pghsteelerfan Posted November 13, 2015 Author #526 Share Posted November 13, 2015 After I took my little stroll for pictures, I went back down to the lounger and DH went for more beer for each of us. These were very good I enjoyed the lounger and the views and when I finished my beer I went into the water. After a while, “K” from “that other” roll call came over. I knew they were going to be here after the island tour they took. I spent some time talking to her and asked her where the rest of her group was. They were all snorkeling and she mentioned that “J”, her DH, could spend all day out there. If we are ever on the same cruise as they are again, I'm snorkeling with them. If you've seen Valentinebaby1's reviews then you've seen their snorkeling pictures. Wow! They manage to see or find the neatest things snorkeling. While hanging out in the water with “K”, “J” came over with two medium sized conch shells, both empty but they had the outer crud, they all will from being in the water. This isn’t like Grand Turk’s “conch shell graveyard” in which the discarded shells are up on the beach. They are in the water here but obviously not a lot like there are in Grand Turk. He gave those to me and I put them back at the lounger and asked him about the sand bar. He said it’s still there, that’s where he got the shells. He mentioned seeing sand dollars too. I asked him if he could show me, so I went and got the snorkel and mask and followed him out. Fortunately I had a better seal on the mask this time. I finally saw some sand dollars, most were broken but I was able to find a smaller, whole one, already bleached white. This is a plus, no clean up, just let it dry…if I can manage to get it back in one piece. The shells “J” gave to me weren’t huge but a little larger than what I wanted. I’m thinking luggage + extra weight = $100.00 fee from the airline. When we were getting ready to head back in, I saw a smaller one. I thinking I could definitely manage this one with the luggage. Of course, the sand dollars and shells are about 12 feet down. We had to “free dive” for them. I ended up getting water in the snorkel, not a lot, but enough that I accidentally inhaled a little. More salt water down my nose and down my throat. I was glad we were heading in at this point. DH had gotten me another beer and we had about a half hour left. I’d need that beer to wash down the salt water. “J” and “K” and crew were being picked up at the same time we were, so we all had to start getting dried off and start packing up our things. The smaller conch shell I found was empty, but had some crud on the outside from being in the water. I had the freezer zip-lock bags and double bagged it just in case it started to smell. DH had some kind of a rum drink in a plastic cup at some point, probably while I was in the water. I used the empty cup to temporarily carry my sand dollar in. I kept the small conch that “J” gave me, but left the bigger one, but only because I had to think about getting stuff back without letting my suitcase get over 50 pounds. Another guy that was in a lounger next to DH and I complimented on the larger shell, so I told him I could only take the small ones and let him know if he wanted it, it was his. Jumping ahead again. The conch shell I found cleaned up really nice, the smaller one, not pretty but I like it. I also had one little baggie with some black sand. And the sand dollar…did it make it back to Virginia in one piece? YESSSSSS!!!! I managed to get the sand dollar home without breaking it. All are beautiful, free, and authentic souvenirs from St. Kitts. So "J" and "K", thanks for your help in showing me where to find these. As for souvenirs, I did purchase T-shirts, fridge magnet, Christmas ornament and shot glass the last time. That little conch shell really cleaned up well. Its the color of a creamsicle And the sand dollar. Notice the six holes in it. The Caribbean sand dollars have six holes while the the east/gulf coast USA sand dollars have five holes. The top picture is the front of it, bottom is the back (same sand dollar) Regular review now in progress. Once we had everything, we headed back up to where we were to meet Vernon. It was about 2:25pm and he was already there, so we got back in the taxi with him and he drove us back to port. When we got back to port, Vernon let us out of the taxi and DH paid him what we owed him and gave him a nice tip and we both thanked him for the wonderful day in St. Kitts. I got a picture of Vernon with DH right after DH paid and tipped him. I asked him if he had a business card so we could use him if we ever get back and he gave one to us. We really enjoyed Vernon and if you ever get him as your taxi driver, you’re in great hands. He’s very reliable and timely and I definitely recommend him. This is Vernon with DH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted November 13, 2015 Author #527 Share Posted November 13, 2015 We went into the cruise center and we didn’t really need anything, but I wanted some post cards. DH waited with our stuff on a bench. I went into every souvenir type store I could see and none of them had post cards. Every other place we’ve been to on a cruise, actually every other tourist destination we’ve been to, has post cards. That’s usually one of the first things you see when you enter a souvenir store is the rack of post cards. None were to be found. I thought that was kind of strange. Having failed at that, I did get a couple of pictures of the cruise center as we made our way back to Liberty. This is what it looked like in 2013 This time, 2015 2013 again...but the difference here isn't just the weather (and no, the difference isn't the "tail" or how the ship is facing) Back to 2015 - see the difference? Someone else pointed that out in a comment The difference is the roof on the building. There has obviously been a new roof added, but it was after Memorial Day (thank you Trip). It's also now red. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare trippingpara Posted November 13, 2015 #528 Share Posted November 13, 2015 Is this the picture I had that you mean? You know, I thought something looked different! But yes, the roof is actually red now. That is definitely a new roof. I've been meaning to thank you for your help with our day here. I remember asking you if there was time for the fort and both Cockleshell and Shipwreck and we definitely had the time, just not the budget to do all. We definitely would have had enough time and I really do appreciate your help. :) Yep, that's the one! I'm glad I was able to be of some help. I've always been able to gather a ton of great ideas from your reviews so its great to hear that I was able to return even a small smidget of that assistance back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted November 14, 2015 Author #529 Share Posted November 14, 2015 (edited) I was hoping to get more of this done today, but ship happens. I will be updating over the weekend and next up will be sailing away from St. Kitts and the rest of our evening. I may, not promising, but may even be able to get started on St. Maarten. So until then... Edited November 14, 2015 by pghsteelerfan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted November 14, 2015 Author #530 Share Posted November 14, 2015 (edited) Yep, that's the one! I'm glad I was able to be of some help. I've always been able to gather a ton of great ideas from your reviews so its great to hear that I was able to return even a small smidget of that assistance back. Thanks! :) I've also gotten a ton of great ideas from other reviews as well but yes, because of your assistance, we had our day in St. Kitts planned out. I was a little bummed about not being able to get to Cockleshell Beach because it would have been beautiful, just as it was the day you were there. I love the pictures you got. I've also gotten the idea of Culebra in my head as well, but we need a longer stay in PR other than one night, pre-cruise to do that. I'm just so glad I stumbled upon CC because we have gotten so much more out of our cruises since. There is just so much to see and do that I probably wouldn't have known about. The pictures in reviews have been helpful too. I hope you have a great weekend. Edited November 14, 2015 by pghsteelerfan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wags67 Posted November 14, 2015 #531 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Continuing to Love your review, Holly. Oh, I am missing this cruise, too. Beautiful islands and friends~old and new! I can't wait to see your favorite photo! However, you have So many breathtaking photos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusin Karen Posted November 14, 2015 #532 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Holly, I hate to keep repeating and repeating and REPEATING myself, but your pictures are just amazing. And the WEATHER...:eek: I am glad you got it better this time. Funny because right at the beginning of your review I thought that you could probably hire yourself out at ANY of the islands, or even CCL, and sell your pictures to be used for post cards. And then you said you couldn't find post cards in St. Kitts...well, just print up a 4x6 picture and voila! :p:D:cool: Have a great weekend and tell DH to get that basement cleaned up and you can make a "cruise rememberance" room down there! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKirkN Posted November 14, 2015 #533 Share Posted November 14, 2015 I was very surprised at the erosion on Shipwreck beach! Last time we were there it had double rows of loungers and the beach...and there was a platform out in the water... Apparently there had been a pretty big storm in the last year and it washed away most of the beach... Here are a couple pix from our Oct. 2013 Valor cruise: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted November 14, 2015 Author #534 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Continuing to Love your review, Holly.Oh, I am missing this cruise, too. Beautiful islands and friends~old and new! I can't wait to see your favorite photo! However, you have So many breathtaking photos! Thanks Laura! :) I am really missing this cruise too, but I agree, beautiful islands and friends! Did you want me to email the "favorite" to you? I may have showed it to you since I had it on the phone but can't remember if I did or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted November 14, 2015 Author #535 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Holly, I hate to keep repeating and repeating and REPEATING myself, but your pictures are just amazing. And the WEATHER...:eek: I am glad you got it better this time. Funny because right at the beginning of your review I thought that you could probably hire yourself out at ANY of the islands, or even CCL, and sell your pictures to be used for post cards. And then you said you couldn't find post cards in St. Kitts...well, just print up a 4x6 picture and voila! :p:D:cool: Have a great weekend and tell DH to get that basement cleaned up and you can make a "cruise rememberance" room down there! ;) Hi Karen! Thank you again. I'm glad you are enjoying the pictures. And yes, the weather...so happy to finally be able to "see" more of St. Kitts this time. I knew it was beautiful but I didn't realize how beautiful...especially the green mountains against that blue sky. The pictures, I'm definitely not a professional but I do love taking pictures of vacations so I can enjoy the memories for years to come. The post cards...check this out. I already made my own. I was going to do a couple more but their website is currently down for maintenance. I normally use Shutterfly but the only "collages" they have are greeting cards/announcements with their own "Greeting" on them. I did this one first, just to try it and see how the quality is and I'm happy with it. I scanned it to show you. Yes, if hubby ever finishes that basement, he wants a sports theme but I told him I'd need an area for a beach/cruise room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted November 14, 2015 Author #536 Share Posted November 14, 2015 I was very surprised at the erosion on Shipwreck beach! Last time we were there it had double rows of loungers and the beach...and there was a platform out in the water... Apparently there had been a pretty big storm in the last year and it washed away most of the beach... Here are a couple pix from our Oct. 2013 Valor cruise: It's funny that you mentioned that. When I was talking to Kendra in the water that day before heading off to the sandbar with you, she told me that it had changed drastically in the two years since you were there. Believe it or not, I actually feel in love with the looks of Shipwreck from Kendra's Valor review. I still loved it there and would go back, but only if the water was calm. I could see where the loungers would probably be IN the water if it was rough. When we got back, I went back and looked at the pictures in Kendra's review again. There was a difference. I loved the views though, and those won't change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted November 14, 2015 Author #537 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted November 14, 2015 Author #538 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Once back on Liberty, our cabin was the first stop so we could drop off our stuff off. We made sure we had our cameras then went up to the Lido Deck and got in line for Guy Burgers. We got our burgers & fries, got our toppings and found a table. Once we got a table, we took turns going to the drink station, DH for iced tea and water for me. There were a lot of others up there, but it wasn’t what I’d consider crowded yet as a lot of passengers were still in St. Kitts, so we didn’t feel we needed to rush as people weren’t looking everywhere for an empty table. We ate our burgers and sat at the table for a while as we finished our drinks. While we were finishing our drinks, I went over to the self-serve to get an ice cream cone. As soon as I got back, DH got up to get one. When we finished our drinks, we went over to Red Frog and got a drink. All the guys were there (Antonio, Joseph, and Winston). I think I just had a beer for now and DH may have too. Once we had those, we went up to Panorama Deck 10 and walked around on both sides for pictures. I did notice a tug boat down at the pier, actually two tug boats, but again, they are there if Liberty needs assistance. We took in the beautiful views and got pictures and just stayed on Deck 10 till it was time to sail away. Here's "Tug 1"... ...and "Tug 2" ***When sailing out of St. Kitts, you’ll get great views from either side as the ship pulls out and she’ll head straight out for a distance before she turns gradually to the right to head north. When we left, sunset would be toward the front of the ship. There will be more on the sunset later*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted November 14, 2015 Author #539 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Adding a few pictures from our Valor cruise in 2013 for comparison... 2013...it was POURING down rain shortly before sailaway As these pictures show, there definitely wasn't much to "see". Now back to 2015... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted November 14, 2015 Author #540 Share Posted November 14, 2015 As we sailed out of St. Kitts, we were back and forth between both sides for the views. The last time we sailed out of St. Kitts, we could barely see the island, only the bottom part at the base of the mountains. Today we were definitely able to see St. Kitts and it was a beautiful sail away. The sky was still clear and blue, but some clouds had developed that were above St. Kitts, but not covering the island. The water was very calm, I wouldn’t say it was like glass, but it was like a lake. Letting the pictures take over for a while... 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted November 14, 2015 Author #541 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Sailing away from St. Kitts continued... There's "Tug 1", but never noticed if Liberty needed a helping hand or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted November 14, 2015 Author #542 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Sailing away from St. Kitts continued... While we were up on Panorama Deck 10 getting pictures, we saw "J" doing the same and he stopped to talk for a few minutes. He asked it we wanted a picture with both of us in it with St. Kitts in the background. He got one with my camera and another with theirs. "J" sent this picture to me, the one with their camera, and I'm using it because I like this one better. Thanks again "J"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted November 14, 2015 Author #543 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Sailing away from St. Kitts continued... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted November 14, 2015 Author #544 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Sailing away from St. Kitts continued... As we were sailing away, we ran into “B” and talked with her for a while. She was also getting pictures. At this point, Liberty was still heading west, but the best views of St. Kitts were now on the starboard (right) side. It was also from the starboard (right) side that had great views of St. Eustatius and Saba. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted November 14, 2015 Author #545 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Sailing away from St. Kitts continued... I just loved the reflections on the water as I don't ever remember seeing it like this on a past cruise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted November 14, 2015 Author #546 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Sailing away from St. Kitts continued... We continued just hanging out with “B” and getting more pictures until it got close to sunset. If we stayed where we were, we wouldn’t really be able to get good pictures. I asked “B” if she had been to the secret deck. She hadn’t and didn’t know what it was so I told her. We decided to go down there for sunset pictures and I asked DH if he wanted to come. He said he was fine there and he’s stay with our drinks. By that time, we were on the rum punch since Erick was making rounds taking drink orders. “B” and I went down to Empress Deck 7 and made our way to the front of Liberty and I showed “B” where the secret door(s) are and we went out. There were only a few others out there, but all of us were there for the same thing, sunset pictures. It was going to be a beautiful sunset too. Especially with the water being as calm as it was. We were joking around with one of the Captain’s crew who was watching us. We waved to him and he smiled and waved back. “B” made the motion of using a ship’s wheel to the guy then pointed back to herself, saying “can I drive the ship?” He couldn’t hear her, obviously, but he knew what she wanted by the motions. She was joking around, of course. He was letting her know, through motions through the window of the bridge that she couldn’t. We were all laughing. I think he knew we were just messing with him. Either that or he thought we were really drunk or just a little “cray cray” (crazy). We all chatted between picture taking and one of the other gals pointed out a cloud that looked like the “whale tail” (funnel) of a Carnival ship and we all agreed. Her DH deadpanned “it looks more like a nuclear blast if you ask me.” He got some laughs with that one. I’ll take a Carnival tail over a nuclear blast. As the sun was setting, we got our pictures and went back to Panorama Deck 10 once it set. ***Again, posting the map of Liberty's Empress Deck 7 and where the "secret doors" are located*** Sunset from the Secret Deck... The "neighbors" (Saba and St. Eustatius) can still be seen from the secret deck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted November 14, 2015 Author #547 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Sunset from the secret deck continued... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted November 14, 2015 Author #548 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Sunset from the secret deck continued... The clouds that reminded us of a Carnival ship's "tail" (or nuclear blast to one) are to the right of where the sun is setting When we got back, “B’s” DH was seated next to my DH talking. I’m sure they were talking Pittsburgh Steelers, Pirates (still in it at that time) and the Penguins. “B” and I stayed at the rail and continued to get pictures. I had to make a “pit stop” so I went down to Lido 9 by the main pool/seaside theater area to the restrooms. They are marked but not well. I went in and a faucet was running and I went and turned it off, look up and saw a MAN. Holy crap! I’m in the men’s restroom. Oops! I immediately turned around and apologized as I walked back out the door. How embarrassing. I didn’t see anything I wasn’t supposed to and I certainly wasn’t going to look. I went to the other side to the women’s room. On my way out, I could tell someone was behind me, so I held the door for them. It was a man! He was very embarrassed and said he actually used it and didn’t know, but thought it was strange that there were no urinals. I told him what I just did and we both just busted out laughing. We were getting looks, a man and a woman coming out of the women’s restroom. I didn’t care, it might give someone something to talk about. When I got back to where DH, “B” and “M” were, I was still laughing. DH knows all too well. Right away he shook his head and asked “what did you do now?” I let them know and we all ended up laughing. Since tonight “American Feast” night, formal night, and we would be eating dinner on the Lido Deck, so there was no rush for us to be back inside. We stayed out there talking to “B” and “M” and “B” and I were making plans to exchange information and hook up on a certain social network site that will not be mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted November 14, 2015 Author #549 Share Posted November 14, 2015 The lights were coming on in St. Kitts When “B” and “M” decided to head back in, we figured we’d all see each other the next day. DH and I decided to stay out there while we finished the drinks we had. A few minutes after “B” and “M” left, “B” came back and told us to go over to the other side of the ship. At this point, Liberty was heading north and the sky over on the other side was a beautiful, deep orange/red. That red glow behind some darker clouds on the horizon, throw in that calm water, what a sight! I’d never seen anything like it on a cruise before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted November 14, 2015 Author #550 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Evening of St. Kitts sail away continued... ***Jumping ahead and off subject, “B” from the Pittsburgh area, if you’re on Cruise Critic and reading this, please post and I’ll get you our email/contact information*** Sorry about the brief interruption...now back to the review. DH and I finished the drinks and decided to get one more and enjoy the Panorama Deck some more. Soon we’d be passing St. Eustatius, it was beautiful out and we had nowhere to be. We stopped at Red Frog to get a drink and ended up talking to Joseph and Winston for a few minutes but we didn’t keep him since there were others down there. We took our drinks back to the Panorama Deck and sat on loungers at the rail but in the area close to the main pool. We were on the starboard (right) side because that’s where the best views were. The lights of St. Kitts were on, so I tried getting pictures. We were closer to St. Eustatius now, so I got pictures of St. Eustatius too. They aren’t the greatest but are better than the ones I have from the last cruise. I tried getting pictures of Saba as well, that was a fail. St. Kitts St. Eustatius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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