1st time, What Beach for me?

[mitsugirly]

I will be visiting St Kitts for the first time next year and we are beach/sun loving people. :D

 

Looking around here and there, I have seen a few places mentioned for beaches to go to. I would like your thoughts or experiences of any of these places and what they have to offer (or any other suggestions).

 

1) Conkleshell Beach. I see there are several places to go here, such as: Spice Mill (is this only a restaurant?? or do they also rent chairs and such?), Reggae, Lion Rock? Which is the best place to go? Do any of them require advanced reservations? How much is chair rental? Any idea on cost of food/drinks or have a menu? Why would you pick this place? Any snorkeling in the area? Is it from the shore and not far?

 

2) Friars Bay area. I see mention of Shipwreck Beach Bar, but believe people are saying that the beach is basically gone with chairs sitting at a slant from the erosion. Is this just an issue at a certain time of the year? Or permanent? Carambola Beach Club. Any of these places have chair rental and how much? Prior reservation needed? Any menu's or pricing on food/drinks? What type of snorkeling is in this area? I have read a few things on sea urchins. Is this the entire beach area here at Friars?

 

Any other suggestions?

 

*How long does it take to get to either of these places from the cruise pier?

*How much do they charge to get there and is it per person?

*Are cabs available easily for a return trip?

 

Thanks in advance for your help. :)

[brookeq]

We are also trying to decide the same thing. I have collected the same information as you. Ha ha. But looking for more peoples opinions.

 

There used to be a site that had the taxi cab fares. But it isn't working anymore. I did put the address in the way back machine online to see the prices. Here is the website if you want to do that:

http://www.discover-stkitts-nevis-beaches.com/st-kitts-nevis-taxi.html

 

Our roll call group is using a local tour guide. I asked her about just getting a beach transfer and no tour. She quoted us as $20 per person round trip for cockleshell and $15 per person for the Shipwreck beach area.

[pghsteelerfan]

I will be visiting St Kitts for the first time next year and we are beach/sun loving people. :D

 

Looking around here and there, I have seen a few places mentioned for beaches to go to. I would like your thoughts or experiences of any of these places and what they have to offer (or any other suggestions).

 

1) Conkleshell Beach. I see there are several places to go here, such as: Spice Mill (is this only a restaurant?? or do they also rent chairs and such?), Reggae, Lion Rock? Which is the best place to go? Do any of them require advanced reservations? How much is chair rental? Any idea on cost of food/drinks or have a menu? Why would you pick this place? Any snorkeling in the area? Is it from the shore and not far?

 

2) Friars Bay area. I see mention of Shipwreck Beach Bar, but believe people are saying that the beach is basically gone with chairs sitting at a slant from the erosion. Is this just an issue at a certain time of the year? Or permanent? Carambola Beach Club. Any of these places have chair rental and how much? Prior reservation needed? Any menu's or pricing on food/drinks? What type of snorkeling is in this area? I have read a few things on sea urchins. Is this the entire beach area here at Friars?

 

Any other suggestions?

 

*How long does it take to get to either of these places from the cruise pier?

*How much do they charge to get there and is it per person?

*Are cabs available easily for a return trip?

 

Thanks in advance for your help. :)

 

I've always enjoyed your reviews with details and will definitely be help for me in future cruises as I love beaches.

 

We've been to both Cockleshell and South Friars (Shipwreck) fairly recently, both times on the southern itinerary out of San Juan. Valor in May 2013 (Cockleshell) and again this past September on Liberty (Shipwreck at South Friars).

 

 

 

Cockleshell Beach

 

We caught a cab at the cruise pier, but had to wait for it to fill. The rates vary depending on how many are in the cab. If just 2 people, it will cost $28.00 for the cab ride. Since we had a full cab, it was only $7.00 per person. It took about a half hour to get there, but others in the cab were going to different beaches along the way, so we had 2 (maybe 3) stops before we arrived at Cockleshell. Our driver waited for us since it was us and another couple at Cockleshell. We arranged pick up at 1PM. When we went to meet our driver, there were other cabs there asking if we needed one, so it seemed they were available.

 

Cockleshell Beach description:

 

- We easily got loungers at the beach next to the Reggae Beach Bar/Grille. Cost for loungers/umbrella (2 loungers, 1 umbrella) for a total of $10.00 (maybe it was $7.00 - we paid $7.00 for all somewhere, thinking it was here).

 

- The beach itself is fairly wide and had a lot of shells and some seaweed. We didn't spend a lot of time here and didn't get the chance to snorkel because that ended up being our "rainy day" of that cruise. We had about an hour and a half, total, between heavy rains, actually on the beach. Reggae was right there, so during the first downpour, which lasted about an hour, we took cover and had beer at Reggae.

 

- The water itself was clear and was not rough that day, at all. There are roped off swimming areas and snorkeling areas. One I know of was near Reggae. I'm not familiar with Spice Mill, but it may not have been there in 2013.

 

South Friar's (Shipwreck)

 

We caught a cab for a day tour and had our driver all day. We wanted to go to Brimestone Fortress and actually wanted to go to Cockleshell and then to South Friars, but that would have been over our budget. I forget what our total was off hand, but believe it was $4.00 per person for the South Friar's trip. South Friar's is only about 10 - 15 minutes from the pier. There is a lookout, Timothy Hill, where you'll see both the Atlantic and the Caribbean. South Friars is the Caribbean side that you see from the overlook.

 

Since Shipwreck is popular, we saw other cabs waiting when we went to meet our driver at the designated time.

 

South Friars (Shipwreck) beach description:

 

- Loungers were free at Shipwreck. They never stated that we had to order food/drink, but we purchased a few beers each. The Shipwreck Bar/Grill is actually above the beach. There are steps leading down.

 

- Two sides of beach are swimming (to the left) and snorkeling (right). Water shoes recommended due to sea urchins. I wore shoes but didn't see many sea urchins in the swimming area. Both areas are marked by a divider pole that sticks out of the water. There were sea urchins in snorkeling side.

 

- Sand is black and the beach itself is not very wide. There was one row of loungers that come with palapa/umbrellas. There are large nails in the palapas to hang belongings from. It was very sunny and the water was very calm the day we were there and we enjoyed it, however, it may have been a different experience had the water been choppy. There are more loungers and hammocks up on the level of the Shipwreck bar.

 

- The water itself was very clear, blue/green in color. I didn't get to snorkel much since I had my own and had a mask malfunction that was letting water in but it seemed fairly decent.

 

- There are also beautiful views from South Friars, including Nevis.

 

We didn't venture down there, but Carambola Beach Club is at the other end of South Friars. Carambola is on the north end, Shipwreck on the south end. We've heard from others on our cruise that Carambola has a wider beach that wasn't all black sand. There is about a 10 minute walk between the two, but we didn't venture down to Carambola.

 

***If you're interested in pictures, I did reviews of both those cruises, links to both are in my signature. In the Valor review from May 2013, the section on Cockleshell beach (lots of pictures included) starts on page 14. For pictures of South Friar's Beach at Shipwreck, they will be in the second the Liberty review, September 2015. The pictures of South Friars (Shipwreck) start on page 26.

 

Forgot to add that you won't find powdery, white sand beaches on St. Kitts, but we really enjoyed both beaches when we visited due to their uniqueness.

Hope this helps and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I'll answer as best as I can.

Edited December 19, 2015 by pghsteelerfan

[mitsugirly]

We are also trying to decide the same thing. I have collected the same information as you. Ha ha. But looking for more peoples opinions.

 

There used to be a site that had the taxi cab fares. But it isn't working anymore. I did put the address in the way back machine online to see the prices. Here is the website if you want to do that:

http://www.discover-stkitts-nevis-beaches.com/st-kitts-nevis-taxi.html

 

Our roll call group is using a local tour guide. I asked her about just getting a beach transfer and no tour. She quoted us as $20 per person round trip for cockleshell and $15 per person for the Shipwreck beach area.

 

The link provided does not work. :(

[brookeq]

The link provided does not work. :(

 

Lets see if this link will work:

https://web.archive.org/web/20150525000624/http://www.discover-stkitts-nevis-beaches.com/st-kitts-nevis-taxi.html

[mitsugirly]

I've always enjoyed your reviews with details and will definitely be help for me in future cruises as I love beaches.

 

We've been to both Cockleshell and South Friars (Shipwreck) fairly recently, both times on the southern itinerary out of San Juan. Valor in May 2013 (Cockleshell) and again this past September on Liberty (Shipwreck at South Friars).

 

 

 

Cockleshell Beach

 

We caught a cab at the cruise pier, but had to wait for it to fill. The rates vary depending on how many are in the cab. If just 2 people, it will cost $28.00 for the cab ride. Since we had a full cab, it was only $7.00 per person. It took about a half hour to get there, but others in the cab were going to different beaches along the way, so we had 2 (maybe 3) stops before we arrived at Cockleshell. Our driver waited for us since it was us and another couple at Cockleshell. We arranged pick up at 1PM. When we went to meet our driver, there were other cabs there asking if we needed one, so it seemed they were available.

 

Cockleshell Beach description:

 

- We easily got loungers at the beach next to the Reggae Beach Bar/Grille. Cost for loungers/umbrella (2 loungers, 1 umbrella) for a total of $10.00 (maybe it was $7.00 - we paid $7.00 for all somewhere, thinking it was here).

 

- The beach itself is fairly wide and had a lot of shells and some seaweed. We didn't spend a lot of time here and didn't get the chance to snorkel because that ended up being our "rainy day" of that cruise. We had about an hour and a half, total, between heavy rains, actually on the beach. Reggae was right there, so during the first downpour, which lasted about an hour, we took cover and had beer at Reggae.

 

- The water itself was clear and was not rough that day, at all. There are roped off swimming areas and snorkeling areas. One I know of was near Reggae. I'm not familiar with Spice Mill, but it may not have been there in 2013.

 

South Friar's (Shipwreck)

 

We caught a cab for a day tour and had our driver all day. We wanted to go to Brimestone Fortress and actually wanted to go to Cockleshell and then to South Friars, but that would have been over our budget. I forget what our total was off hand, but believe it was $4.00 per person for the South Friar's trip. South Friar's is only about 10 - 15 minutes from the pier. There is a lookout, Timothy Hill, where you'll see both the Atlantic and the Caribbean. South Friars is the Caribbean side that you see from the overlook.

 

Since Shipwreck is popular, we saw other cabs waiting when we went to meet our driver at the designated time.

 

South Friars (Shipwreck) beach description:

 

- Loungers were free at Shipwreck. They never stated that we had to order food/drink, but we purchased a few beers each. The Shipwreck Bar/Grill is actually above the beach. There are steps leading down.

 

- Two sides of beach are swimming (to the left) and snorkeling (right). Water shoes recommended due to sea urchins. I wore shoes but didn't see many sea urchins in the swimming area. Both areas are marked by a divider pole that sticks out of the water. There were sea urchins in snorkeling side.

 

- Sand is black and the beach itself is not very wide. There was one row of loungers that come with palapa/umbrellas. There are large nails in the palapas to hang belongings from. It was very sunny and the water was very calm the day we were there and we enjoyed it, however, it may have been a different experience had the water been choppy. There are more loungers and hammocks up on the level of the Shipwreck bar.

 

- The water itself was very clear, blue/green in color. I didn't get to snorkel much since I had my own and had a mask malfunction that was letting water in but it seemed fairly decent.

 

- There are also beautiful views from South Friars, including Nevis.

 

We didn't venture down there, but Carambola Beach Club is at the other end of South Friars. Carambola is on the north end, Shipwreck on the south end. We've heard from others on our cruise that Carambola has a wider beach that wasn't all black sand. There is about a 10 minute walk between the two, but we didn't venture down to Carambola.

 

***If you're interested in pictures, I did reviews of both those cruises, links to both are in my signature. In the Valor review from May 2013, the section on Cockleshell beach (lots of pictures included) starts on page 14. For pictures of South Friar's Beach at Shipwreck, they will be in the second the Liberty review, September 2015. The pictures of South Friars (Shipwreck) start on page 26.

 

Forgot to add that you won't find powdery, white sand beaches on St. Kitts, but we really enjoyed both beaches when we visited due to their uniqueness.

Hope this helps and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I'll answer as best as I can.

 

 

This is AWESOME information. Thank you so much!

 

This lookout point at Timothy Hill. Are you able to just walk up from the beach to the top and see it? Or was you only able to see it since you had a cab that was taking you different places for the day and were able to get him to stop?

 

Both places sound great and I'm thinking Conkleshell might seem more our type of thing, but still researching.

 

I'm off to read your reviews and look at the pics. I LOVE pics! :D

[mitsugirly]

I loved the reviews!!! Thanks so much and pointing these out to me. Great pictures. Too bad you had a gloomy day on one of them.

 

Hmmm, I'm really starting to "dig" the black sand thing. I have never seen anything like this and had heard about that place having the black sand. It's "interesting" and "different" and it might be something that sways my mind. It sucks that the beach is so small and eroding at this point. :( I really wish it was bigger. I'm just wondering what it would be like down at Carambola. I wish I could find a picture review of that place on here.

 

After seeing the pictures of Cockleshell, I'm really not sure about it now. I think I had something else pictured in my mind of what it looked like. I do realize that it's not the powdery sand, which is fine, but I just thought it would look "prettier" than it does. I'm not sure what it is about it that is kind of turning me off. :confused:

 

Do you mind me asking where you went when you went to St Maarten? We have been to Orient, Mullet and Maho several times and looking for something new. Do you have any suggestions on a beach there with possible pictures? :D

[pghsteelerfan]

I loved the reviews!!! Thanks so much and pointing these out to me. Great pictures. Too bad you had a gloomy day on one of them.

 

Hmmm, I'm really starting to "dig" the black sand thing. I have never seen anything like this and had heard about that place having the black sand. It's "interesting" and "different" and it might be something that sways my mind. It sucks that the beach is so small and eroding at this point. :( I really wish it was bigger. I'm just wondering what it would be like down at Carambola. I wish I could find a picture review of that place on here.

 

After seeing the pictures of Cockleshell, I'm really not sure about it now. I think I had something else pictured in my mind of what it looked like. I do realize that it's not the powdery sand, which is fine, but I just thought it would look "prettier" than it does. I'm not sure what it is about it that is kind of turning me off. :confused:

 

Do you mind me asking where you went when you went to St Maarten? We have been to Orient, Mullet and Maho several times and looking for something new. Do you have any suggestions on a beach there with possible pictures? :D

 

Actually, St. Kitts is such a small island that you could probably do both Cockleshell and South Friars (either Shipwreck or Carambola) if you wanted to try both. I have seen other pictures of Cockleshell when the weather has been nice, giving it a much better appearance with scenery. It was in 2013 when we went to Cockleshell beach that the weather was not on our side. I did want to see it again on a sunny day, but it just wasn't in our budget since we also went to the fort this time. There is a review by Dirkgun from their Valor cruise (Jan. 2015) where they spent the day at Cockleshell. Unlike our visit there, they had a nice day and it looks much better in his pictures. I'll attach the link. The pictures of Cockleshell start on page 8.

 

With Shipwreck at South Friars, I actually LOVED it, but know it's not for everyone. I liked it because it was different. I loved that black sand and the scenery and it was just a very peaceful setting. If Sakari still likes to collect shells, she will love the swimming side. I was snorkeling anywhere from 1 to 4 feet of water and there are a lot of nice little shells, empties, in that area. You can actually see them from the beach against the black sand, but by snorkeling you get a better view of them.

 

Shipwreck and Carambola are only about a 10 minute walk from each other, so it would be easy to stay at one but still be able to walk down to the other. I never ventured down to Carambola though. I've heard the snorkeling is better at Shipwreck. For pictures of Carambola, I'll attach a link to Stinger-pr's Liberty review from Aug. 2013. They did an island tour but spent time afterwards at Carambola and he has pictures. Those will be on Page 4.

 

The Timothy Hill overlook is actually right along the way from the cruise ship pier to both beaches (same road), which are south of the pier. Taxi drivers will stop if you ask them to. Beautiful views. From Timothy Hill, it was about a five minute drive to Shipwreck. It would probably be a long walk from the beach, mostly uphill.

 

In St. Maarten we were thinking of going to Maho, but we were just exhausted so we went to Divi Little Bay for several hours. It was highly recommended to us by the taxi stand when we just wanted a nice beach, close by. It's only a 10 minute taxi ride from the cruise pier. If you're looking across Great Bay from the cruise ship, you'll see where the land sticks out on the far left. Just before that are buildings with red/orange roofs - that's the Divi Little Bay resort. It's that close. If we'd gone to the other side of their front parking lot, we probably could have seen the ship. It was very nice there, there were others but it wasn't crowded and it was a very nice and laid back day. The water was a little too cloudy for snorkeling the day we were there. I don't know if it's always like that or not. We heard it was because of some storms that went through before our stay. The cost of 2 loungers and an umbrella was $15.00. There was a restaurant and bars where you can get food and drinks. DH went to the bar to get us rum punch drinks and he said the cost was the same as a drink on the ship. The restrooms are very nice and clean. Even though it's a resort, you don't need a day pass. When you walk in, the loungers to the right can be used and there is a beach attendant that will handle those for you. I don't know if they're always there or not, but some nice beached shells (thinking for Sakari) over to the right.

 

Picture from cruise ship toward Divi Little Bay (resort is the buildings on the left side with the red roofs), but you can't actually see the beach from the ship.

 

Attaching links to the two reviews I was telling you about and I don't think they'd mind. :) I'm hoping that when you open the links, it will take you directly to the page where the St. Kitts pictures start.

 

Dirgun's Valor review (Jan. 2015) - Cockleshell Beach (Page 8) http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2173623&page=8

 

Stinger-PR's Liberty review (Aug. 2015) - Carambola Beach - South Friars (Page 4.) http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2261918&page=4

Edited December 20, 2015 by pghsteelerfan

[pghsteelerfan]

Tried to "edit" but missed the 20 minute limit. Sorry, I forgot to attach the link to where the pictures I have of Divi Little Bay in St. Maarten are.

 

This is the link to my Liberty review from Sep. 2015 and hoping it opens where the Divi Little Bay pictures start. If not, they start on Page 29, about 2/3 down (post 575) and continue on page 30.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2275573&highlight=liberty&page=29

Edited December 20, 2015 by pghsteelerfan

[mitsugirly]

Actually, St. Kitts is such a small island that you could probably do both Cockleshell and South Friars (either Shipwreck or Carambola) if you wanted to try both.

 

I would like to do both, however I don't really think I want to try to due to we are only there from 10-8pm and some of that time will be after dark. One (or two on the same beach) will probably be my limit for the day. Hey, that will just give me an excuse to return right? :D

 

I have seen other pictures of Cockleshell when the weather has been nice, giving it a much better appearance with scenery.

 

The weather definitely makes a difference in the way a place "appears". You are correct, it looks a little more inviting in the sunny pictures. I will have to google some more pictures online to get a better feel for the place.

 

With Shipwreck at South Friars, If Sakari still likes to collect shells, she will love the swimming side.

 

Snorkeling and collecting shells=Sakari's main goal when at the beach. She will do this from the time we arrive until we drag her out of the water to leave. She has quite a collection going at home and always brings something to put them in. I did notice all the shells and that was the first thing I thought of when I looked at the pictures. It's a perfect fit for her.

 

Shipwreck and Carambola are only about a 10 minute walk from each other, so it would be easy to stay at one but still be able to walk down to the other. I never ventured down to Carambola though. I've heard the snorkeling is better at Shipwreck. For pictures of Carambola, I'll attach a link to Stinger-pr's Liberty review from Aug. 2013. They did an island tour but spent time afterwards at Carambola and he has pictures. Those will be on Page 4.

 

I really liked the pictures of Carambola. It looks nice down that way, just probably not as much black sand.

 

The Timothy Hill overlook is actually right along the way from the cruise ship pier to both beaches (same road), which are south of the pier. Taxi drivers will stop if you ask them to. Beautiful views. From Timothy Hill, it was about a five minute drive to Shipwreck. It would probably be a long walk from the beach, mostly uphill.

 

Ok, didn't realize it was on the way. I thought maybe it was just something you could walk up the hill to right there at the beach. LOL

 

 

Dirgun's Valor review (Jan. 2015) - Cockleshell Beach (Page 8) http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2173623&page=8

 

Stinger-PR's Liberty review (Aug. 2015) - Carambola Beach - South Friars (Page 4.) http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2261918&page=4

 

Ohhhh, I just noticed pics of jet skiis in Dirguns review. Hmmm. Maybe we should check that out. We have jet skiis and go every weekend here at home with the entire family and it's so much fun. We rented them in Bermuda and had a blast!

 

THANKS SO SO MUCH for these links. If you come across any others, let me know. I really appreciate this! :)

[mitsugirly]

Tried to "edit" but missed the 20 minute limit. Sorry, I forgot to attach the link to where the pictures I have of Divi Little Bay in St. Maarten are.

 

This is the link to my Liberty review from Sep. 2015 and hoping it opens where the Divi Little Bay pictures start. If not, they start on Page 29, about 2/3 down (post 575) and continue on page 30.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2275573&highlight=liberty&page=29

 

Ohhhh, I LOVE the Divi Little Bay pictures. This looks awesome there! I'm definitely putting this on my list to check into more. ALSO, you posted pictures of Great Bay, which is also on my list. It looks beautiful there as well and I guess I didn't realize it was on the boardwalk area with shopping there in town too. I will definitely have to check more into that too. It looks perfect! Can you tell me more about this water taxi? Is it easier to take it over there and back than just grabbing a cab? Is it cheaper? Faster? I'm trying to figure out "why"?

[PORT ROYAL]

I will be visiting St Kitts for the first time next year and we are beach/sun loving people. :D

 

Looking around here and there, I have seen a few places mentioned for beaches to go to. I would like your thoughts or experiences of any of these places and what they have to offer (or any other suggestions).

 

1) Conkleshell Beach. I see there are several places to go here, such as: Spice Mill (is this only a restaurant?? or do they also rent chairs and such?), Reggae, Lion Rock? Which is the best place to go? Do any of them require advanced reservations? How much is chair rental? Any idea on cost of food/drinks or have a menu? Why would you pick this place? Any snorkeling in the area? Is it from the shore and not far?

 

2) Friars Bay area. I see mention of Shipwreck Beach Bar, but believe people are saying that the beach is basically gone with chairs sitting at a slant from the erosion. Is this just an issue at a certain time of the year? Or permanent? Carambola Beach Club. Any of these places have chair rental and how much? Prior reservation needed? Any menu's or pricing on food/drinks? What type of snorkeling is in this area? I have read a few things on sea urchins. Is this the entire beach area here at Friars?

 

Any other suggestions?

 

*How long does it take to get to either of these places from the cruise pier?

*How much do they charge to get there and is it per person?

*Are cabs available easily for a return trip?

 

Thanks in advance for your help. :)

 

Carambola Beach Club

 

http://www.carambolabeachclub.com/

A peaceful upmarket beach club

But it is a must to book in advance (pay on arrival hen you check-in) - Say hi to Daisy - Beach People are limited to the number of beds.

Great lunch venue, lounge and bar stocked with a great variety of drinks/cocktails.

Fun beach bar - great service - showers and changing rooms

Great Security - Noise/trouble makers, and those who try to avoid payment (by bypassing check-in) are encouraged to leave.

Shared taxi about $4.00 per person each way - beds/Umberellas from $30.00 for 2 large padded beds and 1 huge Umberella.

Taxi will collect you at your required booked return time, and there is a taxi rank outside.

Edited December 20, 2015 by PORT ROYAL

[Kikkycat]

Here are pictures I took in November at Shipwreck.

 

I looked down toward Carambola (but didn't take any pictures) and thought the sand down there was not black. I could be wrong though. They mix a pretty strong adult beverage at the beach bar.

[Lard Greystoke]

This lookout point at Timothy Hill. Are you able to just walk up from the beach to the top and see it? Or was you only able to see it since you had a cab that was taking you different places for the day and were able to get him to stop?

 

Both places sound great and I'm thinking Conkleshell might seem more our type of thing, but still researching.

 

 

The lookout is a long walk from the beach (I've done it and it's hot and uphill). Much easier from a cab.

 

The way the peninsula is laid out it's really not hard to do both Cockleshell and Friar's. I would go to Cockleshell first. (Regarding scenery at Cockleshell, I think it's less cluttered with better views as you go to the right (west) facing the sea). On the return, Friar's is only the length of a long driveway from the one road going back to Basseterre. There are roads leading both to the Shipwreck area (south) and Carambola (north). The lookout is a bit north of that and right on the road.

[PORT ROYAL]

Here are pictures I took in November at Shipwreck.

[ATTACH]371524[/ATTACH][ATTACH]371525[/ATTACH][ATTACH]371526[/ATTACH][ATTACH]371527[/ATTACH]

 

I looked down toward Carambola (but didn't take any pictures) and thought the sand down there was not black. I could be wrong though. They mix a pretty strong adult beverage at the beach bar.

 

Carambola's picture gallery (from their website)

 

http://www.carambolabeachclub.com/photos/

[pghsteelerfan]

Ohhhh, I LOVE the Divi Little Bay pictures. This looks awesome there! I'm definitely putting this on my list to check into more. ALSO, you posted pictures of Great Bay, which is also on my list. It looks beautiful there as well and I guess I didn't realize it was on the boardwalk area with shopping there in town too. I will definitely have to check more into that too. It looks perfect! Can you tell me more about this water taxi? Is it easier to take it over there and back than just grabbing a cab? Is it cheaper? Faster? I'm trying to figure out "why"?

 

Thank you! I always love your pictures and am really looking forward to the review of this cruise. :) Divi Little Bay was beautiful and we had great views of the island of Saba all day. It ended up being a pleasant surprise for us. Great Bay was also beautiful, but there is a reason we chose not to go there, but I'll get to that toward the end.

 

Great Bay, boardwalk area and downtown: The cost of a taxi over would be $4.00 per person, each way.

 

The water taxi is also an option. It was $5.00 per person, each way OR you can get a pass for $7.00 per person, all day (you can ride back and forth as many times as you like, all day). I've seen other posts where you'll get a wrist band if you choose that option. To get to the water taxi, just walk outside the pier area past the "St. Maarten" sign on the right the walkway to the water taxi will be on the left. There is a sign that says "Water Taxi". It will let you off right at the boardwalk area and the beach is right there and you're also very close to town and shopping.

 

The reason that we didn't just go to Great Bay: I've seen posts in the CC Ports of Call section for St. Maarten about pollution. There are times that that there are issues with pollution where advisories against swimming are posted by the Public Health Department and Collective Protection Services (both under the Ministry of Public Health). With St. Maarten being our last port day, we had no idea if it would be "advisories" the day we were there or not. It did look very nice and there were many others on the beach and in the water the day we were there. If it wasn't for the occasional pollution issue, we probably would have just gone to Great Bay for the day.

 

I'll attach the link to one of the threads with recent CC posts about pollution at Great Bay. I had posted here, after our trip :eek: asking about Little Bay, but received the response that test results at Little Bay (Divi Little Bay) always have good quality...whew!!! The thread was started in 2010, but the recent responses, October 2015, are on page three. This link should open at page 3.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=48138481

[pghsteelerfan]

Ohhhh, I just noticed pics of jet skiis in Dirguns review. Hmmm. Maybe we should check that out. We have jet skiis and go every weekend here at home with the entire family and it's so much fun. We rented them in Bermuda and had a blast!

 

THANKS SO SO MUCH for these links. If you come across any others, let me know. I really appreciate this! :)

 

We did see jet skiis at Divi Little Bay so I'm guessing you may be able to rent them there. I'm not positive on that and if so, I don't know how much it would be. If you end up going there, I'm sure you could ask the attendant that handles the loungers/umbrellas.

 

I just thought of two more reviews that have snorkeling pictures from South Friars at Shipwreck. Valentinebaby1 and her hubby were actually there with us on our Liberty, Sep. 2015, cruise. They did an island tour first then had a couple hours at Shipwreck. Her DH snorkeled while we hung out and was able to get some pictures. I'll attach the link to her review, hoping it opens on the page that has the snorkeling pictures at Shipwreck (if not, they'll be on Page 9):

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2266205&highlight=liberty&page=9

 

I'll attach a link to Valentinebaby1's other review (her first) and same itinerary. This is from Oct. 2013 and in St. Kitts they did an island tour with a stop at South Friars and Shipwreck again. There was more "beach" that time. She did let me know when we were all there this past September that the beach had chanced a lot in the two years since they were there with the erosion. On their Oct. 2013 cruise, they also snorkeled and got some good snorkeling pictures, even one of an octopus (I'm still waiting to see one of those). Again, hoping this link opens up to their St. Kitts day with pictures of South Friars at Shipwreck and the snorkeling (if not, they can be found on page 10.)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1931793&page=10

 

I attached these links since I know you like to snorkel as much as we do and wanted to give you an idea of what you may see. If I think of any more, I'll be sure to post. In the "Carnival" section, at the top there is a listing by ship. I use that as a short cut to finding some of the reviews that aren't as recent. The ships that had regular stops in St. Kitts (and St. Maarten as well) and doing the southern itinerary out of San Juan are:

 

Carnival Liberty: March, 2014 - present

Carnival Valor: March 2013 - March 2014

Carnival Victory: Don't know when Victory started it, but it was doing the southern itinerary out of San Juan when I joined CC (April 2010) until March 2013.

 

Again, hope this helps. Your reviews, and the individual reviews of each port you visited, have been very valuable (not to mention enjoyable) for many on here, including myself. Whether we have a cruise planned or not, I try to get ideas way ahead of time. So thank you. :) I'm still reading your Bermuda review. When I found it, I started before our cruise and never got to finish, but once Christmas is over and winter sets in, I will be finishing it.

Edited December 21, 2015 by pghsteelerfan

[brookeq]

Tried to "edit" but missed the 20 minute limit. Sorry, I forgot to attach the link to where the pictures I have of Divi Little Bay in St. Maarten are.

 

This is the link to my Liberty review from Sep. 2015 and hoping it opens where the Divi Little Bay pictures start. If not, they start on Page 29, about 2/3 down (post 575) and continue on page 30.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2275573&highlight=liberty&page=29

 

pghsteelerfan i always notice your reviews since we are from Pittsburgh! I enjoy reading them and your info in them and here has been helpful.

 

Your St. Maarten review caused me to add Little Divi Bay as an option for when we are in St. Maarten. Our first choice of Dawns Beach (went there on our honeymoon and would like to go back) has had the bad seaweed problem.

[brookeq]

Ohhhh, I LOVE the Divi Little Bay pictures. This looks awesome there! I'm definitely putting this on my list to check into more. ALSO, you posted pictures of Great Bay, which is also on my list. It looks beautiful there as well and I guess I didn't realize it was on the boardwalk area with shopping there in town too. I will definitely have to check more into that too. It looks perfect! Can you tell me more about this water taxi? Is it easier to take it over there and back than just grabbing a cab? Is it cheaper? Faster? I'm trying to figure out "why"?

 

We seem to be looking for all of the same information. i just added little divi bay to our list of places to research since our first choice is out.

 

We did visit Great Bay on our honeymoon (just walked thru while shopping after visiting a different beach for most of the day). It was very pretty. I thought it would be a good choice for our family since its the last island stop after 4 stops in a row. Our kids get tired and this would be an easy place to visit. But I also read about the pollution issues.

 

If you scroll down to the bottom on this site you will see a picture of some what can happen on a visit here:

http://www.carnival.com/Funville/forums/t/159432.aspx

Someone posted the actual article on this site if you do a search.

 

And this article shows you the polluted water that can flow into the bay.

 

http://www.todaysxm.com/great-salt-pond-pollution-continues/

 

PS I love your reviews. I read your Dream review when we booked our last cruise there. And then read almost all of your others!

[mitsugirly]

Carambola Beach Club

 

http://www.carambolabeachclub.com/

A peaceful upmarket beach club

But it is a must to book in advance (pay on arrival hen you check-in) - Say hi to Daisy - Beach People are limited to the number of beds.

Great lunch venue, lounge and bar stocked with a great variety of drinks/cocktails.

Fun beach bar - great service - showers and changing rooms

Great Security - Noise/trouble makers, and those who try to avoid payment (by bypassing check-in) are encouraged to leave.

Shared taxi about $4.00 per person each way - beds/Umberellas from $30.00 for 2 large padded beds and 1 huge Umberella.

Taxi will collect you at your required booked return time, and there is a taxi rank outside.

 

When looking at their website, it doesn't say anything about day passes on there or reservations for the beach. It only seems to talk about reservations for eating there. Looking at the menu, there's not really anything on there that I would be interested in eating (or paying that kind of price for either). Are you sure you need reservations just to come there to the beach to rent chairs and hang out? :confused:

 

Here are pictures I took in November at Shipwreck.

[ATTACH]371524[/ATTACH][ATTACH]371525[/ATTACH][ATTACH]371526[/ATTACH][ATTACH]371527[/ATTACH]

 

I looked down toward Carambola (but didn't take any pictures) and thought the sand down there was not black. I could be wrong though. They mix a pretty strong adult beverage at the beach bar.

 

Thanks for sharing your pictures. There really doesn't look like much space there on the beach. I'm just wondering how it would work with our little one. If we didn't manage to get there early enough to get a chair right at the water, we would be forced to sit up above and our daughter is one that will spend the entire day in the water, which I wouldn't be able to let her do if we are not down there with her. :(

[mitsugirly]

The lookout is a long walk from the beach (I've done it and it's hot and uphill). Much easier from a cab.

 

The way the peninsula is laid out it's really not hard to do both Cockleshell and Friar's. I would go to Cockleshell first. (Regarding scenery at Cockleshell, I think it's less cluttered with better views as you go to the right (west) facing the sea). On the return, Friar's is only the length of a long driveway from the one road going back to Basseterre. There are roads leading both to the Shipwreck area (south) and Carambola (north). The lookout is a bit north of that and right on the road.

 

Yea, it doesn't sound like a walk I would want to do, especially hauling our stuff and a child.

 

Thanks for the info on both. :)

 

Carambola's picture gallery (from their website)

 

http://www.carambolabeachclub.com/photos/

 

 

It just really looks like this place is mostly about the dining (understandable since that's where they would make their money) because most of the pictures are just food. I skimmed the pictures trying to find the beach area, which is all we are interested in, and the ones I did find of the chairs/beds looked nice. Any idea how much they rent the big round bed chairs for? Do they come with an umbrella? They didn't show them under any umbrellas.

[mitsugirly]

Thank you! I always love your pictures and am really looking forward to the review of this cruise. :) Divi Little Bay was beautiful and we had great views of the island of Saba all day. It ended up being a pleasant surprise for us. Great Bay was also beautiful, but there is a reason we chose not to go there, but I'll get to that toward the end.

 

Great Bay, boardwalk area and downtown: The cost of a taxi over would be $4.00 per person, each way.

 

The water taxi is also an option. It was $5.00 per person, each way OR you can get a pass for $7.00 per person, all day (you can ride back and forth as many times as you like, all day). I've seen other posts where you'll get a wrist band if you choose that option. To get to the water taxi, just walk outside the pier area past the "St. Maarten" sign on the right the walkway to the water taxi will be on the left. There is a sign that says "Water Taxi". It will let you off right at the boardwalk area and the beach is right there and you're also very close to town and shopping.

 

The reason that we didn't just go to Great Bay: I've seen posts in the CC Ports of Call section for St. Maarten about pollution. There are times that that there are issues with pollution where advisories against swimming are posted by the Public Health Department and Collective Protection Services (both under the Ministry of Public Health). With St. Maarten being our last port day, we had no idea if it would be "advisories" the day we were there or not. It did look very nice and there were many others on the beach and in the water the day we were there. If it wasn't for the occasional pollution issue, we probably would have just gone to Great Bay for the day.

 

I'll attach the link to one of the threads with recent CC posts about pollution at Great Bay. I had posted here, after our trip :eek: asking about Little Bay, but received the response that test results at Little Bay (Divi Little Bay) always have good quality...whew!!! The thread was started in 2010, but the recent responses, October 2015, are on page three. This link should open at page 3.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=48138481

 

Oh yea, I now remember something about the polution problem at one of the beaches close to the port, I just didn't remember the name. I don't think I'll chance that one no matter what. Thanks for the heads up. :)

 

We did see jet skiis at Divi Little Bay so I'm guessing you may be able to rent them there. I'm not positive on that and if so, I don't know how much it would be. If you end up going there, I'm sure you could ask the attendant that handles the loungers/umbrellas.

 

I just thought of two more reviews that have snorkeling pictures from South Friars at Shipwreck. Valentinebaby1 and her hubby were actually there with us on our Liberty, Sep. 2015, cruise. They did an island tour first then had a couple hours at Shipwreck. Her DH snorkeled while we hung out and was able to get some pictures. I'll attach the link to her review, hoping it opens on the page that has the snorkeling pictures at Shipwreck (if not, they'll be on Page 9):

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2266205&highlight=liberty&page=9

 

I'll attach a link to Valentinebaby1's other review (her first) and same itinerary. This is from Oct. 2013 and in St. Kitts they did an island tour with a stop at South Friars and Shipwreck again. There was more "beach" that time. She did let me know when we were all there this past September that the beach had chanced a lot in the two years since they were there with the erosion. On their Oct. 2013 cruise, they also snorkeled and got some good snorkeling pictures, even one of an octopus (I'm still waiting to see one of those). Again, hoping this link opens up to their St. Kitts day with pictures of South Friars at Shipwreck and the snorkeling (if not, they can be found on page 10.)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1931793&page=10

 

I attached these links since I know you like to snorkel as much as we do and wanted to give you an idea of what you may see. If I think of any more, I'll be sure to post. In the "Carnival" section, at the top there is a listing by ship. I use that as a short cut to finding some of the reviews that aren't as recent. The ships that had regular stops in St. Kitts (and St. Maarten as well) and doing the southern itinerary out of San Juan are:

 

Carnival Liberty: March, 2014 - present

Carnival Valor: March 2013 - March 2014

Carnival Victory: Don't know when Victory started it, but it was doing the southern itinerary out of San Juan when I joined CC (April 2010) until March 2013.

 

Again, hope this helps. Your reviews, and the individual reviews of each port you visited, have been very valuable (not to mention enjoyable) for many on here, including myself. Whether we have a cruise planned or not, I try to get ideas way ahead of time. So thank you. :) I'm still reading your Bermuda review. When I found it, I started before our cruise and never got to finish, but once Christmas is over and winter sets in, I will be finishing it.

 

I will have to see if I can find any info on the jet ski rental there. Thanks for the info.

 

Oh wow, thanks so much for the additional link to reviews. I just read both of them and checked out the pictures. That's really a big difference between the two times that they went to Ship Wreck. It's ashame that it still doesn't look the same. It does sound like the snorkeling was pretty decent though.

 

Thanks for the info on the Carnival ships listings and a way to check for reviews. I guess I have never paid attention to that part or thought of looking there. I usually just type in what I'm looking for.

 

You are awesome! I really appreciate you taking the time to guide me with your thoughts and suggestions. You have been a big help and gave me a lot to get started (or at least send my mind racing in thoughts :D). I really appreciate the comments about my reviews. It makes it all worth while to do them when people like you appreciate them and they can help others. Thank you again and I'm sure I'll have plenty of other questions at some point after doing some more research. :)

[mitsugirly]

We seem to be looking for all of the same information. i just added little divi bay to our list of places to research since our first choice is out.

 

We did visit Great Bay on our honeymoon (just walked thru while shopping after visiting a different beach for most of the day). It was very pretty. I thought it would be a good choice for our family since its the last island stop after 4 stops in a row. Our kids get tired and this would be an easy place to visit. But I also read about the pollution issues.

 

If you scroll down to the bottom on this site you will see a picture of some what can happen on a visit here:

http://www.carnival.com/Funville/forums/t/159432.aspx

Someone posted the actual article on this site if you do a search.

 

And this article shows you the polluted water that can flow into the bay.

 

http://www.todaysxm.com/great-salt-pond-pollution-continues/

 

PS I love your reviews. I read your Dream review when we booked our last cruise there. And then read almost all of your others!

 

 

Yep, I just crossed off Great Bay on my list. Better safe than sorry. I'll keep Little Divi on there and I'm looking at a few other places that have been mentioned in the past. Ever been to LaGalion? I hear it's a nice place for families with calm shallow water and the locals go there.

 

Thanks for the P.S remarks. I really appreciate it. Glad you enjoyed the Dream review. We loved the Dream ...and well, actually the Pride too. I'm just as confident we are really going to love the Breeze just as much if not more. I can't wait. :)

[PORT ROYAL]

When looking at their website, it doesn't say anything about day passes on there or reservations for the beach. It only seems to talk about reservations for eating there. Looking at the menu, there's not really anything on there that I would be interested in eating (or paying that kind of price for either). Are you sure you need reservations just to come there to the beach to rent chairs and hang out? :confused:

 

 

 

Thanks for sharing your pictures. There really doesn't look like much space there on the beach. I'm just wondering how it would work with our little one. If we didn't manage to get there early enough to get a chair right at the water, we would be forced to sit up above and our daughter is one that will spend the entire day in the water, which I wouldn't be able to let her do if we are not down there with her. :(

 

Understand your concern regarding not able to book on the web. We, and friends, have been booking since opening. It is an insiders thing to keep away the cruise herds, who just turn up, walk straight past reception/check in, do not pay, and start taking the reserved sun beds. Then security are called etc.

 

Send an e-mail to the "info", stating your arrival date/time/beds and Daisy will reply with your booking. The front rank (by the sea) are for booked clients the rear ranks are for day arrival guests.

 

There is plenty of beach space.

[pghsteelerfan]

pghsteelerfan i always notice your reviews since we are from Pittsburgh! I enjoy reading them and your info in them and here has been helpful.

 

Your St. Maarten review caused me to add Little Divi Bay as an option for when we are in St. Maarten. Our first choice of Dawns Beach (went there on our honeymoon and would like to go back) has had the bad seaweed problem.

 

Pittsburgh!!! :) Small world!!! We live in VA now, but only four hours away from the 'burg, so we do get home fairly often. :) Thank you about my reviews and glad you've enjoyed them.

 

Believe it or not, we almost ended up at Dawns Beach. We were looking for a nice beach that wasn't too far when we went to the taxi stand. The one guy told us Dawns and told us to follow him. The others waiting were happy they got their "two more". It was a tour with about an hour at Dawns at the end. We were just exhausted from tours and wanted a few hours at the beach and went back to the taxi stand. Another guy told us we did not want to go to Dawns and mentioned it was currently covered in seaweed and highly recommended Divi Little Bay. Good thing for us and we really enjoyed it. I'd love to try Dawns sometime once the seaweed problem is resolved since I've heard it's really nice.