xvi

Did you enjoy it

 

It was ok. They take you to the batik shop which was a bit long for us as we weren’t in the market for purchasing any batik... and we didn’t like Carambola beach club, wasn’t our thing. But the beach was nice enough and the drive there is quite scenic. I guess you can’t really go wrong for 20 bucks considering drinks are included

Do you remember the prices of the safari tours bus when you were at the port?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

$20 per person, drinks included

How late did you get back? And do you know why you were so late? Did you do the early one or the later?

 

How much time did you get in each spot? And were the two beaches comparable in snorkeling quality? Sorry for all the questions - i'm obviously curious. Still on the fence as to which tour I want to do.

The two tours are very similar. The snorkeling tour you’re more or less left to your own devices and lunch is not included. That was about the only difference between the two tours. I say “late” because it was supposed to be 4 hour, half day, and ended up being closer to 6 hours. It was fine w us as more time at the beach... and we ended up getting basically the full day for the cheaper price. It was roughly 2 plus hours at each beach, plus about 40 minutes each way in transport. No specific reason we were late, just very laid back, and nobody was complaining lol. In other words, don’t book anything for the afternoon after this tour, as return times are “flexible”.

Anse Chastenet has beautiful black sand and a lovely fringe of palms. The water is clearer. There is a wider variety of fish, and more fish to see, at least on the day of our tour.

Jalousie / Sugar beach is a crescent surrounded by mountains. The view is stunning. The water is less clear and it is rocky getting in and out, but when you get into deeper water you will see massive coral formations. Massive.

This sounds very appealing! We have 16 people in our group. Is the bus large enough to hold that many people? How long was the tour? How much time did you spend on the beach?

The open air safari bus seats around 20 people is say. It’s long benches, 4 people wide times 5 benches I think. We saw multiple safari busses in action and multiple sales people approached us so I don’t think it would be difficult to acquire one for your group. We spent approx 2 hours at the beach. Overall 4-5 hours.

No ladder, but one big step onto the dock. The guys will help anyone who needs assistance. I took my grandma on this tour a few years ago so anyone for the most-part able bodied should be ok. I should also note that it’s a speedboat and can go fast / be a bit of a rough ride, which we found a blast ;) Oh and you never get in or out of the water from the boat itself. Always via pier then beach.

Are you back yet? Wondering how this tour was?:D

It was good! The snorkel adventure is very much a DIY tour, meaning it’s mostly just transport to and from the beaches and less of a “tour”, but we like that. The guide was friendly and humourous. We left on time. We were quite late getting back, but still plenty of time to browse shops etc

Diddo. Perfect temps.

Just returned and air very warm and water temp absolutely perfect. Enjoy :)

Right, except that the Carambola chairs do extend far enough down the beach to be directly in front of said containers... so whether they belong to them or not, or whether it’s their responsibility to clean it up or not, if you’re at that end, as we were, it is indeed part of your surroundings. Not very pleasant or “upscale”. So yes, we found Carambola lacking, but the beach itself is nice. We walked all the way past Discovery and I agree, it’s very nice down there with the mountain views and is less crowded.

That would be me. And having returned a week ago, I assure you that the six of us did not collectively imagine it. Facing the restaurant, to the right of the building, are the washrooms. To the right the washroom, is the parking area and tour drop off area. To the right of that (between Carambola and the first beach bar, not shipwreck but the other) is a kind of vacant lot area, which was very littered and fringed with rubble and several old rusty shipping containers. We all thought it looked super out of place and kinda ruined the atmosphere.

Yes, there are many fish where you can still touch, in the shallow area by the rocks. The beach does not appeared damaged by hurricane to me, other than a couple of beach huts that sustained damage. The beach itself was lovely.

I would lean towards the night tour because 1) the crowds will have dispersed a bit, as well as the "selfie stick" vendors.... and 2) the sun can get very strong mid day and in Rome, shade is not abundant... I'd just like to point out that I have roasted there in spring as well as fall, not just in summer (of course depending on the year as it varies) so though you mention not being worried about the sun, if it's a warm spring you'd be surprised just how hot it can get. Enjoy ;)

Pre-cruise: Hep A + B vaccines (Typhoid is probably not absolutely necessary but not a horrible idea either) and definitely the Dukoral drinkable vaccine. It's easy to obtain / take and WORKS. I was very ill in Mexico and I was amazed that my symptoms magically only lasted 1-2 days whereas in the past when I've been equally sick they usually last a good week. Dukoral's main claim is not completely stopping you from getting sick but rather shortening and lessening symptoms, and I can vouch for this. We now take the booster yearly.

On vacation we bring a ziplock bag with some Immodium and chewable pepto bismol tablets, as well as Benadryl, because you never know when you'll have a random allergic reaction to something, and we bring this bag in purse or backpack wherever we go. If we are eating local, which we often do, we take probitics daily. In my personal opinion, general multi-purpose antibiotics are not a good idea for travel, unless you're in dire shape, in which case you should be seeking medical attention. Taking antibiotics unnecessarily can be counterproductive to staying health by eliminating your protective bacteria, and some commonly prescribed fluorine based broad spectrum antibiotics (ciproflaxacin etc) can be dangerous to take in certain situations / individuals.

Lastly, we purchased a Life Straw water bottle so we always have access to cleaner water than what the ship or even bottled water can provide. It was a great buy and highly recommend.

Just off the Dawn. San Juan is in good shape and has power. We had a nice time in most of the places you are visiting on your cruise. Rural areas are still facing difficulties but clean up efforts have been very efficient and tourists are fairly unaffected at this point. Everything was beautiful and the people are glad to have us :)

Just got off the Dawn. La Cucina definitely let us order multiple appetizers as our entree, but I'm guessing it will largely depend on your server at the time.

If that’s the case then I feel pretty deceived. Sorry, but literally everyone we asked at the beach assured us that the biscuits do no harm to the fish, (but only the biscuits, not other random food items). When you proactively ask the locals before engaging in the activity and they all assure you it’s legit... like, why would they want to destroy their own local ecology? For two dollars? Wouldnt there be signs or government measures in place to prevent it? Literally everyone was doing it and zero measures to educate or discourage this.

I guess it depends on what type of dining you like, so it’s quite subjective. We haven’t been to the Parrot Club before so I have no comparisons for you on that front, but we stopped in at Barrachina and it wasn’t “us”. We’re a young couple who like fresh, creative food but not necessarily fancy or upscale. We also didn’t spend a ton of time in Old San Juan on this trip... but I would recommend Pirilo pizza in old San Juan as it’s some of the best we’ve had (in its own way, not compared to Italian / neopolitan pizza). It is on Fortaleza street. Lovely old building, and ask to be seated upstairs as it is nicer than the main floor. Otherwise we liked Kasalta at breakfast (not in old San Juan) because it was across from our hotel and a very local / traditional place. Mostly we ate at the hipster-type eateries around Santurce, Condado, and Ocean Park, like Kabanas and B de Burro, which was excellent if you like Mexican food.

Just when we got off the ship. There will be several companies competing for your patronage. Just walk around the square and you’ll get the sales speech from several of them until you find one that sounds appealing to you. There was more than one open air bus there, sorry I couldn’t tell you which we were on. I’d imagine they’re all simlilar. We felt 20 bucks for beach + tour with open bar was a pretty decent way to spend the day.

I don't want to be a wet blanket, but snorkeling in St Thomas, as well as other isles, has deteriorated over the last 10 to 15 years. Places that were alive with colorful corals are now turning into bleached reminders of what once was there.

 

If you snorkel there for the first time, you won't notice the change, but if you had snorkelled there before you probably will.

 

In any case, wear bio-degradable or oil free sunscreen when you do.

Sadly you’re probably right, and this is true for most reefs. I was just reading how the Great Barrier Reef is pretty much toast at this point. Very sad. Good tip on the biodegradable sunscreen. But yes, first timers will still be impressed by the fish at Coki as they were in large schools and all different types and colours. Also saw some cool hermit crabs in large conch shells and some pancake fish on the sea bed. Very cool.

There are multiple buck islands. I don’t think the one from St. Thomas is as nice as the one from St Croix. Buck island St Croix is very beautiful.

Definitely. And a lot of our taxi drivers were trying to sell us on tours also.

Hi,

 

I have a cruise out of San Juan in April and am considering flying in a day before departure. The last time I cruised out of San Juan we flew the day of the cruise and wound up with a 5-hour delay out of PHL. I think we were some of the last people to board the ship. It was not a very relaxing way to start out. My TA said RCL suggested the La Concha, and yet their website (under cruise extensions) only mentions the Sheraton Old San Juan. Either seem to get good reviews. Any thoughts?

I like La Concha and it’s area. Lots of restos, casino, beach... it’s more “hip” ;)

Our boat most definitely did not have one.

If you absolutely can’t hold it, they stop the boat and in the water you go lol. It’s 30+ minutes from beach to port.

It was 9 dollars per person each way so 18 each roundtrip. We are towel on the sand people so I can't help with the rental prices but I'd assume standard prices as its not a posh beach club or anything. There is food, ice cream, and washrooms right by the taxi drop and a fresh caught fish / lobster grill two minutes down the beach, with live music / dj. A lady was also circulating with fresh made empanadas and they were delicious. The fish food they sell at the souvenir stall is just dog milk bone biscuits but it really works at attracting groups of fish.

We didn't have much planned for St Kitts and had just planned on walking around... but when you get off the ship of course there are many guides and taxis. We ended up choosing to go on the open air bus safari which was worth it in the end as it included an island tour and beach time, for only 20 dollars per person, including rum punch, beer, water, etc. Good value and we still had time for the shops in Basseterre.