Member profile for mphpjh

George Town, Grand Cayman

We have been to Grand Cayman many times. We did the Dolphin Discovery excursion. I was under the impression that we would be swimming with the dolphins, but the typical bait and switch occurred at the beginning of the excursion. I had to pay $70 extra to actual swim with the dolphins which also included pictures, a picture frame, 1 drink(extra for alcohol) and 1 photo. My husband also did the excursion, but did not want to pay the extra $70.

Panama Canal (Cruise Into Canal)

We did the Fort San Lorenzo and New Locks Excursion. I can not remember our tour guide or driver, but they were excellent. The bus ride to the Fort was a little long and the roads were very bumpy, but Fort San Lorenzo was interesting. We truly enjoyed seeing the Monarch butterflies, Howler monkeys and 2 toed sloth. It was a thrill being able to see a huge ship going into the new locks. I wish there was more time and shopping options on this excursion. The gift shop at the new locks did not have a lot to offer.

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

No excursion. It's a an easy port to get in and out of.

Cartagena, Colombia

We have been on over 35 cruises and this was by far the worst port I have ever been to. Street vendors will get in your personal space(FACE) trying to sell you junk! I must have said No thank you at least 250 times. The traffic is horrendous and dangerous; the locals do not follow the laws down there. You have to be very careful where you are walking, holes in the sidewalk and street only covered by cardboard filled with trash. We did the Hop On Hop Off Bus excursion offered by Cruisesonly. We were on the bus with many of our fellow cruises who had bought the excursion through the cruise ship. Buses get caught in the traffic back up and it delays the bus getting to the stops on time. For some reason when we were getting close to the Castle of San Luis, the tour guide did not make an announcement that the bus was making a stop at the Castle. the bus stopped several times in front of the castle, but that was because of traffic. Many of us wanted to get off, but the bus stopped at another bus stop and it was too far away to walk back to the castle, plus it was too dangerous to walk due to the traffic. At the 2nd stop after the castle 4 passengers got very upset that the castle stop announcement was not made and they also had entrance tickets for the castle. There was no time to take the entire loop back to the castle and the tour guide told them to call a taxi!!! We did not want to make the loop back to the castle because we wouldn't have time to buy the entrance tickets or to be able to tour the castle and get back to our cruise ship on time. Plus, when we were at stop #2 waiting to get on the next bus, we were accosted by so many street vendors. It was irritating. When we finally got off at stop #14 and had to wait for the next bus to take us back to the cruise ship, were again accosted by more street vendors. There was a nice walled-off, tented area with fans for the passengers to sit and wait for the next bus, but the street vendors were still harassing us. As were boarding the buses, they surrounded the passengers and the bus. The vendors were throwing their goods up to the top level which was an open deck. The vendors were screaming for money and if the passenger didn't want the goods, they would throw them back to the vendor. It was ridiculous. We will never go back to Cartagena, Columbia.

Cristobal, Panama

We only returned to this Port to get back on the ship.

Montego Bay, Jamaica

We did the Rose Hall and Beach excursion. This was our 2nd choice for an excursion. We wanted to do the beach excursion, but it was sold out I found the Rose Hall tour interesting and enjoyed it. My husband found it boring. The Hip Strip is a joke....overpriced cheap souvenirs. We would have preferred to skip Hip Strip and Margaritaville. We would have preferred to spend more time at Doctor's Cove Beach Resort. The catamaran ride back to the ship was so much fun!!

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

We did a beach and shopping excursion to Puerto Veijo. It was a long ride to the beach, but our tour guide, Marvin provided with a great deal of information about Costa Rica. The beach was average. The bar could have served more drinks if they actually had a server come out to actual beach where the patrons were. The vendor offered a fruit snack, but many of us would not eat it because it was covered with bees. We then went into the Puerto Veijo city to grab lunch and do some shopping. We would have preferred less time at the beach and more time to have lunch and shop. It would have been nice if the shop keepers had proper change. We would have bought more stuff, but they could not provide us with change. The shopping at the actual port of Limón was fantastic. The vendors are very humble and do not pester the shoppers. We bought quite a bit of souvenirs from that Port.

Island Princess

Do not pay extra for the speciality restaurants, it is not worth the surcharge. Do not get off the ship in Cartagena....a waste of a port. The street vendors get in your personal space, traffic is horrendous and dangerous. You have to be careful where you walk; huge holes in the sidewalk and streets only covered with cardboard or stuffed with trash.

Cozumel, Mexico

We went to Tequila Beach on our own. Then we went shopping bar the cruise port. Again, we were bombarded by the locals wanting us to buy their merchandise. It was overwhelming....we ended our shopping early because we did not feel safe.

Miami, Florida

We have always been able to take sodas and cranberry juice on other cruise lines, but we could not bring it on this cruise line. See previous notes about NCL Rep telling Spanish speaking couple to just say NO to the health questions after they told the Rep that they did not understand the questions.

Norwegian Breakaway

If you want to experience the phenomenal food in the specialty dining restaurants definitely get the dining package. However, to get the most for your money go to the restaurants that are ala carte versus a set fee per person. Ask for a map of the ship at check in.

Coxen Hole, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

We did an excursion that was offered through Cruisesonly - Roatan by Land and Sea We were able to a lot of Roatan in a very comfortable air-conditioned van. The guide was very informative and nice. We had a great driver. We enjoyed the boat ride and Oscar the Captian of the boat was great. He was very concerned about safety and made sure everyone was safe and having a great time in the boat and while snorkeling.

Harvest Caye, Belize

We did not do an excursion at this port. It was shocking to find that when it started raining that many of the guests tried to enter the restaurant and the wait staff locked the doors. Only a handful of guest were let in to the restaurant.

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

We did not do an excursion. We went into town and stayed at a local beach. We did not like being constantly approached by the locals to buy their merchandise. We could not enjoy our selves when we were having to constantly tell them to leave us alone.

Kochi, Japan

We were suppose to do the Ruygado Cave and Katsurahama Beach excursion, but once we were onboard the ship, we were informed that not enough people signed up for this excursion and it was canceled. We did some research on our laptop and decided that we wanted to see Kochi Castle and the Katsurahama Beach on our own. We decided to take the shuttle from the ship to the Kochi train station. The shuttle was arranged by Princess and it cost $10 per person. Although we had a map of the city, it was a bit confusing trying to figure out how to get to the Kochi Castle. The city has local people who speak very good English to help direct people to where they need to go. We took a tram to the nearest tram stop and walked to the Castle. I must say to get to the Castle, is quite strenuous. Lots of climbing up stairs and walking a great distance. It was worth it for us, but I don't think elderly people or people with disabilities could get to it. We then took a bus to Katsurahama Beach. Again, the map showed the bus station, but it was difficult for us to find. We happened to stumble upon it. You need to have plenty of time to get to the beach because the bus makes quite a few stops. The beach was nice but it didn't seem to have a lot of restaurant options. There were quite a few shops though. We wanted to stop at the botanical gardens on the way back, but we were too tired from walking so much. We took the bus back into the city and found a nice shopping area and had lunch there before getting back on the shuttle bus to the cruise ship. It is a place you can do on your own, but make sure you give yourself enough time and know that there is a lot of walking involved.

Diamond Princess

We were extremely pleased with taking Diamond Princess during the Spring Flowers cruise. We were able to see the cherry blossoms in all of the ports.

Busan (Pusan), South Korea

We did the Korean BBQ and Gukje Market excursion. Our tour guide was very informative and organized. We went to the Gukje Market and we had the choice of staying with the tour guide or exploring on our own. we deduced to explore on our own. We went to a nearby park and it was beautiful with all the flowers and cherry blossoms blooming. We also went to the Busan Tower and went to the top to get a 360 degree view of Busan. Our tour guide took us to a local restaurant where we had traditional Korean BBQ. This lunch was little more organized, but I think some people were afraid to eat with the utensils because we started with raw food and then we cooked it ourselves. Many people did not know ow to use the chop sticks and I think they felt they were cross contaminating the utensils that they cooked with and then used to eat with. We felt a little rushed eating and trying to get back on the bus so that they could take us back to the port. I would have preferred to have spent more time in the shopping district and trying the street food...it looked delish. Since we did not know the area well, I think the $69.95 fee per person was fair, but I am sure more adventurous people could do their own tour for a lot cheaper and they could possibly see more?

GAMAGORI, JAPAN

We did Highlights of Gamagori and Seafood BBQ Lunch excursion. Our tour guide was Hiromi Kobayashi and she was was excellent! Very informative and professional. I wish we had had more time at Takishima Island. We barely got to see the Island before we had to board the bus for the next stop. In fact, the next stop was the Flower Lagoon. Although it was beautiful, we would have preferred to have skipped the Flower Lagoon to be able to stay longer at Takashima Island. Our next stop was at a restaurant where we grilled our own food. I think it was Orange Restaurant?? It was extremely disorganized and too crowded to move around. It would have been nice if the food had been labeled and instructions on how long to cook the food. The next stop was the fish market. It was interesting, but I think many of people were afraid to purchase the food because we were afraid customs would confiscate our purchases. It would have been nice to go to an shopping center to buy regular souvenirs. Personally, we would have preferred to have stayed longer at Takashima Island and then go to a shopping area where we could have picked our own lunch and done souvenir shopping instead of the Flower Lagoon and Fish Market. I am not sure if it was worth the $149.95 per person.

Yokohama (Tokyo), Japan

We loved the port as the embarkation/debarkation port. Very modern facilities and spacious. It was very easy to get on and off the ship. We truly appreciated the free shuttle service offered from the port to the Yokohama Train terminal.

Osaka, Japan

We did the Nara & Osaka Castle excursion. Our tour guide was excellent(I can't remember his name). He was also very informative and professional. We thoroughly enjoyed Nara Park with the Sika deer, Kasuga-taisha Shrine and Rokuen Temple. The lunch that was included in the excursion was excellent. Our last stop was the Osaka Castle. Unfortunately, we only had a limited amount of time and we did felt rushed trying to see what we wanted to see there. Our last stop was at the Dotombori shopping district in Osaka. I would still highly recommend this excursion.

YOKKAICHI, JAPAN

The excursion we picked was the Best of Nagoya and it as fantastic. We had wonderful tour guide who not only was informative and organized, she entertained us with her singing. We went to the Atsuta-jingu Shrine for our 1st stop. We ended up exploring the Shrine on our own. We felt we could cover more ground in the limited time we had. We drove through Nagoya to our next stop which was the Nagoya Castle. It was stunning with all of the cherry blossoms surrounding the castle. We wanted to try the food from the many food trucks on the grounds of the castle, but our next stop was lunch at a local restaurant. The lunch was delicious, but for my husband who is 6'2" and 200 lbs, it was not enough. The service there was okay, but slow. Many people did not get their drinks until after they were finished with their meals. My husband never received his coke. Our next stop was Tokugawa Art Museum and Gardens. It was fantastic. The Art Museum featured the huge collection of Hina Dolls. They were beautiful. We went next door to the Gardens and it was stunning. Beautiful landscaping and huge koi fish in the pond. We truly enjoyed walking the grounds of this garden. This excursion was well worth the price of $189.95 per person.

Auckland, New Zealand

Majestic Princess

The Princess Theater is extremely small for such a large ship. For the 7:45 show, we had to get to the theater 45 minutes early to get a good seat. By 7:15-20, the theater was pretty full and many couples had to split up to get a seat. The food at the World Fresh Marketplace(buffet-no extra charge) was average, bland tasting. The Crab Shack was offered 2 nights at the World Fresh Marketplace, but it was $45 per person. It was announced in the Princess Daily itinerary the night before and we called the next morning at 8AM and we could only get a reservation time at 9:30PM...too late for us. The food in the Symphony Dining Room was above average, but the service was excellent(we chose anytime dining and our waiter was Christian and his assistant, Sehk). Alfredo's -individual pizza size is perfect, but if you cannot finish the pizza, you are not allowed to take it back to your cabin. The pasta portion size was too small. The Noodle Bar(no extra charge) was above average, but bland. You definitely needed to add seasoning to it which was provided at the bar. The Outdoor Grill-great hamburgers, hot dogs and bratwurst. The lobster choices were overpriced. The Chinese restaurant, Harmony ($35 per person)was very good as well as the service. Disappointed that we were charged $12 extra for the lobster dish and found out later that night, lobster was available at the World Fresh Marketplace at no extra charge. The Crown Grill ($35 per person)-the food and service was excellent. However, if you are trying to make a show, please allow time to be served and tell the wait staff that you are trying to make a show. The food in the International Cafe was excellent as well as the service. The coffee package is an excellent deal($36 for 15 specialty coffees, iced coffees and shakes(I always got the large size, great deal). The $7 a day coke package was also an excellent deal. It includes unlimited sodas, juices and mocktails. However, we did not realize until the last few days of the cruise, that different bars offered different mocktails. We were disappointed that we were given the times in each port of call prior to the cruise, but on the day of each stop, some of the departure times were an hour to 2 hours earlier than what we were given. Too many high-priced watch shops. We rarely saw anyone in the shops(such a waste of space) We would have tried Le Mar, the French Restaurant, but for $45 per person and not seeing too many people eating there, we opted to not try it.

Akaroa, New Zealand

Bay Of Islands, New Zealand

Port Chalmers (Dunedin), New Zealand

Tauranga, New Zealand

Sydney, Australia

Wellington, New Zealand

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