So Fascinating--Southern Caribbean (plus 3 days in PR) with Kids

[lolavix]

At some point, Henry gave us a choice--we could either go to Carambola or Shipwreck. Since we needed to eat, we opted for the less expensive option, although he did drive us by Carambola to see it. It was so quick that I didn't get any photos (we didn't get out of the car). But there might be photos of it off in the distance as we go along.

 

I'm wondering if it's in this photo:

 

 

Timothy Hill view is behind me.

 

And now it's in front of me:

Caribbean and Atlantic in one shot. Nevis off in the distance.

 

I will admit that I was excited to get the iconic image.

 

And now I'm in the shot, too.

Yup, we're here.

 

Although it looks like we are the only folks here, this was not the case. On the way out, I snapped this:

 

We did not play or interact with the monkeys ourselves, however.

[lolavix]

After Timothy Hill, we arrived at the famous Shipwreck Beach. This was quite an interesting place.

 

You are greeted with these:

DD and I laughed at "Monkey 20 feet". Oddly, we did not see any here.

 

Didn't like the reminder that San Juan wasn't really that far away.

 

We only had about an hour and 15 minutes total to spend at the beach, and we needed to eat.

 

We had a good view while we waited for menus:

 

I'm going to post the menu in case anyone is interested. We ordered burgers and fries. Our bill was around $42 for the food.

 

 

We didn't order any drinks, but here is the menu:

[lolavix]

 

A view of the restaurant:

 

The food came and we ate. No pictures because I forgot in my haste to want to check out the water. We wound up in the water for about 40 minutes.

 

Shipwreck has black sand, which is interesting:

 

 

 

 

 

We had asked and received permission to just use the chairs. No one else was really in the water. It was good since there wasn't really dry sand to put our stuff down on if we didn't use the chairs.

 

[lolavix]

 

There wasn't much to see right in our vicinity, although DH ventured out further and said there were fish. The kids spent some time collecting shells, which we brought home.

 

There was a lot of this, though:

 

As I said, we didn't have a ton of time. After about 45 minutes in the water, we packed up and headed back to port.

 

But not before seeing more colorful (and nice, expensive) houses:

 

I can't remember if this is a hotel or apartments:

 

[lolavix]

 

That's a heck of a driveway:

At least it doesn't snow in St. Kitts.

 

Port Zante is only about 15 minutes from Shipwreck Beach, and soon we could see the Fascination:

 

 

And soon we were back:

 

I promise it really wasn't deserted:

 

We did a little bit of shopping (magnet, of course) and then headed for the ship:

 

[perfect match]

I guess one of the benefits of your private tour is that you were able to choose the beach you wanted to go to. We could have spent a short time at Carambola, but opted to stay in the van and head back to port. My poor knees and hip were not ready for any more fun that day. Hopefully, the next time we get to St Kitts I will be able to get in the water since that is my favvorite thing to do.

 

You saw way more monkeys than we did in St Kitts. We only saw 2 or 3 from the windows of the van as we drove by. We did not get any pictures of them, so I really liked seeing yours.

[pghsteelerfan]

At some point, Henry gave us a choice--we could either go to Carambola or Shipwreck. Since we needed to eat, we opted for the less expensive option, although he did drive us by Carambola to see it. It was so quick that I didn't get any photos (we didn't get out of the car). But there might be photos of it off in the distance as we go along.

 

I'm wondering if it's in this photo:

 

And now it's in front of me:

Caribbean and Atlantic in one shot. Nevis off in the distance.

 

I will admit that I was excited to get the iconic image.

 

I can actually answer your question about the first picture. This is the "other" (less popular) view from Timothy Hill and the resort you can see below is the Marriott (hotel/beach club), which is on the Atlantic side.

 

In the second picture of the more popular side (Caribbean and Atlantic in one shot), both Shipwreck and Carambola are on the water on the right hand (Caribbean) side on that low laying section (behind the pond). Neither Shipwreck or Carambola can really be seen from Timothy Hill, but Shipwreck is next to the next hill over and Carambola is on that same stretch of beach, but the side closer to Timothy Hill.

 

I will also admit that I was also very happy to get that iconic image last year on Liberty. On our previous cruise on that same itinerary out of San Juan, on Carnival Valor, I got the picture but it was cloudy and raining and I had rain spots all over the pictures. Last year was just beautiful and one of my all time favorite pictures was from the "other" (less popular) side of Timothy Hill overlooking the Marriott. :)

 

Again, I am really enjoying your review and love that I can relive some of our cruise through it. We also went to Brimestone Fortress (love it, and the views) and Shipwreck Beach. It's not a beach for everyone, but we LOVED it and that awesome black sand. I also brought back some of those shells...great authentic (and free) souvenirs from St. Kitts. :D A year ago today we were in St. Thomas while enjoying our cruise on Liberty and I'm missing it.

Edited September 21, 2016 by pghsteelerfan
Oopsie...correcting a typo.

[lolavix]

Perfect Match--While I expressed a beach preference for St. Thomas, I didn't anywhere else. We were fine with Shipwreck for the short time that we were there. I thought it was weird that we saw so few monkey, given all that I had read about them. We saw many at the Wildlife Reserve in Barbados, but only the few I posted here in St. Kitts.

 

Pgh Steeler Fan--So yup, I was way off for trying to locate Carambola. :p Thank you for helping me get my bearings. I will mention that I know we got very lucky with the weather, especially since we kept seeing torrential rain in Miami on the news feed and how people on various islands would tell us that a storm was coming that evening (Barbados) or how they had a storm earlier in the week (St. Maarten). A month ago we were just starting our cruise, so I can sympathize.

 

_____________________________________________________

 

Determined to finish St. Kitts today. You all are probably happy about that, too.

 

When we got back onboard, we changed things up. The kids went to play mini-golf, instead of going to Waterworks. I showered and joined them, and DH opted for a nap.

 

 

 

 

DS2 looks like he is really focused:

 

About this time was sail away.

Not a bad life--playing mini-golf as you say away from St. Kitts, en route to St. Martin.

[lolavix]

So peaceful.

 

Bye, St. Kitts.

 

We finished our game and went to get ready for dinner. Brought some wine from our room and we were good to go.

 

Fresh mozzarella for me, oysters and something else (maybe shrimp cocktail) for DH. No photos of this. DH, DS1 and I all got the filet mignon (once we explained to DS1 what it was). It was very good.

 

Dessert:

Chocolate raspberry and vanilla creme cake for me. Our dining companions had left, so I do have a photo of this:

 

Yum!

 

I don't recall if there was magic this night, but there was dancing and singing. I also don't remember the song, but no matter.

 

Call it corny, but I thought this was fun every night. Maybe it's because my boys enjoyed it.

[lolavix]

DS2 doesn't look like he's quite sure of the moves here. DS1 looks fine:

 

After dinner, we all went to the Hasbro Game Show.

 

Yes, we had already had a winner three days earlier and didn't expect anything, but it was a good family show and this was the entertainment for 8:15. I think NCL spoiled me, because I do like a regular "show" after dinner, and while we had a lot of fun at the afternoon game show, it seemed like Carnival should have had something else for prime time entertainment.

 

The qualifying rounds were different. For the first game, you needed to play

and the first round of contestants played life-sized:

This game was actually hard, because you had to throw the ball up and I felt like you would really be at the mercy of where it fell. You could try to strategize, but unless you had good aim, the ball might not go where you wanted. Obviously, the blue team was successful.

 

For the next round, I think they had to answer questions and then they played Simon Flash. The game malfunctioned, though, so they let all the contestants from round two advanced to the Monopoly round. This time, a young kid (DS1 knew him from the kids' club) won, and he looked as excited as we had been on Tuesday.

 

After the show, kids went to their respective clubs, DH turned in, and I went to Punchliners to see:

John DiCrosta.

 

After that, I picked up the boys and tucked them into bed. I went to the Love and Marriage Show without my camera, so no photos. It was a fun time...there was a couple who had been married 45 years, one that had been married six days (there were three in the audience, so they picked the one who had the latest ceremony the previous Saturday) and one right between those two, at 20 years. The next day, I told DH some of the questions and we would have done OK enough.

 

One final photo for Friday:

 

On to St. Maarten/St. Martin. We saw both sides!

[ontheweb]

I think that couple was married 46 years. They were the only one that volunteered as 40+. I met the husband the next day, and said if there was no one married 40 or more years, we were married 39 years + 2 weeks. Though since DW was not there, we could not have volunteered.

 

You did not mention how they picked the 20-25 year married couple. They had to demonstrate how much they still loved one another, and the audience voted. The husband on the couple selected picked up his wife while they were kissing and swung her around.

 

I did like they just gave each couple the same prize instead of declaring one the winner, and the rest getting consolation prizes.

[lolavix]

On the web--They gave the same prizes at the Welcome Aboard Show to the two couples that were on stage. I think for many of these, it's all in good fun.

 

_______________________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last day! We're finally in St. Maarten/St. Martin. And I finally made it back to continue. :rolleyes:

[lolavix]

Our day started the way they all had. Up by 6:30 or so, shower, breakfast on the Lido, back to room to pick up gear, and off the ship. Our pick up wasn't until 9:30, though, so we could be more leisurely.

 

 

We had a tour booked with Joyce Hanley-Prince, a CC recommendation. We had to walk a bit to meet with her.

 

Past the sign:

 

and more walking for a few more minutes. But we found her, and we were off!

 

We stopped shortly for the requisite view of the ship from an awesome spot. I think the only island I didn't get this shot was Barbados.

 

 

 

DH getting a shot something like this one:

[lolavix]

 

After we got our photos, we continued along. And I continued getting photos:

 

 

If you have to do lawn work, why not have awesome views?

 

The vertical line is the glass of the van's windows.

 

I always find it amusing to find a random animal without others around.

 

We headed to this awesome view. I am not sure the name of it, but I know it was near Guana Bay, if it was not Guana Bay itself.

 

It was a long way down, but we managed...

[lolavix]

Finally made it!

 

Thought this was interesting:

 

And this, too, for the texture:

 

 

Anything else?

 

 

It's fun to be the only ones there, although on our way down we saw a jogger who knew Joyce.

[lolavix]

 

Lovely, isn't it?

 

See how far down we were?

DD is that little dot way up top, in the center. She came down but didn't stay as long as us.

 

We rejoined DD and headed out.

 

I think this is a house up there. Wouldn't mind having that view.

 

Or this one.

 

Another 'jigsaw puzzle' view.

 

Too hard to do a panoramic shot while driving.

[lolavix]

And more colorful homes...

 

 

And close by, on the other side of the street, you have this:

 

And a usual sight, I suppose:

 

 

That is it for now. It's taking me a long time to go through my photos and select/edit them a bit. Thanks for your patience. I should have some additional time this weekend to try to finish, since we are on our last port.

Edited September 24, 2016 by lolavix

[ontheweb]

Lolavix, I have been on ships where only one couple in whatever version of the newlywed game they have is declared the winner. All receive prizes, but the winner gets more. When they did the walk the catwalk contest on the Motown show, one couple won, and the other did not.

 

I hope you have pictures of the planes seemingly a few feet overhead at Maho Beach. I hope DW's pictures of that come out well. (She is still working on her pictures from Iceland from the Spring.) I can hardly imagine how crowded that beach becomes if multiple cruise ships are in port. It was crowded from just the Fascination.

 

Comparing the Fascination to other ships. It lacks alternate restaurants. To us this was no big deal, though we did enjoy the fish and chips dining spot (not open for dinner) on our last Carnival cruise. We never lacked for food choices.

 

It seems what they added during the refurbishment was only some balconies and the water slide (that seems to have been well enjoyed by your children.)

 

I know you mentioned the closing of the Lido buffet in the transition period between lunch and dinner that unfortunately often coincides with when you get back to the ship. But, we have been on other ships where not only does this happen, but you also can't even get lemonade then.

 

DW thought the room was smaller and the bathroom more spacious than many of our previous cruises. I agree about the bathroom. I think the cabin itself may have actually had more square feet, but over the years (the Fascination is over 20 years old), they have learned how to use the space more efficiently.

 

One thing that happened before our time in St. Martin/St. Maarten--we were in the lounge waiting for our excursion to be called and discussing what we could do the next day. We did not have an early flight (go to the airport right away) or a late flight (take one of their excursions that end up at the airport). The problem was how do you explore while having your luggage to schlep around. Someone came up to us and excused themselves for eavesdropping, but said they might have a solution to our problem. They said you could leave your luggage for a small fee (ended up being $6 for our two bags) at the Sheraton, which as you have already mentioned was right around the corner from where the ship was docked.

 

I believe in earlier posts, I both described our time on that island and our embarkation day in San Juan.

 

We would have liked more dance lessons. They had cha cha lessons one of the early nights, and it was well attended with many on the stage taking instructions as well as watching from the audience. But, then there were no more. (actually on I think the next to last night there was "Thriller" dance lessons, but we were not interested in that.)

 

But, the many dance opportunities with the Latin Band made up for that.

 

Oh, and I won 3 ships on a stick (alternatively called by them vessels on a trestle) in the trivia contests. The contests were very competitive as there were several good players, but we all enjoyed each other and the competition. (Those ships are on the mantle in the window in our bedroom along with the 3 I won on our last Carnival cruise.) At one port, I was told our son will miss you. He was one of the best trivia players, though winning when you are the only one playing because everyone else is off the ship, to me would not be as satisfying. I got to know a few members of "the fun squad" as they conducted the contests.

[easyboy]

Very nice photos.

[tatt2ed]

Im catching up on 22 pages. But meanwhile i have a few questions. We are doing the fascination may 28th 2017 and also doing 3/4 days post cruise. Im am very worried my 3 stepkids (14f, 12m, 10f) will not enjoy the ship so much since its a bit older. Did i mention they will have already been on the harmony of the seas (jan 2017). The itinerary and PR is our main reason for doing this trip. I know the kids will enjoy themselves overall and i really want the kids to experience other parts of the world. And comments and feedback would be greatly appreciate. Thanks

[TravelingAPor]

Thank you for this wonderful review. :)

I think you got on the ship as we left it. We had a fantastic cruise and I'm ready to relive it through your review.

[lolavix]

On the web--I get the impression that any of those games are really for fun, although there can be a competitive spirit. I think I mentioned that my younger son was given a ship on a stick from our head waiter just because they seemed to hit it off...You have a lot of information. Have you considered writing a trip report yourself, especially with Pat's photos?

 

Easy boy--Thank you. More to come!

 

Tatt2ed--This was our second cruise, with the first being on Norwegian Dawn, which is also an older ship, so I can't say that my kids wouldn't have been missing the bells and whistles if they knew about them. However, DD really did enjoy the kids' club and wanted to hang with her new friends quite a bit. Even though a lot of the activities were the same as what we were doing, it was just cooler to do them with her peers rather than us. DS1, who is 10, liked his club at well, but I think DD just liked her experiences more. And honestly? We were off the ship from 8ish until 4 PM, so there wasn't really enough time for them to be bored. As I said, we'd get back and do a quick activity (Waterworks, mini-golf), then dinner, and then it was time for either a show or Kids' Club. Since my youngest is 8, the two boys would be done by 10 PM each night. They were excited just to watch TV in their own cabin for a short while before bed.

 

Traveling A Por--Thank you. It does look like we could have crossed paths, yes.

 

______________________________________________________________

 

Our next stop with Joyce

 

 

included an island we could wade out to!

 

Finally we had brought our water shoes when we needed them.

 

Off to the side.

 

The other side

 

Island is on the far right.

 

It was very cool to be able to walk and climb on this island.

[lolavix]

Exploring

 

 

On our way back, others joined us:

 

Some textures:

 

 

This red intrigued me:

[lolavix]

After the walk to the island, we hopped back in the van and were off to the iguana farm, which was something I knew the boys in particular would like, especially DS1.

 

As you can see, it's not really a farm, but no matter. The kids loved it.

 

 

and you can feed them!

 

Both boys got in on the act.

 

[lolavix]

 

And now DD joins in:

 

 

So many iguanas!

 

 

This was a fun stop, even if you aren't into iguanas. It's something that we don't normally (ever) see at home.

 

We probably stayed about 10 minutes or so, then off we went.