The service was excellent.
Posted on 12/11/2014 7:47:47 AM PST by C19fan
It’s dreary outside and you find yourself dreaming of an escape to the Caribbean. You long for turquoise water and sugar-sand beaches, with plenty of activities to take your mind off work. Cruises offer the perfect smorgasbord of beaches, shopping, scenery, and fun things that you can’t do at home, all served up with a fruity, umbrella-topped beverage. But not every port lives up to the image in your dreams. To help you choose your next cruise itinerary — or rather, figure out which places to avoid — Yahoo Travel did some digging around and found the Caribbean ports with the worst reputations.
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
I found that showering in the late afternoon, the fresh water in the holding tank was warm enough for a tepid scrub. The toilet paper roll above the shower head was somewhat of a stretch.
Before a male versus female beer drinking contest, we were presented with the beer; warm, well-shaken Guiness. One of the women, a young hottie from Staten Island, allowed as how she wasn’t going to get “than nasty crap” on her new bikini so she jumped up, stripped, and joined the contest.
“Down islands” in the Caribbean is going to be be completely different from Bermuda.
That’s the impression I’m getting!
We were thinking about going on the Polynesia but we heard that sometimes the passage between the southern islands could get pretty rough. I always have wanted to go the St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Have also heard that Dominica is the prettiest island down there. I would also like to go to Nevis. I heard that was nice.
There was a book written about the sinking of that ship during hurricane Mitch(the last class 5).
Have any of the Windjammer ships survived?
“The British settled islands were the worst.”
With the exception of Jamaica, I always thought the French islands were the worst, and the English the best. I have never been on any of the Dutch.
I will say if there’s one island I do recommend it’s Aruba. Such divergent landscapes for such a small island.
“Big cruise ships are for cattle. You get what you pay for.”
Cattle don’t get a great un-hurried dinner at their reserved table and an after-dinner show every night.
Flying Clouds last resting place in Trinidad shipyard
This is why I have always liked the British Virgin Islands.
The BVI residents are fairly wealthy. They do not let foreign corporations buy land there. There are no casinos. They have almost no crime. They speak English and use US currency. There do not tolerate drug traffickers. There are no high rise hotels. It is also relatively easy to get to. It is a 35 minute flight from San Juan, PR. They are a 1 hour ferry ride from St. Thomas airport.
The service was excellent.
We have friends who love Aruba.
If you haven’t made up your mind yet, I would like to suggest Great Exuma, one of the Bahama “Out Islands.” The main town is Georgetown. Or if you are Sailing, Elizabeth Harbor. I don’t think I saw it mentioned on this thread; but as a sailor who has cruised the Islands, I can tell you that the Exumas are a favorite destination for many people in the Know. You can google it for hotels and further info. Best Regards,
Thank you very much, Desparado!
The service really was excellent.
You would enjoy the winter Caribbean weather especially going down there from New England.
The Caribbean doesn't cool off much at night. Something hard for a New Englander to get used too. And that's a good thing.
You can vaction on a cruise ship or on a Caribbean Island resort, or by chartering your own boat with friends to sail around different places. I have done all of those things.
Personally I like to go the end of February and come back in March. Then I feel like the back of the winter weather has been broken. Good Luck. - Tom
Thanks, Tom!
It looks like you had one of the more expensive staterooms on the ship. I do not think I have ever seen a deck/balcony that big on a cruise ship.
Trisham,
If you are thinking about going to the Caribbean for the first time, I would suggest you look up the article I just read in Newsmax magazine. It was in this months issue. It was about the smaller ship cruise companies that rank the highest in customer satisfaction. They tend to be less than 400 passengers. Also, their staff to passenger ratio is a lot higher than the bigger ships. These smaller ships also visit harbors that the big ships can not enter(no big dock). You will get a better taste of places that most people only visit on a private or rented yacht.
I am sure these cruises are more expensive, but you do really get what you paid for. Ask the people who went on these Carnival cruises where the ship came down with the norovirous how their vacation was. I would also suggest a cruise that takes you around/between the US/British Virgin Islands. These islands are all grouped very close together(2 -3 miles). Therefore, you are never really exposed to the open ocean, potential high seas and sea sickness :(
This is why the US/BVI’s tend to be the sailing mecca of the Caribbean. You can sail between the islands and you are not exposed to the potential large waves of the open Atlantic Ocean.
The other issues I have never ran into in the BVI’s is the black/white hated you will experience on islands like Jamaica. Many of the Jamaicans do not like white people. It is just the way they were raised. You will get more of this on St. Croix and St Thomas than you will in the BVI’s. The main reason for this is US welfare. There is no welfare in the Caribbean other than the US VI’s and Puerto Rico. On the rest of the islands, if you want to eat, you need to work. This attracts a certain type of person to the US VI’s(lazy people). St. John, US VI does not seem to have as much of this.
If you like Aruba I think you would love Curacao. Willemstad is an absolutely beautiful city. The countryside is about the same as Aruba's is.
Thank you very much, woodbutcher. I do appreciate your thoughtful and informative reply.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.