jryansales

Castries, St Lucia:

We decided to do a tour with Cosol Tours. It was $75/pp and our guide was “Yellow Bird”. Again, cannot recommend this enough if you’ve never been to St Lucia. We had an AWESOME day! We had 10 people on our tour in a pretty large passenger van.

We toured the island and first stopped at a private residence/building to eat “breakfast” with a larger group of maybe ~30 people. It was a HUGE spread of local dishes, fruits, pastries, etc (more like a lunch!). Right after breakfast, we stopped at an incredible lookout of the island, got some great pics, & there they offered beers/rum punches (from this point on, you have access to included drinks for pretty much the entire day!). They then stop and show you how the local bananas are grown, you get a taste of the local spiced rum (it is FIRE[emoji119][emoji108]), you get great views of the Pitons, and you then head to the mud baths. The mud baths were a little busy, but a really cool experience! After the mud baths, you head to a boat taxi to take you to a semi secluded beach for snorkeling for about an hour. It was pretty decent snorkeling! Take a little cash if you want drinks or any food while you’re there. After that, you swing by a waterfall. It is cold. BUT, get in! You only live once!

Back on the boat - dinner in the MDR was great & we went a “singing impressionist” show. He was....OK. But, had fun!

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Bridgetown, Barbados:

We decided to go on a catamaran tour with Calabaza. I absolutely cannot recommend this enough! It was $125/pp and they provide unbelievable service and there is a max of 10-12 people on a huge catamaran. They pick you up from the pier, provide a breakfast (fresh fruit, banana bread, & fish cakes), take you snorkeling at multiple stops to see sea turtles, provide an awesome lunch (curry chicken, seasoned pork dish, veggie salads, quinoa salad, etc etc etc - can’t remember the rest, but it was greattt!) & homebaked desserts...also, unlimited drinks! The rum punch is REALLY good!

Back on the boat...we checked out Qsine specialty restaurant and it was great! We ordered 6 dishes to share and it was a lot, but semi manageable (I highly recommend ordering 6-7 dishes for two and asking them to bring smaller sizes!). The only dish that I thought didn’t deliver was the lobster escargot. Checked out the casino after dinner & really enjoyed the crowd.

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Sea Day:

Not much to report! It was great! We had a very relaxing day. One thing to note...We went to play bingo and the cheapest package was $40. I definitely head into vacation planning to spend a little bit of cash, but I thought this was a little outrageous based on your odds.

Dinner was great in the MDR! I recommend getting the escargot appetizer in the beginning of the cruise! It is great, but not quite as good towards the end of the week. I didn’t get menu pics, sorry!

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Hey Cc’er’s! So, going to give providing a full cruise report review a shot here! (I’m a bit late in doing this!)

San Juan:

We arrived a day early and stayed at the Courtyard Marriott Miramar hotel (close to the Pan American pier!). The hotel was nice enough & accommodated a VERY early check-in time. From there, we were able to walk into Old San Juan (maybe a mile walk at most and we felt very safe).

We explored Old San Juan, got a Pina Colada & grub at Barrachina’s (fyi - the appetizer sampler for two is TONS of food and a great deal!), shopped, and checked out the castle ($7/pp and well worth it if you care a little about history!).

We got to the dock the next morning at 11AM and embarkation was A BREEZE! We were on board by 11:30AM and in our room with our luggage by 12:30PM. We stayed in a balcony room (#7037) and it was exactly as expected and in a great location toward the front of the boat.

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Hey guys! Anyone have suggestions for an affordable car rental near the dock?? We’ve got excursions planned at 4 other stops, so we’re trying not to spend a ton of money in Antigua (aiming for a rental under ~$75)

Thanks!!

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Hey guys! Any advice appreciated - my girlfriend & I have a 6pm flight the day we get back from our cruise, so we should have 5-7 hours minimum to spend in San Juan post-cruise. Any suggestions??

ps - we have a day pre-cruise in Old San Juan so we will have done the shopping/castle/walking deal already & may be a bit “beached out” when we get back.

Thanks!!

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I believe he is only doing the Land and Sea excursions now

Have you heard anything from him? He’s not getting back to me at all.

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The cost to get there was $10 per person each way so $20 rt/pp. I don’t think there were restrooms, I think a port a potty. I don’t know about food since we were still full from breakfast we didn’t even look for food. In the area there were three or four different vendors to get umbrella and chairs from. The vendors were in small stands or easy ups.

 

 

 

As I stated, our driver stayed at the beach and waited for us. He offered and we accepted. You would definitely need to make arrangements for your driver to come back or stay to wait for you. There are no taxis waiting for fares. I think the reason he stayed was because there were not many people leaving the downtown area and gas is over $7 US per gallon. He said his chance of getting another fare was slim. There were 4 of us and each couple gave him a generous tip.

 

 

 

I can not emphasize enough the complete destruction of the bars and restaurants on the beach. What the hurricane didn’t damage the storm surge washed away. It’s hearbreaking to see the challenges these people face here and on St Thomas. They have and still face privations I have never experienced. They are not asking for a handout but are eager to work.

This is in incredibly sad to hear and the French government should be ashamed, why has adequate help not been provided? I’ve heard the Dutch side is rebuilding much more quickly.

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Did you email him? I used him in 2014 and loved the tour but I remember having to get extra people besides our 5.

 

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I’ve emailed and sent a facebook message and haven’t heard anything back. I was really looking forward to his tour, so I hope he is still in business!

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We have a tour booked through Herod in April, but haven’t heard anything back after the initial booking months ago. Getting a little concerned!

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Anyone have suggestions of best restaurants/place to rent chairs on Dickenson Bay?

Also - my girlfriend and I will likely only do about a half day on the beach, so any suggestions for off-the-beach shopping/sight-seeing nearby?? Thanks!!!

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We are doing an ecotour in the mangrove swamps. Kayaking, hiking, and snorkeling.

Through what company?

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What do you like to do? Are there kids in your group?

No kids! We’re a late twenties couple & up for just about anything. We will have excursions planned at 4 other ports and will have had plenty of beach time, so looking for something different on St Thomas.

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Hey CC’ers! Need ideas for things to do in St Thomas. It is the last stop on our April cruise and we’re looking for a break from the beach, so hoping for something a little unique. Thanks in advance!

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Hey CC’ers! Need ideas for things to do in St Thomas. It is the last stop on our April cruise and we’re looking for a break from the beach, so hoping for something a little unique. Thanks in advance!

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What ship are you on?

 

 

 

What have you spread done in St Thomas?

On the Celebrity Summit mid-April & we’ve done Magens Bay & explored downtown before, just looking for something a little different!

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Any off the wall suggestions of activities to do in St. Thomas (& don’t really want to travel to St John)?? It’s the last stop on our April cruise - we’ve been there before & it’s not our favorite island, so looking for new suggestions! Thanks:)

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Hey everyone! My girlfriend & I are coming in San Juan a day before our Celebrity cruise in April - any suggestions of best things to do??? We’ll get in around noon and have the afternoon/night there. We don’t want to venture out if Old San Juan too much, but could maybe be swayed if anyone has great suggestions.

Thanks in advance CC’ers!

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Stopping at Antigua for the first time & was hoping for a good suggestion for a beach day?! Maybe day passes or a local beach with a good restaurant/good drinks? I’m looking for something a little off the beaten path.

Thanks in advance for advice!!

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Hey cruisers! First time in Barbados in April & me and my girlfriend are planning to spend half a day on Carlisle Bay and need a good idea for the other half of the day to do something near Bridgetown - any recommendations?

Is the Mount Gay Rum tour worth it? Or should we just check out the town?

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My family heads to St. Martin nearly every year and we have been to Pinel quite a few times!

1) Please don't take the risk at figuring out public transportation to the cul de sac! Unfortunately, it is just tucked away enough to make it a huge gamble. You could take the bus to Orient Bay and then grab a taxi to the ferry (should be much cheaper then!)

2) You'll see signs, but it is right passed Orient Bay in a little inlet.

3) If nothing has changed, there are two restaurants/bars on the island (both French, one MUCH cheaper and great American restaurant got shut down...for some reason :(...). Both have decent food and drinks and the prices are comparable to touristy places elsewhere (not the cheapest).

4) The beach only holds but so many people, so "crowded" isn't the right word. Even packed, it isn't that bad! I would suggest getting there as early as possible to stake claim to a few good chairs. Also, the island is very small, so you can walk the entire place. The beach, from one end to the other, takes just a few minutes to walk. But, you can explore the peaks of the island and the other secluded beaches (not nice enough to lounge on though) -- worth walking around the whole place!

5) The prices are the same as other places ($10-$12 maybe?...) and yes they take US currency.

The only thing to add is that if you plan on going to Pinel, just realize that will take up your entire day. Only because once you're there, you may as well stick around. I would only suggest going here if you want a day mainly lounging on the beach (not many, if any, activities or programs for visitors). With that said, it is BEAUTIFUL and, holy hell, HOT......It seems to be 10 degrees warmer there!