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Please skip this Caribbean port

eyeeye

By eyeeye,
in Royal Caribbean International

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SASSYIN2

SASSYIN2

Posted
Posted

Wes stopped at TOrtola this year on teh Serandade and had THE WORST experience ever. The transporatin on the water taxis was horrendous- the operators were rude and crude to the tourists. At the beach, we were constantly hounded by people selling drinks and food- adn if you did not buy, they mumbled obsecnities under their breath. Even some of the cruise staff told us that night, they hated this sop and would not get off in the future. We asked for a stop on the water taxi back to the boat - to stop in town to let us off to go to the market, and then three different taxi drivers had to argue for 10 minutes, which boat we had to take to go there, we finallyh just said forget it and went back to the boat.

BY the way- we love Aruba- the shopping, the beach etc are great.

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Spudhunter

Spudhunter

Posted
Posted
Wes stopped at TOrtola this year on teh Serandade and had THE WORST experience ever. The transporatin on the water taxis was horrendous- the operators were rude and crude to the tourists. At the beach, we were constantly hounded by people selling drinks and food- adn if you did not buy, they mumbled obsecnities under their breath. Even some of the cruise staff told us that night, they hated this sop and would not get off in the future. We asked for a stop on the water taxi back to the boat - to stop in town to let us off to go to the market, and then three different taxi drivers had to argue for 10 minutes, which boat we had to take to go there, we finallyh just said forget it and went back to the boat.

BY the way- we love Aruba- the shopping, the beach etc are great.

 

:confused: What "water taxi back to the boat" are you talking about? There are no water taxis at Roadtown in Tortola. Are you sure you're talking about the right port???

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RaMar

RaMar

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:confused: What "water taxi back to the boat" are you talking about? There are no water taxis at Roadtown in Tortola. Are you sure you're talking about the right port???

 

Perhaps it meant an excursion to Virgin Gorda??? :confused:

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ssb

ssb

Posted
Posted
Wes stopped at TOrtola this year on teh Serandade and had THE WORST experience ever. The transporatin on the water taxis was horrendous- the operators were rude and crude to the tourists. At the beach, we were constantly hounded by people selling drinks and food- adn if you did not buy, they mumbled obsecnities under their breath. Even some of the cruise staff told us that night, they hated this sop and would not get off in the future. We asked for a stop on the water taxi back to the boat - to stop in town to let us off to go to the market, and then three different taxi drivers had to argue for 10 minutes, which boat we had to take to go there, we finallyh just said forget it and went back to the boat.

BY the way- we love Aruba- the shopping, the beach etc are great.

 

 

__________________________________________________________

 

 

Those are people problems not THE BEAUTY of the ISLAND and BVI"s. :D

They can and will happen anywhere when people are serving cruise passengers. :(

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hpreece

hpreece

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As a cruiser of 20+ voyages mainly in the Caribbean, my wife and I were discussing where we would prefer NOT to get off the ship. We pretty much settled on Tortola as somewhat blah with the assertive hawkers bothering us and not much to do. A HAL Captain told us that Grand Turk was not a great place either. Wondering what others are thinking? Nassau? Ocho Rios?

 

I loved Grand Turk! Free lounge chairs without the "drink pushers" and Margaritaville..all a short walk within view of the ship.

-Heather

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  • 6 years later...
bigque

bigque

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We have done an excursion on just about every island in the Caribbean now. We have taken tours so that we can learn the history of each place and see more of the islands and based on that we have said that there was a couple of them we definitely want to go back to do an all inclusive resort stay (Aruba and St. Lucia). What I find interesting is people who go strictly off of what people say here on CC about a port and won't even get off the ship and go and see for themselves. A lot of times you get remarks by people who have never really experienced the islands themselves. Having toured around the islands I find that there is a uniqueness to all of them. The one place we were not impressed with was Grand Bahamas Island. We stayed there at a resort for a week once and was glad when we left as we were not impressed and really don't care if we ever go back there again.

 

I see this thread is from 2008 which is when we took our first cruise. Falmouth was not around back then but when we cruised on Freedom in 2012 we went there and did an excursion to the falls. When we go there next year on our Oasis cruise we plan to step outside into the "Scary" streets of Falmouth. I grew up in South Central Los Angeles and have walked the streets in counties in the Middle East while in the military so I use a combination of Common Sense and Street Smarts where ever I am at in the U.S. or countries abroad so in spite of what a lot of people say about Falmouth I will go and experience it for myself. If it turns out bad then I know not to do that place anymore! :cool:

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starrcards

starrcards

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When we stopped in Nassau on our first cruise we were put off by all the people at the cruise port hawking tour and taxis. Same with the jewelery store employees. But after we left downtown and started walking on the beach toward the zoo, it was beautiful (as was the zoo). If we had thrown up our hands and returned to the ship, we would have missed a fun day. Just say no.

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troykahack

troykahack

Posted
Posted (edited)

Nassau has the best selection and prices on high end perfumes and colognes, mostly Creed, a favorite of ours, and much cheaper than the States. We book Nassau just to keep our selection and smells current....

 

And last trip, I introduced Cracked Conch to my SO at the Greek place on the main drag. We both will go back and the upstairs view of the main drag is awesome. SO now loves fresh cracked conch.

 

Next is Turtle for SO... LOL

Edited by troykahack
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legaljen1969

legaljen1969

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Posted
Just remember folks when you leave home you have to leave home home.:eek:

 

DISCLAIMER: Anytime I say "you", it is a generic "you" not directed at the poster I am quoting.

 

There is a lot of truth in this statement. Some people are not up for the unfamiliar. That said, one of the main reasons we like cruising is that it is great vacation for our family to be together. However, we can all partake in what we wish. My parents never disembark at any of the private island stops- Coco Cay or Labadee. They aren't fans of sunbathing on the beach. They enjoy the quiet ship.

 

I don't care for Ocho Rios or Falmouth, but some people enjoy them. The "port" is seldom in the most scenic part of any island. If you want to enjoy the local flavor, you sometimes have to go a bit beyond the downtown.

 

Also, please remember that these islands are someone else's home. Someone has a business there. Someone goes to school there. Someone works there. They don't just push a button to pop these islands up for the ships to come in on port days and then retract them at the end of the day.

I live in a tourist destination town, and people really seem to think that the town just sort of mystically appears when they step off the ship and the entire population is there solely to entertain them. I don't know what they think happens when they leave, but life goes on.

 

Don't be insulting and act so entitled- as though these folks are here solely your amusement.

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karena1

karena1

Posted
Posted
As a cruiser of 20+ voyages mainly in the Caribbean, my wife and I were discussing where we would prefer NOT to get off the ship. We pretty much settled on Tortola as somewhat blah with the assertive hawkers bothering us and not much to do. A HAL Captain told us that Grand Turk was not a great place either. Wondering what others are thinking? Nassau? Ocho Rios?

 

OMG are you kidding me? We LOVE Tortola and we also do Princess JUST to go to Grand Turks. Guess different strokes for different folks. Now if I never went to Nassau again I would be okay. But we are beach people so all about great beaches - in Tortola - Cane Garden Bay is amazing. And we LOVE the beach in Grand Turk. We are booking a 5 night on Princess next Nov ONLY because it goes to Grand Turk

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