Transatlantic Quest - Celebration 10 Apr 16

[J9Jazz]

Afternoon all, My husband and I are due on this cruise for our 30th wedding Anniversary. It will be our first time in the Caribbean so any tips re excursions will be appreciated?

[Katomerikaf]

Just back from Paradise Islands/Tropical Delights so will try to give you some ideas!

Barbados - It's a fairly easy walk into Bridgetown so you could go for a wander. Everything here was shut when we were there as it was Sunday so can't say what shops etc are like but around the main town and harbour it was very nice. There were plenty of private tour companies just outside the main cruise terminal who give you a good price for island tours and will usually wait until they have enough people on the minibus to make it a reasonable price for everyone. It's easy to either get a taxi to beaches, walk to them or get a public bus from town.

St Lucia - We took a tour with a company called Cosol Tours which I pre-booked before we left the UK. It was US$75 each and we didn't pay until the end of the trip. It was a great trip around the island with an excellent driver and I can't recommend it highly enough - they are easy to find on the web. Have a look at tripadvisor reviews.

St Kitts - St Kitts Railway - can only be booked through the crusie operator - we really enjoyed this ! Great drinks!

Road Town - We went to Cane Garden beach (beautiful, especially if you turn left and move away from the main throng of sunbeds!) and got there by jumping onto a safari bus that costs US$8 pp each way. It was a great way to see a little bit of the island. At the same place as we got the bus there were vendors offering island tours although I don't know where they went. This was very easy to do and very helpful people to talk to.

St Maartan - We jumped on a local bus and went across to the French side for a few hours to Marigot. It cost US$2 pp each way and was again fairly easy to do - you just need to get on the right road - Back Street - and flag a bus/van down. Don't get a bus/taxi from right outside the cruise terminal though - I have heard that they charge quite a lot.

Antigua - Again we jumped on a local bus to a beach we had been to on honeymoon but I would suggest an island tour that goes to English Harbour, Shirley Heights and Nelson's Dockyard. Private tour companies are outside port gates again.

 

I know that it can be a bit daunting going around independently but there will be lots of others that will be doing the same from the same ship and other cruise lines so you're not exactly on your own, and we found it very easy to do. :cool:

[Katomerikaf]

Just back from Paradise Islands/Tropical Delights so will try to give you some ideas!

 

Barbados - It's a fairly easy walk into Bridgetown so you could go for a wander. Everything here was shut when we were there as it was Sunday so can't say what shops etc are like but around the main town and harbour it was very nice. There were plenty of private tour companies just outside the main cruise terminal who give you a good price for island tours and will usually wait until they have enough people on the minibus to make it a reasonable price for everyone. It's easy to either get a taxi to beaches, walk to them or get a public bus from town.

 

St Lucia - We took a tour with a company called Cosol Tours which I pre-booked before we left the UK. It was US$75 each and we didn't pay until the end of the trip. It was a great trip around the island with an excellent driver and I can't recommend it highly enough - they are easy to find on the web. Have a look at tripadvisor reviews.

 

St Kitts - St Kitts Railway - can only be booked through the crusie operator - we really enjoyed this ! Great drinks!

Road Town - We went to Cane Garden beach (beautiful, especially if you turn left and move away from the main throng of sunbeds!) and got there by jumping onto a safari bus that costs US$8 pp each way. It was a great way to see a little bit of the island. At the same place as we got the bus there were vendors offering island tours although I don't know where they went. This was very easy to do and very helpful people to talk to.

 

St Maartan - We jumped on a local bus and went across to the French side for a few hours to Marigot. It cost US$2 pp each way and was again fairly easy to do - you just need to get on the right road - Back Street - and flag a bus/van down. Don't get a bus/taxi from right outside the cruise terminal though - I have heard that they charge quite a lot.

 

Antigua - Again we jumped on a local bus to a beach we had been to on honeymoon but I would suggest an island tour that goes to English Harbour, Shirley Heights and Nelson's Dockyard. These places are absolutely beautiful and there is some real history here. Private tour companies are outside port gates again.

 

I know that it can be a bit daunting going around independently but there will be lots of others that will be doing the same from the same ship and other cruise lines so you're not exactly on your own, and we found it very easy to do. :cool:

[J9Jazz]

Great suggestions, thank you. We are in St Lucia on our wedding anniversary, so will certainly look at Tripadvisor and the trip you mention. I take it the main languages are English and French? Did you by chance by bottled water for the boat or was it not too expensive on board?

[Katomerikaf]

English is spoken widely on the islands we visited so no problem with not being understood !

We tended to need some water when we were on land so bought it there but the bottled water on board was about £1.50 on board I think - reduction if you are on an All Inclusive package.

[J9Jazz]

Thanks again fir the tips, one more thing though, were you on the celebration! If so are there any points you could mention about the boat, food etc?

[Katomerikaf]

We enjoyed our food!

We ate in the main restaurant 13 nights out of the 14 and enjoyed every meal we had !! We had different waiters every night and they were all friendly and polite. There is a lack of tables for two but we only shared a couple of times and waited for around five/ten minutes or so to be seated on a table for two.

The main buffet is fine and has a good selection of food at all meal times and other than breakfast has varied menus each day.

There is also a snack bar that has pizza, burgers, hot dogs, fries and salad as well as another that does wraps and paninis.

We liked the boat because it wasn't too big! The public areas seemed well tended and it was easy to find your way around.

Our cabin was an ample size - we weren't in it for long other than sleeping!

There was enough storage space, space to put suitcases under the bed and also tea and coffee making facilities (coffee sachets not to my taste so would take a few of my own in future!!)

I have also done a review in the review section but feel free to ask ANY questions and I will try my best to help !!!

[Katomerikaf]

Sorry, yes we were on the Celebration!!!!

[J9Jazz]

Do you have any thoughts on whether it is worth upgrading to premium on the Dreamliner?

[Katomerikaf]

sorry but didn't go premium so can't help you there !

[J9Jazz]

...but you were happy with your seats/service etc?

[Katomerikaf]

Yes seats and the flight were both ok. there is a bit more space on a Dreamliner so all in all a good experience. On the way there the wrong drinks had been loaded so not quite the right drinks service and in my opinion I think that you should be offered more soft drinks/water but you can always ask for another drink.

[gillhalfpint]

Just wanted to point out that St Kitts railway varies a lot. We went as we had a great time 3 years ago, loads of drinks and party atmosphere. We were disappointed this time as we had one drink and no party atmosphere at all. We were on the 12.30 tour, and found out folks on the 2.30 tour were on unlimited drinks. The girl on our carriage went downstairs and we spent a lot of the trip with no attendant.

[J9Jazz]

Thanks, I'll look out for that!

[cam's gran]

Hi j9jazz. Tony and I are also on this cruise. Big smiles! I've never travelled on Celebration, we have stuck to the Dream, hoping it's just as good.

[J9Jazz]

We too have only been on the dream. Would be nice to meet up on the ship and share our experiences:)?

[J9Jazz]

Anyone out there on this cruise, we would be interested in sharing trips?