rpetrillo

How far is the cruise port to any of the major sites? I see that the HO-HO bus has a line that stops at the pier 

7 minutes ago, Glaciers said:

Don't you also need a test to get into Canada?

I believe so. I will be in Canada for 4 days before my cruise and as of now I believe the ship requires a negative test within 72 hours which is why I checked to see if we had any locations in Vancouver - with that said, who knows what the requirements will be in 4 months 

I’m a Walgreens Pharmacy tech and immunizer (and I also administer both rapid and PCR tests) here in Arizona (going to Alaska via Vancouver in May). There are 4 Walgreens in Vancouver where you can make a test appt. 

I just stayed in the Howard Johnsons in Old San Juan for $100. It wasnt fancy but it was clean and you can literally walk to the pier in 5 min. The Sheraton right across the street from the pier is much nicer but at much more money. We rather have saved the extra $200 and used it for an excursion.

The HoJo is right around the corner from Barachina;s a nice restaurant/bar (where they supposedly invented the Pina Colada). Make a reservation in advance for 7:30 PM on Saturday and you get a free Flamenco dancing show. (google them to find their website)

As we have been to San Juan a few times before, we have already done the walking tours so this time we rented a car and drove to El Yunque Rainforest (an easy 45 min drive). You can also stop by the beach on the way back. You can rent a car from Hertz at the counter in the Sheraton hotel across from the pier for around $40+ a day. But make sure it is returned there before 4 pm otherwise you will have to either leave the car with the hotel valet (for a fee) or return it to the airport location and take a taxi back. We picked up the car 8 am on Sunday and returned it at 3:45 pm then just walked onto the ship. It was very convenient.

Enjoy your trip - we just returned from the New Years Eve Victory Cruise after a week of 80++ degrees of sunny weather to a week of 20 degrees of freezing. Guess which week I preferred. But I am surviving by counting down the days until our April cruise to Hawaii on NCL.

I like St Maarten better than Antigua. My wife thinks it has the best shopping in the Caribbean. I do know that both times that I have been to Antigua, I was offered drugs numerous times - but the beaches were very nice and we went to Stingray City which was a VERY good excursion as you swim and snorkel with giant stingrays (and not in a tank or pool).

If you are into horseback riding - checkout Bayside stables near Orient Beach. Much cheaper than any of the ship excursions. You ride down to the beach and then get a chance to take the horses into the water. Really cool. But they do take the saddles off and you ride bareback into the sea- a first for me. But your guide is there to help you.

Also, if you are going to St Maarten with kids- Orient beach is lovely but half the beach is a nude beach (not just topless, but the full monty) and people do wander over to the clothed side. For those into spectator sports, just keep in mind that although most of the people on that side of the beach are in their "birthday suits" - many of them are not ironed :)

Rob, let me pick your brain again.

What did you do in St. Kitts? We are probably going to do a beach day there and are trying to decide whether we should go to Cockshell or South Frigate Bay (I believe that's the name) This is the only Island I haven't been to before.

Thanks

We did some last minute shopping at all the shops near the pier. Since St Kitt's is Victory's last stop of a 7 day port intensive cruise, most passengers have already spent their money so the store owners are quick to haggle and make deals for any customer. My wife picked up some nice jewelry at a discounted price.

We went to Cockleshell after that. Taxi's are $26 each way but at the taxi stand if you find another couple or family also going there you can split the cost. The driver we had even gave us a tour on the way stopping for a photo op. He asked us what time we wanted to be picked up and wouldnt take the money until the pick up. I found this strange since i could see people wanting to leave early and just grabbing another taxi from the many waiting at the entrance.

The water was very nice, although i suggest not getting there too late or you may risk not getting a beach chair. If you have kids, there are lots and lots of different shells that wash up onto the beach. The lady next to us even found a nice conch shell and I found a sea fan. There is a restaurant on the beach with decent food as well as a bar. There is also a shop that rents snorkel gear, floating mats (which my wife enjoyed), etc. as well as a gift shop.

You can even meet the famous Wilburt the pig (a VERY large boar with tusks that is the beach mascot) and Oliver the monkey.

I cant comment on Frigate since I've never been there but we had a VERY enjoyable, relaxing last day at Cockleshell.

I would recommend anytime dinning for this type of cruise. We did not do it (and personally It never interested me) but wish that for this cruise we did.

Since the ships that I have been on have almost always sailed before 6 pm (early seating) I've never had the need or desire to choose anytime dining. I happen to like eating at the same time each day and getting to know our tablemates (we've been lucky with great ones each cruise) and sharing our day's experiences.

During Easter Week I am doing the NCl Hawai's cruise and they offer anytime dining. Since we spend two days on each island and I probably will NOT be on board before dinner some days I like the anytime option.

Rob, was the sunny liston tour ok?

I liked Sunny's Tour a lot - well worth the money. I wouldnt compare it to Cosol which was awesome but it was very good and I would recommend him.

I liked St Lucia a lot - I highly recommend Cosol Tours (cosol-tours.com)- for $65 we had a 6 hr tour that included a brunch stop where we sampled home cooked local food, a tour of a bananna plantation (with delicious samples), a stop at a waterfall, a sulphur spring and a beach stop at Jalousie Beach in between the Pitons (swimming adn snorkeling at teh beach - very beautiful) - lunch was a stop in town for some cheese and delicious fresh baked bread.

You are broken up into groups of 10 into different mini-buses with great tour guides (we had Baptiste). there is also a mini-bus which is the mobil bar and at various stops we can get unlimited beer, rum punch, soda, water, etc.

Compared to other tours I've taken - this is MORE than worth the $65 fee.

On Antigua at the beach I was offered some "Bob Marley smokes" on more than 3 occassions. But the beach was beautiful.

On St Thomas I booked Sonny liston tours where for $25 (I think its now $30 for the new year) he took you to the downtown shopping area for either 1, 2, or 3 hours of shopping (your choice), then 2 hrs of sightseeing and then 2 hrs at your choice of Coki Beach, Meagans Bay or Sapphire Beach.

If I wasnt leaving for a Hawai'i cruise in 86 days I would feel so blue now - the Victory Cruise was GREAT - the fact that it was New Years Eve on the cruise and the weather at home was below freezing the whole week - made the trip even more special!!!

I was on the 12/27 New Years Eve sailing and our number was called around 8:15 am and we were told the same thing about US citizens and non-US citizens usign two different decks to exit. I would say no more than 15 min passed from the time we left our cabin and were outside the terminal putting our luggage into a taxi. It was very smooth.

At the airport many people didnt realize that they had to go to the USDA scanners to have a sticker put on their bag BEFORE checking in to your flight. It took only 5 minutes BUT it's stupid because after they scan your luggage for USDA restricted items they GIVE the luggage back to you and you walk to the airline counter. At that point if I wanted to I could put all the food items, etc back into my bag without disturbing the little 2 inch sticker they put on.

It seems I am S.O.L. with Eli since I will be on the island New Years Day and he is not doing any tours :(

Not sure what I will do instead. The one other time that I have been there, we did the Stingray City visit which was VERY cool.

Eli's Eco-Tour. You can find info here on the boards or at www.adventureantigua.com

 

Ernie

Hi - Can you tell me about Eli's Eco tour - stuff that isnt on the website. At the snorkel stops, if someone doesnt want to snorkel and cant swim, is there water that is not over your head?

thanks

Hmmmm well I think the only way to find out which one of us is right is to add more data to the equation - we just have to visit BOTH islands again and again and again.

In any case, I am guessing that we can both agree that - any island in the Caribbean called St. <insert name here> is better than being at work in the states (especially during an icy cold winter)

ROB

Megans Bay is the most popular and crowded beach. If there is more than two ships in port when you go, I wouldnt even consider it. There are many other VERY nice beaches (some that locals say are the best). Check out the St Thomas board for more info.

Personally I like Coki beach - nice calm, clear waters and great for snorkeling.

Ive been to both St Thomas and St Maarten and St Maarten is the bigger shopping island. The cruise director on one of my cruises confirmed this.

If one wasn't on a budget, what do you think are the best excrusions at each port?

Budget isnt so much the deciding factor as are your interests. Some are beach people, some love snorkeling, some like historic walks/tours, some are into more adventurous things like Zip Lines, ATVing, etc.

My wife and I will be on Victory during New Years Eve week. Here is what we plan to do:

St Thomas: Coral World Sea Lion Swim and then afternoon at Coki Beach

Dominica: Whale & Dolphin Safari

Barbados: Tiami Sail, Sea Turtle Snorkel and beach excursion

St Lucia: Cosol Tours (heard so many good things about them)

Antigua: Dickenson beach perhaps (last time here I did the Stingray

enounter which was very cool)

St Kitts: Either beach or stay on ship to relax before we head back to reality (last time here we did the train ride around the island)

San Juan: We are flying in a day early and staying at the Old San Juan Howard Johnsons ($90 a night, walking distance to the ship). We arrive at 2PM. We are planning on dinner at Barrachina and then booked a Night Tales of Old San Juan Walking Tour. The next morning we are driving to El Yunque with possible horseback riding at Hacienda Carabali.

During our previous visit to San Juan - we did a self guided walking tour of the city including a visit to the forts. We also did the Bacardi tour - which wasnt worth it since they dont show you the actual rum being made. If you are ever in Tennessee, take the Jack Daniel's tour. That was VERY good

We've been to St Maarten twice and both times spent a fortune. The shopping there is very good. We've gotten really good deals on cameras and jewelry. Dont accept their first price offer. Everyone will bargain with you for a better deal. My shy wife became an expert haggler in a very short time.

We took a taxi to the beach in the morning and spent the afternoon shopping. Beware of the nude beach - people wear their birthday suits but many forget to iron it :)

HI

I"ll be on the Victory for the New Years Eve cruise. I booked the Howard Johnsons for $100 a night and it is well within walking distance to the ship (not as close as the Sheraton, but still within walking distance)

Howard Johnson Inn Plaza de Armas Old San Juan PR

202 San Jose St

Old San Juan, 00901 PR

Ive been to St Maarten a few times and loved it. Has to be the best shopping of all the islands. As for the topless beach, Orient isnt just topless its completely nude.

There is an invisible line where one side is nude and one side isnt. Of course the nude people do come over the line. Unfortunately, most of the people are people that you DONT want to see nude. As a fellow passenger said to me on my last visit there, "they all wear their birthday suit except that some forget to iron theirs" lol

HI

I believe that is the virtual golf simulator. The only golfing that I do involves windmills so I really cant be too sure.

Rob

Hi Woody

My first time in San Juan I did my own walking tour - its a great place to do one. Here is a website that you can print out before you go:

http://gopuertorico.about.com/od/oldsanjuan/ss/WalkingTour.htm

There was another site with a walking tour and maps that you can print along with lots of detailed info, but I cant find it at the moment

Rob

I reserved it online from the Hertz website. I didnt want to take the chance and just show up. I loved the convenience of returning it to the Sheraton and then walking across the street to the ship.

Hopefully it isnt like the Seinfeld episode -

Agent: I'm sorry, we have no mid-size available at the moment.

Jerry: I don't understand, I made a reservation, do you have my reservation?

Agent: Yes, we do, unfortunately we ran out of cars.

Jerry: But the reservation keeps the car here. That's why you have the

reservation.

Agent: I know why we have reservations.

Jerry: I don't think you do. If you did, I'd have a car. See, you know how to take the reservation, you just don't know how to *hold* the reservation and that's really the most important part of the reservation, the holding. Anybody can just take them.

I havent been on this itinerary yet (I'll be onboard for New Years Eve week) but I have been to 3 of the 6 islands on Royal Caribbean ships and have always felt minimal rockyness most of the time. However, we had good weather each time. If there is a storm in the area then I am sure the waters will be much rougher, even if you are not in the storm area itself.

For some reason I have always noticed the swaying of the ship in the show theatre. Once we had a bit of rockyness during the ice skating performance on the Explorer. I kept thinking how difficult it was to skate and do the amazing moves that they were doing as the ship was rocking.

The only cruise that I was on where we felt a lot of swaying and rough waters was coincidently on the Victory however it was on the New York - Nova Scotia itinerary a few years back. The Atlantic waters are not as calm as the Caribbean.

As for Bonine, I have used it in the past and it did work for me pretty much most of the time. My stepdaughter used it and it didnt work at all. So I agree that it affects people differently. But I still urge people to try the seabands. Just put it on your wrists and forget about it.

For those who dont know what a seaband is. It is an elastic cloth band that slides onto your wrist. There is a plastic "marble" built into the underside of the band that sits about an inch below the base of your hand. The elastic causes the "marble" to push into the pressure point somehow relieving the feeling of seasickness. It also works wonders for kids (and I assume adults) who get carsick. The package also says it works for morning sickness but I cant vouch for that.

Trust me - I was the most skeptical when I first heard about them but for some reason they really work.

Last cruise, we were on a ferry from Cozumel to the mainland of Mexico (took an excursion to Tulum to see the Mayan ruins - something I highly recommend if you are into that sort of thing) - the water was soooooo choppy that literally half the people on the ferry were throwing up. The poor crew were scrambling to get bags to everyone. It was like the scene in Stand By Me where once one person smelled the vomit they started throwing up as well. It was a domino affect. My wife and I had our sea bands on and she felt totally fine. I had a slight headache but thats it (Im a bit more sensitive than she is). People that took Bonine and Dramine were some of the ones who were sick.

I guess if you are really nervous about getting seasick, it cant hurt to wear the bands AND take bonine. (I guess its like using a condom and taking the pill at the same time if you are scared about becoming pregnant) lol

Dont worry about it and enjoy the cruise.

Rob

Forgot the pills - they make you tired and dont really work.

My sister in law is a doctor and gave us some prescription pills on our 1st cruise but told us to only take them if we really need it. INSTEAD she told us to get seabands (available in any drug store).

I am the type of person that believes in pills over pressure points or other holistic medicines. BUT - I put on the bands and wasnt sick at all. For one of the excursions, I took them off and forgot to put them back on once on board the ship. After a while I started to get a headache and feel funny in the tummy. I put the sea bands back on and in 15 min I was feeling fine.

My wife and I now swear by them since they have worked on each cruise that we have taken since.

And it definitely isnt a "mind over matter thing" because my mind was convinced that it WOULDN'T work yet it did.

Just make sure that you have them placed correctly on your wrist.

ROB

Thanks Rob - Im sure I will love this cruise - as I always say, a bad day on a cruise is better than a good day in the office!!

Ive never done a cruise with 6 ports and no sea days - it sounds exciting yet tiring. Which is why we may make St Kitts just a sea day with a quick beach stop.

Im also curious to see how Carnival does New Years Eve at sea. Last year we were on a 10 night Caribbean Cruise on board Royal Caribbean for New Years Eve. Each area of the ship had its own party. We enjoyed the pool deck party with steel drum music. As my family and friends were back home in an ice storm on New Years Day, I was swimming at the beach at Virgin Gorda.