SD1 - March 16 to 23, 2008 Review

[DisneyJen]

A carry on? It'll take one whole carry on to carry my shoes & purses! :D Just kidding.

 

I do plan on reporting-in with daily updates as I love to sit on a sunbed with my laptop & write (with a glass of champagne, of course). I'm just trying to figure out if I should post them here or or provide a link to my blog (w/ pictures). I tend to get wordy...my DH says I can't say anything in 20 words or less (I think I'm proving him right here!), so my blog might be more than you folks want. Either way, you all can live vicariously through me for a week. :)

 

DH and I talked about just taking carry ons ... but he's worse than I am with clothes on vacation.:p

 

I would love for you to post here ... and if you have photos on your blog posted a link to the blog. No need to worry about being wordy (says the queen of long winded trip reports:eek:).

 

Can totally related to the early risers part!

 

Maryella, I guess I looked at the wrong itinerary ... let me know which islands you will visit and I can give you a read on them if you'd like!

 

Jim, I'll take one of those Painkillers ... but I'll have mine out of my Pusser's tin cup!

 

:p

[DisneyJen]

Hi maryella! Are you getting excited yet?!?

 

We are on the same cruise. I am completely unfamiliar with the Caribbean, so don't know if the places DisneyJen mentioned are accurate to our voyage or not.

 

We visit:

 

Embark: not-soon-enough in San Juan

Gustavia, St. Barthelemy

Iles des Saintes, Guadeloupe

Bequia, Grenadines

Tobago Cays, Grenadines

Mayreau, Grenadines

Disembark: do-I-have-to in Barbados

 

By the way, I am still stateroom-less. :)

 

I did look at the wrong itinerary ... sorry!

 

My suggestion on St. Barts stays the same. Your caviar and champagne splash will be in Mayreau. If you are looking to kill time in Barbados until your flight you can head to the Hilton and have a nice lunch at the beachside bar. It's a lovely spot.

 

I'm not a big fan of Guadelope ... It's just fine to look at from the ship IMHO. I haven't been to Bequia or Tobago Cay in years so I can't really help you there. You can always ask you Activities Director for suggestions ... or you can just take it all in from the sunbed (which is my preferred location:D)

 

No worry on the stateroom ... you can always sleep on the Bali beds if they don't assign you a room:p:D:p

[maryella]

You had me worried there for a minute about the itinerary. We are all packed (all carryon) and G2G. We leave early Friday morning for our 4 hour drive to JFK. We land in SJ just in time for Happy Hour at the Ritz Carlton Club lounge. Plan to spend the weekend relaxing and staying on property. We rented a car in St Barths to show the kids the island and plan to spend the day on St Jean or Flamands Beach with lunch at a good French restaurant.

All the other islands we will wing it though I hear the Tobago Cays are great snorkling and the Cat trip by SD looks interesting. Thought about heading to Mustique while we on on Bequia but looked at a map and it is too far by small boat for me.

Spending 2 nights in Barbados at the Sandpiper-----have never been so looking forward to seeing another island.

Checked the marine forecast and the seas are dying down (thank goodness) to about 3-5 feet.

[DisneyJen]

You had me worried there for a minute about the itinerary. We are all packed (all carryon) and G2G. We leave early Friday morning for our 4 hour drive to JFK. We land in SJ just in time for Happy Hour at the Ritz Carlton Club lounge. Plan to spend the weekend relaxing and staying on property. We rented a car in St Barths to show the kids the island and plan to spend the day on St Jean or Flamands Beach with lunch at a good French restaurant.

All the other islands we will wing it though I hear the Tobago Cays are great snorkling and the Cat trip by SD looks interesting. Thought about heading to Mustique while we on on Bequia but looked at a map and it is too far by small boat for me.

Spending 2 nights in Barbados at the Sandpiper-----have never been so looking forward to seeing another island.

Checked the marine forecast and the seas are dying down (thank goodness) to about 3-5 feet.

 

I think I was looking at '09 not '08... a Blonde moment (of which I have many).

 

Sounds like a great plan. I'm sure unwinding and decompressing at the Ritz will be the perfect way to start your vacation!

 

Looking forward to your reports as well as Cammiem's!

[DisneyJen]

Maryella,

 

When you are on St. Barts make sure to stop at the top of the the hill which is part of the approach to the airport:eek:

 

There are some wonderful restaurants on St. Barts. Make sure to check with you Activities Director or the Maitre'd or Hotel Manager on their favorites and suggestions! They will have some excellent recommendations, I'm sure!

[cAPS lOCK oN]

All the other islands we will wing it though I hear the Tobago Cays are great snorkling and the Cat trip by SD looks interesting. Thought about heading to Mustique while we on on Bequia but looked at a map and it is too far by small boat for me.

Tobago Cays is a tiny uninhabited island. And when I say tiny, I mean it. It's probably the same size as one of the big cruise ships. The snorkeling is great on both sides of the islands, but there isn't anything else. You'll have to hope for calm seas for SD to be able to stop here.

 

In Bequia, consider a meal at Mac's Pizzeria (if it's still in business). We were there with a group, and shared a lobster pizza and a swordfish pizza. It was good, and I bought a t-shirt that I still wear 15 years later. We liked Bequia a lot.

[vandrefalk]

There is a delightful restaurant, Dos Brazil (I think) at Shell Beach in St. Barts. A lot of the beaches took some serious hits during the bad swells when Disney Jen was on SDI and I was on SD2 -- in fact, Jost is done for the season. I liked Iles des Saintes -- we took the walk with the AD to a really nice bay with some good snorkeling. Bequia has a shop up the main street with ship models, including one built for and presented to Queen Elizabeth. It's pretty cool. They also have some sort of turtle rehab sanctuary, which I heard was neat. There is a restaurant, but I don't know if it's called Mac's, that supposedly serves great lobster pizza.

 

We did the snorkeling trip to Tobago Cays -- even though I started from the beach, the water was rough and the current pretty strong. Mayreau was a delightful spot for the C&C -- nice trees, band, and fantastic food, of course! Up the road, the local women have an open air market with all the usual stuff for sale.

 

Depending on how much time you have in Barbados, you might want to hire a driver and take a tour. Barbados is a lovely island and its two coasts are very different.

 

Know you all will have a wonderful time and we look forward to your posts and pictures!

Vandrefalk

[DisneyJen]

T ...

A lot of the beaches took some serious hits during the bad swells when Disney Jen was on SDI and I was on SD2 -- in fact, Jost is done for the season. ...

Vandrefalk

 

So sad about Jost! It doesn't surprise me that Jost is done for the season given the size of the swells that week. Guess they will use Prickly Pear for the champagne and caviar splash for the rest of the season.

[DisneyJen]

Bumping another review per CruisingDoctorWu's request to share favorite SD moments and memories:p

[CruisingDoctorWu]

thanks for the bump- sounds wonderful! Does one need to make spa appointments in advance or are they pretty easy to come by?

[DisneyJen]

thanks for the bump- sounds wonderful! Does one need to make spa appointments in advance or are they pretty easy to come by?

 

Glad to be of help:D

 

Spa appointments are easy to secure, at least that is what we have found.

 

We usually make our appointments when we board and check in.

[frequent traveler]

Glad to be of help:D

 

Spa appointments are easy to secure, at least that is what we have found.

 

We usually make our appointments when we board and check in.

 

 

"Easy to Secure" is relative -- remember DisneyJen rarely gets off the yacht so her time requirements are very flexible. You can make your spa reservations in advance of boarding. I've been known to do so . . . getting one right after the life boat drill is a great way to start the cruise. :D

 

If the ship is full, there's often a high demand for massages just before the cocktail hour so I definitely recommend making your reservations as early as possible.

 

FT

[DisneyJen]

"Easy to Secure" is relative -- remember DisneyJen rarely gets off the yacht so her time requirements are very flexible. You can make your spa reservations in advance of boarding. I've been known to do so . . . getting one right after the life boat drill is a great way to start the cruise. :D

 

If the ship is full, there's often a high demand for massages just before the cocktail hour so I definitely recommend making your reservations as early as possible.

 

FT

 

But then again FT has addictions to the spa and SD;)

 

The SD website has the spa brochure as well as online booking capability for spa appoints.