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Oh my goshhh, loving this review! I'm only on page 10, I've been reading for a while, stopped to get myself lunch before I was getting hungry looking at the pasta and pizza in Italy!!

Been making notes .... Paris City Pass, ROME-IN-LIMO!!!

My new bucket list spot: Amalfi coast!!!!!!!!!!!!

I found a tour on St. Kitts for paddleboarding: http://lizpereirastourstore.shutterfly.com/availabletours

Looks like you can find them all day at Shipwreck Beach Bar on South Friars Beach, no need to book a tour if you can get dropped off there. We are touring in the morning with Thenford Gray and will be dropped off at a beach in the afternoon. I'll ask him to drop us off here and we can do the paddle boarding on our own for an hour or so, or you can book a private tour:

You'll need to scroll almost all the way down on the landing page and you'll see it:

Stand Up Paddle Boards

A short drive from Port Zante and Frigate Bay leads you to beautiful South Friars Beach.

South Friars has the most tranquil waters that allows for the most inexperienced persons to get the hang of standing up on their own personal standup paddle board.

Stand Up Paddle Boarding (SUP) is a sport that everyone can enjoy, regardless of your age, ability or size. The perfect whole body and core workout, SUP is the most peaceful way to get out and explore the beautiful coastline of St. Kitts while you're exercising. It provides balance and coordination, strength and endurance , is stress reducing, invigorating, and invites adventure and exploration.

On arrival your guide will take you through an informative orientation and history behind Paddle Boarding. Instructions are included.

Once everyone feels comfortable the adventure begins!

Duration: 30 minutes

Maximum: 12 pax

Minimum age: 8 years

Maximum age: 80 years

Recommended: Towels, swim wear, sun tan lotion

Includes: Round trip transportation, SUP board, instructions and paddle

Only $15 USD per person.

We also offer escorted tours.

Open every day from 8AM-4PM.

Free SUP lessons included.

Transfers to the beach are additional.

I did find more information about the company, but no mention of paddle boarding. This excursion must be new for them. If anyone finds out the price and details, please let me know. We are taking a morning tour of the island and I think this paddle boarding excursion would be wonderful in the afternoon, as opposed to be being dropped off at a beach:

http://www.definitivecaribbean.com/getting-to-the-caribbean/st-kitts/local-organisers/kantours-vacation-tour-consultants

They also have a twitter page: https://twitter.com/KantoursDMC

and a facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/StKittsSup

I was just researching tours when I saw this company that offers a paddle boarding tour:

http://www.kantours.com/index.php/tours/stkitts-tours

St. Kitts Stand Up Paddle Board (SUP)

A short drive through the Frigate Bay Resort area leads to the South-East Peninsula Highway. Capture the awe-inspiring views as you leisurely meander across the Mountain Range, closely flanked by the energetic Atlantic Ocean on the north and the tranquil Caribbean Sea on the South.

Your Tour starts in the quiet turquoise waters of Whitehouse Bay. On Arrival your guide will take you through an informative orientation and history behind Paddle boarding. Whitehouse Bay has the most tranquil waters that allows for the most inexperienced persons to get the hang of standing up on their own personal standup paddle board.

Riders will be provided with state of the art streamlined life jackets and leashes so they can have peace of mind knowing they have the best in safety options. Once everyone feels comfortable the adventure begins!

Your tour guide will guide you along the rugged and unspoiled coastline passing secluded coves, cliffs and caves ending at Bird Rock Beach Cove. On your tour you may get to see stingrays, sea turtles, tropical fish, mountain goats and a variety of birds.

Come and enjoy an original St Kitts experience. Get up, stand up...for your right to SUP!

Duration: 3 hrs

Minimum: 4 pax Maximum: 12 pax per tour

Minimum age: 8 years Maximum age: 80 years

Recommended: Towels, Swim wear, Sun tan Lotion

Includes: Round Trip Transportation. SUP board, Carbon Paddle, Guided tour

Yes, the resort rents out nicer lounge chairs at around $20US per chair or something along those lines. These are not the ultr-luxury ones the resorts guests use, but they are nicer than the free ones the resort provides for visitors (which is quite generous as they don't have to provide anything at all) The ones for rent are padded and can be rented from the watersports hut or from the front desk.

For the $20 chair fee, do you get an umbrella or palapa? Would need shade in addition to a chair for my elderly parents.

No disrespect to OP but I don't think flying directly to a cruise departing the US is a good idea but one with an international flight is totally insane. Way too many variables as your story is unfolding.

I agree! Oh my, I wouldn't even fly in the DAY OF if the flight from the US went straight to Barcelona!

We are staying here in November. From the reviews on TripAdvisor, this hotel appears to be a hidden gem in the Old town of San Juan, at a great price.

We booked 3 suites, spoke to the manager at the hotel and he was wonderful, we asked for rooms side-by-side and he said he will make sure of it, even if he has to give one room an upgrade at no charge. Spanish balconies overlooking the plaza, around the block from the Cathedral, across the street from all the shops in San Juan -- can't beat it! Bonus to us is an elevator, no lugging heavy luggage up a few flights of stairs like most of the other older Old San Juan hotels! Another bonus is NO RESORT FEES! Every other hotel in San Juan charges upwards of $30 a day for a "resort fee". Even better is that there is a taxi stand AND the FREE Trolley stop right outside the front door.

We really wanted a room in Old San Juan, would have loved to be at El Convento but it would have easily cost me well over $1500 for 2 nights for the 6 of us, also looked into the Sheraton Old San Juan and The Cervantes and the prices were higher with mixed reviews.

Now that we are staying in Old San Juan, we plan to use the Saturday before our cruise to shop, visit the forts, and walk to Barrachina for dinner and the Flamenco show that night. No need to take a taxi in and out of the city from the hotel resorts on the beach!

Again, excellent review! I"m amazed at your organizational skills for the excursions!! And yes, please let us know when you book your next group cruise ... we want to join you! LOL! No, seriously, next cruise post a link in this thread to your next review, really enjoyed it!

We're in Barbados the fourth week of September on a very port-intensive itinerary. I'm hoping not to have to do any advance planning as I'm not really sure what we'll be in the mood for. Please give me an idea of what might be available spur-of-the-moment when we get off the ship.

 

Thanks in advance.

Have you thought perhaps a trip to Harrisons Cave?

http://www.harrisonscave.com/

I'm already hooked on your review, I'm subscribing - looking forward to the rest of your review!

Thanks for sharing memories of your cruise. I went on a very similar cruise on the Jade in May of 2011. Three of us had a 2 BR, 2 B suite. It remains my favorite of the 5 cruises I have taken. After all, what can beat beat Venice and the Greek Isles. Sailing back into Venice on a Sunday morning with the bells starting to ring across the city was a moment I will never forget. :)

Sounds beautiful! I hope to take this cruise one day, I like the mix of touring and beaches (and panoramic water views, whether it be Venice or Santorini). I am also thinking of flying in to say Paris or London and making our way over to Venice for this cruise.

What seems nice about this itinerary (to me) is that you can split time between sightseeing on your own and stopping at a beach for an hour or so, sorta like a Caribbean vacations.

Thanks! I'm reading up on airfare now. I did read that flights are less expensive when flying into (and cruising out of) Barcelona, BUT there are no cruise lines that stop in Santorini from there.

Thanks again, will probably put down a deposit once the Summer 2014 schedule opens and then watch airfare like a hawk!

Excellent review! I printed it out for future reference, hopefully we will be doing that same itinerary in Summer 2014!

How was pricing on airfare?

Wow, an outdoor market in Izmir, I love your excursions! Since there aren't that many tourists, do you feel it would be safe for women alone? Also, was there a language barrier in Turkey and how did you handle the currency exchange, do they take american dollars??

Great review, my DD graduates college in 2013 and since middle school she has dreamed of going to Santorini (after watching "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants").

Will be following your review and am patiently waiting for the Summer 2014 itineraries to post!!

I just read a review where someone booked cabin 1003:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1678327

 

 

I have used InsureMyTrip for several cruises. You can do side-by-side comparisons of the policies to find those that meet your needs best, e.g. "Cancel for any reason", pre-existing condition waivers, etc. (Remember, that you generally must purchase the insurance within 10 - 15 days after paying for your cruise in order for the pre-existing condition waivers to be in effect.)

The CSA luxe policy allows for pre-existing conditions, providing that you pay within 24 hours of your final payment.

Just bought travel insurance last week for our upcoming cruise in November. Travelling with dad who is 81, has pre-existing medical issues, so I purchased the CSA plan for him with pre-existing coverage, he has medical coverage and medivac. He can also cancel for medical reasons.

I then purchased a plan for my stepmom. She had a basic plan (does not need pre-existing medical).

Finally, I purchased a family plan for the rest of us (me, DH and 2 DDS). The total came out to less than $175 for all 4 of us (much cheaper than direct from the cruise line), and includes cancelling for medical reasons (or in case my father or any family member has a medical issue) among other things.

We have one cruise this Thanksgiving, after a year's dry spell! :eek: Next year we have two, for Easter and again at Thanksgiving.

So that's 3 cruises booked :eek: and I'm looking at Med cruises for 2014. :eek:

Okay, so I had to try this.

 

 

 

cool, it worked!

 

okay, back to our regularly-scheduled programming. :)

 

kr8z - more cowbell!! :D love that! :)

Is it supposed to look like post-in notes? :D

more cowbell, more review!

That is awesome! Was it organized by the ship?

Yes, she was in Circle C, it was an organized teen club event.

My daughter did a digital scavenger hunt with the teen club on the Liberty. She LOVED it! I saw the pictures afterwards and they were pretty hysterical (take a picture with you and an unknown guest in a robe, etc.) LOL

If you go from St. Thomas you'll probably have to stop at Grand Harbor to clear customs. Then you can go to White Bay and the Soggy Dollar Bar from there.

Ok thanks. Then probably best to go to JVD from a stop in Tortola overnight (like the OP did), then catch the ferry in the morning.

that sounds really awesome! All this talk of JVD... I really want to go back :)

I know! I had a Brilliance of the Seas cruise booked that stopped in Tortola, then decided to go Thanksgiving week, unfortunately no Tortola and switched to Carnival. We do stop in St. Thomas and I tried to find a private excursion to JVD, but the it is way too costly: http://www.watertaxi-vi.com/ . There are other private water taxi services available for the day, too, from St. Thomas to JVD.