geri

I will be on the Marina in January and am wondering where the Oceania shuttle drops passengers off in the following cities:

* Panama City, Panama

* Manta, Equador

* Guayaquil, Equador

* Salaverry, Peru

Many thanks for your help!

Has anyone had any "montezumas revenge" after drinking at Tropicante?

Bumping this up as I have the same questions.

Also is there a nice swimming beach/beach bar that is close to the cruise ship port and could perhaps be walked to?

I've been on ships that conducted Mass, if a fellow traveler who is a priest is onboard. I was also on a ship that had a Catholic prayer service (no communion) conducted by a traveling Deacon.

If you have a late flight try cabbing over to one of the SJ reports (i.e. Marriott; Hilton etc) and hang out at their beach bar. I expect most will let you check luggage with their bellman. They'll probably charge a nominal fee for that if you aren't staying there.

Oceano is terrific! Check their menu/prices online to see if it is within your budget.

Have stayed at all 3 of these hotels and enjoyed all 3. Here's the pro/con:

* Doubletree - east end of condado beach, cheapest rates of all three hotels; nice, but small pool area; very small rooms (think Europe style); 4 block walk to beach where hotel will set up their beach chairs; directly across from grocery store; around the corner from a few restaurants which are heavily visited by locals.

* Condado Plaza - hotel has two wings...one facing the Atlantic (rooms more expensive) and one across the road, which you access via an attached bridge to the main hotel, and is adjacent to the causeway (make sure you get the room you want). Nice pool area. Tennis courts. Small public accessed beach next to the hotel. 5-10 min walk to a number of downtown SJ restaurants, shops & Walgreens or CVS.

* Caribe Hilton - much more resort-like than previous two; lovely grounds spread out along a section of private oceanfront beach; swim-up bar; hammocks; tennis courts; fish feeding pier; a number of restaurants within the hotel and right next door at the new shopping complex; 10 min walk from hotel to go over the bridge and be at the Condado Plaza Hotel, which is a very easy and safe walk during the day. Bus stop outside the front entrance takes you into Old San Juan for about US$1 or so.

I just returned from my cruise and went to Vigie Beach on our St. Lucia stop. Having now been there I wanted to provide a few key points to everyone else interested in going.

* The boardwalk has about 6 vendors and is very nice and clean. There are restrooms, chair rentals, food and picnic tables.

* The beach is sandy and soft. The water is very refreshing and with decent waves. (probably not a good beach for very young children)

* Directions for walking: It will take you 30 to 40 minutes to walk from the cruise port to the boardwalk area which is about 2 miles from exiting your ship.(Princess docks on the more northern dock & I saw Celebrity at the more southern dock.) Exit your cruise ship port area and head towards "John Compton Highway". Follow this highway north. There will be a sidewalk for you to use. When this road ends you will see the airport runway in front of you and on your left a school playground. Now turn right onto Seraphine road. Walk down this road, with the runway on your left, until you come to the roundabout. Follow the roundabout to the left. (fyi...if you need something from a grocery store there is one located at the south end of the roundabout). As you follow the roundabout left you'll now see the following....... on your right the "Rendevous Resort" entrance........ straight ahead you'll see a pathway opening towards the beach.......if you turn left you'll start walking Peninsular Road towards the airport entrance.

If you remain walking on Peninsular Road the airport runway will now be on your left and the cemetery on your right. Continue on this walk and you'll come to the Boardwalk area.

I chose instead to walk down the little pathway straight for the beach. As soon as you hit the beach turn left and walk along the beach (the water is on your right side) for 10 minutes and you'll come upon the boardwalk. It's a very nice soft sand beach to walk. You'll see some locals hanging out on it, but you'll also see quite a few guests of Rendevous Resort walking the beach for exercise (at least you'll see this in the morning).

* Directions for a cab ride: I can't tell you the cost as I did not use a cab, but a couple we met at the boardwalk told us they paid $10 each way. One thing you must do is explicitly tell the cab driver you want to go to "the Vigie Beach boardwalk, which is right across from the airport entrance". If you don't tell him these specifics you'll probably be dropped off at the previously mentioned pathway to the beach (which is right next to Rendevous Resort) that I used on my walk. If you get out of your cab here you'll have to walk 10 more minutes along the beach to get to the boardwalk. You might also want to ask the driver to return for you at a set time.

* DO NOT waste your time asking anyone at the St. Lucia port area for advice on getting to this beach. It's very obvious they want tourists spending money going on longer cab rides to the beaches that are over populated and filled with people trying to sell stuff. Out of curiosity on how this beach is being promoted by islanders we intentionally asked 5 different people (from the tourist info desk staff, to security guards , to gate keeper to shop keepers) and were met with everything from a vague "go over that way, turn right and turn left" to "this beach isn't recommended" to "you'll be mugged" to "there is nothing there for you" to "you can't walk in St. Lucia" etc. Even when we were very specific about the location and made it clear that we knew what was offered at the beach area the locals in the port area were very, very unhelpful. I repeat....very unhelpful and even negative. We were confident in where we were headed and how to get there, but sadly these encounters put the St. Lucia cruise ship port employees/workers in a very bad light. We've been to St. Lucia before and know the beauties of the island, but for someone visiting for the first time they will come away with a very negative feeling about the island if they have these same type of encounters.

We loved our day at Vigie Beach and we enjoyed our walk both to and from the beach! Hope this helps you to enjoy your day!

Good day Geri I would to inform u that user annieB925 was at vigie beach, however near the resort; and was not she was looking for. I would like to let u know that I closer to the air port and I am the chairs with the white straps. There also 6 kitchens/booths to choose from for eats n drinks all with wifi, I am also pleased to say that we have no bums or pushy vendors to offer a thing. So keep an open mind and look forward to seeing u this April 14th.

 

 

Best regards

Castro

 

 

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Hi Castro 1n3.

Thank you for letting us all know what caused the problem for Annie. I will walk from the ship and will see you on March 14.

Geri

Thanks all! I'll be walking over and it looks like entering the beach directly across from the airport entrance is what I need to do.

Hi AnnieB925,

I was planning to go to this beach in a few weeks. What about it was disappointing?

If you walk to Emerald Beach and go to the Island Beachcomber hotel they too have chairs for rent. Alternatively, if you plan to have drinks or food, you could just go swim in the water and afterwards sit up at their beach bar. No charge for sitting in those chairs if you're buying something!

if u tell me what date ur coming i will put ur username up on the board to welcome you.

Hi Castro1n3. I will be there with my husband on March 14th!! I will look for my cruise critic "GERI" name!! :)

Have walked it a number of times. Easy, safe, a good way to get some exercise and see a little something of Barbados. As others have mentioned.....just exit the port and keep right with the water on your right. You will come right up to the boatyard after 20 minutes.

If you are seated at a traditional dining table and are not happy with your table mates just speak with the maitre'd and you will be moved elsewhere.

I found this "Norway Cruise Manual" helpful and thought others might as well.

Here's the link:

https://issuu.com/oktan/docs/cn-manual-2017-issuu?e=1613854/42247682

You might also like Emerald Beach, which I believe is the closest beach to the cruise docks. I've walked from the Crown Bay dock to this beach many times with adults and teenagers, but never with a 13 month old. The walk with adults is an easy 20 minute walk along sidewalks. Of course if you're docking in at the West Indies dock you would not want to walk here as it would take over an hour.

Looking for this same info so bumping up this post!

Thank You Castro! We'll be at your hut during our stop in March!

Hi castro1n3,

Thank you for sharing the update on improvements made to Vigie Beach! We will walk from the Princess ship dock to Vigie Beach. Will venues be open at 9 am? Where do I find beach chairs and umbrellas for rent and what is the cost?

Thank you for your help!!

Geri

There were independent outfitters on the dock offering trips to the Ballestas. I know one group of 9 negotiated $35 per person for the transport to the boat and then the boat ride to the island. I can't offer any advice about Paracas.

Visited in December 2015 and the dock was damaged from September's tsunami. The ship had to tender in. Coquimbo itself is walkable, has a town square and there may likely be some local vendors selling trinkets near the fish market area.

To get to La Serena:

You can catch local bus #1 at the Coquimbo town square (it is found on the street running 1 block up and parallel with the port) which will take you to the square in La Serena. The bus does a loop from one town square to the other town square and back. There will be a sign in the bus window showing its number and its destination. The bus driver will also indicate when you've arrived if you ask him (in Spanish). Cost is CLP600 or USD$1 per person. When you exit at the stop nearest to the La Serena square you will be on Francisco de Aguirre street. Walk west about 3 city blocks to reach the square. From here you can walk to La Recova. You'll also find a tourist info booth at the square. I strongly recommend you print off a map of the area via Google or MapQuest to make things easier for yourself.

Walking from La Serena to the Faro Lighthouse will be 40 minutes. You'll walk the entire way along Francisco de Aguirre street. From the lighthouse you can walk along the beachfront. and back in the direction of the ship. There are many restaurants, bars and hotels and the sidewalk is good. This area is lovely! Once you want to return to the ship you can easily flag a cab and negotiate the price (about 10,00 CLP) or conversely ask the restaurant you visit to call a cab for you. If you are a very hearty walker you could actually walk from the cruise dock towards the Faro Lighthouse. It would probably take about 3 hours one way.

Visited this port in December 2015. The area where the ship docks is San Martin and it is completely remote and with absolutely nothing to walk to. I really mean nothing...there is not one store or even a home. There is a dock and then the arid land begins. It is pretty to look at, but if you intend to see anything you will have to book an excursion with someone. There will be a handful of cab drivers waiting on the dock. If there are a number of other passengers headed towards the cabs wanting to go to the same spot see if you can group together to negotiate a good deal and ensure reliable transportation.

It is 35 minutes ride into Pisco and the town is rather poor and without tourist infrastructure.

The Tambor Colorado ruins will be another 30 minutes past Pisco and once you arrive the signage explaining the ruins are minimal. If you truly wish to understand what you are looking at make sure you read up before arrival or book a ship excursion that will ensure you have a fluent English speaking guide. You will not find exceptionally fluent local English speaking people.

La Mina beach is about 20 minutes from the ship, however, you will be driving over sand dune type road and not paved road for most of the ride. It's a beautiful beach and you'll find many locals there, but it is not for anyone who cannot tolerate a bumpy ride. You'll also need to ensure your driver stays with you so that you have return transportation to the ship.

Did a cruise ship overnight in Lima in December 2015. Due to cabs not be regulated by the government and associated issues with tourist robbery etc the cruise lines will not allow cabs to enter the port. Princess offered the following free shuttles that went every 15 minutes to 2 different malls in the area:

* Real Plaza Salaveryy Mall (shuttles began running at 9:30 am & ride into the city was about 30 minutes; location is about 45 minute walk to the Miraflores Faro lighthouse area)

* Plaza San Miguel Mall (closer to the cruise port; passengers who made independent excursion arrangements were advised to tell their private drivers to pick them up at this location. Shuttles began running here at 7 am.)

There was a Celebrity ship in port one of the days and those passengers were also being shuttled somewhere.

Princess has eliminated the "soda only" sticker and now only has the more expensive "non-alcoholic drink" sticker. If you are not a big drinker of juices and mock-tails or if you are a diabetic you will not find it of value. FYI....Princess does allow you to bring on personal bottles of soda.