Mother/Daughters Sunshine Cruise to St. Martin, St. Kitts, San Juan, Grand Turk

[blessedwith12]

Next Tim took us past some of the ritzier sections of St. Martin including past Trump's estate. There were also some condos which rented for something ridiculous like $7000/night! Then on to Orient Beach. He had checked a schedule and knew when the next plane would land so we were able to watch the famous landing over the beach - but we watched it from the water. I think this is the portion of the trip that the other group was most interested. They had wanted to book an excursion through Carnival to see the planes land but it was sold out.

 

 

 

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Tim with our group:

 

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Some miscellaneous pictures of our tour:

 

 

Hannah and Abby at the front of the boat.

 

 

[blessedwith12]

As I mentioned earlier, I booked this through Island Marketing and it is the Island Sensation Tour. I believe Island Marketing uses different vendors and I don't think you would necessarily get Tim. The other group with us apparently booked with another vendor and because they each had small groups for the day, they combined us together. At least that's my understanding of what happened. They were also on the Sunshine but they had been told to meet at a different dock.

So, if you want to book directly with Tim, here is his website: http://tenderrental.com/Tours.html

 

I would definitely recommend this tour - it completely changed my opinion of St. Martin!!

[blessedwith12]

Well, Mercy has an orthodontist appointment about 1 hour from our house so I'm going to ride along with her. There just happens to be a Steak and Shake close by, and it will be happy hour - when shakes are 1/2 price, so......SSSHHH, just don't tell Hannah and Grace that Mercy and I are out alone together! We are bad influences on each other!

[Jenny in TX]

Enjoying your review! Your daughters are beautiful....you could pass for one of their sisters!

[Crazyrbbt]

As I mentioned earlier, I booked this through Island Marketing and it is the Island Sensation Tour. I believe Island Marketing uses different vendors and I don't think you would necessarily get Tim. The other group with us apparently booked with another vendor and because they each had small groups for the day, they combined us together. At least that's my understanding of what happened. They were also on the Sunshine but they had been told to meet at a different dock.

So, if you want to book directly with Tim, here is his website: http://tenderrental.com/Tours.html

 

I would definitely recommend this tour - it completely changed my opinion of St. Martin!!

 

 

I am so happy that you shared this about St. Martin. I have no plans for this port and have been hesitant about doing an excursion as we will have several other ships in port while we are there. I imagine it will be crowded. This looks like something I want to do. I can't wait to show this to my family tonight and schedule this tour, hopefully we can get Tim as well. Thank you.

[blessedwith12]

Jenny in TX, thank you - you are too kind!

 

Crazyrbbt: I love having the smaller groups for an excursion. There is little wasted time and we were able to see so much! Tim has another tour called: " The Anguilla Run ". If I ever return to St. Martin, I think I would like to go on it.

[blessedwith12]

Before we boarded, there were 3 things we needed to do. 1. Call home. 2. Get a coconut milk 3. Get a picture with the St. Martin sign.

 

My mother is 96, my sister was having surgery while we were gone, and our son Ben is special needs with epilepsy. There is a lot that could go wrong while we are gone. But, I totally unplug while we are on board. My husband Butch has the Carnival number to call for emergencies. When I call home from a port, I ask, "Is there anything I need to know?" I really don't want to hear a seizure count when I'm away and can't do anything about it. Actually, I can't do anything about it when I'm home either:( I do the same for my husband when he is in Canada. I'll let you know if there's an emergency and other than that - have a good time!

 

So, we make the phone call. All is good. I get my coconut milk from the same vendor that was there the when I was in St. Martin with my husband and we get our picture made. Time to board and wait for sail away. I don't think I have ever been in a port after dark so it was very different to see all the lights on the mountains!

 

 

The ship next door...

 

[blessedwith12]

Once again, I have no idea what we did that evening. I think I had filet mignon and ribs for dinner with apple pie for dessert. I have many of the FunTimes but not the one for this night. All I know is, I was pretty tired and someone in our group and warm chocolate melting cake!

 

[blessedwith12]

This review is getting harder because as the week wore on, we took fewer and fewer notes.

But, I know if it's Tuesday - we are in St. Kitts!!

This is one of the ports I really wanted the girls to see. We ate a big breakfast and got off the ship. The vendors seemed the most aggressive at this port. One taxi operator seemed really nice so we told him we needed to stop by a shop and then we would need a taxi to Shipwreck Bar & Grill. We ran our errand and then came back and found him. They took us over to a very nice van and there was another family wanting to go to South Friars Beach. The driver, Darrione, pointed out places of interest and answered questions on our drive. He stopped at the top of the hill where you can see the Atlantic and the Caribbean Oceans. The other family was from Canada and we chatted on our way. Both groups of us set up times for Darrione to pick us up. They wanted him to come back and 1 and we wanted 2. I wasn't paying attention and when he stopped, I realized we were at Carambola Beach Club instead of Shipwreck. We went ahead and got out because I knew we could walk down the beach to get to Shipwreck. But, the other couple decided they also wanted to go to Shipwreck, so Darrione stopped us and told us he would drive all of us down to Shipwreck.

 

Now, you will either love Shipwreck or hate it. It's not for everyone. When my husband and I were there several years ago, there were 2 rows of loungers under very rustic looking umbrellas. A storm a couple of years ago badly eroded the beach and now there is room for just one row of loungers and the waves will even come up under them when the tide is in. So, what is Shipwreck's appeal? It is small and uncrowded. A black sand beach. A gorgeous view. Free chairs and umbrellas. Monkeys and mongoose, Good snorkeling from shore. Food and restrooms available. A laid back atmosphere.

 

If you are looking for a fancier beach bar, you would like Carambola. The sand isn't black but there isn't good snorkeling. There is a fee for chairs and umbrellas. It is newer and more upscale.

 

We grabbed our chairs and instantly went in to snorkel. One of the owners/employees had explained where to enter and where the reef was. We had brought water shoes because we knew there were sea urchins there around the reef. (Not that you should be standing on the reef - but who knows if the urchins know they are supposed to stay on the reef?)

 

Remember the scene from Finding Nemo where Dory and Marlin first spot a jelly fish. Dory points it out and thinks it is cute? Then, Marlin looks around and there are huge jellyfish everywhere! That's the way I felt. I nudge one of the girls to show them a sea urchin that was peeking out behind a rock. And then the next thing I know, I am floating over an army of sea urchins!

At places, the water was pretty shallow and I could just picture a wave pushing me in and landing, face and belly on dozens of urchins! So, I tended to stay on the outer edge of the reef and it was good snorkeling. We saw puffer fish and I don't know what else. Much better than the day before as far as what we saw. Then we all went in and crashed on the beach. Some of us stayed on our loungers and others went to the upper level near the bar and used the hammocks. The girls really enjoyed watching the monkeys come down off the hills and eat. They definitely had different personalities and some of them seemed grouchy!

 

We ordered some virgin strawberry daiquiris and pina coladas and enjoyed the view! Paradise!

 

We decided to take a walk down the beach towards Carambola and passed several smaller beach clubs that appear to have been abandoned and some smaller beach clubs with just a few people. There were jet skis and flyboards for rent and we enjoyed talking to one of the vendors. He said that sugar cane had been St. Kitts' main industry for years but they were no longer able to be competitive in that market. So now, they have decided to make tourism the island's main enterprise. We headed back and Darrione was waiting to take us back to port. If you'd like to arrange a taxi when you are in St. Kitts - David Isaac Taxi Service (isaactaxiservice@hotmail.com) seems very professional and Darrione was very reliable. He gave us his card and personal cell number when he could see I was a little concerned that he would come back for us in time.

 

 

The Atlantic (left) and Caribbean (right)

 

 

 

 

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Hooks to hang your beach bags from

 

 

 

 

 

[blessedwith12]

I'm posting lots of pictures of Shipwreck to give you a better idea of what it's like. If you go to the St. Kitts forum, you will see very mixed reviews. It's not for everybody. And who wants to waste their one day in St. Kitts picking a spot that they're not happy with? So, I hope all these photos help you get a better idea of what it is like.

 

 

Walking towards Carambola

 

One of the deserted beach bars

 

 

 

Black sand! We look muddy but it brushes off like regular sand!

 

 

Looking back towards where we had walked from Shipwreck

 

[blessedwith12]

A closed beach bar

 

 

The white "tents" you see all the way at the end is Carambola. We did not walk all they way there.

 

[blessedwith12]

A funny moment on the drive back. I was checking messages and I had a text from my son along with a picture. I blurt out, "Is that snow???" Darrione says "What?" and looked back at me like I was crazy. "It's a picture...on my phone...back in Ohio!" I think he thought he had one crazy tourist in his taxi!

 

Back at the port we went on the ship to change - and probably grab a bite to eat? Then back out to do some shopping. Mercy saw these monkeys and paid to be able to hold them and have her picture made.

 

 

 

Once again, sail away was after dark and it was time to get ready for dinner!

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[blessedwith12]

That night, we were more subdued at dinner. All the snorkeling the day before and more snorkeling this day had worn us out. I thought we were still laughing and joking, but apparently we weren't ourselves. A couple of times Norica checked on us to see if we were okay. She said we were just lacking the normal energy we usually had at dinner! She was so sweet!

 

Some of our dinner choices:

 

Fruit Cocktail

 

Filet Mignon and Short Ribs

 

Shrimp and Fries

 

 

Shrimp Cocktail

 

 

 

 

Oven roasted turkey

 

I think several of us had the apple pie with ice cream.

 

I didn't last long after dinner and called it a night early. The girls went to the 80s music trivia party. It started out like "Name That Tune" where they played small parts of 20 songs and everyone wrote down the name and artist. Then they went back through and played longer sections of the songs, gave the answers and Jaime led everyone in dancing. Prizes were awarded and this happened in the atrium.

[kmarie10531]

Loving your review thus far !!! I have to admit I screen shot both of your tours for St maarten and St kitts . We are still up in the air with our tours for those ports . Me being the control freak I am wants to have everthing planned 3 days ago. The other 4 adults going with me on the trip could care less if we have something planned or not , and would be perfectly fine just " winging it " . Haha

[blessedwith12]

Loving your review thus far !!! I have to admit I screen shot both of your tours for St maarten and St kitts . We are still up in the air with our tours for those ports . Me being the control freak I am wants to have everthing planned 3 days ago. The other 4 adults going with me on the trip could care less if we have something planned or not , and would be perfectly fine just " winging it " . Haha

 

I'm glad the information helped! I'm like you - I like to have a plan and it's always me that makes the plan!

[blessedwith12]

On Wednesday, we were in San Juan from 7 - 2. Grace got up early and wanted to see our arrival into port. She took some pictures while the ship was relatively empty.

 

 

 

 

 

[RiotAct]

Awesome, awesome review! I don't know how you raised 12 children... my wife and I are almost losing our mind with ONE!!! Lol :)

[blessedwith12]

When we had to change our itinerary and San Juan became one of the ports, I was disappointed. I knew it wasn't known for its beaches and I wasn't really sure what we would do there. But then I read about the forts. The girls love to read and especially enjoy historical fiction. They were very excited to be able to tour a couple of forts. I started doing my research and found out about the free trolleys. I printed off routes and stops and we had a plan! I've never had a port where we just got off and had the day to explore right there. So I was excited to be doing something different.

 

We easily found Trolley Stop #1 and waited there with several other groups. One trolley came, but it wasn't the one we were waiting for. More time went by. It may have only been 10-15 minutes but it was starting to feel longer. A vendor came by telling us how long it would take for the trolley to take us there and that we should go with him. No, we decided we would wait.

 

Our plan was to take the trolley to El Morro and then walk back or take the trolley to San Cristobal. It costs $5 for admission and your ticket will get you into both sites. After a few more minutes, we see another couple making the decision to just walk to San Cristobal. We decide to tag along with them and I'm glad we did. It wasn't a long walk and it was still early in the day and not too hot. We were able to enjoy looking at the shops and historical buildings as we passed by. The last approach to the fort is on an incline. You pay admission right inside the front doors. There is a movie you can watch and clean restrooms.

 

And then you are off! You can explore on your own and there really aren't any laid out routes or any sort of start and finish. We loved it!! We had arrived ahead of the crowds and we loved being able to just wander around and explore. We quickly decided we wanted to take our time and really enjoy this fort and not try to make it to El Morro.

 

We took so many pictures there that it's hard to decide which ones to share. My husband is a general contractor, and I thought he would enjoy seeing photos of the huge doors, hardware and thick walls. We enjoyed the juxtaposition of old and new - the view of San Juan next to a hundreds year old fort. So we wandered, and explored and walked....and walked...and walked!

 

Trolley Stop #1

 

 

On the way to the fort

 

You can see the sidewalk on the left that you walk up to the main entrance. This is the hill I was mentioning.

 

The journey begins

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The first area we went to was the main plaza. I love the look of the stone walls and all the variations of colors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The well

 

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[blessedwith12]

I loved looking at the different views through the windows and doors. These outside walls were about 5-6 feet thick.