Category: Reviews

Cruise reviews….Including Cruise ships, Ports, & excursions. Our reviews on our cruises.

ALL EXCURSIONS ~ NOT SO PERFECT!!!

 

   Sunny Liston Tours ~ St. Thomas

We spent the day in St. Thomas this March off the Carnival Magic. St. Thomas is a beautiful Island and we were taking some family members there for the first time and we wanted them to see just how gorgeous it was. We have booked several excursions through shoreexcursioneer.com in the past in other ports and have always had excellent experiences. Well this time was the exception. Shore Excursioneer is like a middle man and they set up your excursions through local companies. In St. Thomas they booked us with a company called Sunny Liston Tours for our 2 hour island tour excursion. We were very disappointed in this excursion and would not recommend it to anyone. Although we did see some beautiful views, we spent more time waiting than seeing the island. Here’s a little review of how our tour went…

We were to meet our excursion at the port area after getting off the ship. We were there a few minutes early and waited over 45 more minutes for our tour guide. Then we were told he would be taking us to the area where the tour would be starting. So we were lead to believe he was just our ride to our tour location. He kept saying he was just waiting on a few more people. Although we came to realize he was just trying to get more business by trying to encourage more people on the tour.

Finally, we were on our way with a few more passengers. Then he took us downtown, where we thought we were getting off and going to join a tour. Well no that was not the case….He stopped in front of some stores and started loading more people in the vehicle. Then once again, we were waiting and waiting as he kept asking more people to join the tour until our vehicle was uncomfortably jammed pack full and several people were not even able to sit with their families.   Then we were on our way. He did offer us water or sodas, but most everyone looked annoyed and declined them. Continue reading “ALL EXCURSIONS ~ NOT SO PERFECT!!!”

Carnival Horizon’s Bonsai Teppanyaki

 

Carnival Cruise Lines has added a new specialty venue to their newest ship, the Carnival Horizon which will make her inaugural cruise next month as well as their next ship to follow, the Carnival Panorama, which is under construction and will make her debut Dec. 2019.

You ask what this might be? Well it is the Bonsai Teppanyaki restaurant. It will be located on deck 5 inside the Bonshi Sushi. The meals will include an appetizer, soup or salad, main course, and dessert, as you will be entertained by a show and chefs juggling and having fun while preparing your meal. Pricing is based on which protein you choose with your meal and ranges from $25-$30 per person.

Reservations are highly recommended. There are only 16 seats available at a time and it is a great option for a group dinner.

The menu has a variety of entrée options that will make your mouth water.

 

To make reservations, you can log in to Carnival’s website under your booking and go to manage your cruise and there will be an option for specialty dining and then just click on Bonsai Teppanyaki and see what days and times are available. It will book up very quickly so making a reservation early is highly recommended.  If you have to cancel for any reason, you will not be charged for the meal. They do not change you until you are there for the meal and it is added to your sail and sign account.   Also there are cancellations from time to time. So if you are not able to score a reservation, stop by the restaurant once you board the ship and inquire about any cancellations.

This restaurant is predicted to be a big hit, so if you are planning to enjoy a meal here, make your reservations early.

Sharon at Sea

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE HAMPTON INN BUSH INTL. AIRPORT ~ HOUSTON

Our post cruise stay…

We recently stayed at the Hampton Inn in Houston by Bush International Airport on JFK Blvd for one night on a post cruise stay. We did our research prior to booking and the property received mixed review, so we decided to give it a try and give you an honest review of our room and the general areas of the hotel.

Let’s start with our room. We booked a room with 2 queen beds and the price was very reasonable. Our room was neat and appeared clean upon arrival. It did have a slight musty smell when first entering from the humidity, although once we turned the air conditioning on, the smell went away. The carpet was freshly vacuumed. We did notice later in the evening that the lamp shades were fairly dusty, but other than that everything was clean. The bathroom was clean and had the usual Neutrogena brand shampoo, condition, and lotion amenities. The shower head was nice and worked great. The beds were comfortable for a short stay. Not overly plush, although we slept comfortably. There was no microwave or fridge in our room, although we already knew this before arriving. I believe some of the larger rooms may have them. It did have an alarm clock and coffee maker. Also the TV included some movie channels such as HBO, and the greatest thing was that it included the direct TV NFL Sunday ticket, since it was Sunday we took full advantage of it. This was the first hotel we have ever stayed that included this with no additional charge. Continue reading “THE HAMPTON INN BUSH INTL. AIRPORT ~ HOUSTON”