DWhit

I forgot to mention that we just visited a beautiful botanical garden on Guadeloupe during our SeaDream trip last March, but someone told us the botanical garden on St. Lucia was even better. So that might be an option for you to consider. Have a great trip!

I do not recall it being hard to enter or exit, but I also do not recall any significant waves, so maybe I’m wrong. A lot of island beaches seem to have a two or three foot ridge of sand that can make it difficult to get a firm footing, especially when exiting.

That looks like the beach on Nevis where the bar with the “Killer Bee” drink is located. We were there in late February. It was a beautiful beach but I did not see any decent snorkeling from off the beach. Of course you will be on a catamaran, so who can know if there is any good snorkeling offshore.

I agree with 39august, Eagle Beach on Aruba would be a good fit. Very easy to enter and calm water there.

At the risk of being banned for stupid puns, I would say it’s OK to wear jeans at Blu, as long as they are “Blu-Jeans”.

As I recall, Soufrieres Bay is right next to the two Pitons of St. Lucia, so it will be a lovely place to anchor. We have snorkeled at the beach between the Pitons, and it was really very charming. I believe it is called Sugar Beach, and is a lovely beach, and the snorkeling was definitely worthwhile. There is also a very nice hotel right there where you might try to get a day pass. I am not sure if they offer that or not, but it would be worth a try. I am not sure how familiar you are with St. Lucia. They have a lot of attractions around the island, but travel time can be an issue you need to be aware of. We did the hot volcanic mud baths, and that was great fun, but be sure to wear an old bathing suit, as the mud does not easily wash out. Also I have heard there are some nice hiking trails near the Pitons, but we have never been to any of them. All in all, I think it will be a great stop for you.

So if I am a Cunard World Club Member, and I want to be one of the first to book a QE 2025 Caribbean trip on the March 6th date from above, should I call the UK number at 2:30 am my time (US Central Standard time), which I am thinking is 8:30am London time?

Whoops!!

There is supposed to be a big announcement this February and accompanying release of itineraries to follow soon after. Word is Queen Victoria will be sailing the Caribbean based from Miami for Winter 2025/2026.

Thanks for the heads up! That would be perfect for us. We are on Queen Elizabeth this August to Alaska, maybe we could do some future booking onboard that trip. I have also notified my travel agent to be on the lookout. Any guess as to when the bookings would first open?

With you guys being frequent Celebrity passengers (we are too), I feel confident you will enjoy Cunard. I’d have to say we would pick Cunard over Celebrity, but Cunard has very few Caribbean cruises, which we love, so we end up on Celebrity. We think both lines are very good. Plus Queens Grill should be extra special!

Thanks. Safe travels !

Hi Patti! We hope you have a great New Year as well !

Wow, thanks for this thread! We are heading down to Galveston tomorrow for our first ever New Year's Cruise, and it's on the Harmony. To top it all off, my wife's birthday is January 1. I had never thought about reserving a table, but it does seem logical. A lot of folks on the ship and not that many tables. I imagine we will just mill about the balloon drop area in the middle of the crowd and have a great time.

If you do get to Pompeii, I would definitely recommend hiring one of the guides (assuming they still have them). We did and she was able to really bring the place alive. It was a great tour.