cruising_canuck

Thanks, Greg (canuck) this helps so much. We will definitely look into one of these beaches. Do you go to Anguilla on land vacations that you know so much? This does look like a perfect island to do a land vacation some year.

We have friends that love the place and go to Anguilla often. We tried it for the first time about 10 years ago and loved it so went again about four years ago. There were no direct flights to Anguilla from the US or Canada back then and to my knowledge that hasn't changed. We coupled our one or two week stay on Anguilla with a one or two week stay on St. Martin (another favourite of ours). Took a small regional airline from St. Martin the first time we went and the ferry the second time (as described above, hopefully details haven't changed).

Would definitely recommend going for an extended stay on Anguilla. Hope you enjoy the island and your cruise.

Planning as of now to ferry over to Anguilla from St. Martin next April on our Adventure of Seas cruise. Wife really wants to do this for our 20th anniversary. What are the best beaches to go to?

Ferries leave Marigot every 45 minutes from 8am to 7pm for the 20 minute trip to Blowing Point, Anguilla and return approximately every half hour from 7:30am to 6:15pm. One-way fare is $15 and there is a departure tax of $5 (make sure you tell them you are a day-tripper). Taxis are available to take you to your choice of beach (it's not a big island - only 26 x 5 kms).

Many would argue that Anguilla's beaches are among the best and most beautiful in the Caribbean. Some are pretty quiet and some are lined with lively bars and restaurants. They all have great sand and warm crystal clear turquoise waters. Our favourites (in no particular order):

1) Rendezvous Bay - about 10 min by taxi from Blowing Point. Very calm waters at this +2km long beach. Pearl white sand and bluer than blue water with a great view of St. Martin. There are at least three resorts there to eat, drink and rent a chair & umbrella.

2) Shoal Bay (East) - about 20 min by taxi. A stretch of 3km powdered-sugar sand. Water is fairly shallow and gentle. There is a coral reef not too far from the shore where you can do some decent snorkeling. Have lunch at Gwen's Reggae Grill, Uncle Ernie's or Elodia's (can also rent chairs and umbrella from them). There is a glass bottom boat ride you can take (sorry, don't remember the name).

3) Cove Bay and 4) Maundays Bay - next to each other about a 15 min taxi ride west of Blowing Point. Both beaches are about 2kms in length with brilliant blue water and platinum white sand. If you are looking for something romantic, try a horseback ride along the beach at Cove Bay. You could get a couples massage at a beachside tent on Maundays Bay. Have lunch at arguably the best resort in Anguilla, Cap Jaluca (certainly the priciest).

Early congratulations and enjoy your 20th anniversary trip

Greg

Hello

 

We will be in Cochin for 2 days. What can we do there and are there any tourist attractions and shops for Indian outfits? We would like to hire a driver when we get there and have him take us to places- is this safe?

 

 

Thanks

Hi. When we were in Mumbai and Cochin about 2 1/2 years ago, I arranged excursions for both ports through the same tour company (put the Indian city name in front of Magic to get the tour company name). The owner is a very nice Indian lady named Deepa. She is a no-nonsense and professional tour operator and always got back to me quickly with answers for any questions I had (she also customized the tour for us). Can't say enough about the tours we had in both cities - they were fantastic. The following is the itinerary of the tour I organized with her for Cochin and the Allepey backwaters in Kerala. Of course, please contact her for updated details:

email for Deepa deepa@cochinmagic.com

website for CochinMagic http://www.cochinmagic.com/

************************************************** ************************************************** *******

Tour Name : ALLEPEY HOUSEBOAT CRUISE + FORT KOCHI

Ship: Ocean Princess, 07th November 2012 – Ship arrival 8 a.m. and departure 5 p.m.

Tour Description: This tour allows you to not only explore Fort Kochi, but also the surrounding areas. In this tour, we start with a tour of Cochin, and then drive to Allepey where we hire a private kettuvallam (traditional houseboat) and go for a cruise. This tour allows you to see rural Kerala and the famous backwaters of Allepey.

Cochin (Kochi) was the centre of Indian spice trade for many centuries, and was known to the Greeks as well as Romans, Jews, Arabs, and Chinese since ancient times. The port of Cochin rose into prominence in the mid-1300’s, when the nearby large port of Cranganore was flooded. The Portuguese arrived in 1500 AD, followed by Saint Francis Xavier, who opened a Christian mission in 1530. The Dutch overthrew the Portuguese in 1663, and eventually ceded Cochin to the British in 1814. In 1947, when India gained independence from the British, Kochi joined the Indian Union. Cochin’s population reflects its diverse history, and is a mix of Hindus, Christians, Muslims and Jews. During the tour, we will visit Fort Kochi, the old quarter of Cochin, and explore the quaint streets of this city on foot. We will also see Cochin's trademark Chinese fishing nets.

Kerala's network of navigable backwaters stretches to cover a thousand kilometers. These serene waterways are fringed by palm grove and paddy fields and offer a striking spectacle of rustic life. Allepey is among the few places in the world where farming is done below sea-level, using a system of dykes. The backwaters act as a vital waterway for the transport of goods, people and their produce are often the only link between isolated villages and crowded towns.

Program

8:30 a.m. Pickup from docks, drive 20-30 mins to Fort Kochi

9:00 to 10:30 – sightseeing tour of Fort Kochi

10:30 to 12:00 – drive to Allepey, on the way, see the beautiful Kerala countryside, villages, farms etc

12:00 to 2:45 – traditional houseboat cruise with lunch cooked and served on board

2:45 to 4:15 p.m. – drive back to ship

Cost:

Rs 3500 per person for a group of 9-16 people

Rs 4500 per person for a group of 7-8 people

Rs 5500 per person for a group of 5-6 people

Rs 6500 per person for a group of 4 people

Rs 7000 per person for a group of 3 people

Rs 7500 per person for a couple

Inclusions:

Pickup from docks where the ship berths

Air-conditioned coach

Driver with cell phone, Fuel, parking charges, tolls

English-speaking trained guide

Illustrated handouts

Private houseboat cruise with lunch cooked and served on board

Bottled water

All taxes

Excludes tips/gratuities, insurance

Tour Notes: Please ensure you have sun protection and are adequately hydrated at all times. You need mosquito repellent as the countryside is lush and green.

Kind regards,

Deepa

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Greg

We received a rather shocking and disappointing phone call this morning from Princess Cruises advising that our Oct. 6/15 Grand Asia cruise on the Sapphire Princess has been cancelled. Also turns out the return cruise Oct. 23/15 has been cancelled. Why? They have chartered the ship to a Chinese company for the entire 34 days. Fortunately we haven't booked any flights, hotels, excursions, etc. but we had done a lot of work investigating the various ports and looking at land tours pre and post-cruise in Japan and Cambodia. They have confirmed our deposit will be returned (well, that's nice) but have hesitated to provide any additional compensation.

Has anyone had any experience with handling a cancelled cruise? Any ideas on what form you think compensation, if any, should take?

I'm really disappointed with Princess. Besides the obvious fact that they clearly favour corporate riches over the loyalty of their individual clients, they didn't handle this well at all (some on our roll call still haven't been advised of the cancellation). When we learned of the cancellation through a friend (who lives in an earlier time zone), we phoned our Princess cruise consultant and were emphatically assured the cruise had NOT been cancelled. We returned a couple hours later from an errand to find a voice mail message sheepishly confessing their error. Then got a pretty cavalier attitude about what they would do to make us feel better about continuing to choose Princess. Perhaps they have forgotten there are other cruise lines out there.

Thoughts? Thanks, Greg