SisterSpike

Thanks for posting. I hope more do also as more ships go. My cruise isn't until Feb. I've never been to St. Thomas and really wanted to see Maegen's Bay. As a first timer and right now not many taxis what would you recommend I do?

I recommend booking an excursion. The drivers know the island and where the roads are not in good shape. You can see Maegens Bay from the Mountain Top. It is stunning.

We are cruising on Veendam in three weeks.

Has anyone visited any of our islands recently?

What are things like there?

Is it still possible to enjoy our days ashore?

 

We are coming a long way to take this cruise and hope we can still enjoy our ports of call (all but one of which I have visited before - some many times)

 

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

St Thomas, USVI

Basseterre, St Kitts

Castries, St Lucia

Bridgetown, Barbados

Saint Georges, Grenada

Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe

St John's, Antigua

San Juan, Puerto Rico

We returned 2 weeks ago and went to all of these islands except Bahama. As CC said, most of these islands were not greatly affected by the hurricanes but some have taken in residents of the devastated islands. PR and St. Thomas have the worst conditions but it did not affect our visits there. I would not count on eating at a restaurant or stay on either of those islands, although things change daily. Don't worry and don't second guess your decision to go. Just GO.

2nd floor of the Explorer lounge. Also the small decks off that area. Small and somewhat obstructed but fun.

We just returned from the 10/27-11/6 WI Explorer and there was very little compromise in the itinerary. I think some of the paid excursions in PR were cancelled but the OSJ walking tours were done and were very informative. We did not see much devastation in this area. A few weeks ago we were told that two islands would be replaced with Grenada and St. Vincent (wonderful!) and that we would have an At Sea day. However, on Day 2 we were told that we would go to St. Thomas after all. As we approached the island, I was surprised at how green it was. Up close you could see many broken trees, blue tarps and downed lines but it is beginning to heal. There we only had one option for an excursion but that was fine with us. There are no hotels and only a few restaurants open but the drive to the Mountain Top (get a banana daiquiri) and other overlooks was uneventful. The Caribbean is recovering quicker than I ever thought possible. A silver lining to the hurricanes...some of the views have improved because trees blocking sightlines are gone.

While it was disappointing to be unable to go a day early, everything else was just fine. They continued the OSJ tours and I think one other paid excursion. Some excursions were cancelled. People were glad to see us. The day we arrived the cruise terminal did not have power (well, generator power I guess) but by the 2nd day we could see that it was on. It is a pretty basic facility anyway.

We just returned from the 10/27 sailing. SJU was better than I expected. Yes there are a lot of people who are trying to evacuate and many elderly people needing special assistance but it was air conditioned and there was food available. I did not see many people sitting on the floor. I did not see or hear dogs and while there were children on our plane and in the waiting area, none were crying.

San Juan itself is still struggling but we had a great walking tour of old SJ. No debris there. The only disadvantage was the lack of a decent potty stop. (In addition to the heat!)

We just got off Viking Sea, stateroom 8011. There was NO noise from the sports deck. In fact we never even encountered anyone on Deck 9 the couple of times we went up. But that was a Caribbean cruise and it was HOT. The Explorer's Lounge, likewise was always a quiet place, it is not a nightclub. It was nice to have a place close to our stateroom for drinks and a forward view of the ship. Most other areas are at the opposite end. Because there are a smaller number of staterooms, there is less hallway noise. The only disadvantage is there is only one set of elevators that serve the stateroom area and it is best to go to the forward set to get to your stateroom. Otherwise you have to go outside across the Sun Deck. When we embarked, we were sent up to the 8th floor on the aft elevator and then could not figure out how to get to our room. We could not even figure out how to get out of the small elevator lobby because there were no handles on the outside deck doors. (They open automatically when you approach them and there is a button on the outside.) You'll see when you get there. It was not a big problem after we learned that it was easiest to use the forward elevators.

I am interested in learning more about Guadeloupe as well. (Viking 10/27/17) The reviews seem to be all over the place. We had considered using this day as a "at sea" day but with the possibility of not being able to go to some of the other islands due to Irma, I am looking at it again. I welcome any comments on Guadeloupe for visitors who like scenery, history but aren't big "beachers" or hikers.