Sunshine 11/28/15 11-night Journeys/Premier Review

[NCTribeFan]

Thanks, Froufie.

 

Ah, fire ants. As we were walking from the grocery store toward the high-end shops around the marina, something bit/stung me on the 2nd toe of my right foot. I actually stopped and said "something just stung me." I was a little worried as I've had some pretty unpleasant reactions to stings and, of course, my epipen was in my purse in the cabin.

 

Wasn't too bad that night, but by the next day, it was burning and itching like crazy. Of course neither of us had anything to put on it that might help and I didn't want to dose up with benadryl. It actually woke me up multiple times during the next night. I wanted to tear the skin off. It was horrible. I finally decided it had to have been a fire ant. Encountered them once many years ago when I lived in Georgia. No fun.

 

I still have a dark red spot on the toe and it's been over two weeks now! In the future, I'll try to remember to spritz some insect repellent on my feet when I'm wearing sandals on the islands.

[NCTribeFan]

New port! Yippee!

 

Naturally, when I booked and saw Tortola in the itinerary, I figured I needed to see The Baths on Virgin Gorda. As time went on and I did my research, I felt less inclined to make the effort to get there and back on my own and just didn't want to do a ship tour. Yes, I know it's beautiful and unique. I've seen lots of photos. But I always want to do a tour on my first visit to any port.

 

I did lots of reading on the Tortola board and just wasn't seeing much of anything. So, for once, I decided that the get-off-the-boat-and-walk-up-to-a-taxi-driver was the way to go. $20 per person for an island tour that includes a beach stop? Yep. I'm finally going to (sort of) wing it and not pre-book anything.

 

I had huevos rancheros from Blue Iguana. They were quite good. Different from the ones available during brunch, but still tasty.

 

They're doing a lot of construction around the pier (building some "authentic island experiences" I suppose - in other words, the same old tourist shops with the same products available on every other island). We zigged and zagged out to the safari taxis and got the last two seats on a bus ready to leave.

 

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Finally, after we'd waited for one particular couple to return to the bus at one stop (they were the last ones every single time), I just had to say "last ones again" as they strolled up to board. Woman snapped "I had surgery on my foot xx weeks ago!!!" Well, that may be. None of us noticed her having any issue walking at the earlier stops. Here's an thought, though! If you're having a bit of trouble walking around, perhaps you shouldn't wander quite as far from the bus. And how about this? Perhaps you shouldn't wait to be THE LAST FREAKING PEOPLE TO HEAD BACK TO THE BUS EVERY SINGLE TIME!!! Sheesh. Why are people so inconsiderate? If they'd wanted extra time and to be able to take things more slowly, they should've booked a private tour. But no! Let's make every person wait for us all day. :mad:

[NCTribeFan]

Anyway, we had about 45 minutes at Cane Bay Beach (I think there's a Cane Bay on every Caribbean island). Sat at a little table and had a drink.

 

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The tour was supposed to be 2-1/2 hours, but it was over 3 (partly thanks to waiting for The Slow Couple each time we stopped). It was certainly worth the $20 + tip. Now that I've seen Tortola (and it is lovely), I'll probably head to Virgin Gorda next time.

 

Back on the ship, we headed up to Lido and had lunch at the pasta bar again. I then went out to the fairly-secluded exterior promenade on Deck 3 and finished my book.

 

Before the cruise, I'd ordered a series of three novels set in the USVI by Rebecca Hale. I started with the one set in St Thomas, which was not the order in which they were written (this was actually book #3). Pretty lightweight stuff, but it was fun to look up at Charlotte Amalie from the ship and try to picture the locations she'd mentioned in the story. Anyway, I finally finished a book. Typically, I can read 2 to 3 novels on a 7 or 8 night sailing, but when I'm travelling with someone, I don't spend nearly as much time sitting on my own, reading.

 

At some point they'd done some Christmas decorating.

 

 

No idea what we did that night. Same as before, I imagine. Casino at 8 for the snowball drawing, get drink, have dinner, back to casino, win some, lose some, to bed around midnight.

[NCTribeFan]

Sorry about the duplicate photo of the beer. Guess I really enjoyed it! LOL.

 

Right. So I took no other notes for the rest of the cruise so these will be mostly photos and general thoughts about the excursions.

 

I'd been to St Kitts 3 times and did Thenford Grey's island tour the first two times. Last time, on Conquest in early June, I'd tried to get some people interested in going to Nevis but no one would join in. As I was solo on that sailing, I wasn't going to head off-island alone, so I did a relaxing day by the pool somewhere I won't mention because I want it to be kept semi-secret.

 

This time, there was quite a lot of interest on the Roll Call. We had about 20 people signed up. The description was that we'd take the ferry to Nevis, then have our island tour with lunch on our own, and a beach stop.

 

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We met up with our RC organizer in the lobby and paid her a discounted rate. Headed down to Deck 1 to get our things to take ashore and headed off the ship. And then we waited. And waited. Turned out we had some no-shows (and these were people who RC organizer had seen at breakfast but they hadn't bothered to tell her they were backing out). Seriously, people?

 

We had some showers early but by the time we headed off, they'd stopped. We had a young woman assigned to guard over us for the day and headed off to be split into two vans. Except we didn't go to the ferry dock. We got a mini-island tour since we headed all the way down to Cockelshell Beach where we got on our "island taxi" (really just a speed boat). It was quite rough but it only took about 6 minutes. But that also meant that we weren't landing in Charlestown, either. I believe we were at Oualie Beach.

 

We met our two drivers, were given some ginger mint (hot!) hard candies, and split up into two vans. Off we went for our Nevis island tour.

 

Mt. Nevis was pretty well covered most of the day but was still impressive. We stopped at some hot springs where we could wade in for a few seconds (really hot!). Would've loved to have been able to sit and soak my aching knees. Unfortunately, I was in the back row and our driver's mic wasn't working, so I pretty much just looked at scenery out the window. But it's not like I can't look up "Nevis" on the internet and read all about it, right? No reason to be uninformed in this age of instant information.

 

 

View from Charlestown looking back toward St Kitts

 

 

We drove past the botanical gardens and up to the plantation with Lord Nelson married his first wife. The lunch-on-our-own was set up there and was not really something I was expecting. I thought we'd be having some beach-bar food, not a nice menu with $20 burgers.

 

Others felt the same, so we asked the driver if there was anywhere we could go for something less fancy and more local. About 8 of us piled in the van and were taken to a local grocery store that had a deli in the back. Got a pile of chicken with rice & beans and a Stag beer. After a bit of confusion with the currency conversion, we headed back and met up with the others.

 

We waited until we were back at the beach where we first met our Nevis drivers to wolf down our lunch. Spent over an hour there, had another Stag beer, then back on the water taxi.

 

View from Oualie Beach looking at St Kitts

 

There were so many Diamond/Platinums on this sailing that they split the VIFP party. Our invitations were for this evening at 4:30. By the time we got back to the ship, it was 4:15. I ran to the cabin, dumped my stuff, then headed up to the Liquid Lounge. Mr. Heald was speaking when I arrived. There were lots of drinks but the floor seating was full, so I grabbed a beer and went up into the balcony. As usual, the food servers would start up, people would wipe out the food stuffs, the servers would go back to replenish and then return right were they'd just been instead of passing the greedies to get to some of the hungries. Sigh.

 

So I left.

 

Evening activities - same as the others - casino drawing, drink, dinner, casino, bed.

[pirate4me2]

I can't wait to go to Nevis now. Do you happen to know who you all used for the tour?

[AmberTeka]

I enjoyed reading your review and looking at your lovely photos. the information about the food was interesting too. We sail on the Sunshine very soon.

 

My question. You said you played roulette. Were the minimums $10? they had gone from $5 to $10 on our last cruise ( on the Sunshine) and my husband was irked. He lost his money twice as fast.

He spent more time with me going to shows and such, and I liked that but I promised him I would try to find out.

It is not like he can change it.

I guess his plan is to be prepared.

Edited December 15, 2015 by AmberTeka

[NCTribeFan]

The Nevis tour was through Thenford Grey. Just Google his name and St Kitts and you'll find his website. It was not cheap although we got a $10 discount because of the number of people. Add in lunch and tips for two different drivers plus a "guide" who really didn't do much, and it was easily the most expensive of the cruise. But any time you leave the port island and travel to another nearby, it's going to cost more because of the added transportation costs. I'm glad I did it. As I said, I've been to St Kitts on multiple stops, and Nevis is "right there," so why not add another island to my list of places I've visited. It's not like the ships call there, so when you have the opportunity, take it!

 

It's like going over to St John from St Thomas. I went there on my 2nd cruise and haven't been back. Next time, I'd like to return just because it's been so long.

 

Yes, they were $10 minimums with $2 chips. My past 3 cruises, they were $5 minimum, $2 chips on Freedom and Conquest (those were both Premier cruises) but only $1 chips on Splendor to Bermuda.

 

I typically bet more than $5 each spin anyway. So I just didn't lay down as many chips until I started winning, then I'd cover more numbers. More on gambling when I do my wrap-up.

[NCTribeFan]

My favorite island! I love it here. Beautiful scenery, great people, less commercial. So, if your idea of a "good" port is one where you have plenty of junk, tourists vendors, and a chain bar/restaurant at the end of the pier, this isn't the place for you.

 

On my prior three visits to Dominica, I'd toured with Levi Baron of Bumpiing Tours. I love Levi, but since I'd done the Titou Gorge and waterfalls (twice) and the Kalinago Indian Village already, I decided to join in on the tour with Sheppee that was organized through the roll call.

 

Cruise buddy wasn't feeling well, so I went up and had breakfast, then found Angela in the lobby collecting the tour fee. Off the ship, up the street, and found our group. There was one solo in the group, so she and I teamed up. We saw lots of damage from Hurricane Erika at the end of August. We had several detours due to bridges that had washed out.

 

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Had our first beverage stop of the day (we had two vans and a drinks van). Kubuli is my favorite island beer - light and fresh. On to Cabrits National Park and a climb up the hill to the fort.

 

 

We had a brief downpour and took shelter under a big tent that was set up for a fund-raiser happening later that day. They were decorating the poles with beautiful fresh flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

Back down to the vehicles and another beverage break. Young friend said she'd been up late and had done a lot of drinking the night before and had purposely skipped breakfast. She was pounding down the rum punch and was already getting a little boisterous.

[NCTribeFan]

On to the Indian River. They called them canoes, but they were rowboats. No motorized vehicles allowed on the river and no fishing or hunting, either. Several scenes from "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" were filmed here. Our guide said he got to transport the actors up and down the river and that they were all really nice people. Good to hear! For those unaware, whole chunks of that movie were filmed in Dominica. If you go and do the Titou Gorge visit, that's where the round, bone cage dropped down into the water and broke and Orlando Bloom and Co. were standing in the water. Much of the gorgeous scenery in that movie is Dominica.

 

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Yes, I zoomed in, but that crab was huge!

 

Tia Dalma's hut from 2nd Pirates of the Caribbean movie

 

 

We disembarked from our little boats and climbed the stairs to guess what? A bar!!! Sadly, Lester got the last two beers, so I had to have a Passion Fruit Rum Punch. It was quite nice, but I tend to steer clear of the rum punches on these islands. I know how much of a kick they can have!

 

By the time we got back to the vans, young friend was really feeling good. Well, for a little while longer, at least!

 

 

On the way back, she and I shouted along to "Hello" and then she felt it was time to put her head on my shoulder and have a nap. And then it was time for Sheppee to pull over because she was feeling sick. So we had a couple of unscheduled stops on the way back to port. And the bartender kept bringing drinks while we were sitting on the side of the road. The third time we stopped, they put her in the drinks van where she could lay down on the bench seat (and probably so the two vans full of people could get back to the ship; it was getting late). Problem was, I'd had several beers since the last bathroom stop. By the time we got to the port, Angela and I were about to have accidents. I mean, truly in pain. So I couldn't stop and wait to see who was going to get young one back on the ship and to her cabin. I was worried that security might want to get involved since she was in really bad shape.

 

 

I always see rainbows in Dominica and this time was no exception.

 

It was probably around 4:15 when I got back. I ran straight to the cabin, dropped my stuff, told Cruise Buddy I was STARVING and pretty much ran up to Lido to get a burger and fries.

 

Since I'd had so much beer during the day, I decided it would probably be wise to stick with beer for the rest of the evening. I think this was one of the nights with a brand-new-to-me menu for dinner. And I was not impressed. Which is sad, because I'm really getting tired of the same offerings

 

Same after-dinner routine.

[pirate4me2]

Oh, Dominica looks beautiful! I can't wait to get there in March!

[SugarStar00]

I was looking forward to your review of this day! You handled your young friend's antics very well!!! [emoji5]️

Edited December 18, 2015 by SugarStar00

[jimbri]

Great review and photos. I can see why you like Dominica so much!

[NCTribeFan]

I do love Dominica. It is a beautiful place. And, as I've said often, one of the best things about it is that it isn't over-developed. No big chain hotels or resorts. No chain bars or restaurants. Not all cruisers want ports like that. I do wish Carnival had them in their regular rotation again. Other lines call there more often, so once I get Milestone out of the way, finding itineraries that visit there will be one of my criteria for choosing my future cruises.

 

I really enjoyed Sheppee's tour, and I can highly recommend Levi as well. I imagine the other tour operators also provide entertaining, informative tours.

 

Next trip, I may just go to Screws Sulphur Spa. That little bit of wading we did at the hot springs in Nevis convinced me that I could spend some time soaking.

[NCTribeFan]

I was looking forward to your review of this day! You handled your young friend's antics very well!!! [emoji5]️

 

At least she was a happy drunk! I figured that unless someone had never had a drink in their life, they'd been there themselves. Sheesh, I missed dinner for the first time ever (even when I used to get seasick, I never missed dinner) on my Conquest sailing on 5/31/15 thanks to consuming 4 margaritas in about 90 minutes! I've been drinking for over 40 years and I still do stupid things!

 

I was much more concerned that she would have alcohol poisoning and was sailing solo, so had no one to take care of her once back on the ship. Or for security to see her condition and decide she was a danger to herself.

[NCTribeFan]

Our 2nd Sunday on the ship already! Really flies by with all the port days.

 

I'd only been to St Lucia once before (my Victory sailing RT from San Juan in May, 2009, when it was a port every day). I'd toured with Cosol that time, and someone on the Roll Call organized a group with him for this time. The description had changed a little since my previous visit, so I figured I'd give it another go.

 

He has many, many vans (it's a really popular tour), but we were scheduled to meet a little later than the main groups. We split into two vans again, and were off. Young friend was on our van and was decidedly subdued all day. Hey, at least she showed up!

 

Stopped at an overlook with vendors (and lots and lots of other vans and people).

 

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Then we stopped for breakfast. Lots of fresh fruit (the passion fruit was phenomenal), fried plantains, johnny cake, fried fish, and more. Time for a Piton beer and we were off for more sightseeing.

 

Our first look at the Pitons. They are stunning.

 

On to the Soufriere volcano. No one on our van opted for the mud baths, so we drove on in. Had a guide to walked us down the steps near the waterfall, and then up a bunch more steps for photo ops of the steaming crater.

 

 

On to another waterfall. I think a couple of folks went swimming, but I went back down to the vendors and bought a bottle of banana ketchup. I'd regretted not buying any last time I was there.

 

 

Sadly, our drinks van was not there! Oh well. We'd have plenty more later. Since no one on our van was interested in snorkeling over at Sugar Beach (used to be Jalousie, between the Pitons), we were told we'd just hang out on the beach, near Soufriere (the town, not the volcano). But the "water taxi" there was supposed to be part of the price, so I asked several folks if they wouldn't like to at least ride over there to see it. It's a beautiful setting. So, we got beers and climbed into the little boat and off we went. No one even wanted to get out and walk down the beach, so we just rode back over.

 

Then they brought out the serious stuff. Another home-made rum concoction with lots of herbs and spices that was metted out in teeny, tiny cups. Good thing, too. The stuff is potent. Young friend went straight back to the van and didn't drink anything all day. I'm sure she felt awful, but she'd put on a brave face and did her sightseeing.

 

 

 

That evening in the casino after dinner, Desi, the Premier hostess, came over to the Roulette wheel (where it was just the two of us playing) and told me she'd like to treat us to dinner in the steakhouse on Monday or Tuesday night, complete with complimentary bottle of wine. That was nice. We opted for Monday night since Tuesday was the last night. Maybe she felt sorry for me because I wasn't being selected in any of the drawings or other things like the Hot Seat or Cash Pong. Hey, I'll take a $35 meal plus wine, thanks!

[NCTribeFan]

The first time I visited Antigua (that Victory cruise in 2009), I did an island tour, like I like to do. Last time I was there was on the Conquest repo in November 2013. That time, some of us went to Coconut Beach Club on a day pass. Well, the hotel portion was fairly old and had some storm damage and had cosed. Someone on the Antigua Port of Call board contacted the folks there for their recommendations for other properties in Antigua that might offer something similar (a quiet day on the beach with food and drinks). Of the few recommended, I thought BeachLimerz sounded like a place I'd be interested in visiting.

 

I was in contact with Gail, one of the owners, on and off. She originally said their Day Pass included a beach lunch, two chairs sharing an umbrella, a rum punch and a water. Other drinks were available at the bar. Since I stay away from the rum punches (for the most part), I got clarification that the drinks included were actually 2 rum punches or 2 beers plus 2 waters per person.

 

We had about 15 people who signed up on our Roll Call. I asked Gail if she could arrange a taxi, and about a week before we sailed, I posted that we were to meet Sammy, our driver, near the taxi stand outside the port building.

 

Had breakfast, got our beach bags, and headed off the ship. Found the taxi stand where I asked about Sammy, and had multiple guys insist there was no such person and I had to take one of their taxis. Finally, one guy came over and pointed to a man standing up the steps behind the taxi stand holding a sign with my name. So, there were six of us there, waiting. And waiting. No, we didn't know the others, but we didn't see anyone who even looked like they were trying to find us.

 

Finally, I had Sammy call Gail, who said, "oh, the others said they didn't know how to find you so they just got their own taxi over." Oh, FFS people! Here was a guy expecting to haul 15 people, and there were only 6 of us. Thanks a lot! Not only did we waste over 30 minutes of our beach day standing and waiting, this guy was going to be shafted on his fares, after I'd specifically requested a private taxi. Grrrrr. People are so inconsiderate. Just reinforced that I'm never, ever volunteering to arrange an excursion. I'll make recommendations, but I'll never be the organizer ever again. Just not worth the time and effort. :mad:

 

Anyway, we arrived (it's located on Fort James Beach, just north of town). She'd requested a 50% deposit, which I'd sent via PayPal a few weeks earlier. I paid the rest with a credit card and we were issued wrist bands. I grabbed two loungers at the end of the beach and bit my tongue to not say anything to the people already there with their Carnival towels as I knew I'd probably be rather nasty to those who stood us (and Sammy) up.

 

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View from my beach lounger.

 

There were lifeguards doing their drills just down the beach and I found I needed to take a couple of walks down that way. Just for the exercise, you know! It had nothing to do with the dozen or so fit, young men exercising in the sand. Nothing at all to do with that!

 

 

The lunch was quite good. We had our choice of chicken, fish or steak. There were also grilled vegetables, salad, pasta, mashed potatoes, and rice. The portions were very large. There were picnic tables around the barbeque area, but we took our plates and sat up in the regular dining area (open air, covered, with full bar). There was a wonderful breeze up there.

 

 

The "early birds" never said anything to me and vanished in the early afternoon. I'd asked Sammy to return at 2:30, and he was there on time. After he dropped us off, I went in search of Noreen Phillips' shop. I discovered it on my first visit although I didn't buy anything (and regretted not doing so). On the previous stop, I saw the shop and hopped off the van and purchase a long, tunic dress that I love (and was wearing to dinner that night, our 3rd elegant evening).

 

She now has an outlet shop near her regular store, so we headed over there. I found two of the shorter-length tunics and another top. Cruise buddy really loved the long, black one but I told her she absolutely couldn't buy it because I was wearing that to dinner that night! For those on social media who know me, it's what I'm wearing in my profile pic.

 

Friend found something she liked and Noreen altered it for her right there. The shops were packed with women (we were in port with P&O Brittania (a huge ship)) who visit her every time they're there. So, it isn't just me.

 

Our steakhouse reservations were for 5:30, and the sign-up for the Premier slot tournament was at 4:30, so we needed to rush back. I jumped in the shower, threw something on, and headed up to the casino. By the time I arrived, the sign-up line (outside the sport bar) was half-way back to the cashiers. I finally got up there and told the girl that I had Steakhouse reservations at 5:30 (thanks to the casino) and could I be in the last qualifying round? Nope. Despite all the people who were entered, they'd be done before we'd be finished with dinner. Had I known, I would've gone straight to the casino and gotten in one of the first rounds! Oh well. I imagine I came out ahead by getting a free steakhouse meal.

 

Back to the cabin to change and get ready, then up for dinner. The wine was not the cheapo "free" wine that you get on the first night. This was really quite good. Sadly, I neglected to keep the cork and have no idea what it was. This time, I had the lamb chops. They were good, but I'm sticking to the surf and turf from here on.

 

The previous night at the Roulette wheel, I was just about out of chips and put down a few straight up (I typically play rows and corners; I'm conservative but it increases my odds of winning something), and actually hit on a couple. So, since my luck seemed to be improving, I was playing a bit more aggressively (for me; I do not throw down $10 straight up on a half-dozen numbers). And it was working. :D

[Jeafl]

What? No pictures of the exercising lifeguards on the beach?

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Antigua is a cluster u know what. Can't really blame the others for taking different cab. They are on you like white on rice as soon as you walk out. You have to sift thru the sea of cab drivers to find a particular one. You got lucky you found your guy. Probably should have all met on pier then all went out together.

[NCTribeFan]

Yes, the taxi drivers were very aggressive.

 

Two years ago, when Coconut Beach Club did the same thing for us (arranged for a taxi to and from), we didn't have this problem. Everyone just sort of found each other at the taxis, and we went from there. Folks could've at least waited until the meeting time to give up and leave. We were there before 10. I guess I just figured that a bunch of adults could read - and follow - the instructions on where and when to meet.

 

I won't make that mistake again since I won't be organizing anything for anyone in the future.

 

Ha, no. No photos of the lifeguards. I'm not that much of a dirty old woman! :p

[NCTribeFan]

I must apologize to my legions of fans who have been clamoring for me to finish my review.

 

Oh, wait. :o

 

Whether you want more or not, I'll try to finish it tomorrow. I've actually been very busy at work since my return (end-of-year tax planning; taking CPE; Christmas party; shopping; Star Wars!), and just haven't gotten around to it.

 

I'll post St Croix, disembarking and return home, and summary thoughts along with a link to my photo album.

[OKC Cruisers]

Just wanted to say thank you for posting your review and photos. We were also on this cruise and part of the Roll Call. We elected not to take any of the tours organized through the roll call because of some previous bad experiences. This was our first time in all of these ports with the exception of St. Thomas, so we just elected to get of the ship and wade through the sea of taxi drivers offering tours until we found one we felt comfortable with. Like you, we generally like getting an overall tour of an island the first time we visit and then, when and if we come back, we'll find something more specific to do.

 

Looking forward to the wrap up of your review and the link to your photo album. Your photos have been great! Gotta ask because I'm a techie kind of guy, what camera were you using?

 

Pete

Edited December 23, 2015 by OKC Cruisers

[mimsymarie]

Thanks for the info about Noreen Phillips.i plan on visiting her in April on our cruise.

[NCTribeFan]

Pete, I actually only use my phone now. It's a Samsung Galaxy S5, which I purchased specifically because I'd read that the camera was really good.

 

Note that I had an unfortunate incident once where I dropped my phone (I think that was my S4) while up on deck at sailaway (Fascination) and it landed on the corner, bounced up, landed on the outside of my foot, and hurdled between the railings and overboard. It was awful. Ruined my cruise (because I knew replacing it was going to cost more than the cruise itself).

 

Anyway, I stopped using my phone out on deck or anywhere I thought it was in danger.

 

But on my Conquest cruise, I met a great couple. He's invented this thing you slip on the end of the phone. It has adjustable velcro straps on the back where you slide two fingers through, and it keeps your phone secure. Tried it out and it worked great. I didn't leave it on all the time, but used it when I was out and about. The photos on the river in Dominica were taken using it, so I was able to stick my hand out over the side of the boat and not worry about dropping the phone.

 

It's called "CellGrasp" and I highly recommend it for people using their phones in "hazardous" situations.

 

marie - do check out Noreen's shop. Sadly, the sheer top I got is coming apart at the seems after wearing it for an hour or so. I'm going to write to her but probably won't bother to send it back since international shipping will probably cost more than the top. It was very reasonably priced. The tunics are great, though!

[wdazew]

We were part of the roll call as well and part of the group that was at Beach Limer. I do apologize for the confusion. I did not see a time on the goggle spreadsheet but did note that the taxi was not part of the fee for the property.

 

We very much appreciated the research you did and had a wonderful time there. Gail and her staff were excellent without being overbearing.

 

Please do accept my apologies for the wait time you experienced. I burn very quickly and easily so we tend to go early and leave early.

[NCTribeFan]

I couldn't post the time on the spreadsheet because Angela locked them due to people going in and messing them up (deleting things and/or overwriting stuff). But I did post it in the Roll Call more than once.

 

It's frustrating to spend so much time trying to organize something to help everyone and just have it fail. Besides wasting time that we could've been on the beach, I felt bad for the driver, who was expecting fares from 15 people, not 6. We could've at least all returned to the port together, which would've helped him out. I coughed up quite a large tip to try to compensate a bit.

 

Anyway, I'm just not going to do it again. Not worth the time and effort involved.

 

I really enjoy the planning part, but it feels these days that the Roll Calls (and groups elsewhere) are just a bunch of folks who want someone else to do all the planning/organizing for them and they'll jump in and say "oh, sounds good, I'll do that" after letting others do all the work. I'm a bit tired of people who want to be spoon-fed everything and can't make any effort at all to do any of their own research about a single thing.

 

It's a little too much like high school (not that I can remember a lot that far back!) - you do all your homework and studying and your friends want you to give them all the answers and Cliff Notes versions. :p

 

I should talk! For the Vista Inaugural, every single port day and the pre-cruise days have been organized by my Sunshine cabin-mate and a couple of other TAs in another group. I've done absolutely none of the planning. But, I did come in late and all the excursions had already been set up.

 

I do understand how overwhelming the planning can be, especially for new ports. With ten port days, plus two pre-cruise cities, plus pre-cruise hotels and transportation, it was utterly overwhelming. So, I confess to wanting to be spoon-fed this time. With tax season coming up, I knew I wouldn't be capable to doing the planning myself. Still, I've done a lot of reading and research on my own. I do like to know something about the places I'll be visiting before I arrive.

 

Anyway, must have some breakfast and I'll get back to the actual review.