Cruise life

Do Miami once just for the experience, but stick to FLL for ease. Pick your itinerary first, that's more important.

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Those are corner bars..one smoking, one not, opposite each other. No bands but there is a small area where they had a guitarist singing by one of them in the evenings. It wasn't too loud and he was taking requests. We enjoyed it.

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Agreed - had a great time snorkeling here...plus food was great...not crowded. Was around $30/pp...take you to 2 reefs.

 

Taking the family in a few weeks!

 

John in NC

Thanks for posting your experience. This was one of our first excursions in the area and it left a lasting impression on me. We saw a massive grouper and some divers. I didn't know there was coral that size in the world! Kind of like seeing some of the world's largest palm trees in Belize on the cave tubing trip, just amazing and unforgettable. Glad you all had a great time and enjoy your next trip.

I am now platinum and had my first ship dream the other night. In it the ship was moving like a race boat. All I can think is I'm feeling our cruises pass by way to quickly...only two weeks til sailing!

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There is an excellent YouTube video showing the course and how you climb to the first platform, along with video of the rope bridge. The "Farm" website is really nice, but websites can be deceiving. We are interested in the treehouse restaurant, hiking trails, and junior zip line, the "Lil Tarzan". I hope you do it and post back! I did notice they are first-come and no reservations which could be an issue.

We were looking at doing this on St. Thomas and, when going to book it, their website said no cruise passengers due to their agreement with the ship. From the Cruise line reviews, it is not even that great of a course. We zipped in Costa Rica using a private tour company. I wonder if this is going to be more of an issue than in the past. I know CC has been a great source of private tour info for us saving us quite a bit off ship excursion rates.

Anyway, if you are in good shape, go for it and have fun! We were 48 and 51 when we zipped the rain forest.

I did not know zipping was available in St. Martin. If you go, please review it. I don't remember seeing it on our excursion list or on TA. Ty and hope you find out about the extreme part...probably a longer line than most.

We have snorkeled Chankanaab on at least five occasions (once while staying at Iberostar) and were never disappointed. It still remains an affordable option with different levels of water participation including swimming, snorkeling among the statues, helmet diving, tank diving and swimming with dolphins, all readily and cheaply accessible by cab. Plus there are the land activities, the simulated Mayan village, massage tents, and seal show. The first time we took the ship's tour, but taking a cab is now our only way to go.

We went to Paradise beach last time and the snorkeling did not compare, the beach was packed, we felt like sardines lined up in narrow rows. Carlos and Charlie's is free and has beach access, but not sure about snorkeling there...the inflatable was down the day we were there, but the fish tacos and guacamole were delicious. Impossible to get food service at Paradise the day we were there, so busy.

Money bar may be similar, have heard it can be over-crowded.

The best thing about Chankanaab is it is a large protected area...no jet skis, boats, etc. Chankanaab just keeps getting better every time we visit.

Palancar by boat...get dropped in, float with the current, wish you were diving! This is a totally different experience as you are above massive coral high up. If you have never snorkeled this way, it is very easy, but remember you are out in open water. Stay with the group. Amazing experience.

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Thanks for providing your review. Did you need your passports when you entered Anguilla?

I am assuming this is because it was booked thru the cruiseline...anyone going on their own would need a passport.

Also, the main review for St Martin states the ferry time as 25 minutes, not 40.

Is the Anguilla beach actually any less crowded than the beach near the ship? I would love to go to Anguilla, but I need more reason than a pretty beach, especially if I am ferrying back and forth for nearly two hours. Anything besides dolphins?

Thanks for coming back to post, sounds like you had a great time even if you were exhausted afterward!

Wow, thanks everyone for all the kudos. I know it's hard planning a trip, especially with kids. The one youtube video I found on this island was very shaky, literally, but it showed enough to let me know I was going to love it there. There is a great underwater youtube video of the snorkeling there, as well, if you hunt around for it.

We actually went barefoot...the pebbles were not bad at all, but water shoes would be perfect. The sand was hot, and I wished I had something better than flip-flops when we explored the bit that we did. We did not do the entire nature trail and I would have done that if I had had better shoes with me.

Yes, all the food you can eat is included, on paper plates, and drinks in Dixie cups, LOL. It is a bona-fide picnic meal at covered picnic tables. I would highly suggest bringing a bottle of water per person extra.

I don't know about games being offered. We snorkeled for a couple hours to the crash sites and it really took a bit of time and effort. It is LONGER than it appears to swim to the floating docks and sites. There is a roped- off area beyond the docks to let you know you are going out too far, and there were two guards out there in huts with jet skis if anyone gets into any trouble. The planes are just on the opposite side of the dock to the left. If you bring your own gear, it may help to listen to the snorkeling "lesson" as they may tell you exactly where everything is; we did not do this and kind of found stuff along along the way by word of mouth.

I have been to Coco Cay many times. It is funny seeing it listed as LSC. I was thinking of booking a Carnival cruise to Coco Cay to see how they handled the island, of coarse I would have to stop by the straw market to visit Sydney.

Yes, you can imagine my confusion initially until I realized the name was changed while I was doing my research for this trip. We all really loved this place and would go back in a second! The only downside I can see is you really are remote, but not that much more remote than being on the ship, in terms of medical care. Of course, the islands are not always much better, but at least you can get out more quickly from some of them than others.

It's part of the Bahamas geographically but CC has a special subsection of the Port of Calls board for Private Islands that are owned/operated by the cruise lines.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=406

Thanks for the link; it's interesting this whole area is included in the Caribbean section when in fact it is in the Atlantic Ocean. It's beautiful, either way! Carnival lists the Bahamas cruises separate from Caribbean ones. Do you know how the other lines advertise these ports? I haven't looked at another line in forever. Our Nov trip is listed under Caribbean because it goes farther south to St. Thomas and St. Martin after a very short stop in Nassau. This trip to Nassau and LSC was listed under Bahamas...they get their own place in the sun.

Really cool review! I enjoyed the pictures and was curious about how the ymanaged the signs, etc. on the island that reference Coco Cay and/or Royal Caribbean. I've been there a few times and it's funny seeing "Little Stirrup Cay" as opposed to "Coco Cay." :)

 

FYI...don't be surprised if the moderators move this to the Private Islands board.

Oh, I didn't realize it wasn't part of the Bahamas. Thanks for correcting me! We loved it, my dad got a Coco Cay t-shirt, must have been on sale, lol. Thanks for giving me your feedback, I appreciate it.

Here is my second review, hopefully with just a single link to the slideshow. We really enjoyed LSC. No rushing, no dealing with the huge crowds seen in Nassau, just gorgeous beach, water and sky.

We purchased our snorkel gear on site with our sign and sail card and ventured out to the crash sites- two aircraft and a boat. Did not go over to the boat because we were spent making it out to the one dock by the airplanes. They were pretty cool. The kids saw a sea turtle and we all saw a large barracuda. After snorkeling in Nassau, we decided not to go over to the reef area here, so cannot say anything about the conditions there, other than we saw several snorkelers in that vicinity.

The island's major attractions are set up in a circle so you can wander around and see everything in less than an hour.

The food was hot dogs, burgers and jerk chicken. I am not usually a spicy chicken person, but I did get the jerk chicken and it was outstanding, just right and not too spicy even for me. The rice was great. My husband's burger looked raw, and he only ate half after he saw me eating the jerk chicken and raving about it, while my son's was well-done...I guess you may be able to cook the burgers to order! The drink line was long, but it was hot and everyone was refilling lemonades, teas, and waters.

The music was loud, but it was a good system and unless you were in the bar or right next to it, you could escape the sound altogether. I have read to walk just a bit farther down, and that is true. Don't worry about grabbing the first lounger you see, walk to the right and you will find more areas, all within similar reach to everything, nothing is far away. If all you want to do is snorkel, stay at the first section off the ship by the Cabanas.

ok, here's my slideshow, with captions, let me know if you need more information, I will try to answer what I saw or know.

Chris

http://smilebox.com/playBlog/4d7a63774e446b344f44493d0d0a&blogview=true

Sorry, I forgot to mention I am cruising on the Freedom in January. Hope you can give a good report on the ship for me!!

Hi, I am new to the site, but I saw your post and had to respond to travelling solo. I actually did this when I was about 22 and had a great time in St. Thomas. The people are so friendly and everything is so close, even if you have to take a cab solo, it can't be much. It has been almost 25 years, but this was my first ever cruise and it was great to do whatever I wanted when I wanted. Never cruised solo since, but I think it would be great to have that opportunity to do my own thing without worrying about everyone else. Hope you have great time. GL finding a cruising buddy!!