Gctw

We are planning to get dropped off at Shipwreck while in St. Kitts next week (we've been there before). We are interested in checking out Discovery Beach Bar. Which way do we walk from Shipwreck (facing the water), and how far of a walk is it? Thanks in advance for info!!

 

 

 

Paul

Facing the water you go right. It's maybe a five minute walk. Very nice beach area to hang out on. Good snorkeling too if you're in to that.

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We're on the Royal Princess now. Went to Darkwood yesterday. The beach IS beautiful. No bouncy thing in the water though and snorkeling was difficult as there is such a steep drop you can't really see the bottom. Of course there was a guy with a sailboat who was happy to take us to a snorkeling spot for a fee. [emoji23]

The vendors were coming up to my chair selling jewelry, sarongs, jet skis rides, sailing rides, every 10 mins or so.

Still a lovely beach. Your mileage may vary.

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I was thinking of going back to Shipwreck in a couple of weeks.

 

Saw the above pics. OMG. What a change from when we were there.

 

 

 

WOW!

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They're both excellent options. You'll see more of the island itself via Cosol's tour, and enjoy a much wider variety of food on his stops.. You get some beach time at same Beaxh ad Spencer's tour. What you don't get are some of the beautiful water views of the island and the bat cave....you still see the rock arch, albeit from land, etc. It can be tiring with that much time in a van, although the drivers do stop a lot and do their best to entertain you.

 

 

 

Spencer gives you water views each way, and up close with rock arch, into Marigot Bay and Rock arch. What you don't get is closer views of the land and villages, banana Plantation, Morne Fortune, etc...Food is great, but not as much variety as Cosol. More beach time...

 

 

 

You'd enjoy both I think. If you want to really see more of the island and such, go for Cosol. If you want more beach time, go for Spencer...

Thanks! That's what I was thinking as well. Plus with Cosol you get the volcano, mud bath & waterfall - which you don't see with the Spencer's beach break.

Have to pack my teen some Dramamine though, he's not terribly fond of driving around mountains. Doesn't get sick, but feels icky.

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When I was there...it was the black sand right there at Discovery. Just saying. :D

 

I really think it depends on when you go maybe? Because I was also in St Kitts in April and some friends went to this beach (ShipWreck area) and sent a picture and stated "What black sand???" and you didn't really see any. So, I'm thinking it's possible you may or may not see it at either beach.

Good to know! Either way I'm hoping it's a nice beach day for the kids! Mom will be happy just to get some great photos! lol I'll be lugging the big guns though (canon eos & lenses) since I only have that and my phone. I just can't budget buying a nice underwater camera right now with such a port intensive cruise. Next time!

You've been there, and if I recall you have an SLR too, clearly you're a photo enthusiast. I'll ask you! Should I lug the big camera or is the iPhone sufficient? I'm thinking of the monkeys on the kids shoulders and Timothy hill but I'm not sure what else we'll see that would make me regret not having it? I know for a fact I'll want it in St Lucia.

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Reserve our chairs and umbrella at Discovery Beach Bar for our December trip. Really looking forward to spending the day there. The owner was very responsive, after I contacted him via Facebook. He hooked me up with Liz Pereira tours who is also very responsive, who will transport us to Discovery Beach Bar for $15.00 round trip, including a welcome drink. Will report back after we spend the day there.

Thanks for the tip! I contacted him as well for our cruise in November and his reply was instant! I love that he is willing to arrange transfers for us. :)

mitsugirly's very informative review was just the information we needed to make a decision. I really like the fact that this beach is fairly quiet and laid back but we can still walk to the black sand to see what that's all about.

We are debating which tour to take Colson seems to be land tour with water taxi as Ambrose seems to take speedboat both ways which is better tour gives more time at beach and other spots?

This is the same debate I'm having with myself right now. I do hope more chime in.

I'm leaning toward the Cosol tour because I think there might be more of the island to see but some of the sights you see via boat on the Spencer Ambrose tour intrigue me as well. I'm not certain when I'll get back to St. Lucia because, well, with children in school longer cruises are a rarity in our household so I definitely want to get the most bang for my buck.

Both companies have EXCELLENT ratings. Maybe if I bump this someone will chime if with why they selected one over the other and if they were happy with their choice.

I just did this last week in antigua and truthfully, there is no where for you to follow to take pictures. He is old enough to go by himself (they take 5 year olds although a guide will go with them) A really nice beach is Ffryes beach which is where Dennis restaurant is. There is a trampoline park near there. It's in the same general location area (not next to) as valley church, jolly beach... We ate lunch there one day and I was really impressed with how beautiful the beach is.

Thanks! I did a little research on Ffryes today. I'll check it out more tomorrow. Appreciate the feedback!

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The fare I quoted was just for cab fare. No food included but we had a great lunch purchased at the restaurant there. I did not see any lockers

Thank you!

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We went to this beach a couple of weeks ago on our RC cruise. We found a cabbie to take us for $50 round trip. We walked past the orange-shirt cab drivers, who were quite aggressive. Their fare for 4 ppl round trip was $64 ( $8 pp, each way). Our waiter on the ship said not to pay more than $40 round-trip, but we were in a hurry and just took the first deal we could manage. Your results may vary.

 

The driver we used was just outside the port and was a licensed driver. Another family of 4 shared the van and they were dropped off at Jolly Beach. He tried to talk us into going to Jolly Beach, but we insisted on continuing to Darkwood. Very glad we did. It was about a 20-25 minute cab ride

 

Darkwood is a beautiful expanse of beach, with changing facilities, restaurant, loungers to rent and an awning for shade. We rented 2 loungers ( which came with a bucket of 6 eight-oz. beers; could have sodas if desired) for $25. We rented 2 additional loungers for $5 each. There is a long, permanent awning structure which provides shade, so you can move your chair in or out of the sun.

 

We had pulled pork, chicken sandwiches, lobster roll and lobster salad. Servers took order on beach and served there, though you could also eat in the restaurant. Delicious food.

 

There were a few vendors hawking massages, jewelry and tshirts, but they were very unobtrusive. I bought a beautiful necklace for $10.

 

There is an inflatable bounce-type water obstacle course. We did not use this but it looked fun. Price was $15 for half hour.

 

There were 2 vendors renting jet skis, $50 for half hour I think. Though there were jet-skis being used, there were not many, they were not noisy, and did not interfere with the swimming area.

 

The beach is white and gorgeous. Easy entry into water. It is possible to snorkel. We brought our own gear so i don't recall if rental was available there. There is a rocky area to the far left as you face the water. Fishes abound. There are large black sea urchins, but they are deep in the water, so getting too close, as in some snorkel situations was not a concern.

 

Highly recommended. Though there were 2 ships in port, this beach had maybe 50 people on it.

Thank you for your review! Was the food included in the price or an additional fee?

Do you recall if there were lockers available for rent?

I'm traveling with two teens on the Royal. It's my son's 16th birthday that day so I'd like someplace fun for him.

I'm considering Darkwood Beach for the obstacle course, water thing. They'd both enjoy that. But we are on a budget and looking for suggestions.

Our wishlist:

Snorkeling

Beach chairs

Free wifi

Snacks & Refreshments (mom might even like an alcoholic drink [emoji15][emoji12])

Locker rentals

Budget friendly

Easy to get to

It's entirely possible that Darkwood has all of these things but my search hasn't come up with all the answers.

Hit me with your best suggestions please and thank you!

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Thanks for the suggestions! After some research we've decided to spend the day at Darkwood beach. I wouldn't be comfortable with him going solo. I'll double check on board though.

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Although I have been watching cruise videos for years I just started getting into cruise vlogs. Here are some my favorites thus far:

 

1. Seas Cruisers - The Donohos (Amy and Elizabeth)

 

These are the gold standard as far as I am concerned. I haven't seen anything better and they have a LOT of content. Here is a link to their playlists of cruises:

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5hyCFNJwGcZOs_76B2JbYw/playlists

 

2. SheaParker - Brooke and Garrett

 

 

This is the only couple I have ever seen that MADE MONEY on a shore trip :D Great stuff

 

3. iamthebosslady - Terri and Tony

 

My next cruise is on Carnival Dream so I really like that one. Terri and Tony are awesome too! :)

 

 

4. Adventures of Angela and Andy

 

Shows you details you miss in other videos

 

 

5. CruiseNYR

 

Only a couple of videos total but worth watching this young couple

 

 

6. sarahproductions113

 

Great production values being it is from a 17 year old Canadian teenager

 

 

 

I would love to hear about other cruise vloggers I can check out?

 

You got any to share? ;)

 

Thanks

I really enjoyed watching Amy & Liz today, thank you!

Going on the Royal Princess in a couple weeks so it was fun to watch their Regal vlogs. :)

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Stumbled on these today. More for newer cruisers but informative.

I'm not new to cruising but am a budget traveler with children so I've enjoyed watching their videos.

http://www.cruisetipstv.com/vlog/

There are two pools on the Royal Princess - the Retreat Pool (adults only) and the family pool. The Regal has a 3rd but it sounds more like an oversized hot tub. We missed the Promenade on our first (of 3) Royal cruise but used the walking/jogging complex on the upper deck for exercise. For us that one disappointment was outweighed by the beautiful ship and the multitude of dining venues.

Thank you! As a single mom who has worked hard to take her two teens on the Royal in a few weeks I was starting to get nervous with all the bad reviews.

I've cruised many lines and many times in my life but this will be my first time on Princess.

I'm thoroughly enjoying your review, Norris. Thank you!

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Yup. I prefer to go to Alfredo's for embarkation lunch as well. Very few people go there for some odd reason. You won't get a 4-course meal but on the Royal, you can get salad, pizza (whole personal pizza), pasta, etc. It's sit down waitstaff served.

Perfect! Thanks!

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Haha Good to know! We've sailed CCL, RCCL, NCL, MSC...this will be our first PCL! Looking forward to it!

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I did, thanks! I'm coming from Cape Coral. Not too bad of a drive but I know we'll be eager to stretch out and grab a bite as soon as we get there.

Alfredos would be fantastic for my picky daughter!

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Thanks so much! Just what I was hoping to hear. :)

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My apologies if this has been asked already, wondering if any of you have suggestions on where to go for lunch on the day of embarkation besides the buffet?

This will be my first time sailing on the Royal so I'm not certain if there are any tips or secrets places where perhaps it's not quite as packed that you can grab a bite while you wait for your cabin to be ready. Thanks in advance!

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Thanks! Looking forward to trying them out in a couple weeks!

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Hi, I'm taking my two children on a 10 night Royal Princess cruise. As it happens, on my son's 16th birthday we will be in Antigua. I know he would love to do the zip line tour. I also know neither my 12 yr old or myself have his desire to fly through the trees. lol

Question is, does anyone know if Princess offers an observer tour for this that I could purchase for my daughter and myself? Ideally I would want to capture some pictures of him zip lining (I'm a photographer) but I also don't want him to do the tour alone and I'm not even certain that is allowed at 16.

Any suggestions for us? Or perhaps a family friendly alternative that would still "wow" him on his birthday?

Thanks!