Anthem itinerary change St. Lucia to Fort-De-Franc

[qanderson]

I received this e-mail this morning regarding my Feb 7 2017 cruise. I've never been to either port. I haven't heard great things about Fort-de-France. Can someone share the differences and what you think of both ?

 

Thanks

 

 

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[qanderson]

Edited July 15, 2016 by qanderson

[crookedhalo]

This is also impacting trips at the end of the year. Our 11/27/16 sailing has been switched as well.

 

Back to the drawing board I guess:p

[Life is Good Cruising]

Received the email too for 2 of our Anthem sailings for now. Been to both islands, both are okay, not our favorites. We've enjoyed taking a RCI catamaran excursion to the Pitons in St. Lucia . For Martinique, we've done a walk into town and had prior reservations for lunch, which was very good but not to impress with the town. Now we just take a ferry over to Anse Mitan and spend some time on a beach and then find a place to have lunch, we enjoy our day in Anse Mitan.

 

You'll find additional info below on Martinique.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=115

[qanderson]

Received the email too for 2 of our Anthem sailings for now. Been to both islands, both are okay, not our favorites. We've enjoyed taking a RCI catamaran excursion to the Pitons in St. Lucia . For Martinique, we've done a walk into town and had prior reservations for lunch, which was very good but not to impress with the town. Now we just take a ferry over to Anse Mitan and spend some time on a beach and then find a place to have lunch, we enjoy our day in Anse Mitan.

 

 

 

You'll find additional info below on Martinique.

 

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=115

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[yj2cute]

I would be disappointed to be switched to Martinique from St. Lucia. SL has beautiful beaches and lush backdrop. I was totally unimpressed with Martinique and will use it as a ship day if it's on any of my future itineraries.

[nelblu]

We've been to both islands and prefer St. Lucia over Martinique. Enjoyed the beaches and related tour to the Pitons. We stopped at Martinique many years ago and found the Natives to be very unfriendly. As a matter of fact, RCL eliminated this port o call for a very long time from their itinerary.

[qanderson]

I would be disappointed to be switched to Martinique from St. Lucia. SL has beautiful beaches and lush backdrop. I was totally unimpressed with Martinique and will use it as a ship day if it's on any of my future itineraries.

 

 

Disappointing but thank you [emoji4]

 

 

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[qanderson]

We've been to both islands and prefer St. Lucia over Martinique. Enjoyed the beaches and related tour to the Pitons. We stopped at Martinique many years ago and found the Natives to be very unfriendly. As a matter of fact, RCL eliminated this port o call for a very long time from their itinerary.

 

 

Thanks you!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Life is Good Cruising]

Received the email too for 2 of our Anthem sailings for now. Been to both islands, both are okay, not our favorites. We've enjoyed taking a RCI catamaran excursion to the Pitons in St. Lucia . For Martinique, we've done a walk into town and had prior reservations for lunch, which was very good but not to impress with the town. Now we just take a ferry over to Anse Mitan and spend some time on a beach and then find a place to have lunch, we enjoy our day in Anse Mitan.

 

You'll find additional info below on Martinique.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=115

 

I doubled checked my photos for Martinique and the ferry we took was to Pointe Du Bout and not to Anse Mitan.

 

I found the thread below to be very helpful with pictures of the beach we went to which is part of the Hotel Bakoua.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2292691

http://www.hotel-bakoua.fr/en/

[fishbonz]

We did Martinique last march and yes found the locals to be very rude if you didn't speak French !! that is why we booked this cruise because of St Lucia. Why put that port in if they knew the dock would not be ready?.

[maggie416]

Our April cruise also has this change. One of the stops this year was Martinique and we didn't care for this island. However, it was a Sunday so all the shops were closed. When you get off the ship there are big tents with vendors selling things, we just walked thru and right out and back to the ship. We have been to St Lucia and stayed at a resort and the island was beautiful. But, we don't really care, maybe will be a ship day on the awesome Anthem of the Seas!!

Marg

[Fouremco]

We love St. Lucia and have stayed their several times on land holidays as well as having visited on cruises. But we've also visited Martinique have enjoyed the previously mentioned outing to Pointe du Bout. Another worthwhile visit is to the Jardin de Balata. This is a botanical garden with exotic plants from around the world, a treetop walkway and mountain views. As someone has noted, Fort-de-France remains pretty much closed on Sundays, but both of the above destinations are open.

[Merion_Mom]

Apparently the government of St.Lucia had promised upgrades to the pier. I don't know if the Anthem "can't" dock there or RC just doesn't want to.

 

In Bermuda, the channel (or whatever) had to be dredged to accommodate the ship. Not sure what the deal is in St. Lucia.

[Merion_Mom]

We love St. Lucia and have stayed their several times on land holidays as well as having visited on cruises. But we've also visited Martinique have enjoyed the previously mentioned outing to Pointe du Bout. Another worthwhile visit is to the Jardin de Balata. This is a botanical garden with exotic plants from around the world, a treetop walkway and mountain views. As someone has noted, Fort-de-France remains pretty much closed on Sundays, but both of the above destinations are open.

 

Yes, I have been to Martinique once and we went to the Jardin de Balata. It was fabulous, and absolutely worth the visit.

 

http://www.jardindebalata.fr/

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147328-d147828-Reviews-Jardin_de_Balata-Fort_de_France_Arrondissement_of_Fort_de_France_Martinique.html