First Time Carnival...Just returned Victory 8/9/09

[rpmljm]

Hi

We just returned from our Victory cruise of southern Caribbean. It was our first experience with Carnival and we had a great time. Service was great and food was very good. I'd be happy to answer any questions that I can, since others were very helpful to me before I sailed. We are in our 50s and had no experience with childrens' programs. We went to a beach every other day and did an excursion every other day. I'm glad we decided to do that since it would have been a very tiring week otherwise.

 

One thing I wanted to let you know is that on the last day of the cruise, they try to get you to attend a "very important" disembarkation talk at 5PM. They say it is important because disembarking in San Juan is very unusual. You do not need to waste your time. It's not unusual at all. Anything you really need to know is given to you on a paper in your stateroom by your steward that night. The main reason for the talk is very obvious. It is to tell you how they want you to fill out your comment cards, which kind of defeats the purpose of having them to begin with in my opinion. Anyway don't waste your time if you have anything better to do.

 

Ask away...I'll do my best to answer.

 

Laurie:)

[Cigar Dude]

Which beaches did you got to?

Cost?

Food and drinks available?

Etc.

 

We'll be going to beaches on most days.

[rpmljm]

We went to Magens Bay in St Thomas. It was a beautiful beach. It cost $8 per person each way and $4 to get on the beach. We got a Taxi outside the port area which was an open air type vehicle that holds about 20 people. Driver came back for us when we wanted but if you don't want to do that there are cabs there waiting all day.

 

In Barbados we had a bit of a problem with a taxi driver(see my long post on Barbados port page) and ended up at Browns beach which was not the greatest but was OK. We originally wanted to go to Accra but got a taxi driver with another agenda. The cost from port to Browns should be $10 per person. In Barbados you walk through a mall to exit the port. When you exit the mall, do not let the dispatcher get you a cab. Keep walking until you are outside the gates of the port. Then you can get a cab driver that will take you where you want to go unlike what happened to us.

 

In Antigua we went to Jolly beach. A truly beautiful beach with a nice restaurant, bar and restrooms. You can ride jet skis if you want for $40. Chairs are $5 and umbrellas are $10. Taxi cost is $6 per person each way if you share with some others. We managed to find other people from the ship who were ready to go when we were both ways. It wasn't hard, plenty of people coming and going, just ask around. If it is just the 2 of you it is $12 per person.

[rpmljm]

Sorry I forgot to tell you there is food and drink at Magens bay as well as restrooms. The chairs rent for $5 for regular chair and $7 for a lounge chair with at $10 deposit you get back when you return the chairs. We did not get an umbrella because we sat under a tree.

[Cigar Dude]

In Barbados we had a bit of a problem with a taxi driver(see my long post on Barbados port page) and ended up at Browns beach which was not the greatest but was OK. We originally wanted to go to Accra but got a taxi driver with another agenda.

 

Interesting. I've heard about similar things happening. I will take your advice and bypass the dispatcher! Thanks. I want to go to Accra Beach.

[Kurbanfan]

In Barbados we had a bit of a problem with a taxi driver(see my long post on Barbados port page) and ended up at Browns beach which was not the greatest but was OK. We originally wanted to go to Accra but got a taxi driver with another agenda. The cost from port to Browns should be $10 per person. In Barbados you walk through a mall to exit the port. When you exit the mall, do not let the dispatcher get you a cab. Keep walking until you are outside the gates of the port. Then you can get a cab driver that will take you where you want to go unlike what happened to us.

 

 

We had a taxi driver pull the same crap on us after we were inside the taxi and told him we just wanted to go to the Boatyard:rolleyes: We told him no we are meeting friends so absolutely not.......he got the hint:rolleyes:

BTW we were not meeting friends.........

[sunseeker09]

So it seems you did tours on Dominca, St. Lucia and St. Kitts? What did you do? Who did you use? What did you think? ...or maybe I should stop asking all these questions and go and see if you posted on those port boards as well as Barbados. :D

[alschmid]

Hi Laurie!

 

Hope you enjoyed your bday at Brown beach regardless of the taxi problems. I was looking to see if I saw another birthday at Accra :)

 

We had a great time on this cruise as well - and I totally agree with you about the debarkment talk. We also thought the comment card talk was strange - seems like the comment cards are useless if you are going to tell everyone to mark excellent no matter what. We didn't even get a comment card - think I may email Carnival with some things we were unhappy with during the cruise just to let them know.

 

Awesome time altogether though - hoping to get a review up tonight or tomorrow.

 

~Amy

[Charlie2na]

Yeah.... we had some issues too....at several ports in fact. In Barbados the dispatcher tried to talk us out of our trip to Cranes Beach...."much to rough and to far ". We had gone there before and it is very rough being on the Atlantic side, but you will not find a prettier beach......made the top 10 in Condi Naste. We reseved lunch at the Crane resort and used the beach at no cost...5 bucks for lounges. Had trouble in a few other ports too! The cabbies and vendors have an" ARRANGEMENT"....THEY BRING FOLKS TO DECIDED SPOT, and the vendors really press a sale. My advice, do your homework on the ports , research your interests and stick with your choice

[rpmljm]

Sunseeker09...

In Dominica we did a ship excursion (the only one) which was the Roseau/Trafalgar falls tour. It was fine and the guide was nice. The driver was good at navigating the very narrow and sometimes scary roads on that island. Sometimes you just had to close your eyes and hope you didn't go down a hill!! Keep in mind that in order to see the falls you have to climb a lot of steps in the rain forest that are wet and uneven with loose stones. When you get to the falls there is a small viewing area that was very crowded with people trying take pictures.

 

In St Lucia we did a wonderful tour with Cosol ($65). I would recommend this to anyone (see St Lucia boards). It was a highlight of our trip that we will be talking about for a long time. Unfortunately the new memory card in my camera was defective and I lost all the pictures I took of the first 5 days of my cruise including Cosols tour. I am sick about it. I am hoping some folks can help me out by sending me some of theirs.

 

In St Kitts we did another wonderful tour with Thenford Grey. Grey's Island Excursions ($48) He was so nice and friendly. He knew so much about St Kitts. Because of his tour I think I liked St Kitts best of all the islands we went to.

 

Amy...

We got to the beach and it started to rain. We sat under the umbrella in the rain for two hours. By the time we got back to the ship it was stopping:(. Oh well...

 

I agree with your opinion about the comment card. It's odd that you didn't get one. After the "big talk" in the theater, I was afraid to give anyone anything but the highest mark. There was no place on the card for what we did not like or for suggestions. I would have said that the male vocalist was really not very good (had trouble staying on pitch) and Little John (the Bingo guy)on the cruise director's staff was really annoying. Just my opinion though.

[rpmljm]

Yeah.... we had some issues too....at several ports in fact. In Barbados the dispatcher tried to talk us out of our trip to Cranes Beach...."much to rough and to far ". We had gone there before and it is very rough being on the Atlantic side, but you will not find a prettier beach......made the top 10 in Condi Naste. We reseved lunch at the Crane resort and used the beach at no cost...5 bucks for lounges. Had trouble in a few other ports too! The cabbies and vendors have an" ARRANGEMENT"....THEY BRING FOLKS TO DECIDED SPOT, and the vendors really press a sale. My advice, do your homework on the ports , research your interests and stick with your choice

 

Good advice!!

Unfortunately I did not have a lot of time since we decided to do this cruise two weeks before it sailed. I was researching 6 ports at once and should have had more time to really do my homework and learn from others' mistakes. But that's why I am posting now, so that others can learn!

[alschmid]

Laurie - glad to hear about Cosol's tour - I really was tempted to do it but didn't want another long tour day - just have to do the whole cruise again I think! Also good feedback on St Kitts, most people I talked to really did not enjoy that stop - we actually ended up staying onboard, glad that you enjoyed it!

[topazz11]

RPMLJM - Did you get a day pass from Jolly Beach Resort or just go to the beach at the resort? Any trouble getting chairs? We are definitely going to that beach, just wondering if I should do the day pass or not.

 

Thanks!

[rpmljm]

I would not bother with the passes. The beach was very beautiful and chairs were easy to get at $5 each, umbrellas were $10. There is a very nice restaurant/bar right on the beach with restrooms. Jet skis are available for rent if you want them.

[topazz11]

Thank you so much. Was the beach you were at on the resorts property or is all of the beach public? Did you eat at the restaurant? Can you take the food back to your lounge chair?

[rpmljm]

The resort beach is seperated by a fence. We did not eat at the restaurant but it looked very nice. We got to the beach around 10AM when it was fairly empty and left at 1:30. We ate on the ship. I see no reason why you couldn't take the food on the beach, but I am really not sure about that. The beach is long, wide and very beautiful. There were many people from the ship there and everyone was raving about how nice it was. There were some nice shells and pieces of coral in the water if you are into that.

[topazz11]

Thanks for the quick response. You also just saved me $60 pp. LOL Do you have any pics of Jolly?

[rpmljm]

Yes I have pictures, but I'm not sure how to post them on here. I'll give it a try tomorrow if you want to check back then. Take care!

[lustatsea]

Thanks for the quick response. You also just saved me $60 pp. LOL Do you have any pics of Jolly?

spend the money and go to jolly beach.. its worth every penny Ive been going there for three years Im headed there in September I like the resort for the drinks all day the pool and the vendors do not bother you.... there is a guard on the beach where I think she is talking about gets very crowded but if you like that go for it it is still very nice but not as nice as the resort ....just my thought

[phinfan63]

Sorry to hear about your pictures. I was on this cruise in March and you are welcome to go through my pics to see if any of them work for you. They are labeled pretty good.

 

http://s670.photobucket.com/albums/vv65/phinfan63/

[rpmljm]

See if this works. Here is Jolly Beach

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=127945&stc=1&d=1250083727

[rpmljm]

Sorry to hear about your pictures. I was on this cruise in March and you are welcome to go through my pics to see if any of them work for you. They are labeled pretty good.

 

http://s670.photobucket.com/albums/vv65/phinfan63/

 

Thank you so much for you generosity!!! Your pictures are very nice and I have ordered some of the Dominica and St Lucia ones. Again I thank you so much!