Cream of Wild Forest Mushroom Soup 3.5/5

Beef Carpaccio 3.5/5
-almost the same thing as the beef carpaccio during breakfast. They didn’t have this on our November cruise though.

Buffalo Style Frog Legs 3/5
-a little dry, our neighbor loved it tho

Spanish Seafood Soup 3.5/5

Caribbean Cod Fritters 3.5/5

Classic Vitello Tonnato 3/5
-dry

Asian Consomme 3.5/5

Sweet Yellow Corn Soup 2.5/5
-nothing special, tasted like corn

Shellfish and Saffron Risotto 4/5

Caprese Salad 3.5/5

Celebrity’s Signature Maryland Crab Cake 3.5/5

Our Signature Lobster Bisque 2/5
-it didn’t taste like lobster bisque that we were used to

Wild Mushroom Vol-au-Vent 3.5/5

Shrimp Cocktail 3.5/5

Porcini Mushroom Risotto 3/5

ENTREES

Aged Prim Rib of Beef (medium rare) 4/5
- I had better. It was a little chewy and needed more sauce. But I liked it anyway. However, it was better on our November cruise.

“Momma’s” Pork Chops 4/5
- DH and our neighbor loved it.

Roasted Colorado Rack of Lamb (medium) 4/5
-loved it that I ordered another. Our neighbors loved it as well.

Celebrity’s Signature Tournedos Rossini (Filet Mignon) 4/5

Mediterranean Seafood Orzo 3.5/5
-Orzo was good, scallops were bland. It was better on our November cruise.

Chicken “Wellington” 4/5

Seared Pork Medallions 4.5/5

Rigatoni Bistecca 3/5

Osso Buco alla Milanese 4/5

Classic Seafood Fettuccine 3.5/5

Mozzarella Meatballs 3/5

Petit Filet Mignon 4/5

Lamb Shank “Tagine Style” 3.5/5
-huge portion, but a little bland

Classic Chateaubriand Brillat-Savarin 3.5/5

Broiled Caribbean Lobster Tail 3/5
-it was bigger than the tails we’ve had on other cruise lines, but it was overcooked

Veal Cordon Bleu “Our Way” 4/5

DESSERTS

Apple Pie a la Mode 3/5

Warm Banana-Blueberry Crepe 3/5
- the crepe itself was chewy

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cake 4/5

Cherries Jubilee 3.5/5

Chocolate Souffle 3/5

Flambeed Crepes Suzette 2/5
-too sweet

Chocolate Marquise 3.5/5

Panna Cotta alla Romana 3.5/5

Celebrity Signature Baked Alaska 3.5/5
- my husband ordered this, but it was too sweet for me

New York Cheesecake 4/5

Sacher Torte 3/5

Cannoli “Tutti Frutti” 3.5/5

BISTRO ON FIVE

Cover:  $5 per person

Italian Crepe – Nutella, Banana and Pistachio (special request: strawberries) 4/5

Chicken Panini 4/5

Beef Panini (requested no sides) 4/5

Celebrity Summit
Southern Caribbean cruise 2012 series:

• Introduction: Little details and tips
  
• Part 1:  Flights and Pre-cruise accommodations
• Part 2:  Embarkation/Disembarkation and Cabins (inside, oceanview, regular balcony, concierge, aqua class, Celebrity suite, Royal suite)
• Part 3:  Public areas (including Persian Garden and Fun Factory)
• Part 4:  Food and Entertainment
• Part 5:  San Juan PR, St. Thomas
• Part 6:  Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua
• Part 7:  St. Maarten, St. Croix, St. Kitts
• Part 8:  Dominica, Grenada
• Part 9:  Celebrity Today, Specials, Packages, etc

PUBLIC AREAS

Grand Foyer

Guest Relations

Shore Excursions

Martini Bar

Crush

Midship Elevators

Elevator

Cabin deck 7 hallway

They opened the helipad once on 4/17/12 (St. Lucia) right before we sailed away.
Took the photo while we were sailing away .

RENDEZVOUS LOUNGE
Deck 4

CELEBRITY THEATER
Deck 4 and 5

COSMOPOLITAN RESTAURANT
Deck 4 (traditional seating) and 5 (select seating)

Tables for two are tiny and placed too close to each other

CELLAR MASTERS
Deck 5

BISTRO ON FIVE
Deck 5

ILOUNGE (COMPUTER LOUNGE)
Deck 6

LIBRARY
Deck 8 and 9

POOLS
Deck 10

Bar overlooking the outdoor pools

Bar by the outdoor pools

Thalassotherapy pool

Loungers by the Thalassotherapy pool

AQUA SPA
Deck 10

Salon

PERSIAN GARDEN
Aquaspa Deck 10

Heated stone chairs on the left side

FITNESS CENTER
Deck 10

REVELATIONS LOUNGE
Deck 11

Stage at the Revelations Lounge

FUN FACTORY
Deck 11

TEEN CLUB
Deck 11

Celebrity Summit
Southern Caribbean cruise 2012 series:

• Introduction: Little details and tips
  
• Part 1:  Flights and Pre-cruise accommodations
• Part 2:  Embarkation/Disembarkation and Cabins (inside, oceanview, regular balcony, concierge, aqua class, Celebrity suite, Royal suite)
• Part 3:  Public areas (including Persian Garden and Fun Factory)
• Part 4:  Food and Entertainment
• Part 5:  San Juan PR, St. Thomas
• Part 6:  Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua
• Part 7:  St. Maarten, St. Croix, St. Kitts
• Part 8:  Dominica, Grenada
• Part 9:  Celebrity Today, Specials, Packages, etc

EMBARKATION

On April 14, 2012, we got to the cruise terminal around 3 PM and embarkation was easy and pretty quick. It was our first time to cruise Celebrity. It took us about 35 minutes from the time we got to the cruise terminal to getting on the ship. That included stopping at the store in the terminal to buy bottled water. They only had a 12-pack for $5.75.

On November 24, 2012, we got to the cruise terminal around 12:30 PM and the line to check in was longer. It took us about 50 minutes to get on the ship this time.

On both cruises, we went to the Oceanview Cafe (buffet) for lunch. There weren’t a lot of people at the restaurant last April (3 PM), but there were a lot more in November (1:30 PM). However, we still didn’t have a hard time finding a table. Food was okay, loved the fried chicken.

DISEMBARKATION

Last April, disembarkation was a little confusing. We had a tour booked through Celebrity that included airport transfer. We were given a #30 luggage tag and were told to be at Rendezvous lounge at 7:45 AM. We headed to Oceanview Cafe for breakfast as soon as it opened at 6:30 AM. We got to Rendezvous lounge at 7:35 AM, there were still plenty of seats available. At around 7:55 AM, all seats were taken. Those with tours booked must approach the Celebrity crew on stage to get a numbered sticker. They don’t announce this all the time so there were a few passengers without stickers and had to scramble for one when they started calling groups to disembark at 8:10 AM.

Last November, we had a tour booked too and were told to meet at the Cosmopolitan Restaurant at 7:30 AM. It was more organized this time. At the door, they give you the stickers and told to take a seat and wait. There were still a lot of seats when we got there at 7:30 AM and when we left at 7:50 AM. Disembarkation this time was the fastest we had. We were on the tour bus by 8 AM!

CABINS

INSIDE CABIN 7051
April 14-21, 2012
$1334.42 / 2 ppl

Our inside cabin in April 2012 was very nice, but I found it tiny. I don’t think I will want to fit 3 people in there. The desk was tiny too and I don’t like it that the tray of ice bucket and glasses were on it making the available space even smaller. I can also hear people in the hallway. Thank goodness, passengers were not loud.

VERANDA CABIN 7154
November 24 – December 1, 2012
$1449.14 / 2 ppl plus $100 onboard credit

We had a regular balcony cabin in November 2012 and I found it even tinier than our inside cabin last April. The square footage is most likely, but because of the balcony door, we couldn’t utilize more space.

Bed was comfortable, pillows were flat.

The bathroom tiles were dirty, but everything else was pretty clean.

There were missing drinks in the “fridge”, I hope they didn’t charge us for them.

Balcony is a decent size, chairs were comfortable.

All following cabin photos were taken during our cabin crawl. Thank you to all CC members who opened their cabins to all of us, some even provided hors d’oeuvres.

OCEAN VIEW CABIN 3103

CONCIERGE CABIN 8143

CONCIERGE CABIN 6136

AQUA CLASS CABIN 9043

AQUA CLASS AFT CABIN 1133

CELEBRITY SUITE 7149

ROYAL SUITE 6133

Celebrity Summit
Southern Caribbean cruise 2012 series:

• Introduction: Little details and tips
  
• Part 1:  Flights and Pre-cruise accommodations
• Part 2:  Embarkation/Disembarkation and Cabins (inside, oceanview, regular balcony, concierge, aqua class, Celebrity suite, Royal suite)
• Part 3:  Public areas (including Persian Garden and Fun Factory)
• Part 4:  Food and Entertainment
• Part 5:  San Juan PR, St. Thomas
• Part 6:  Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua
• Part 7:  St. Maarten, St. Croix, St. Kitts
• Part 8:  Dominica, Grenada
• Part 9:  Celebrity Today, Specials, Packages, etc

FLIGHTS

US AIRWAYS
April 14-21, 2012
$331.90 / person coach class

There were no complications or delays going to San Juan. The plane on the second leg of the flight (Philadelphia to San Juan) had monitors for every seat. They provided complimentary drinks (soda, juices, water, coffee).

We weren’t very lucky however on our flight back home. Our flight was scheduled for 5:30 PM. Three hours before our flight, we were told that there was a mechanical problem with the plane and they booked us on the 7:30 PM flight. Unfortunately, there was no connecting flight available at Charlotte, NC until the day after. I had a plane to Orlando to catch the day after so I asked for other options. I asked if they could just re-direct me to Orlando instead, they said they couldn’t do that. They were able to put us on an early flight the next day on American Airlines so I could catch my plane to Orlando.

US Air provided us with overnight accommodation at Country Inn and Suites that offered free airport transfer, no food vouchers or anything else. The hotel only had one shuttle (van) that can only accommodate 12 people.

We didn’t get on until the 3rd trip. It was so late at night when we arrived at the hotel, we only had 4 hours of sleep until we had to get back to the airport for the connecting flight.

We were given emergency seats on our American Airlines flight from Charlotte to New York. We were happy about it until we realized the extra leg room is not necessarily a plus. To create the extra space, they installed shorter seats! and it was even less comfortable.

Left – regular coach seat; Right – emergency coach seat

DELTA AIRLINES
November 22 – December 1, 2012
$256.40 / person coach class

We got non-stop flight from JFK to SJU and back. Flights were on time. They offered complimentary snacks and drinks (soda, juice, water, coffee).

There were monitors for every seat that offered complimentary TV, music, games, etc. There were movies and other services available for a fee. TV signal was not very good and a lot of the channels were unavailable. They provided complimentary earphones, but they weren’t very good. Sound coming out of the earphone I got was muffled.

PRE-CRUISE ACCOMMODATION

CONRAD CONDADO PLAZA
November 22-24, 2012
$98 + taxes & fees / night

I would recommend this hotel for the location and cleanliness.

We booked the hotel via Hotwire without knowing the hotel name before booking. It was listed as a 4-star hotel in San Juan with the following amenities: Near Beach, Oceanfront Property, Casino, Fitness Center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business Center, Laundry Facilities (self-service), Golf Nearby, Tennis Nearby, Spa Services, Accessible for the blind and deaf, Free internet, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Handicapped parking, Roll-in shower.

The total cost at Hotwire came up to $115.64 / night. We had to pay a resort fee of $13.43 / night at the hotel upon check-out.

I have posted my complete review here.

Celebrity Summit
Southern Caribbean cruise 2012 series:

• Introduction: Little details and tips
  
• Part 1:  Flights and Pre-cruise accommodations
• Part 2:  Embarkation/Disembarkation and Cabins (inside, oceanview, regular balcony, concierge, aqua class, Celebrity suite, Royal suite)
• Part 3:  Public areas (including Persian Garden and Fun Factory)
• Part 4:  Food and Entertainment
• Part 5:  San Juan PR, St. Thomas
• Part 6:  Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua
• Part 7:  St. Maarten, St. Croix, St. Kitts
• Part 8:  Dominica, Grenada
• Part 9:  Celebrity Today, Specials, Packages, etc

We went on a Southern Caribbean cruise in April and November 2012 aboard Celebrity Summit. Instead of doing my usual daily trip log, I’ll just combine both cruises and post my reviews here.

I will divide the reviews into several posts, but I will start with little details and tips I have gotten from other cruisers and I learned myself.

• Introduction: Little details and tips
  
• Part 1:  Flights and Pre-cruise accommodations
• Part 2:  Embarkation/Disembarkation and Cabins (inside, oceanview, regular balcony, concierge, aqua class, Celebrity suite, Royal suite)
• Part 3:  Public areas (including Persian Garden and Fun Factory)
• Part 4:  Food and Entertainment
• Part 5:  San Juan PR, St. Thomas
• Part 6:  Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua
• Part 7:  St. Maarten, St. Croix, St. Kitts
• Part 8:  Dominica, Grenada
• Part 9:  Celebrity Today, Specials, Packages, etc

CRUISE DETAIL

We booked a Category 9 inside (7051) on the Summit Southern Caribbean cruise that went to Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten and St. Thomas.

We booked a Category 2A balcony (7154) on the Summit Southern Caribbean cruise that went to St. Croix, St. Kitts, Dominica, Grenada and St. Thomas.

LITTLE DETAILS / TIPS

Overall, I would rate the cruise 4 stars.  Here are some little details/tips:

• Look out for their Tuesday specials before booking.
• They offer free seasickness meds at the Guest Services desk.
• There are mattress pads available if you prefer.  Ask your room steward.
• When you booked a guarantee, Celebrity is usually open to changing cabins in the same category after being assigned a cabin.
• Register for a Cruise Critic Connections party and join your roll call at Cruise Critic boards. However, Celebrity scheduled the party on a port day early morning on both our cruises. So if your roll call wants to meet, it’s better to plan one yourself.
• You must order your luggage tags, they don’t automatically mail it to you.  However, if you don’t have it, the porters have them at the pier.
• If you have select dining (no set dining time) and want to make reservations, make your reservations online before your trip or as soon as you board.  The slots get booked up very quickly.  But don’t worry, you can just walk in.  There was no wait when we did walk in.
  1. To make a reservation online, log in to My Celebrity.
  2. Select View Reservation from the Manage Reservation drop-down menu.
  3. Click on Shore & Land Excursion tab.
  4. On the right, click Your Excursions – Awaiting Payment, Purchased.
  5. Under My Cruise Extras, select Celebrity Select Dining from the Add More drop-down menu.
• I could barely get signal on my cellphone, even with the ship’s signal in our inside cabin (7051), but didn’t have problems in our balcony cabin (7154).
• If you’re in an inside cabin or a cabin that has the bed facing the door, bring something to cover the peephole on the door. Light from the hallway was hitting my eyes when I was sleeping. I only had a band-aid. The peephole in our balcony cabin did have a cover.
  
• Don’t miss the Buffet Brunch at the main dining room (Cosmopolitan Restaurant).  It’s usually held only once and on a sea day at 10am. You will find the info under dining hours in Celebrity Today. Don’t eat breakfast if you can on the day the brunch is being held. There was a lot of food at the brunch.
  
• There are only 2 US electric outlets and 2 European electric outlets in our inside cabin (7051) and balcony cabin (7154); they’re all by the desk. No outlets in the bathroom.
  
• The “refrigerator” in the cabin is more like a cooler.  And the drawer right above the “refrigerator” gets hot so be careful on what you put in there.
  
• The hairdryer on the Summit has an ON button that you need to press continuously to keep it on.  Bring a duct tape or something similar to tape the button down.
  
• Laundry is not cheap.  Summit has no self-serve laundry facilities.  If you plan to get laundry done onboard, budget for it. I saw one laundry promotion – fill the paper laundry bag without tearing the bag for $20+. Beware the laundry bag is tiny and made of paper. When I used laundry bag, my 2 cocktail dresses and 1 shirt already filled the bag!
  
• Pastries and other munchies at Cafe Al Bacio are complimentary.  You don’t have to purchase coffee or drinks to get them.
• Most of the time, the mid gangway was used.  So if you don’t want to walk far when visiting ports, book a cabin midship.
• When eating at the Oceanview Cafe, make sure to go all the way aft.  There are additional selections there as well.
• Internet was slow. I was getting an average of 0.6 Mbps upload and 0.35 Mbps download.
  

Saturday, November 19, 2011
Disembarkation – Miami, FL

We had breakfast at Sun & Sea.  It took a while for the ship to get cleared for disembarkation so we stayed in our cabin until we could get off the ship.  We walked off with our luggage instead of having Carnival take our luggage the night before and bring it to the terminal.  The disembarkation process was a mess.  My review of the disembarkation process at the bottom.

We rented a minivan for the day from Dollar since our flight wasn’t until 7:20pm today.  We got it for a base rate of $44.99, and ended up costing us $90+ including taxes, fees, insurance and tolls.  Pick up location was a cruise ship pick up and drop off was at MIA airport.  We were picked up by the Dollar shuttle across the cruise terminal entrance.  The shuttle then brought us to the airport to get our rental.

From the airport, we took the Dolphin Expy, continued on to MacArthur Causeway, then turned left on Ocean Dr to get to Miami Beach.  We were able to find metered street parking right on Ocean Dr, just steps from the beach at Lummus Park.  It cost us $1.75/hour.  After hanging out at the beaches of the Caribbean, Miami Beach was a disappointment.

We then headed west to go shopping.  We always try to go to a Ross store since there’s none in NYC.  Unfortunately, the Ross stores at Mall of the Americas and Dolphin Mall didn’t have great items unlike the other Ross stores we’ve visited (e.g. Orlando, Charlotte, NJ).

Reviews after the jump…

Read on…

Friday, November 18, 2011
Nassau, Bahamas

To get to the city from the cruise docks, you have to go through Festival Place.  There was free wi-fi connection available right at Festival Place.  But you’ll see a ton of people hanging out there with their laptops so don’t expect to get a decent connection.

We booked a snorkel trip with Stuart’s Cove.  The price ($65) included transportation to and from Prince George Wharf cruise terminal and other hotels. They picked us up by the fountain across Festival Place.  Their shop was on the other end of the island so the ride was long.  We went to three sites: one on a reef, one on a small plane wreck, and the last one with sharks!  There were a lot of fishes.  Don’t buy fish food.  The fishes can get very aggressive.  The guides have their own fish food that they use so let them do the feeding.

After our snorkel, we had to wait for a 2nd bus because the first one got full quickly.  The ride back to the cruise terminal took about 2 hours!

Click here to download all the Fun Times at our cruise.

Reviews after the jump…

Read on…

Thursday, November 17, 2011
Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

Tenders were used to get to Half Moon Cay.  Passengers booked on tours (or cabanas) got priority boarding on tenders.  So we went to Deck 1 as soon as the ship anchored.  It was so crowded on Deck 1 and the whole process was a mess.  Please read my full review of the tender process after the jump.

On the island, I asked at the Information booth where I could catch the shuttle to go to our cabana coz my mom couldn’t walk very far.  The staff told me to wait there and she would have someone come to help me.  Nobody did.  I asked passengers and they were the ones who told me where to go, which was on the other side of the Welcome Center.  By the way, the Half Moon Cay map on Carnival’s website and on the island are not accurate.

Half Moon Cay was very beautiful.  The water was clear and sand was soft.  There weren’t a lot of fish though, by the beach and even by the huge private cabana.  So if you’re looking to snorkel by the beach, you will be disappointed.  Half Moon Cay is just a great place to relax.

We had a cabana that I booked online.  But you are only able to choose your cabana number onboard the ship so as soon as I got onboard, I went straight to Shore Excursions desk and got #9.  Tips and locations in my review after the jump.

We tried to rent a waterbike for $35 (2 people).  We paid at the rental booth, but when we got to the beach to claim the waterbike (the only one they had), we were told it was broken.  The lady at the rental booth told us we could have the 2 person kayak (worth $45) instead.  List of the rentals and prices is on the FunTimes.

Barbecue lunch was pretty good.  There were a lot of roofed areas with tables and benches around the Food Pavilion.

Click here to download all the Fun Times at our cruise.

Reviews after the jump…

Read on…

Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Grand Turk

The five of us decided to have breakfast at the MDR coz the lines were so long at the buffet.  We were seated close to the window with other people.  Unlike day 3, the service today was VERY SLOW.  The MDR wasn’t even packed.  My husband and I rushed through our food because we had a dive trip to get to.

Everything was right at the pier – gorgeous water, Margaritaville, shops, etc.  There were plenty of beach chairs by the beach.

My husband and I booked a dive trip through Carnival.  My parents and my cousin hanged out at the beach.

Click here to download all the Fun Times at our cruise.

Reviews after the jump…

Read on…