LIVE fron the APRIL 1st CARIBBEAN PRINCESS- PICS and REVIEW

[MDSue]

Stop 3, Antigua, This was my third trip to Antigua and I was bound and determined to visit an Antigua Beach. I saw a picture of Valley Church Beach and decided that was the beach I needed to visit. We had a chance of rain that day and you can by the picture- this was the worst weather we had all week- a few clouds formed and flew over;

 

 

and then the sun returned and never left. We literally didn't have a drop of rain all week, or if it did, we missed it.

 

 

 

If you want free wi-fi, you can get it here at this little restaurant and bar. I got a pretty mean frozen drink here as well. Since I was unable to post pictures most of the week on the ship, this place would have been helpful if I had brought my laptop, but then again, I don't think I would have wanted to spend a beach day online.

 

 

Of course there were a few souvenir stands as well:

 

[tteettimes]

I'm drooling Susan-----thx so much for letting us share with you

Fantastic pics ----- we have been there a couple of times but this really takes us back----- must go again soon----best to you and Sister too :)

[MDSue]

 

There were a lot of people enjoying the jet skis and watching them have fun made me really wish I didn't have a bad back

 

 

Even with the few clouds, this color blue just can't be beat:

 

[MDSue]

When we were ready to leave, we found a taxi driver to head back to port. We had to wait about 20 minutes for the cab to fill up.

If you look real hard, you can see the ship in the background. Antigua is very scenic to drive through.

 

 

 

 

We did a little shopping in the town of St. John. The vendors market has dozens (if not hundreds) of vendors selling similar trinkets, wares, and t-shirts. It can get a little noisy and pushy with all the competition, but I enjoy looking around. We were hoping to find another painting to go with one I bought a few years ago, but didn't find one we liked as much. I did buy a few things. I did stay out of the jewelry stores though as I had blown my jewelry budget in St. Thomas and on the ship:

 

 

 

There were four ships in port the day we were there:

 

 

When we returned to the port, there were workers busy freshening up the ship. They definitely did a great job keeping her clean and nice

 

 

[MDSue]

I'm drooling Susan-----thx so much for letting us share with you

Fantastic pics ----- we have been there a couple of times but this really takes us back----- must go again soon----best to you and Sister too :)

 

Glad you are enjoying them, I do believe Antigua is right up there with one of my favorite islands- it is so hard to choose, but their beaches are just so unique. I think the town of St, John is one of the most picturesque islands I have sailed into.

[MDSue]

These pics are a little out of order, this was pulling into port in the morning. Three other ships were already docked:

 

 

 

One advantage of having a cabin so close to the bridge was because every now and then we were treated to some bridge eye candy:

 

[MDSue]

Here's the same view of St. John's as we were departing:

 

 

 

A truly beautiful town:

 

 

Edited April 14, 2012 by MDSue

[MDSue]

I loved your review and pictures. A Carribean cruise is on my bucket list hopefully for next year.

 

I see you have the a Hawaii cruise on your signature. I would love to go there one day. I just haven't been able to give up my Caribbean cruises yet

[cormike1]

I see you have the a Hawaii cruise on your signature. I would love to go there one day. I just haven't been able to give up my Caribbean cruises yet

 

I am still enjoying your pics and yes they are beautiful and so is Hawaii. We did the Golden Princess to Hawaii and it was really nice with 4 days at sea, 4 days at 4 islands and 4 days back. If you like sea days then this is so relaxing. I hate sitting on a plane for hours so we enjoyed doing Hawaii this way. We did this in November and the weather was wonderful. You should try it Sue....I bet you and your sister would love it!

[MDSue]

I am still enjoying your pics and yes they are beautiful and so is Hawaii. We did the Golden Princess to Hawaii and it was really nice with 4 days at sea, 4 days at 4 islands and 4 days back. If you like sea days then this is so relaxing. I hate sitting on a plane for hours so we enjoyed doing Hawaii this way. We did this in November and the weather was wonderful. You should try it Sue....I bet you and your sister would love it!

 

It's on our bucket list! I think I would like to fly to the islands though, I'm not sure I'd want that many sea days. When I retire, I think I could live at sea though!

[tteettimes]

I for one am going to miss this thread----followed you and sister all the way

And you were always gracious to come back with follow-up and beautiful pictures-----for all of us to enjoy. And remember having been there ourselves ---or some anxiously looking forward to the next sail away

Thanks Sue-----this was a great thread-----keep working on that bucket list

:):):)

[MDSue]

I for one am going to miss this thread----followed you and sister all the way

And you were always gracious to come back with follow-up and beautiful pictures-----for all of us to enjoy. And remember having been there ourselves ---or some anxiously looking forward to the next sail away

Thanks Sue-----this was a great thread-----keep working on that bucket list

:):):)

 

Thanks- still have Dominica and Barbados to go. Will post Dominica today and Barbados tomorrow and then add a few random shots, I missed along the way. I'm glad you enjoyed our journey. My next journey is my first trip to Europe via a land tour with my daughter in July. Then I will start some serious cruise shopping for our next year's adventure at sea:)

[PC in Alabama]

Sue, I am leaving on the CB on the 22nd of April, and I am sure like many others I want to also say Thank You for your awesome postings !!

 

I am sure there are many more like myself that have enjoyed this thread as it went along without posting replies on it.

 

Looks like you had a really great time, and each of us had a great time reading and seeing it here thru your words and pictures.

 

Philippe

[rjrice1]

MDSue.. I so look forward to your post and pics. Keep showing DH!!!

We leave tomorrow at 3:15am to airport and be in San Juan by 9:30am.

Again... THANK YOU!!!

Cathy

[MDSue]

MDSue.. I so look forward to your post and pics. Keep showing DH!!!

We leave tomorrow at 3:15am to airport and be in San Juan by 9:30am.

Again... THANK YOU!!!

Cathy

 

Hi Cathy, I'm really excited for you! Have a great time. I wish I could have gotten all my pictures loaded faster but work and school are getting in the way.

Have a wonderful trip!

 

I'm getting ready to upload Dominica pictures. When I walked off the ship, there was a woman selling colorful flowers made out of crepe paper that I fell in love with. She was asking a dollar a piece for them. She said she used the money to send her three children to school. I bought 6 for $5 dollars and really wanted to buy her whole basket, but had no idea how I was going to get them home as they were delicate and couldn't be packed in my luggage. My sister decided she like them too and bought 6 more.

 

I bought a colorful vase to put them in at one of the vendor stands, and spent the next few days on a "save the flowers" campaign. When we were packing to go home, we had a ton of stuff- my checked bag, my carry-on, and another bag of delicate stuff that included my pretty flowers. Trying to get through the airport agricultural inspection, security x-rays, and on our flights without damaging our flowers became an adventure in itself.

We made it successfully through our first attempt to fly home, but when our flight was cancelled and we had to come back the next day, I dropped my bag and I ended up breaking my vase and one of my flowers. We hand carried them the rest of the trip and got lots of comments from the flight attendants about our flowers and our efforts to get them home in one piece.

 

Anyway, here is a picture of our flowers at home. I so wish I had taken a picture of the woman and her whole basket. If you see her in Dominica (selling right by the pier), I would love to have a picture of her and her flowers.

 

 

They make great cabin decorations in the cabin as well. I hope a few people will tell this woman how much I love her flowers and I hope she sells lots more!

[MDSue]

The port of Rouseau is quite colorful and pretty as you pull up in the ship. However, it is a much poorer country than most of the islands and once you walk around the port area, the difference is evident. I always felt perfectly safe in the port area though and met some really friendly people here. I really enjoyed talking to an elderly woman who sat down with me when I was too tired to shop anymore. She wanted to know what the weather was like where I lived and was interested life in the U.S. compared to life on the islands. I'm not sure she could really comprehend what "snow" is. I was trying to explain how we had over 10 feet of snow a few years back, but she looked at me with an expression as if she had no idea what I was talking about. I guess if you've never seen something, it can be hard to imagine.

It is very clear from my conversations, that most of the people on the islands have a strong Christian faith.

 

This is the day that my one camera broke as I was snorkelling, so I don't have a ton of pictures. For some reason. the camera took some shots after it got waterlogged, but not others.

 

Here are a few from our day in Dominica:

 

The port of Rouseau

 

 

 

 

[MDSue]

I'm going to borrow these shots from my last year pictures. They have been photoshopped a bit to brighten the colors.

 

I took this one from our ship as we pulled into port

 

 

Carib Indian Territory:

 

 

Emerald Pool: There was actually someone in this picture and I photoshopped him out- I love Photoshop! (I haven't used it for any of this year's shots, though).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did an island tour last year of this island, and went to the Emerald Pool, Jacko Falls, and the Carib Indian territory. I have a ton of pics from these locations stored on my Photobucket site, but they are mixed in with some other islands not included from this year's cruise. Perhaps, when I finish my pics from this year, if anyine is interested, I'll go back and post some of those as well

[MDSue]

Champagne Reef Snorkel tour- We did a ship tour which I wrote a bit about last week. My biggest complaint was that there were too many people in the water for just one guide to point out the sights. I did manage to see a lot of the bubbles and they were really cool, but my camera didn't capture them.

 

My biggest suggestion for this tour is to watch out for anything floating and don't swim into it. I wish I could remember what they called this plant-like stuff that stings. I almost got out of the water when I got stung on both arms as I was jumping in the water, but I toughed it out and was fine a short while later. Once I realized what stung me, I managed to avoid any further encounters.

A lot of people went to the springs on a shore excursion and I would not have wanted to enter the water that way. It was very rocky close to shore.

 

 

 

 

I really didn't good snorkelling pictures, but my sister did, so I'll upload some later on.

 

Parts of The Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed in Dominica and off the coast. This area was where they filmed

 

 

After we snorkelled, we took a tour down the coast to the town of Soufriere. The church in the picture was built in the 1700's

 

 

[MDSue]

One more of the ship in port:

 

[MDSue]

Back to our tour:

 

Our ship in the distance on our way to the reef:

 

 

The town of Soufriere

 

 

People standing on the shore off the reef:

 

 

One of the tour guides waiting to retrieve something out of the water. I saw him grab something with a hook and realized he was grabbing a man's hat that had blown off his head on our tour boat:

 

 

[MDSue]

For all those sailing tomorrow, have a safe and happy trip!

[MDSue]

Thanks to my sister, Lynne, for these pics. Her camera liked the water better than mine

It wasn't the best snorkelling I've done, but the bubbles were cool and there was a decent variety of fish. We saw a ton of urchins this trip, too.

 

 

 

 

The bubbles- you can see them come up from the sea floor, but we didn't get any pictures

 

[MDSue]

Befpre I take a break for awhile, I thought I'd post a few more of the interior of the ship. We took a tour of the gym and the spa on our first day onboard

 

entry to spa:

 

 

 

couples massage room:

 

 

another room in spa:

 

 

steam area?

 

 

gym:

 

 

 

Edited April 14, 2012 by MDSue

[MDSue]

Coming up next- Barbados. I hope I'm saving the best pics for last. We did a photography tour in Barbados, so I had lots of opportunities to get some great shots.

 

Hopefully, I'll get them uploaded and posted tomorrow.

 

Susan

[pkt1976]

I see you have the a Hawaii cruise on your signature. I would love to go there one day. I just haven't been able to give up my Caribbean cruises yet

 

It was a 7 day NCL that went to I think 5 of the islands but what they offer is different now. There were no sea days so my next cruise will be very different. I loved that trip and want to go back some day.