Mt Pelee/scenic cruising

[josee]

Hello everyone,

My question may sound stupid to some of you but ...what is meant by Daylight passing Mt. Pelee ? I am booked on a Xmas cruise and it is listed as one of the port after leaving Fort de France, Martinique. Are we just cruising around the island/volcano?

I also note that there is scenic cruising at Soufriere Bay - is it the same as cruising at sea but with a view? I hope I have not offended anyone with this comment, and if I did, it is due to my inexperience...

 

I am looking at the various port and the type of excursions available - my family would much prefer to spend a few hours at the beach and there does not seem to be a lot of those "excursion" (day at the beach). Has any one make use of their shore excursions? When they say 2 hours at the beach and change room available - do they mean it?

Obviously, we are all looking forward to Half Moon Cay.

Thank you. Josée

[dakrewser]

You've pretty much got it. Scenic cruising normally means slower cruising and, perhaps, a 260 degree turn so everyone gets a good luck.

 

If you really only want to go to the beach in port, head over to the destinations board and ask in the appropriate forums for recommendations on beaches and transportation. Most of the islands have good beaches which can be reached on foot, by bus or by taxi.

[elmorejj]

Which ship are you on Josee? We are also sailing at Xmas, and the scenic cruise by Mt Pelee is also on our itinerary. We have done it before, and a school of dolphins entertained us for about a half hour.....jean :cool:

[cactuslady]

Don't know about Mt. Pelee, but we had "scenic cruising" of Stromboli in the Mediterranean last month. Stromboli volcano pokes up by itself in the sea and is famous for having spent the last few millenia constantly smoking. The Prinsendam got up as close as possible to the caldera and circled around for perhaps a couple of hours so we could see the volcano up close, watch a few landslides, etc. Then we circled the island to see the village on the other side (people actually live there!) and did another 360 or two. All of this was accompanied by narration by our port lecturer. It was a unique experience and in my opinion, very special.

[RevNeal]

Did they feed you stromboli when you cruised by the Stromboli volcano??

[cactuslady]

Did they feed you stromboli when you cruised by the Stromboli volcano??

You've stumped me again, Rev. I have no idea what "stromboli" is as a foodstuff, and my circa 1970 dictionary doesn't mention it. Can you describe it? Does it involve ice cream? Pasta?

 

In any case, rest assured that there was no suspension of food service during any period of scenic cruising. :)

[dakrewser]

You've stumped me again, Rev. I have no idea what "stromboli" is as a foodstuff,

Think of an Italian-style "wrap", or a pizza, all rolled up.

 

 

-dave

[RevNeal]

You're making me hungry ... for the first time since I disembarked the Zaandam on Saturday!

[josee]

Thank you all,

 

Jean, we will be on the Volendam, Dec.16-26. This is our first cruise and trip. We waited until the kids were more grown-up (10 and 14) and also, my youngest hardly speaks English to travel outside of Ontario/Quebec. From what I have read about HAL, I beleive we will find exactly what we are looking for in this cruise.

My youngest loves the water and we will limit the excursion on our first cruise to the beaches. Maybe later, on future cruises, we'll do more sightseeing.

 

Josée