Eastern Caribbean

[msbeaurivage]

I was just wondering what are the best port of calls in the eastern caribbean. I'm doing the Century and would like to know what to expact. Thanks for any and all replys.

 

Days remaing until our 1st Anniversary Cruise!!!!

 

[nctxmix]

We're taking the Century on the Eastern Caribbean in 3 weeks (6/12/04). From what I've read on these boards, you get into San Juan late and most of the shops are closed or are closing. We are planning on taking a walking tour. I'm still undecided on what to do at St Maartin and St Thomas. Alot of people say both islands are beautiful.

[JNLROSE]

St. Thomas & St. Maarten ARE both beautiful! You can NEVER go wrong with a good time on either island! San Juan can be iffy since the Century DOES get there late occasionally. In my personal opinion, Nassau is a definite pass on! BUT, having said that, one must experience it at least once I suppose.

 

Rosie

E-mail me <a href="mailto:JNLROSE@AOL.COM">here</a href>

 

Look out MERCURY Here we come!!!

 

September 2005--"Millie in the Med"--We're there!

[wvufan]

Hi msbeaurivage,

 

Well, for sure you will be sailing on a ship that many of us love, and I know you will have great time

 

We visited some of the Eastern islands on Horizon cruise recently-not sure if you are going to these places, but here's our thoughts.

 

We were in St. Martin recently, and went on the America's Cup excursion. Fantastic experience all the way. It's a little expensive and can only be booked through the ship, but we thought it was well worth the money. Went to Orient Beach in the afternoon. Perfect day

 

In Nassau we went on the Dolphin Swim (which is different than the dolphin encounter sold by the ship).It was $145 per person, but that was our Christmas gift to each other. A very special once in a lifetime experience. I don't want to steer this topic into a debate on these types of facilities, but simply want to tell you that we researched this facility ahead of time and our visit confirmed out belief that it is exceptional in it's treatment of the dolphins. The encounter is at the same facility, but you don't get as involved and interact to the extent that you do in the swim. I would be glad to answer any additional questions.

 

PR is one of my favorite ports to visit. Ironically, I lived there for 12 years in the 50s and 60s, but never was a "tourist" there. So, when we went stopped there a few months ago, we walked around old San Juan, visited El Morro, etc., and it was wonderful.

 

In St. Thomas, we caught the ferry from the main town to St. Johns (did not take a cab and then the Red Hook), and spent most of the day at Trunk Bay. Beautiful.

 

Have fun,

 

OOOEEE Bob and Phyl

[JNLROSE]

Hi Bob & Phyl!

 

Sure wish I had known about your dolphin trip when we visited Nassau! Sounds GREAT!!!! That would make me want to visit there again now!

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Rosie

E-mail me <a href="mailto:JNLROSE@AOL.COM">here</a href>

 

Look out MERCURY Here we come!!!

 

September 2005--"Millie in the Med"--We're there!

[teedee]

I totally agree that the America's Cup Regatta on St Martin is awesome. If you want to do it book early, it tends to sell out fast. Another fun thing in St Martin is the Golden Eagle Catamaran. You can't go wrong with either one.

 

Terri

 

Skyward - 1989

Carnivale - 1991

Holiday - 1994

Fantasy - 1998

Century - 2002

Century - 2003

Jubilee - 7/04

Century - 9/04

Coral Princess - 3/05

Valor - 10/05

 

Days til Valor Vampires Cruise

[nealberk]

You might want to look at the thread on the Celebrity. While Peg took the Western Caribbean there have been a few comments on the Eastern route.

 

We have done the Eastern Caribbean twice. Take a peak at my web sites www.celebrity-century.com and www.hollandAmericaVeendam.com for details of our shore excursions on the Veendam and on the Celebrity Century.

[Lois R]

Hi

I never went on any water excursions, maybe next time.

Celebrity also offers land based tours. I went on a "Historical Walking Tour" and enjoyed it very much.

I can't recall every spot we stopped at but it was 1/2 walking and 1/2 bus.

I enjoyed myself very much.

 

After arriving back at the ship I then walked back across the street and went up to Paradise Point. It is a cable car ride up a hill and the view is spectacular.

If you click on the pictures below...go to Century May 2003 and there are some photos of Paradise Point listed!

Have a wonderful time, whatever you decide to do.

 

Next up...HORIZON Sept 18th to Bermuda!

 

See My Century and Mercury Pictures at:

http://community.webshots.com/user/lovescruising

[OCruisers]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by wvufan:

 

PR is one of my favorite ports to visit. Ironically, I lived there for 12 years in the 50s and 60s, but never was a "tourist" there. So, when we went stopped there a few months ago, we walked around old San Juan, visited El Morro, etc., and it was wonderful.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

wvufan .... Maybe you can help me remember how to get to a fun section we really enjoyed in San Juan?

 

We are looking for that section with small open-air bars and sidewalk cafes!

 

I THINK we go to that old bar, Patio de Sam, across from Iglesia de San Jose (about at corner of Del Cristo & Calle San Sebastian) and continue down (toward cruise dock) Del Cristo for a block or so that's where the section is located? Or maybe, we go on Calle San Sebastian?

 

Your help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Go Mountaineers!

 

OCruisers Go Cocks!

[wvufan]

Hi Ocruisers!

 

Methinks you are in the right area, but not sure of the exact location. Am getting ready to pack to go out of town for a few days, but will try to get more specific and post next weekend.

 

I really had to chuckle when I read your post, as there were some "fun" places down there we went to as teenagers that are no longer there or at least not openly visible. They were very hospitable to the sailors from the Navy base

 

We will be on a back to back this fall, and will have about 12 hours off the ship between each leg, so am really looking forward to going home again

 

Rosie, the "swim" was not filled when we were there, and those from the ship on the encounter had the option to upgrade. The highlight was at the end where you were propelled by dolphins pushing on the bottoms of your feet. Fantastic!

 

OOOEEE Bob and Phyllis

[nctxmix]

Nealberk,

 

Thanks so much for your web site about he Century's Eastern Caribbean. I've just looked at it and cannot not wait until June 12 Eastern Trip. We took the Western last May as our first cruise and was hooked. We must have raved so much that there are 10 more in our group that is going with us. We are still undecided about excursions for St Thomas and St Maartin, but I hope to make a decision by next weekend. Thanks again for the website.

[JNLROSE]

Bob & Phyl,

 

Thanks for the great info! Will tuck this away for the next trip to Nassau!

 

Rosie

E-mail me <a href="mailto:JNLROSE@AOL.COM">here</a href>

 

Look out MERCURY Here we come!!!

 

September 2005--"Millie in the Med"--We're there!

[nealberk]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by wvufan:

 

 

Rosie, the "swim" was not filled when we were there, and those from the ship on the encounter had the option to upgrade. The highlight was at the end where you were propelled by dolphins pushing on the bottoms of your feet. Fantastic!

 

OOOEEE Bob and Phyllis<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

When we opted for the encounter rather than the swim it filled very rapidly. Even so, when we got to the site, the folks running it said that there were two open slots in the swim and if anyone wanted to (for the additional charge), they could upgrade. My wife wanted to but since she was recoverying from back surgery and since her doctor has said "nothing past mild exertion", she had to stay where she was.

[nealberk]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by nctxmix:

Nealberk,

 

Thanks so much for your web site about he Century's Eastern Caribbean. I've just looked at it and cannot not wait until June 12 Eastern Trip. We took the Western last May as our first cruise and was hooked. We must have raved so much that there are 10 more in our group that is going with us. We are still undecided about excursions for St Thomas and St Maartin, but I hope to make a decision by next weekend. Thanks again for the website.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

In St Maartin we went on the "land and sea" tour with a bus trip around the island combined with a semisubmersible. For an island overview it was quite nice. Next time we will probably get a cab and go over to the French side to do some shopping (the open air mart was great) so we can see a bit more and will probably eat at one of the small restaurants on the water.

 

I personally like the Coral World aquarium in St. Thomas. It reminds me of Marineland of 30 years ago. No fancy shows but several ways to see aquatic life. If the water is clear, the underwater tower is fascinating since you can see the fish in the ocean without getting wet (One of the big problems with glasses and extreme nearsightedness!)

[JNLROSE]

Man Neal,

 

You are a WEALTH of information!

 

Rosie

E-mail me <a href="mailto:JNLROSE@AOL.COM">here</a href>

 

Look out MERCURY Here we come!!!

 

September 2005--"Millie in the Med"--We're there!

[nealberk]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JNLROSE:

Man Neal,

 

You are a WEALTH of information!

 

Rosie

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Hey, Rosie, I have been to these places, I might as well dump all I know about them! Besides, as you probably know by now, I am a storehouse of worthless information. Otherwise how else would I be able to comment on the Banana rum that you can buy at Top Of the Mountain?

[trcori]

Also note re: Coral World that there is a beach next door -- Coki Point -- since we visited Coral World, we were allowed to use its showers/lockers/changing rooms/etc. Coki isn't *fancy* (no high-rise hotels etc.) but all the better for us ... the water was the clearest we have encountered in our cruises on BOTH Century Caribbean runs. (Also look for Coral World's Web site -- at the time of our trip, it had a coupon for admission discount.)

 

TR

Millennium EC 12/12/04

****

Mercury MX 4/04, Infinity AK 8/03, Century WC 3/03 & EC 9/02

[OCruisers]

wvufan .... OOOEEE!

 

Thanks for taking the time from packing to respond!

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers Go Cocks!

 

Note: "Rosie", always enjoy reading your posts!

[msbeaurivage]

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYBODY FOR ALL THE INFO.

 

Days remaing until our 1st Wedding Anniversary Cruise!!!!

 

[nealberk]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by trcori:

Also note re: Coral World that there is a beach next door -- Coki Point -- since we visited Coral World, we were allowed to use its showers/lockers/changing rooms/etc. Coki isn't *fancy* (no high-rise hotels etc.) but all the better for us ... the water was the clearest we have encountered in our cruises on BOTH Century Caribbean runs. (Also look for Coral World's Web site -- at the time of our trip, it had a coupon for admission discount.)

 

TR

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Agreed, a quiet unpreposing beach that is simply beautiful. Wish more of the caribbean was still like that.