Itinerary choice

[Mitwif]

Joan, Once you get off the ship head past/through the Port Security and IMMEDIATELY on your right you will see a building with steps leading up (4 or 5) and a ramp. There are a couple of stores in there, and if I remember correctly a small eatery with a couple of tables outside. There is a small convenience store like place in the back of that building. To get there once you go up the stairs just head to the back of the building and you will see it.

 

The Huge 3 and 5 Kilo round prepackaged Gouda Cheese is in a refrigerated cooler (just like in a grocery store) along the back wall.

 

We paid $32.00 or $35.00 USD per round. They accept US Credit Cards.

 

Make sure you go to the Front Desk on the ship before you go to St Maartens and ask them if they will allow you to do the "Store & Board." Some of the Front Desk staff are not aware of this program so you might have to ask for the Hotel Manager or the Executive Chef.

 

Once you buy the cheese, take it to the Front Desk and make sure they TAG it with your name. We left ours in my carry on and they stored it in a Kitchen fridge until the night before we disembarked. When I called down to the front desk for the cheese our Stateroom Steward brought it to me and I packed 2 rounds each into a WalMart Freezer Bag that I'd bought for them $2.00 USD each, and packed them in each of our carry ons.

 

We did declare the cheese on our Customs forms (I made sure before we cruised that I could bring the cheese into the US and as long as it is in its original unopened packaging it is OK) I also told the Customs agent I had it and he just waved us through:)

 

Hope I did not kill you with boredom on how to do it:D

 

We bought 4 rounds in March and have 2 left. We are going to have to plan another cruise for late on in 2013 to St Maartens to replenish our stock:) I know others have said there are other islands to get the Gouda at, but they are more expensive and they are not beautiful St Maartens:)

 

Joanie

 

Thank you! Your detailed explanation was very helpful. Now we just need the plan our next cruise that stops by there :)

[RetiredMustang]

Mar56,

 

I have been to those islands, in some cases several times. The first itinerary is the one Maasdam is doing, while the second appears to be for Noordam. We took the Maasdam 11-day in Feb 2102, and are booked on the Noordam 11-day in Feb 2013. We also did a similar itinerary on Noordam in 2010 as part of b2b.

 

So, clearly, we like both itineraries. Here is what we did/my thoughts on the islands you underlined:

 

St. Kitts. We also took the scenic railyway ride. It was a very good shore excursion. I did a live blog of our Maasdam cruise (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1566239), and put in lots of photos of this particular excursion (starting at post #60) that may give you a better idea of what to expect. We only have visited there once, so I don't have an experience with other shore excursions.

 

St. Vincent. We took a strenous hike through the rain forest called the Vermont Trail Hike that was enjoyable, but you need to be in decent condition to do uphill/downhill hiking. I did a tour description and posted a couple of photos of St. Vincent on the above blog, post #68. Again, we have only been to this island this one time.

 

St. Croix. We took the snorkel trip to Buck Island. I read that you are not snorkelers, and I don't remember other shore excursions offered here. But, the island was pretty as we drove to/from Chistiansted for the snorkel trip. Again, our only time here. In fact we took this Maasdam itinerary because of these three islands that we had never before visited.

 

The other three different ports in the Noordam itinerary you listed were:

 

Castries, St. Lucia. We have been here a few times. Once, in the 1990s, we took a whale watching trip (saw no whales, but lots of dolphins). In 2010, we took the Island Splendor Drive, which covered banana plantations, a working fishing village, the historic forts, and a grand historic house. In 2012, we visited St. Lucia on Maasdam (looks like they substitute Martinique in the 2014 itinerary). We did the aerial tram ride, which is a less-taxing way of seeing the rain forest. There are lots of other shore excursions offered, including ones that drive into a volcano.

 

Roseau, Dominica. We visited here 8-10 years ago, and took a drive that included a visit to the Emerald pool -- the excrusion was called something like Domenica's Favorites or Highlights. This was a great trip, and one of our memories of Dominica is of the huge wild impatiens plants along the roads. On another visit, we did a snorkel trip. We have booked a whale-watching trip for 2013.

 

St. Thomas. We have been there many times. Like others, we have found that it gets busier and more crowded each time. We used to take snorkel trips a lot, but in 2010 took the excursion that included a boat ride to St. John (the boat left from the Crown Bay area) and a nature hike, swim at Honeymoon beach and a visit to an old sugar plantation -- some history and nature. Honeymoon beach is just that -- a beach; there are no chairs, changing facilities, drink stands or anything. It was quite pretty.

 

 

The islands that are on both itineraries also have attractive excursions.

 

We have done the hike down from Pic Paradis to Lotterie Farm as well as several other excusions on St. Maarten during several visits over the years. But, it also is getting more crowded, and I have read on other threads about traffic on the island getting to/from excursions.

 

On Martinique, the one time we visited, we took a tour that included the Balata Church, a botanical garden and a visit to the town of St. Pierre, destroyed by a pyrocastic flow from a volcanic eruption.

 

On Barbados, we have visited Harrison's Cave, taken a couple of scenic drive itineraries, and swam with the turtles twice. Lots to do there.

 

Hope this helps,

Dave

[Mar56]

Dave thanks for such great detail and it helps a lot!

[Typhoon1]

We've done the ranger hike twice in St John. The guide was fabulous! Both times we did it as a ship's tour, so they organized the ferry tickets to make sure we'd get back in time.

 

We've gotten so tired of St. Thomas, before we started staying onboard, we took the ferry to St. John and spent the day there. Much more relaxed atmosphere.

[OVgirl]

who's the maker on the cheese? i love cheese, but it seems like a lot of work to haul it back.

It's usually Frico, so you are getting a very good quality imported from Holland, wheel of cheese.