First time cruise

[lexi belle]

Hi we go on our first cruise in Nov 13...Ventura around the Carribean. Realistically how much spending money shall I take..........I want to go on some excursions but have been advised to just sort that out in each port......do I get a wine package?.....I could go on and on with questions!! I dont want to do anything on the cheap but have no idea what we will need.......help!!:confused:

[janny444]

Mmmm...how long is a piece of string...it really depends on your spending habits. When we have been we have mainly booked our excursions through the ship so they go onto your onboard account. If you look at which excursions you fancy on your Cruise Personaliser that will give you an idea of what to take in currency...bear in mind that excursions will be cheaper when you book on shore. It is also better to take lower denomations of Dollars to spend in bars/shops as you may be given change in the local currency.

 

When we did our first Caribbean cruise I was glad that our excursions were booked through the ship because when you leave the ship I would have been overwhelmed with them all "touting" for your business at the port...I just found it much more relaxing knowing what I was doing and everything taken care of...all organised...no worries.

At one port my brother and a couple of his friends agreed a price to be taken on a tour and then to a local market...when they got there the driver demanded more money from them to be taken back to the ship..they paid otherwise they could have been stranded and missed the ship.

If you are considering doing your own thing I would take a look at the POC before I went and see which Tour Companies people are recommending and possibly pre book them before you go

[BrianI]

You will find in every Caribbean port there are loads of taxis/minibuses touting for your custom, which work out cheaper than the ships excursions. You can either have a taxi just to take you to the nearest beach or a tour of the island. US dollars is the universal currency in the Caribbean. The exception maybe be an excursion by local boat where the ship will block book just for ships excursion. How much money you will need depends on how many trips you expect to take. If you run short of US dollars, you can get them from certain banks or from reception onboard the ship chargeable to your account - and ultimately your credit card at the end of the cruise. The ship is convenient but the exchange rate is slightly less than you would get at a bank.

 

The wine packages do give you a slight saving but you have a mixture of different wines, some of which you may not want. If you purchase wine as you go and dont consume the full bottle, the waiter will keep it for you and bring it back the next evening. The house wine is quite drinkable and you can buy by the glass, half or full litre carafe.

 

Dont plan anything too strenuous for the first couple of days as you will be tired with the travelling and jet lag. Remember the ship is fully operational when in port, bars open, restaurants open, burger/pizza bar open, pools open so you can relax in the Caribbean sun (or shade). Be careful of the sun between 11am and 3pm as it is very strong.

 

Brian

[Blackrat]

Hi,

We had the red wine package on our last cruise and it was very very good. It worked out the average price of a bottle was £15. If you look at the full price of some of the wines there is a good saving. Some of the wines were only available with the package.

 

As has been mentioned, your waiters will save the bottles if not finished and transport them to different restaurants if you eat elsewhere.

 

We also kept a box of wine in the cabin's fridge Morrison's signature red as recommended by a top wine critic. £11 for the equivalent of 3 bottles. Not bad at all.

 

Cheers,

BR

[Host Sharon]

Welcome to Cruise Critic Lexibelle. You don't necessarily need to bring much cash ($US) with you as nearly everything will be charged to your on board account. You will only need cash for private tours, the casino and shoreside spending. wine packages for example will just go on to your account which is settled (normally) by registering a credit card on embarkation.

 

So it all depends on how much you intend to spend ashore - souvenirs, eating out, rum punches ;) .....

 

Also bear in mind you can always draw more out from an ATM ashore, or get foreign currency on your account at the ship's reception.

 

Ask away - no question is too silly - believe me.

[sueandphil]

Hi Lexi belle, We are also on Ventura in November. Most trips are doable from the Ports but if it involves travel to offshore Islands you might want to consider doing a P&O excursion as the ship will wait if you are delayed.You can look on your cruise personaliser right now to see which trips are available. If you just want to do a Beach you can often share a Taxi with other Pax. Don't pay til they get you back to Port and agree price beforehand. By the way if you get money from a cash machine ashore it may well be in Eastern Caribbean Dollars which have a different exchange rate to USD

[lexi belle]

Thanks so much for your kind replies... Hope to see you on the boat sue and phil :)

[sueandphil]

Oh my, don't call it a Boat or they will have you walking the plank. We board on the 9th on N328a so if you are also on board then can I suggest that you may want to access Pats roll call. You can find it on this site under N327/ N328. She will organise a group meet usually in a bar, usually Saturday lunchtime, usually involving cake.

Hope to see you on board:)

[lexi belle]

Hi Sue Phil......sorry bad habit calling it a boat....what a shame we are going on the 22nd. Have a great time:)

[bee-ess]

If you post a list of your ports folks on here will give some ideas of what to see (and what to avoid). We always do a mix of Ships tours and independent tours and taxis. We tend to book our tours up in the UK before we go, we don't do any of the taxi tours on the quayside, we just tend to use taxis for journeys to a beach rather than tours. Also the ports of call section on here is very good for finding out what to see and how.

[Tiggertastic]

Hi

 

make sure you log onto the roll call for your cruise - you will find people booking private trips for less money than the ship do.

 

The caribbean islands all differ, some have lots to see and do and others you may want to visit a beach. We work on $100 a day between 2 with a little extra for food and drink and in ports that we plan on not doing a trip, we still take the same to eat out etc. Everyone is different and whatever you don't use you can always keep for your next cruise - as you will be hooked.

 

have a wonderful time

[Mr Blue Sky]

Hi Lexi belle

 

If if helps in your planning, we found that "trips" which we joined locally in the Caribbean,

the going rate appeared from our experience and others

We met in Feb was around the 20 to 25 Usd for a Island tour, for a air con

Mini bus holding six to eight people.

 

As others spending money very personal depending on the gifts for family

Deck chair hire again around 10 to 20 Usd each , drinks etc and of course

The fridge magnets. :)

 

Mrs Blue Sky

[lexi belle]

22 NovemberDay 1Barbados

Embark Ventura

Dining: Freedom

 

23 NovemberDay 2Barbados

Depart evening

Dining: Freedom

 

24 NovemberDay 3Sea Day

 

Dining: Freedom

 

25 NovemberDay 4Grenada

Arrive early morning

Depart early evening

Dining: Freedom

 

Possible Tender

26 NovemberDay 5St Lucia

Arrive early morning

Depart early evening

Dining: Freedom

 

Possible Tender

27 NovemberDay 6Dominica

Arrive early morning

Depart early evening

Dining: Freedom

 

Possible Tender

28 NovemberDay 7St Kitts

Arrive early morning

Depart early evening

Dining: Freedom

 

Possible Tender

29 NovemberDay 8St Maarten

Arrive early morning

Depart early evening

Dining: Freedom

 

30 NovemberDay 9Tortola

Arrive early morning

Depart early evening

Dining: Freedom

 

Possible Tender

01 DecemberDay 10Sea Day

 

Dining: Freedom

 

02 DecemberDay 11Curacao

Arrive early morning

Depart early evening

Dining: Freedom

 

03 DecemberDay 12Bonaire

Arrive early morning

Depart early evening

Dining: Freedom

 

04 DecemberDay 13Sea Day

 

Dining: Freedom

 

05 DecemberDay 14Sea Day

 

Dining: Freedom

 

06 DecemberDay 15Barbados

Disembark

 

Hi BEE ESS

 

My Intinery is as follows:

 

Barbados

Grenada

St Lucia

Dominca

St Kitts

St Maarten

Tortolla

Curacao

Bonaire

Babados

 

Thanks so much

[Scorpio41]

Check out the cruising secrets thread for tips on what to pack or look out for when on board.

 

Have a fabulous first cruise. :)

[bee-ess]

I'll take a stab at some ideas for you and I'm sure others will give you some as well and also look at the Ports of Call section where there are lots of ideas.

 

Barbados - Lots of choice with taxis and tours. All the beaches on the South and West Coast are all close enough for taxi and bus with a bit more research. If you want scenery find a taxi or tour that goes to the East Coast (Bathsheba) where the scenery is stunning.

Grenada - St Georges is a nice town for a walk around, good views from the |Fort. Most people get a watertaxi to Grand Anse beach. If you want an excellent but expensive trip you could try the Champagne and Lobster excursion and if you want a bit of (boozy) fun the Rhum Runner is a good cheap trip.

St Lucia - The best value tour on the island is Cosol's tour which goes over land to the Pitons and back (google Cosol Tours and read Tripadvisor reviews). There are also some good tours to the Pitons by boat (spencer Ambrose Tours and others), be aware that all of them don't stop at the beach there.

Dominca - Not much of a fan of Dominica, usually a day on the ship for us. Lots love it but not us, not much of a town either.

St Kitts - Lots of tours/ taxis available here - there is a train trip around the island that is popular. Beaches are a taxi ride away from port.

St Maarten - No need to spend much here, just get the watertaxi from outside the terminal to the town/beach. Good beach and shopping. Can use the water taxi as much as you like so can come back for lunch if you want. If you want to go further afield there are island tours and taxis you can take.

Tortola - V. popular is the open sided bus to Cane Garden Bay from outside of terminal. There are some other islands nearby by ferry or tour, either Virgin Gorda (The Baths) or Jost Van Dyke are worth visiting by boat.

Curacao - Have only looked around the town here which is quite good.

Bonaire - Went here once about 10 years ago and can't remember much about it - good for snorkelling/diving I think.

Barbados - If you fly back later in the day you could walk into town and carry on a bit further to Carlisle Bay if you want (about 20 ins walk from ship)

 

Hope this helps

 

There are some photos here if it helps you.

https://picasaweb.google.com/107693552597250328299/Caribbean2013#

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/107693552597250328299/Carib11Photos#

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/107693552597250328299/Carib10Photos#