Stuck with Eastern . . .

[MrsBoo]

We found it difficult with 4 coming back from a beach day all wanting to shower/wash hair/use hair dryer in time for early dinner. Other times it wasn't so bad.

[MrsPete]

Mrs. Pete,

 

Are you putting all four of you in that one cabin 1688? Or did you get an inside across the hall for the children? We have cabin 1388 and it is just the two of us. We put our kids across the hall b/c we thought it would be way too crowded in a D1.

 

I'm curious to know if 4 can work in that one cabin.

 

ciship

 

One cabin for us. It's my first time in this particular cabin, but we've been fine in standard cabins before. Our kids are 8 and 11 now; if they were teens, it'd be different.

 

We subscribe to the "scrimp to splurge" mindset. We scrimp on things that don't matter to us much so that we can travel more often!

[mom2kids]

In St. Thomas, try the Turtle Cove sail and Snorkel. It's on the Doubloon. We had an awesome time. DD9 and DS7 loved seeing all of the sea turtles. DD DIDNOT want to get out of the water. Plus, as an added bonus, there are FREE drinks on the way back to the ship.

 

St. Marten, we hung out at the beach. It was a ship excursion to Divi Resort on Little Bay. Well worth the money and lunch was included. We had such a great time there. Probably our favorite port.

[spkeze]

MrsPete;

I, too, would like to know what you thought after you've experienced the Eastern. I don't know when you are cruising but I'm scheduled on the Mariner for 06/26/05. I haven't sailed much and am interested in your response.

 

All the others, thank you for your input. It has been helpful to me.

[Inshape]

Beware at Coki Beach! When we were there 3 yrs ago we had our bags stolen and the group sitting next to us got theirs taken too. I had read in Foders that there were pick pockets there so I was extra cautious never leaving our stuff unattended. This meant swimming in shifts--3 kids and hubby and I took turns. When we were sunning the sun got to strong for the kids so I moved them to a shady place on the other side of the tree that we were near. Stupid me! I was back for our stuff within 30 sec and it was gone! Money, clothes, wallets, glasses, sign and sail cards, camera....shall i go on! The people next to us lost passports and other valuables too.

The police came and took a report and escorted us back to the ship. With no ids we thought we were doomed. We got right on--ruined the vacation though! We were on Carnival triumph then. We are returning to St Thomas this coming Jan on Mariner and we are staying clear of Coki beach!

[firstcruise05]

The Zip Line course is in St. Martin and it is at the Loterrie (not sure about that spelling) Farm, I've seen it listed in the RC excursion list. Loterrie Farm Tree top Adventure or something like that it is called.

[kkem]

FredandBeth

 

Hi we are going on the Jewel in November, could you tell me the name of the place with the jungle and the trapeze? Thank you Kathleen

[dirtgirl]

The Loterie Park Treetop Adventure was absolutely great and a highlight of our cruise in St. Martin. You pretty much have to do the ship excursion for that one, though. The pirate museum in Nassau was liked by all.

[jimbulger]

Humph.

 

I just booked Mariner of the Seas, and I had to take the Eastern route instead of the Western. Don't get me wrong -- I'm thrilled that we're going on the cruise, and I got the cabin I wanted (1688). I'm really not complaining. But the week we chose was, by far, the best time for us to vacation, so I had to take the Eastern.

 

So . . . help me cheer up. I was really excited about shore excursions for the Western, and nothing jumps out at me for Nassau, St. Thomas, or St. Maarten. Some details about us:

 

We're a family with two daughters, ages 9 and 12.

Because we dislike crowds, we prefer non-ship excursions.

Because we'll have three "at sea" days, we want to plan something for each stop.

We've already done the dolphin excursion on a previous cruise, and I don't think we'll repeat that (because of cost).

We'd like to do one beach-day -- which island is best?

Atlantis looks like a possibility for Nassau.

We wanted to do the jeep-through-the-jungle thing in Cozumel -- anything similar on one of these islands?

Shopping doesn't rank high on our list of "must dos". We could literally come home with no souveniers and be perfectly happy.

 

Thanks in advance. And no lectures, please, on any-cruise-is-better-than-work. I know that, and I'll soon get over my initial Eastern disappointment. But I'll get over it more quickly if y'all can suggest some exciting stuff on the Eastern!

 

magens bay on st thomas is a must..or the godola ride what a veiw

If you do atlantis take the "comfort suites" approach (book a room there have access to atlantis (all of it) all day

 

st mmarteen has a ton to do but you may have to go with a ship excursion there

[KMBB]

jimbulger-can you tell me how to book at the comfort suites(supose this is a hotel near by that will let you use the Atlantis???) Do you know how much a room is for 4 people? Thanks, KMBB

[digital_curator]

We loved the Eastern Caribbean (with the exception of Nassau, which depending on which November sailing is your you might miss).

 

Another vote for Godfrey- he gives you the chance to see the town and shop, tour the island, and get in some beach time (we went to Saphire but would probably try another one the next time- Coki looked nicer). And for $20 you really can't go wrong.

 

In St. Maarten we went on the Lord Sheffield Tall Ship

 

www.lordsheffield.com

 

This also gave us time to shop before and after the excursion. It is close to the cruise ship dock and the town so you can walk from either. A pleasant sail along the coast, a great lunch, then snorkelling/swimming at 2 different locations. You can even jump into the water from one of the masts! The crew is very friendly- they are from Canada. We thought this was a great value.

 

I think it's nice that you get to experience some new ports! We have booked our second cruise and were careful to make sure that none of the stops were the same as our last one.

 

We also found great self-guided walking tours on frommers.com that gave some info about places you will see in the various ports.

 

Have a great cruise!

[Candleonwater]

Inshape - sorry it happened to you, but I'm glad to hear you were able to get back on the ship! I've often wondered what would happen in that situation!

 

Another vote for Eastern being a favorite itinerary! We've done 2 easterns and 1 western. The only reason we're doing western again this time is my daughter wants to climb Dunn's River Falls again. Period.

 

We went sailing in both St. Thomas and St. Maarten... absolutely loved it. Nassau we walked around in town, but wish we had either booked an excursion or stayed on the ship.

[Inshape]

Thanks for the kind words. Did not stop us from cruising! Just a bit more careful. To the person booking rooms at Comfort Suites to get into the Atlantis, make sure the money is refundable. I do not know when you are going but there are many ports that are missed because of weather conditions. Also, IMO, check with RCCL to make sure that is where you are going. On the "official" web page it states Coco Cay instead of Nassau, which is printed in all print outs and catalogs. So just make sure.

Have fun.

[threeofus]

Remember one thing about Atlantis....You can view everything, eat and drink with a day pass...but you can't use the pool or waterslides. They are very strict about that.

Some take an inexpensive room and then use all the facilities.

That would depend on hour many hours you are in port.

Twice we took a boat to Blue Lagoon Island. Pretty place and you get a lunch buffet and you can do the dolphin swim, or stingray city swim. If you are interested in the dolphin swim book early they sell out. Dolphin encounter is still $$ but not nearly as good as the swim. Go for the extra money.

 

Other than that....Nassau is a bit of a pit.