Caribbean itineraries are getting repetitive. Is it because of the bigger ships?

[cluso]

Dup

Edited February 24, 2023 by cluso
Dup

[NutsAboutGolf]

33 minutes ago, cluso said:

 

We have never had a problem with the French islands, or France itself.  Enjoyed Martinque numerous times, including doing bare boating with the Moorings.  

When the Renaissance line dissolved, Princess acquired 2 of the R-ships.  One was renamed the Tahitian Princess.  We had a great cruise around the Polynesian Islands.  However, those cruises didn't last long and Princess pulled out.  From what I heard, there were a lot of "issues" on both sides.

 

BTW, Star Clippers sails to quite a few islands in the Caribbean and Costa Rica, and of course the Med and SE Asia.  We have done over 14 cruises with them.  Different experience and most enjoyable.

 

I thought the same that I'd have no problem while in France and had positive experiences in Paris and costal France...It all changed when we visited a rural gas station on the way from Paris to Honfleur along with other stops along the way.  There's exception yet the general rule of thumb is the more rural you get the more anti-American they can be.  Never was anything dangerous, they'll be friendly to a local but rude to an American

 

Anyways, X still has ships that make a port call in Tahiti usually when going from North America to NZ/Australia and vice versa

[cluso]

29 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

I thought the same that I'd have no problem while in France and had positive experiences in Paris and costal France...It all changed when we visited a rural gas station on the way from Paris to Honfleur along with other stops along the way.  There's exception yet the general rule of thumb is the more rural you get the more anti-American they can be.  Never was anything dangerous, they'll be friendly to a local but rude to an American

 

 

 

We have had the opposite experience.  We lived in Germany for several years and drove to France a lot.  Stayed all over the place.  One time we were getting gas at a rural gas station, about the time of the 50th anniversary of D-Day.  A few older Frenchmen apparently saw my car tags and came over and hugged me and thanked me for liberating them.  Tears were in their eyes.  I wasn't even born yet on D-Day (June 6th, 1944).  They hugged my husband, too.

 

We've done DIY canal boats on the rivers and canals in France, mostly in rural settings.  The locals were wonderful.  We learned so much, such great experiences.

[NutsAboutGolf]

25 minutes ago, cluso said:

 

We have had the opposite experience.  We lived in Germany for several years and drove to France a lot.  Stayed all over the place.  One time we were getting gas at a rural gas station, about the time of the 50th anniversary of D-Day.  A few older Frenchmen apparently saw my car tags and came over and hugged me and thanked me for liberating them.  Tears were in their eyes.  I wasn't even born yet on D-Day (June 6th, 1944).  They hugged my husband, too.

 

We've done DIY canal boats on the rivers and canals in France, mostly in rural settings.  The locals were wonderful.  We learned so much, such great experiences.

 

Outstanding, glad you experienced an exception to what most of us experience

[cruisemom42]

4 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Outstanding, glad you experienced an exception to what most of us experience

 

I wouldn't say it's an exception. I too have always experienced a warm experience outside the greater Paris area.

 

And that said, I have not had a bad experience IN Paris either, people are just different. Like many European city dwellers, Parisians are not as "smiley" as Americans. They are brisk and efficient and, when approached properly as generally helpful.

[phoenix_dream]

On 2/24/2023 at 1:31 AM, Belgian fry said:

I agree. It’s not cool at all. For example, there is a lot of ignorance on this board about Martinique and Guadeloupe. 
 

A little basic research would tell people that these are not your average Caribbean islands. They are an integral part of France and as such they 1. Speak French (hardly shocking) and 2. Require payment in Euro (the only legal tender of France). Yelling at people in English whilst brandishing Dollars isn’t going to get people very far. 

 

In my experience it’s ignorance and rudeness that cause most problems. 
 

My attitude to travel is that I am going to discover new places, new cultures, new food. It isn’t going to be exactly the same as at home. That’s the whole point. I am the one who needs to adapt. 
 

If all I want is a suntan, I can stay at home, use a sunbed and save a load of money. 

Frankly I find this post rather rude and ignorant. I was regularly treated quite unfriendly if not downright rudely the couple of times I visited. That was my experience and I prefer not to repeat it. I yelled at no one, while “brandishing dollars”. I was just surprised they handled currency differently than all the many other Caribbean islands I’ve visited. I was polite and friendly as I always am when visiting another’s home or home country.  I was not treated that way in return. To invalidate my experience, or others, by assuming we were rude and ignorant is very unfair to us. It is just as wrong to assume we were at fault as it is to deny the experience we had. I’m sure there are many nice and friendly people there. Unfortunately I encountered few of them.