Ancient walled city meets modern city! This is a huge city, and a tour is the only way to see anythi

We always fly to the cruise port at least one night early, and this was no exception. The day began with a flight cancelation, and a couple delays that caused us a lot of extra travel time. They weren t weather delays, they were mechanical failures. We were scheduled to arrive in FLL around 1:30pm, and got there at 10:30pm.
TIP: You can never rely on airlines school bus tours in florida to get you there on time. Always a good idea to go a day or two early to ensure you make the ship in time. In hindsight, I would like to have traveled to FLL two nights early to relax a bit before school bus tours in florida the cruise.
Our pre-cruise hotel was the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel. It s located right on the beach north of the cruise port. It s a great location, beautiful beach and nice facility. My favorite school bus tours in florida spot was The Wreck Bar off the lobby. It has large aquariums built into the walls and has a ship theme. Behind the bar are glass windows into the swimming pool, which was unique. This bar was featured in the movie Analyze This with Billy Crystal, Robert De Niro, and Lisa Kudrow. A very nice hotel to host you for pre-cruise.
We taxied from hotel to Port Everglades at around 11am, and found it to be pretty empty. Check in was quick and smooth, and we were onboard in only a few minutes time. Royal Caribbean asked guests not stay out of their staterooms until after 1pm, so we went to lunch at The Windjammer Buffet. Lunch was good and plenty of selections. I like the free lemonade that s served, and the coffee wasn t as bad as I remember either. Muster was held before sailing, and it s done outdoors on the promenade deck.
I judge all cruises by the sail-away party. If it s lame, the entertainment onboard is probably not that great. This one wasn t bad, but they are too short. The pool deck band always seems to be on break after 3 songs and once again NO STEEL DRUMS! What s a Caribbean Cruise without steel drums? The main pool deck area is laid out well, with a Sky Bar and Pool Bar.
Jewel of the Seas is a Radiance Class vessel, and it s a ship of glass! You can ride the glass elevators and look out to the sea at the same time. My favorite school bus tours in florida areas onboard were the Viking Crown Lounge, The Safari Club Congo Bar, and also the Schooner Bar area.
The Solarium is beautiful with a pool, hot tub and had a bar and pizza place. The gym was large, and the Spa was nice. We bought a Thermal Suite package school bus tours in florida for 2, and it costs about $200 for 10 days use. There were hot rock beds facing the sea, and steam rooms. Be advised, there are also steam rooms, and saunas that you can use free without buying the thermal package. I thought the Thermal Suite was priced a bit high for what was offered there.
The Coral Theater chairs were not that comfortable, but the room was nice. There is a cool movie theater, school bus tours in florida sports bar, and big casino on deck 6. They have 2 pool tables mounted on a gyro system which is really cool. You can play a game of pool, and each time the ship rocks the tables self-adjust to stay level. Incredible! They are located right near the entrance to The Safari Club in The Game Reserves. The Schooner school bus tours in florida Bar is a nice place to meet, and it was host to a lot of trivia games in the daytime.
The bow contained a helipad, and an area with benches to sit on. For some reason they kept it blocked off to the public most of the time. On one occasion, we found it open but we were quickly asked to leave by crewmembers.
We booked an aft balcony overlooking school bus tours in florida the wake. It was cabin number 9258, and was a Superior Ocean View Stateroom. It has a large balcony with two lounge chairs, two regular chairs and a small table. It s big enough for four people to enjoy the great view.
We didn t like the arrangement of the closet school bus tours in florida doors, because they were always in the way of the entrance, the bathroom, and the way they open is silly. The bathroom was adequate, but sometimes our toilet didn t flush right. It also had a sewer smell in the room when you left the door shut. The bed was comfy, lighting adequate, furniture school bus tours in florida was functional. The safe will not hold a normal size laptop computer, but should fit most of your other valuables. The TV is old school , but it s interactive. You can check your account or order a shore excursion from it.
TIP: It s a very long walk to the elevators from these aft cabins. There are only 2 sets of public elevators onboard, fore and mid-ship. You must walk from your aft cabin all the way to the Centrum elevators to go up or down. Wear comfy shoes! Bonus: I didn t gain any weight on this cruise!
We had traditional late seating dinner, and we sat at a table for 10. (all family/friends) The Tides Dining Room is spectacular. Our waiter was great. We had table 472 on the lower level near the port side windows. Our waiter Robet and assistant school bus tours in florida Alex were great. Alex was very new but he was fun. Our waiter was one of the best, and remembered our names from the very first night. school bus tours in florida Food choices were great, and plentiful. I found many items each night that I loved. I enjoyed every entrée I was served. Dinner school bus tours in florida is always a cruise highlight school bus tours in florida for me.
The Windjammer buffet is on the aft of the ship, and has outdoor seating overlooking the wake. I m not a big buffet lover, but this was pretty good. I d much rather lunch in the dining room but when that wasn t convenient, this hits the spot. Plenty of choices, food not bad.
Coffee: Pretty good. There was a noticeable change in quality of the coffee since our last cruise. It was much better this time. We didn t purchase any specialty school bus tours in florida coffees, but they are available school bus tours in florida in the Centrum area and the Windjammer.
Luggage Valet Program: This is a great service where you can pay a $20 per person fee and your luggage is taken from ship to airport so you don t have to find it at debarkation, and drag it to the airport. Royal Caribbean will also check you in for your flight, print your boarding passes and deliver them to you in your stateroom. Well worth it to me! No hassles, see your luggage when you get to your destination.
This was our second trip here, and what a huge difference! RCI put a lot of work into making it a much nicer place to spend the day. Lots to do, nice beaches, and the scenery is beautiful. Added excursions are pricey, but there is something for everyone here. Nice lunch on the beach, and a couple places to get it. Shopping in the Artisans Market is quite aggressive. Local Haitians are very persistent in sales tactics. Bargaining is the way to go here.
Ancient walled city meets modern city! This is a huge city, and a tour is the only way to see anything. We opted for a private tour booked with Claudia Vidal, a local Columbian. She gave a great tour by van, and there was some walking involved. We visited La Popa Hill and its Monastery, and many other historic sites. We had a walking tour in the old section of the walled city. The architecture is nice and street characters all over competing for your dollar. school bus tours in florida We also visited the large fort built to fend off the pirates. Cartagena is a great place to buy emeralds! A great tour and it only cost about $45 pp. Cartagena is a very interesting city, with a lot of history and culture.
The reason we booked this trip was to transit the Panama Canal. When we booked the cruise a full 18 months prior, we were able to get a coveted AFT cabin. Our thought was, it would be a guaranteed spot on the rail to watch the transit of the locks. Shortly after booking, Royal Caribbean decided the ship would no longer be doing a partial transit school bus tours in florida of the locks. Instead, the ships would dock in Colon, Panama for the day.
You can take an optional school bus tours in florida shore excursion school bus tours in florida to see or transit the locks. After checking several private companies, we decided to simply book the ships tour to transit the locks in a ferry boat. This was a great selection, as you can see so much more from a smaller vessel in the locks. We were able to actually touch the canal walls! It would be much harder to see what is actually taking place from atop a giant cruise ship. We were very happy with our $150 per person ship sponsored shore trip. We boarded buses in Colon, and the tour guide gave us the history of Panama on the way to Gamboa, where we boarded a ferry boat. Each ferry held from 300-500 people, school bus tours in florida and lunch and beverages were provided. Beer was available at a cash bar, and there was a gift shop and professional photographer for photo ops. The ferry took us from Gamboa, all the way to the Pacific Ocean. We disembarked the ferry in Panama City and boarded buses back to Colon. school bus tours in florida On this excursion, you will go from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean in a few hours. The locks are amazing, and so is the history of the canal itself.
We pre-arranged a tour with JJ Tours, who met us at the pier in Puerto Limon. JJ was a great guy, and very knowledgeable of all things Costa Rica. I really liked him. I felt that the van was overstuffed with people, however. The canal tour, banana school bus tours in florida plantation, fruit stand, and beach were great. We saw many sloths, birds, school bus tours in florida and even some Howler Monkeys. JJ knew I was a Firefighter and even stopped school bus tours in florida by a fire station so I could have a quick visit! He also took us to a local grocery school bus tours in florida store for purchasing school bus tours in florida coffee and liquor, where it was much cheaper than in the tourist zone. Thanks JJ! Great trip and I highly recommend JJ. Contact pete@jollymonvacations.com for more info.
This is a tender port where the ship anchors and you ride in smaller boats to shore. They have built a new tender dock and the area is quite nice now. Lots of shopping right near the dock. We have been to Grand Cayman twice before, so we skipped the usual visit to Stingray City. This time we taxied to 7 Mile Beach for a couple hours of lounging and snorkeling. The public beach is very nice, and we rented chairs and umbrellas. Snorkeling is pretty good just offshore. Afterward, we lunched at Margaritaville and did some shopping. A very relaxing day.
~Thermal Suite was pretty weak compared to some Princess ships. It looked very nice, but would like more aroma therapy steam rooms