Martinique, Bonaire and Curacao fun from Royal Princess

[Cruz4Sun]

Royal Princess – Dec 10-20, 2017 Southern Caribbean

 

This was our 2nd time doing a Caribbean cruise in December and it did not disappoint. Prices are low in December and the ship is already decorated for the holidays which we enjoy.

 

We began the trip with bad weather in Detroit, delaying our flight by over 3 hours. When we arrived in FLL Princess was busy rushing folks to their ships departing that day so we had to sit over 1 hour to get our arranged transport to the Embassy Suites. We liked our stay at this hotel, but the included transport to the port the next day was disorganized and late. We didn’t get on the ship until 1:30 and missed the embarkation lunch in the MDR. Next time we will skip the pre-cruise package from Princess.

 

Amber Cove: This was a pleasant surprise. We used a bicycle taxi to get from the ship to the Amber Cove entrance for a $5 tip. We spent several hours swimming at their lovely pool, relaxing on the new loungers and drinking local beer. We were not charged for the loungers and for another $5 tip we were biked back to the ship.

 

St. Thomas: The hurricane damage was visible from the ship. Senior Frogs and other nearby shops were closed. Due to the intense heat we decided to stay on the ship and enjoy the pool.

 

Martinique: We were joined by cruise critic friends Jodi, Steve and Marci to use Karamboletours for a 4 and ½ hour tour. We had trouble finding Christelle our guide, but I had her phone number and a quick call made by a Princess rep solved the problem. We very much enjoyed our time with her visiting a waterfall, historic ruins and a rum distillery. Along the way we were treated to a number of local foods and drinks.

 

Grenada: We again stayed on the ship to enjoy a peaceful pool day.

 

Bonaire: We had booked a golf cart ahead of time from Bonaire Cruisers. This was our favorite stop of the trip. We did the Southern route and saw flamingos, wild donkeys, beautiful blue, green and pink (yes, pink!) waters along the way. We stopped at a beach bar for lunch, then at the Bonaire Gift shop for a bottle of wine to take on the ship.

 

Curacao- We went to Mambo Beach with friends Jodi, Steve and Marci and had a wonderful time. The taxi was $5 per person each way, entrance fee of $2.50 each for seniors, then $3.50 each for a lounger. The beach and swimming areas were very clean and there was a ton of cute shops and restaurants. I would definitely return to this beach.

 

 

Our time on the ship was filled with a nice mix of activity and relaxing. Zumba, line dancing, comedy, music,Stammtisch wine event in Vines, a winemaker's dinner, NFL games at the outdoor movie and the casino made the days fly by. We are very sad they are moving the Royal to the west coast and hope to get the opportunity to sail her again.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the feedback.

[hokiefans]

Thank you, Cruz4Sun, for the review. I have been looking into options for Martinique and will check out what you did.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Love Bonaire, it's one of my favorite islands. Glad you had a great cruise!

[satxdiver]

I was wondering about the conditions in St Thomas so thanks for the information and review.

[easyboy]

Sounds like you enjoyed your cruise!

 

 

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[mbglib]

I was on this cruise as well. I was excited to visit three islands I had never visited: Curacao, Martinique, and Grenada. I enjoyed the first two, but not so much Grenada. I do think if I ever visit Grenada again, I will be sure to take an organized tour as this time we just walked to the fort and were dismayed when walking back at the lack of sidewalks and the danger that presented on the narrow streets.

 

I loved the ship!

[OCruisers]

Certainly sounds like you had a great time!

Thanks for your time to report back! :D

[Cruz4Sun]

I was on this cruise as well. I was excited to visit three islands I had never visited: Curacao, Martinique, and Grenada. I enjoyed the first two, but not so much Grenada. I do think if I ever visit Grenada again, I will be sure to take an organized tour as this time we just walked to the fort and were dismayed when walking back at the lack of sidewalks and the danger that presented on the narrow streets.

 

I loved the ship!

 

Sorry I didn't meet you on the ship! We love the Royal too. We found the best book reading, lounging area on deck 17 between the fitness center and mid ship. It has lots of shade, sun, lounge chairs and quiet. On this trip we discovered that on most days there is a large choice of games and cards set out in the Crown Grille and many people go there to play. We played several games of scrabble and rummikub there. One of my favorite spots on this ship is the International Cafe. Did you know they offer soup each day to go with their delicious grilled sandwiches? What was some of your favorite things about this ship?

[Keith1010]

Very nice report.

Keith

[wlbox]

Also on this cruise. It was wonderful. We enjoyed Grenada. Took the water taxi for $5 each way to Grand Anse beach. Beautiful large beach, clean, great swimming, saw a turtle when we snorkeled, rent umbrellas or walk for lots of shade. Loved our day here. Martinique was another fun and easy beach day. Took water taxi $7 round trip to Anse Mitan & Anse de L' Ane. We spent time on both beaches. Pretty palm trees at first beach stop. Nice beach, snorkeled and relaxed. We took Princess excursion to Megan's Bay. Lots of people here enjoying a pretty beach. Royal Caribbean just replanted palm trees. Shade,showers, bathrooms were available. Megan's Bay was a perfect place to spend our time in St Thomas.

 

 

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[bluegiraffe]

I was wondering about the conditions in St Thomas so thanks for the information and review.

 

We were also on this cruise and noted many, many blue-tarped roofs in St. Thomas. Although, I must point out that there are still some of the same right here in my neighborhood in Florida!

[bluegiraffe]

I was on this cruise as well. I was excited to visit three islands I had never visited: Curacao, Martinique, and Grenada. I enjoyed the first two, but not so much Grenada. I do think if I ever visit Grenada again, I will be sure to take an organized tour as this time we just walked to the fort and were dismayed when walking back at the lack of sidewalks and the danger that presented on the narrow streets.

 

I loved the ship!

 

We loved Grenada, and I think that's because we did take an excursion. The streets in St. George's are, as you mention, narrow (and steep!) and have to be carefully negotiated. Our tour went to Fort Frederick, Grand Etang Park and Annandale Falls and the scenery everywhere was spectacular! Stunning views everywhere you looked.

[bostonfred]

Also on this cruise. It was wonderful. We enjoyed Grenada. Took the water taxi for $5 each way to Grand Anse beach. Beautiful large beach, clean, great swimming, saw a turtle when we snorkeled, rent umbrellas or walk for lots of shade. Loved our day here. Martinique was another fun and easy beach day. Took water taxi $7 round trip to Anse Mitan & Anse de L' Ane. We spent time on both beaches. Pretty palm trees at first beach stop. Nice beach, snorkeled and relaxed. We took Princess excursion to Megan's Bay. Lots of people here enjoying a pretty beach. Royal Caribbean just replanted palm trees. Shade,showers, bathrooms were available. Megan's Bay was a perfect place to spend our time in St Thomas

 

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We are curious about Martinique water taxi..can someone provide more information....how far is taxi from cruise ship, how often do they run, how far a walk is the beach from the drop off,do they Take US dollars for taxi and at beach, and any thing else you think would be pertinent..thanks, 😎😎

[Micahs Grandad]

We we were also on the cruise.

 

Enjoyed winemakers dinner. Great how they will accommodate those of us who do not eat pork or shellfish and DW and her food allergies.

 

Amber Cove was a very nice pool day. Took awhile but found a nice shaded area to hang out in.

 

Grenada and Curacao gave us some nice time at the beach.

 

Met some great folks from the roll call. Cant wait for our next cruise.

[VirginiaVacationer]

Cruise friend Jodi just realized who wrote this post . I join in recommending Karambole tours and I also really enjoyed the tour on Grenada that I did which included time on the beach. The beach on Curacao (mambo) was fabulous and I’d highly recommend for a low key day! I admit I could do without returning to Bonaire - Of the ABC Islands, id go with A or C any day! Next time I might have to try for a golf cart!

[JimAOk1945]

Thanks for your review and observations. Happy cruising wherever you go next. Merry Christmas!

*❅.•*˚✻.• * ˚⛄.❅.*❅.•*˚✻.• * ˚⛄.❅. *❅.•*˚✻

[Cruz4Sun]

Cruise friend Jodi just realized who wrote this post ��. I join in recommending Karambole tours and I also really enjoyed the tour on Grenada that I did which included time on the beach. The beach on Curacao (mambo) was fabulous and I’d highly recommend for a low key day! I admit I could do without returning to Bonaire - Of the ABC Islands, id go with A or C any day! Next time I might have to try for a golf cart!

 

Hi cruise friend! Definitely try golf cart in Bonaire next time. So many beautiful sights there!

[emmak8]

Thank you for posting!!:)

[VirginiaVacationer]

Hi cruise friend! Definitely try golf cart in Bonaire next time. So many beautiful sights there!

 

Definitely going to consider golf carting...ironically was watching carribbean life today and ther they were in Bonaire!

[Micahs Grandad]

Definitely going to consider golf carting...ironically was watching carribbean life today and ther they were in Bonaire!

 

Hmm could get a lot closer to the doney's in a golf cart:):)

[Times Prince]

We, too, were on this cruise. Spent the day in Amber Cove in the pool - onboard ship. Martinique was a 2 stop snorkel excursion that spent a half hour at the first stop with a little reef, baby fish, and a few bats, then most of the rest of the time trying to find a 2nd place to snorkel (poor planning). Snorkeled by a black sand beach - you can't see hardly anything under water with black sand. We went shopping on St. Thomas, and stayed on the ship in our short morning visit to Grenada (we've been there 2x before and didn't like it).

 

Bonaire was the absolute highlight of our cruise. Went snorkeling with Woodwind Sail And Snorkel, spending hours in the water on a beautiful reef. I saw every other tour boat come and go while we were there - and we stopped at two locations along the reef. Woodwind topped it off with a great lunch onboard before returning us to the dock. Would go to Bonaire and snorkel with Woodwind again in a heartbeat.

 

Curacao was a planned relax and stroll day for us. To our delight we found better shops and a restaurant in the fort than we had seen in the past, and came home with souvenir Delft coffee cups with a design we've been looking for since we broke the one we bought in The Netherlands several years ago.

 

We missed getting together with our roll call folks, but this became a great cruise for us getting in contact with each other after the patterns of everyday life set in. We came back refreshed.

 

RE: the comment below about ABC islands. Love B and C, but have not been impressed with A.

[VirginiaVacationer]

Hmm could get a lot closer to the doney's in a golf cart:):)

 

You could...and I could stop and actually get some decent photos!,

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting your review. We were also on this cruise and not sure if we met. We did not go past the Havensight shops in St. Thomas. We stayed on the ship in Martinique. We did a little bit of shopping in Grenada. The prices were a lot better away from the pier. I bought some delicious nutmeg jelly in a little grocery store. It was a hit in the thumbprint cookies I made for an exchange.

 

One of the disadvantages to booking late was that Woodwind was already booked up. We enjoyed the Sea Cow through Princess. We had two nice long snorkeling stops off the coast of Klein Bonaire.

[Cruz4Sun]

Thanks for posting your review. We were also on this cruise and not sure if we met. We did not go past the Havensight shops in St. Thomas. We stayed on the ship in Martinique. We did a little bit of shopping in Grenada. The prices were a lot better away from the pier. I bought some delicious nutmeg jelly in a little grocery store. It was a hit in the thumbprint cookies I made for an exchange.

 

One of the disadvantages to booking late was that Woodwind was already booked up. We enjoyed the Sea Cow through Princess. We had two nice long snorkeling stops off the coast of Klein Bonaire.

 

It seems lots of us really enjoyed this cruise. My DH and I booked this cruise very early and got all the private excursions we wanted. We also kept our eye out to see if our desired cabin would become available (it did!) which is another advantage to early booking. However, we heard from several cruisers that booked late and paid far less than we did. A great price does make a pre-Christmas cruise pretty attractive. Maybe next year. :)