One-off, Replacement or Unusual Ports

[amfc_lenny]

We were on a cruise in the Caribbean having not been before, several ppl at dinner who had been before had told us that st Vincent tomorrow wasn’t much cop. Due to a medical emergency the next morning we woke up to find ourselfs docking in Martinique definitely an upgrade. We had a lovely day exploring and enjoying the beach. 

[Eddie99]

I’d say that was a win!

The rainforest & eco-tourism on St Vincent is good but Kingstown itself  is very near the bottom of our favourites list.  It’s the only Caribbean port of call where I’ve felt “tolerated” rather than welcomed.

[kruzseeka]

1 hour ago, Eddie99 said:

I’d say that was a win!

The rainforest & eco-tourism on St Vincent is good but Kingstown itself  is very near the bottom of our favourites list.  It’s the only Caribbean port of call where I’ve felt “tolerated” rather than welcomed.

 

Yes, I think you are right, we were looking for a cafe for a coffee but it didnt really seem geared up for tourists at all.   

[terrierjohn]

1 minute ago, kruzseeka said:

 

Yes, I think you are right, we were looking for a cafe for a coffee but it didnt really seem geared up for tourists at all.   

We ventured as far as the shops in the terminal for our coffee, but then retreated back to the ship.

[Son of Anarchy]

We spent a lovely day at the beach at Katakolon.  About 5/10 minutes walk from the town.  Loungers and sunbrollies as long as you order a drink. 

[jenny wren]

One little gem we visited on Adonia,  was Monemvasia....in the Pelaponese area of Greece.....we had never heard of it before but it was such a wonderful surprise, a lovely little walled town set in the side of a cliff, only visible from the sea until you walk through the wall and this little town appears before you.

 

[Adawn47]

31 minutes ago, jenny wren said:

One little gem we visited on Adonia,  was Monemvasia....in the Pelaponese area of Greece.....we had never heard of it before but it was such a wonderful surprise, a lovely little walled town set in the side of a cliff, only visible from the sea until you walk through the wall and this little town appears before you.

 

Sounds like a beautiful place. Sadly now, with the demise of the small ships, quaint places like that won't  be able to be visited. Lovely little, Adonia it was sad to see her go.

Avril 

[Snow Hill]

We have been diverted twice the first time was on a Christmas/New Year Cruise on Oceana to the Canary Islands, a storm prevent us from going into to Lisbon, the Captain managed to get us into Santa Cruz de La Palms on Boxing Day, a wonderful town we enjoyed the walk around, a number of impromptu musical events on in the streets. We went on to Tenerife & Lanzerote, but when we tried to get into our last port in the Canaries, the Breamar had our berth and could leave as wind to strong, so made for Madeira our scheduled New Years Eve call a little earlier. Leaving Madeira, the Captain said he was putting his foot down we might hit some potholes, but we needed to get to Southampton on Friday evening before the storm hit the channel, this he did and we had a quiet nights rest at berth in Southampton before disembarking on the Saturday. 
 

The second time was in 2018 on a Christmas Markets Cruise to Bruges and Amsterdam, we couldn’t get into Amsterdam our second port so after wandering Around the North Sea for some hours, we then headed for Cherbourg. When we got there it was snowing and raining with a strong wind, finally after 3 attempts got in. Cherbourg is not a port I can recommend especially on a wet & cold December day. Most people seemed to make for Carrefour to do some shopping, we saved a fortune on chocolates for grandchildren! 
 

 

[DamianG]

12 hours ago, Snow Hill said:

We have been diverted twice the first time was on a Christmas/New Year Cruise on Oceana to the Canary Islands, a storm prevent us from going into to Lisbon, the Captain managed to get us into Santa Cruz de La Palms on Boxing Day, a wonderful town we enjoyed the walk around, a number of impromptu musical events on in the streets. We went on to Tenerife & Lanzerote, but when we tried to get into our last port in the Canaries, the Breamar had our berth and could leave as wind to strong, so made for Madeira our scheduled New Years Eve call a little earlier. Leaving Madeira, the Captain said he was putting his foot down we might hit some potholes, but we needed to get to Southampton on Friday evening before the storm hit the channel, this he did and we had a quiet nights rest at berth in Southampton before disembarking on the Saturday. 
 

The second time was in 2018 on a Christmas Markets Cruise to Bruges and Amsterdam, we couldn’t get into Amsterdam our second port so after wandering Around the North Sea for some hours, we then headed for Cherbourg. When we got there it was snowing and raining with a strong wind, finally after 3 attempts got in. Cherbourg is not a port I can recommend especially on a wet & cold December day. Most people seemed to make for Carrefour to do some shopping, we saved a fortune on chocolates for grandchildren! 
 

 

 

Great stories, thanks for sharing. Santa Cruz de La Palms sounds lovely.

[besberry]

22 hours ago, amfc_lenny said:

We were on a cruise in the Caribbean having not been before, several ppl at dinner who had been before had told us that st Vincent tomorrow wasn’t much cop. Due to a medical emergency the next morning we woke up to find ourselfs docking in Martinique definitely an upgrade. We had a lovely day exploring and enjoying the beach. 

I've not been to St Vincent, but I'm not too fond of Martinique.  Been twice.  First time, people were being pickpocketed in the small market they'd set up, including one woman who had her purse taken from a bag on the back of her weelchair.  Second time we got a minibus on the dock for an island tour.  He took us for an hour less than agreed then kicked up a fuss about not getting 100% of the fare.  Having said that, the ferry ride to the other side of the bay and the little area there was nice, way better than Fort de France.

Edited June 16, 2020 by besberry

[kruzseeka]

4 hours ago, besberry said:

I've not been to St Vincent, but I'm not too fond of Martinique.  Been twice.  First time, people were being pickpocketed in the small market they'd set up, including one woman who had her purse taken from a bag on the back of her weelchair.  Second time we got a minibus on the dock for an island tour.  He took us for an hour less than agreed then kicked up a fuss about not getting 100% of the fare.  Having said that, the ferry ride to the other side of the bay and the little area there was nice, way better than Fort de France.

 

We went to the area using the ferry - sounds like where you went.  It was nice.  We got there early paid a (negotiated) price for our loungers and umbrella but it was a strange set-up.  As more people arrived the charges became inflated and inconsistent.  Many arguments broke out and folk were going round checking with others asking what they'd paid.  I can see why they would want to maximise their returns especially as it was only a relatively small beach but it became rather unpleasant.  Sounds like a less than friendly, welcoming atmosphere.  Not our experience of most Caribbean Islands.

[Ardennais]

St. Vincent is quite ‘authentic’ and unspoilt and I loved it. Went up to Fort Charlotte, visited the Botanical Gardens and then took a taxi up to Belmont overlooking the Mesopotamia Valley. Had a lovely welcome everywhere. 

[zap99]

On 6/15/2020 at 5:55 PM, Eddie99 said:

I’d say that was a win!

The rainforest & eco-tourism on St Vincent is good but Kingstown itself  is very near the bottom of our favourites list.  It’s the only Caribbean port of call where I’ve felt “tolerated” rather than welcomed.

Quite the opposite experience in Martinique. We couldn't wait to escape the anti colonial rants of the lady guiding a tour, who then threw her plastic cup over the side of the boat. I said shall I put the next one in the bin for you, or do you prefer feeding them to the marine life. We like St Vincent .

  

[terrierjohn]

Our only replacement port was Ajaccio for a tender stop at Monaco on Britannia, which was a bonus for us because my wife uses a wheelchair and cannot pass the P&O step over test.  We like both Monaco and Ajaccio, but the former only if we are guaranteed docking, which never seems a possibility.

[Adawn47]

2 hours ago, zap99 said:

Quite the opposite experience in Martinique. We couldn't wait to escape the anti colonial rants of the lady guiding a tour, who then threw her plastic cup over the side of the boat. I said shall I put the next one in the bin for you, or do you prefer feeding them to the marine life. We like St Vincent .

  

We had a similar incedent with a tour guide in Israel. We had taken a ships tour from Haifa to Jerusalem and had an American guide. The entire time we were on the coach we were subjected to his religious dogma and his obvious racism of the Palestinians. We tuned out and became our own guide. We complained about it when we got back but nothing was said about it. Who screens these guides. Anyone???

Avril 

Edited June 17, 2020 by Adawn47

[wowzz]

14 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

We had a similar incedent with a tour guide in Israel. We had taken a ships tour from Haifa to Jerusalem and had an American guide. The entire time we were on the coach we were subjected to his religious dogma and his obvious racism of the Palestinians. We tuned out and became our own guide. We complained about it when we got back but nothing was said about it. Who screens these guides. Anyone???

Avril 

In a word, No. The cruise company use whichever tour company gives them the biggest profit. Sure, if they get hundreds of complaints they might do something, but as most cruisers will not do the same tour again, there is no real incentive for the cruise company to enforce any sort of quality control  

[zap99]

1 hour ago, Adawn47 said:

We had a similar incedent with a tour guide in Israel. We had taken a ships tour from Haifa to Jerusalem and had an American guide. The entire time we were on the coach we were subjected to his religious dogma and his obvious racism of the Palestinians. We tuned out and became our own guide. We complained about it when we got back but nothing was said about it. Who screens these guides. Anyone???

Avril 

I tend to tell the guide ( unless he's a big bloke😁). They don't get a tip either. We pay a lot of money for these trips and I don't want political rants ( I can sometimes get them for free on some message boards ). 😂

[Adawn47]

34 minutes ago, zap99 said:

I tend to tell the guide ( unless he's a big bloke😁). They don't get a tip either. We pay a lot of money for these trips and I don't want political rants ( I can sometimes get them for free on some message boards ). 😂

He was an awful guide. He told us nothing about where we were or what we were seeing. So we just guessed. On our way back we passed a small town that was nestled in a ravine. The sun was just setting over it and it seemed to glow. It was beautiful. Frank got a couple of shots of it as we passed, and thank goodness he did.  The guide stopped spouting  his sermon for a minute to say " We've just passed the City of David" 😲 Needless to say he didn’t get a tip or even a thank you 

Avril 

Edited June 17, 2020 by Adawn47

[bee-ess]

37 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

He was an awful guide. He told us nothing about where we were or what we were seeing. So we just guessed. On our way back we passed a small town that was nestled in a ravine. The sun was just setting over it and it seemed to glow. It was beautiful. Frank got a couple of shots of it as we passed, and thank goodness he did.  The guide stopped spouting  his sermon for a minute to say " We've just passed the City of David" 😲 Needless to say he didn’t get a tip or even a thank you 

Avril 

I think we had him on a Celebrity tour from Ashdod to Bethlehem, sounds like him with the sermonising. You have to change to a local guide when you get to Bethlehem and the local guide was really good thankfully. We and others complained about the guide and got a partial refund but he spoilt the journey both ways.

Edited June 17, 2020 by bee-ess

[Adawn47]

3 minutes ago, bee-ess said:

I think we had him on a Celebrity tour from Ashdod to Bethlehem, sounds like him with the sermonising. You have to change to a local guide when you get to Bethlehem and the local guide was really good. We and others complained about the guide and got a partial refund. 

Was he touting the sale of a book? We complained but I don't know if others did. 

Avril 

[zap99]

1 hour ago, Adawn47 said:

He was an awful guide. He told us nothing about where we were or what we were seeing. So we just guessed. On our way back we passed a small town that was nestled in a ravine. The sun was just setting over it and it seemed to glow. It was beautiful. Frank got a couple of shots of it as we passed, and thank goodness he did.  The guide stopped spouting  his sermon for a minute to say " We've just passed the City of David" 😲 Needless to say he didn’t get a tip or even a thank you 

Avril 

On St Vincent we got on the bus and I said to my DW " he looks just like Nelson Mandela." When he began taking I was sure he was. He covered everything. If anyone asked a question he gave a full and interesting answer. Every few minutes he asked if anyone had any questions. I bet he had been doing that job for years. He got good tips at the end😁

[bee-ess]

32 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

Was he touting the sale of a book? We complained but I don't know if others did. 

Avril 

I don't remember that - I had probably zoned out by then

[Adawn47]

5 minutes ago, bee-ess said:

I don't remember that - I had probably zoned out by then

Best way.😆 By the way he was spouting off I thought we'd end up in a kibbutz 😉

Avril 

Edited June 17, 2020 by Adawn47
Added text