vdp

I tried to snorkel Boaby point in February 2022. It was too windy and choppy with rain on and off. The beach was completely covered with seagrass and large debris, tree branches etc. Getting into water was not easy. Looked like the storm just passed through. I saw some coral and fish but the visibility was too poor that day. I'd love to return when the weather is more cooperative. Hopefully I'll have another chance in November. 

1 hour ago, njhorseman said:

The cruise lines must follow a country's guidelines if the country's rules are more stringent than their own. If the cruise line's protocols are more stringent than the country's protocols then the cruise line's protocols rule the day.

In other words the shorter testing timeline has to be obeyed whether it's the country's requirement or the cruise line's requirement.

Sorry, but I'm not going to look up the various cruise line policies because they frequently change. You need to go to your cruise line's website . Bermuda's policy for cruise passengers can be found here: 

https://www.gov.bm/cruise-travel-authorisation .

Actually I just looked it up. While Carnival is in line with Bermuda requirements (4 days before departure for PCR, 2 days - Antigen), RCL is more stringent than Bermuda regarding PCR tests - "Vaccinated guests must show a negative PCR or antigen test result taken no more than 2 days before boarding day." For non-Bermuda cruises RCL allows testing 3 days before departure. In other words, RCL apparently arbitrarily set 2 day limit on PCR testing for Bermuda cruises while Bermuda itself allows 4 days and RCL allows 3 days for non-Bermuda cruises departing from US ports. 

According to Bermuda Travel Authorization FAQ, it requires a Supervised Antigen test no more than 2 days before departure (if travelling by sea). I believe current RCL and CCL guidelines allow testing 3 days prior to departure. So if I plan to go, say, to CVS for their rapid Antigen test, it must be at most 2 days prior to sailing? What about rapid PCR test? 

We've visited Aruba and Curacao this month. The buses are still running in Aruba. The bus station is a short walk from the cruise terminal. We paid $2.50 one way. They now sell plastic round-trip cards for $5 but US$ still accepted. In Curacao we didn't take a bus (it is quite a walk from the cruise terminal). Also, in Coracao we found it virtually impossible to find a taxi unless you are near the port.

On 9/8/2021 at 9:16 PM, NWHairGal said:

Heard from a cruise line agent that some islands are not allowing passengers off the ship, regardless of vaccination status, unless you are on a cruise line excursion.  He said that status can change.  Of course I'm thinking that's a great ploy to get someone to book via the cruise line, but am wondering if anyone knows if Bonaire is such an island that has done this since Covid has been an issue?   I love to do my own thing on a cruise, but also don't want to be stuck on the ship either.  Any insight on this?

Here is a recent Celebrity review (Celebrity seems to require Covid test 48 hours prior to boarding according to CDC  - just like most other companies). The reviewer had private excursions on all ABC islands and had no difficulty getting off the ship (I will be visiting all three ABC islands on two Carnival cruises in November-December so this topic interests me greatly, especially Bonaire) - https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=682571

On 9/7/2021 at 8:27 PM, jean87510 said:

we were there in March to snorkel but had our own stuff.  Not a fan of it due to grouchy workers and snorkeling.  We are not by any means high maintenance and we actually left because of rudeness.  We wanted to stay and hang out for the day but probably because we weren't locals, the workers were not welcoming at all.  I thought money bar was much better.  We were staying at fiesta americana and would walk down to money and drift back.  Fiesta Americana does or did do a day pass option in the past.  

I don't think Corona rents snorkeling gear. We've been coming there for many years, most recently in March 2020 (we used to go to Money bar but now prefer Corona). Never had any issues with staff, they were always polite (but we typically order enough food, beer, and tip like we do in US). As far as snorkeling, I swim pretty far to the right along the roped area, sometimes 30-40 minutes one way. This area has great variety of corals in pristine shape, sufficient diversity and quantity of fish. 

On 8/29/2021 at 1:12 PM, c-leg5 said:

 

 

I am not sure where you have read  about increased taxi fares? 

There were multiple reports within the last month and a half about "approved taxis only" in the port (most likely COVID related) but it looks like now things are back to "normal". 

We usually go to Playa Corona - use of facilities is free, but you are expected to order drinks and/or food at the restaurant. Good snorkeling near the restaurant to the left of the entrance and much better - to the right of the entrance along the ropes and well beyond where you will find some tour operators bringing snorkeling tours. 

On 8/23/2021 at 3:11 PM, c-leg5 said:

(...) Some people have reported reasonable snorkeling from the beach at Blue Kay. (...)

Actually there are areas accessible from the beach at Blue Kay that offer fantastic snorkeling but you'd have to go well beyond the roped area (which I've done many times and nobody seemed to mind). But I hear that getting to Blue Kay is very expensive nowadays (prior to pandemic it used to be $2-$3 pp one way for 3-4 people in a taxi).

31 minutes ago, crewsweeper said:

Yes, the reef system off shore is excellent. The area has attracted Divers for years. Not sure I would want to swim out beyond the breakwater in, just snorkel gear. 

Actually the distance is pretty short and the area that borders great coral formations and the drop is shallow. The corals around visible rocks are very good too.  

On 2/7/2020 at 3:45 PM, crewsweeper said:

Along the malecon, the better spots to avoid vendors are up at Blue Kay nearer to the light house or at Malecon 21 almost at the end of the malecon.

Blue Kay also offers snorkeling that rivals Roatan's West Bay, but it is outside marker buoys. 

In St. Maarten we usually go to Dawn Beach because it has descent snorkeling from the beach when weather cooperates. We were there last week (9/7/2018). The taxi dispatchers did not tell us that the beach was closed, just mentioned that there was sea grass on the beach. But that is a frequent occurrence. The taxi driver Sylvia (license plate 277-TAXI) did not tell us about the beach closure either. She said, "let's go and see the conditions there". When we arrived, the area was completely cordoned off. You can't even come close because of ongoing construction. I am certain all locals and especially taxi drivers know that. But this particular taxi driver drove us there anyway just to get more money. Once we realized there was absolutely nothing at Dawn Beach (no people, no access, all facilities are closed) Sylvia told us: "if you want to snorkel you have to go to Mullet Bay". When we got to Mullet Bay (we had to go in the opposite direction) she charged 6 of us $36 to go to Dawn beach plus $60 to go from Dawn beach to Mullet Bay. Since we were at her mercy we had to comply. Later on she drove us back to the cruise port for additional $48 (it's a regular price of $8 p/p). Mullet Bay snorkeling was very poor. You could see something along the shoreline rocky walls but the currents were so strong swimming close to that wall was dangerous. Mullet Bay has sandy bottom, strong currents and low visibility. In addition, Mullet Bay beach was filled with locals who played loud music (several people blasted their stereos at the same time, one guy was floating his system in the water). I think the reason Sylvia took us to Mullet Bay was she knew a guy there who rented beach chairs and umbrellas and probably expected to share proceeds. However we declined Sylvia and her partner's overtures and got a better deal from another guy at the same beach. I swam to the adjacent Maho Beach and found the area to the right of the beach (facing water) more interesting for snorkeling that Mullet Bay. Plus Maho is more fun because of the low flying airplanes.

The bottom line: Dawn Beach is still closed. Avoid taxi driver Sylvia, license plate 277-TAXI.

Dawn Beach was still closed in September 2018.

Also, if you buy one device access, does it mean you must always use the same device?

Thanks... That's what I suspected.

Right now I can purchase the Zoom internet packages for 30% off for our next cruise. How does that compare to what my discount may be onboard as my wife and I are at Diamond level in C & A?

 

Any guidance would be appreciated.

Does anybody know whether pre-booking internet package means you pay for it before the cruise with your credit card or it becomes an item on your on-board account? We are booked on Allure in October and may have excess of OBC. So naturally I'd rather pay for it with my OBC.

Thanks,

Val.

Arubalisa, thanks a lot for such comprehensive and detailed information. What do they charge for umbrellas and chairs at Boca Catalina, Catalina Cove, Malmok or Arashi Beach? Are there any natural shade at any of these beaches?

I drove a rental car in St. Lucia, from Castries to Soufriere and back. The traffic was extremely light outside Castries plus there is only one main road along the coast. I took GPS with me and loaded a free St. Lucia's map. The navigation didn't work but I followed my location on the map and it was quite sufficient. The main problem was 3 of my relatives in the car who drove me crazy: they were suspecting my driving abilities on the "wrong" side of the road, especially considering the sharp winding turns. But it was perfectly fine. You can go through these turns as slow as you want letting others pass you. Just allow plenty of time to get back to port and get some gas (having some local currency helps) -there will be traffic delays in Castries after 3PM.

BTW, we were there again last fall and rented a small car. The drive wasn't that bad (my first on the "wrong" side of the road, however I couldn't help myself turning on the wipers instead of the turn signal). The weak 2-wheel drive could not make it up the hill from Soufriere to Anse Chastanet so we stayed on Hummingbird beach. The snorkeling was fantastic (all the way to the right as far as you want) but some locals on the beach were pretty nasty to my wife when the others were snorkeling. You may need some local currency to gas up as the gas station we used did not accept credit cards. Allow at least 1.5 hours to get back from Soufriere to Castries.

I placed this on another St. Lucia thread, so this is just a copy-and-paste (since I promised to tell how we made out in St. Lucia).

In Castries we initially checked the cheap mini-buses to Soufriere (1-2 min walk from the port), but the next one was empty and the driver said it may take an hour to fill (In Soufriere we planned to take a water taxi to Anse Chastenet).

We went back to taxi area and after some searching found another couple going snorkeling to Anse Chastenet. They planned to spend about 2 hours snorkeling and then see the volcano and the water falls. The cost was $80 for two of us - I didn't want to haggle (don't know what the other couple paid, they were already in the car. When we showed up, they closed the car windows and probably renegotiated with the driver).

It was a Toyota compact car, license plate HE1160 (reads like "HELLGO"). As soon as we got out of town the driver said he has to turn off A/C to drive through the hills. Make sure you ask the driver beforehand to keep A/C on all the time - riding with 2 other people on the back seat with open windows through hot humid St. Lucia roller-coaster roads made me really motion sick (and I don't get sea sick even on stormy days at sea).

It took over an hour to get to Soufriere. The road from Soufriere to Anse Chastenet is really bad. I think it's only 2 km but we were crawling about 3-5 mph.

Snorkeling in Anse Chastenet was very nice. Pretty clear calm warm water, good variety of coral and fish. I've never seen so many barracudas.

As far as the rest of the trip, I was not impressed with volcano - just some dirty water bobbling at a distance (you are not allowed to come closer) and a little bit of vapors. The driver did not take us to waterfalls at all for some reason (time?).

The drive back was even longer because there was a lot of traffic in Castries.

Next time I'll probably spend more and go by boat/catamaran.

So far - no new information. If we don't change our plans at the last moment (we may just hire a taxi for a day or go with a tour), we'll let you know.

Last summer I was stung by Portuguese man of war (not technically a jellyfish but a close relative) in Bermuda. It felt like a very high voltage discharge and as venom went up my legs (both legs were affected) to the abdomen I felt quite sick for about 4-5 hours. What really helped was Benadryl (any generic diphenhydramine-based antihistamine/anti-allergy medicine will do).

Previously I had multiple encounters with various species of jellyfish in Azov sea (next to Black sea North-East of Mediterranean) but the stings were barely noticeable (just itchy afterwards).

We'll be visiting St. Lucia on 4/22/10 (Caribbean Princess)

1) Is it possible to catch a taxi from Anse Chastanet to Castries or we have to get to Soufriere first?

2) How much should we pay for a taxi from either Soufriere or Anse Chastenet to Castries?

3) What about minibuses? Is it true that buses don't run from Soufriere to Castries after 3 PM?

Thanks a lot,

Val.