Southern Caribbean 2014. . . Let's Start the Planning!

[jedijill]

How cool, I want those! I hope we get them! But maybe not since the second one says First Cruise From San Juan and we are on the last?

I wouldn't count on it. I believe we got them since it was an inaugural cruise.

Jill in CO

 

[AquaDame]

I wouldn't count on it. I believe we got them since it was an inaugural cruise.

Jill in CO

Exactly - I'm sailing on the next one and fully anticipate getting diddly.

 

[LoveToCruiseDisney]

For those who did excursions in Antigua...we are booked to do an Antigua land tour to nelsons dockyard and Shirley heights...is it worth it or should we just skip it and head to the beach

 

[LoveToCruiseDisney]

Also..in Barbados...should we do the Barbados beach break at her our lights or should we spend the extra money and go with Hilton resort beach break

 

[belle07]

Yes they can stay on the boat. When you get to the beach the water was no more than waist deep. You can definitely walk from the boat to the beach.

Thanks, just making sure my mom will have a good time without worrying about the water part.

 

[LeslieG]

Did anyone do the Cruise to the Pitons with DCL on St. Lucia?

 

[eandesmom]

Carry on a case of water?? Holy smokes! That's a back breaker!!!

We carried on a case as well. We were lucky though, as we arrived that morning we did the DCL transfer and sent all bags straight through so only had small day bags on us to carry, plus what we bought immediately before boarding (rum, juice, case of water).

We drank that whole case too, and then some. Very glad we did it.

 

[bonnielynn]

Did they have a good selection of beer and wine at the port? We were going to stop on the way but that would be more convenient for sure! Thanks for all the great info!

They had a decent amount of both... I didn't recognize any of the wine brands that I normally drink in MD, but I enjoyed the bottles that I got. I stuck the kinds of wine and didn't go wrong.

We stayed in San Juan so my husband went with DonQ Rum - which was under $10 a bottle (If I'm recalling right).

Good luck.

 

[MAJPLO]

Did anyone do the Cruise to the Pitons with DCL on St. Lucia?

Yep. I don't know that I would do it again through DCL. More below.

Antigua - we took a cab on our own to Valley Church Beach. They tried to convince us to go to a different beach but we had read about this one so we stuck with Valley Church. The ride was $50 round trip for four of us and our driver asked what time we wanted him to pick us up. We got there at about 10am. Umbrella rental was $10 and were chairs $5 each. We got two chairs and no umbrella but set up our chairs in the shade. This was the most beautiful beach I have been on. The sand was white and powdery and the water was gorgeous. There was food available although we didn't check out the options at all. I think DH got a beer, not sure how much it cost. There was a waitress walking around if you wanted to order from her. A few vendors but not too many and not pushy at all. There were jet ski rentals I think $50 for a half hour. It was not crowded at the time we arrived but by the time we left at 1pm it was crowded. Not ridiculous but I was glad we were done.


St. Lucia - DH and 8yoDS did the zip line through DCL. they said it was great and DS loved it and did fine. There was a 5 or 6yo girl whose family booked privately because she was too young for DCL restrictions. DH said she did great as well and had no problems. There was another 8yo boy as well. Not sure of other kids. FYI the 5/6yo girl's family took a cab to the zip line and I think they said it cost $70 for the cab ride. I could be thinking of a different excursion that same family took but I'm pretty sure that's what they said about this one.

St. Lucia - DD and I did the Cruise to the Pitons. There were 50 people on the catamaran which I thought was too many. It was crowded and once we had found a seat I was afraid to get up and lose the spot. Pineapple juice, orange juice, sodas, and water were served. Rum punch was only served after our swimming stop. We went to Marigot Bay for a picture stop (not to get off catamaran), went to a very small beach with many vendors (shell and rock animals, jewelry, mango, coconut) who weren't really pushy but maybe seemed more aggressive because we were all in such a small area. Another catamaran with another 50 people (I think also a DCL excursion) joined us so the very small beach was very very crowded. After this 30 minute swim stop we got back on the catamaran and headed for the Pitons. It was kind of foggy so the view wasn't the greatest. We cruised very slowly back to the ship and I found myself almost wishing we would go faster. It was very nice and relaxing on the way out but by the trip back in I was ready for it to be over. FYI the "snacks" mentioned in the excursion description consisted of a plastic container of chips set out at the bar. It wasn't all that expensive so I don't know that I'd say I regret it but I don't think I would do it again.

Grenada - DCL Rum and Chocolate tour. DO NOT DO THIS TOUR WITHOUT BUG SPRAY!!!!!! DO NOT DO THIS TOUR WITHOUT BUG SPRAY!!!!!!! DO NOT DO THIS TOUR WITHOUT BUG SPRAY!!!!!!! The Drive was long and hilly and windy which is not good for a family with a kid prone to motion sickness. Luckily we are used to this so we were prepared with medicine and barf bags for her just in case. Very pretty and interesting things to see and hear on the drive. The rum distillery was HOT and the tour guide would slap herself (bugs) without batting an eyelash while the talked to us about the production process. I noticed a few Mosquitos here but it wasn't that bad. The info the guide was giving us was all very interesting but the beetle crawling on my foot and the mold in the bottling machine kind of grossed me out. At the end of the tour we got to sample two rums and a rum punch. The two rums had different alcohol contents (I think one was 65% and the other was 71% although I may be confusing these percentages with the chocolate info). I had a tiny sip of the one with the lower alcohol content and didn't try the higher one. It was very potent. At one point after the tour guide went inside to help with sales a gentleman from our group poured himself his own generous sample and shot it down like an expert. The look or horror and pain on his face afterwards was frightening and I felt bad for him because I thought he might fall over. The rum punch was very good and we bought a bottle. Off to the chocolate portion of the tour. The tour guide here was wonderful especially with the kids. He led us through the production process and had us taste the cocoa beans at different stages of the production. While we were in the greenhouse (I don't remember if that's actually what they called it) and especially outside in a grassy area where the beans were drying there were many tiny bugs that I found to be itchy on my legs. Not painful but itchy so I was slapping and swiping at my legs quite a bit. These did not appear to be mosquitos but I did see a couple of those as well. Did I mention my advice to NOT DO THIS TOUR WITHOUT BUG SPRAY?!?!?!?! Later back on the bus I noticed that I had MANY (like hundreds or possibly even near a thousand NO JOKE) small bug bites on my legs. They weren't itchy or painful so I just marveled at the number of them and forgot about them. Later that night they were gone. The next day they were back and pretty itchy. By that night (so the day after the bite attack) they were so itchy I was like a frantic dog scratching like crazy in the bathroom in the middle of the night while trying not to wake up my snoring family. Eventually the next day (Friday St. Kitts) I ended up in the infirmary. So.... DO NOT DO THIS TOUR WITHOUT BUG SPRAY!!!!!! DO NOT DO THIS TOUR WITHOUT BUG SPRAY!!!!! DO NOT DO THIS TOUR WITHOUT BUG SPRAY!!!!!! Seriously!

Barbados - Calabaza tour was AMAZING and I think the best day on our trip. Only 12 guests on the catamaran and the crew of four was incredible. Friendly, knowledgeable, helpful, safe, and overall one of the best service experiences I've ever had. Alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks throughout, banana bread and coffee when we first arrived by taxi (prearranged by calabaza and included in our fare). The lunch was great as well. We went to our first snorkeling spot with the turtles where two crew members were in the water with us feeding the turtles and keeping an eye on us and checking to make sure everyone was okay. Second snorkeling spot over a shipwreck and a reef. The current here was stronger than the first spot and the crew had our kids hold on to their buoy while they pulled them along. The kids used life vests and the rest of us (most of us) used snorkeling vests. Fins were also available at the second spot. None of this was required but I'm glad my kids and I used the vests. I think it made it easier to concentrate on snorkeling and not having to worry too much about staying afloat. We stopped to have lunch near a beach and after eating we could swim around or out to the beach if we wanted. The crew took lots of pictures which they will link for us and send us recipes from lunch. Yum. I can't say enough how fabulous the whole crew was especially with our kids. They paid close attention to every guest on board and took care of us very well. They let our kids help with little things here and there like tying ropes and putting up the sail. It was amazing and I would do it again in a second. During our trip we saw the silver moon and it looked comparable as far as the number of people on the catamaran. They went to the same spots we did but were there at staggered times so it wasn't crowded. We saw the Tiami catamaran and recognized some people from the cruise. I don't know if they had booked through DCL or on their own but I was glad I wasn't with them or the other 50+ people on their "cattlemaran." Way too crowded for me!

St. Kitts - our plan was to stay on the ship all day. We had Palo brunch at 11am. I wanted to get off and look for a dress in port and I HAD to find some itch relief. So we got off the ship and wandered around the port area. We found a convenience store and bought some topical itch ointment kind of like a benedryl cream. I plopped down on a bench in the SUPER HOT sun and slathered it on like a mad dog. It helped for about five to ten minutes and that was it. So we went out of the port area to find a full pharmacy where I got calamine lotion. Slathered that on and walked around looking like a total freak with chalky pink-white legs feeling better for about five to ten minutes and then I was miserable again. No dress, no shopping, didn't see much we wanted to spend time on (mostly because of how miserable I was) so we went back to the ship. Showered, rested a little, scratched a lot, and then when the stupid bug bites started oozing and blistering I decided I better head to the infirmary which wasn't going to reopen until 4:30 so I still had to wait and try not to scratch. Sorry about all the gory details (I am actually refraining from all the details) but I can't stress enough that Granada without bug spray turned out to be a huge painful expensive problem for me. And I'm still pretty miserable so take your bug spray and use it.

Embarkation wasn't too bad. Waited outside in a line to have our checked bags taken in but after that the line for the check in desk wasn't too bad and we were able to board right away when we were done with that.

Towels were provided at excursion meet ups and at the gangway and no one seemed to care to check if you were taking towels but not on a ship excursion.

Getting off and on the ship at each port was quick and painless and bins were there for returning the used towels plus hand sanitizer. They handed out cool wet washcloths when returning from St. Kitts.

We got Princess tickets for the sea day at 9am held in the lobby atrium. DD couldn't decide if she wanted to do it or not even though we had the tix so we didn't get in line right away. Once we got in line we waited for about 25 minutes then saw Cinderella, Belle, and Tianna. The princesses were also out a couple of other times one at a time. Our Anna and Elsa tickets were for St. Kitts day at 9:45 in.... Fathoms? We didn't go.

 

[ACDSNY]

Has anyone done the DCL Island Safari in St. Kitts? I'm curious to see what you thought of the excursion.

 

[Melissa S]

Also..in Barbados...should we do the Barbados beach break at her our lights or should we spend the extra money and go with Hilton resort beach break

We walked to Carlise Bay (didn't pay a penny for our excursion lol). It was the same beach as the Hilton. The beach was absolutely beautiful. Highly recommend it.

If anyone is interested in doing it on your own there is an info desk in the port terminal in Barbados and they will give you a map. The beach was right after the Bridge House and we turned right onto a road next to the car park. We had DD with us and we felt safe on the walk. Used our Castaway Club beach bag to hold ship's towels

 

[LoveToCruiseDisney]

We walked to Carlise Bay (didn't pay a penny for our excursion lol). It was the same beach as the Hilton. The beach was absolutely beautiful. Highly recommend it. If anyone is interested in doing it on your own there is an info desk in the port terminal in Barbados and they will give you a map. The beach was right after the Bridge House and we turned right onto a road next to the car park. We had DD with us and we felt safe on the walk. Used our Castaway Club beach bag to hold ship's towels

How far of a walk would you say it is?

 

[DisDiana]

Has anyone done the DCL Island Safari in St. Kitts? I'm curious to see what you thought of the excursion.

We did this excursion after four days of beach and snorkeling and were surprised to find that we were the youngest couple on the tour -- mostly over 50.

My husband picked this tour because of favorable Trip Advisor reviews and we really loved the tour guide. The vehicle was open-air and very hot. There was about two hours of driving and four stops for between 15-30 minutes each.

We really enjoyed ourselves and if you have any specific questions, I would be happy to answer.

 

[princesitarita]

Can anyone please post them up? Thanks!

 

[Melissa S]

How far of a walk would you say it is?

1.5 miles. It wasn't too bad. We walked past the wharf and marina. The taxi fare is only $4 per person, but we wanted to see the area. In Barbados the fares to all points of interest are posted on a large sign by the taxi stand so there are no surprises.

 

[MAJPLO]

Anyone know why the Magic is leaving so late tonight? We are looking out our balcony at La Concha and just now seeing the Magic cruising out.

 

[kritter]

Anyone done the four by four excursion in St. Kitts??

 

[Donald & Daisy Duck]

Anyone done the four by four excursion in St. Kitts??

I think you should read this...my friends are going on the southern carribean cruise next week and this was posted on their cruise meets thread

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3336683&highlight=grenada

 

[ACDSNY]

We did this excursion after four days of beach and snorkeling and were surprised to find that we were the youngest couple on the tour -- mostly over 50.

My husband picked this tour because of favorable Trip Advisor reviews and we really loved the tour guide. The vehicle was open-air and very hot. There was about two hours of driving and four stops for between 15-30 minutes each.

We really enjoyed ourselves and if you have any specific questions, I would be happy to answer.

Hey we resemble that remark on the over 50 group.

Actually our DD picked this excursion. I think it will be an easy one after being on the run for the rest of the trip. Thanks.

 

[JOANNEL]

If you are going to go to the forts in San Juan and have a National park visitor card bring it. Both forts are run by the Forestry service. It's only $5.00 and coves both forts. We left ours at home or could have saved $10.00!