CrabbyHarper
November 22nd, 2004, 06:32 PM
Hi everyone! More stuff from our cruise. I am not so well organized as some folks so please forgive my ramble.
I previously mentioned St. Thomas and HMC.
Dominica is a beautiful, lush island that apparently wants to attract cruise ships - they do need to spruce up a bit, but the potential is there, especially for eco-touring. We took the Indian River Cruise and Beach transfer. The trip up the Indian River in small pirougues was beautiful, jungly, and hot! The boats were very low to the waterline with eight people and guide aboard, and I kept wondering what would happen if a large alligator charged the boat! But we reached our destination - an abandoned banana plantation - with no untoward incidents. This landing was a stop for refreshment and potty break. The facilities were very primitive, and the folks manning them so nice and eager to please. After we got back to the buses we were driven to a beach at a hotel, where the drivers tried to discourage us from swimming- goodness knows why - but several of us had quite a nice swim as well as rum drinks. I recommend this shore excursion!
Barbados is a place I would gladly visit again for a week at a resort or in a condo! The terminal was lovely with lots of shops and services, and was almost a destination in itself. We took the Turtle Encounter and Beach swim. It was great! Despite rainy weather we enjoyed the long and rough boat ride to the turtle area. My companions are good snorkelers, and I just swam - can't see diddly without my glasses. There were lots of turtles - very tame - and not at all scary! Then after snorkeling the boat was beached, the rum was broached and we had a great time, Banana boat rides were part of the package, as well as wild chair rides - again, not for me, but some of my companions had a blast! I loved the beach, the waves, watching people having fun on the rides, and the rum. A Great Shore Excursion!
Incidently, when I booked my shore excursions on line, and then made a telephone call to HAL, I was told that the Turtle Encounter would not be available on our cruise. When I got aboard and read the shore excursion brochure, the Turtle Encounter WAS available! I was able to get a full refund for the excursion I had previously booked, and was able to book the Turtle Encounter for the five of us.
St. Kitts - again, a lovely, interesting island that needs a bit of sprucing up to attract more cruise ships. The terminal area was well within walking distance of shopping. DH and I hired a taxi to take us to the Fortress - As history buffs we were very pleased with this fabulous structure and its magnificent views. The taxi then took us to a beach in the resort area for more swimming.
San Juan - we did not have nearly enough time! A taxi took us to El Morro - we had seen San Cristobal in April. The Fort is well worth a visit for views alone! Then we walked back through the old section of the city - lots of pastel colored buildings and lacy ironwork - really lovely. There are vendor booths set up nearer the waterfront with interesting things for sale. I bought a silver necklace and pendant made of sand-smoothed glass that is as pretty as a gem stone. Cost? $10!
The itinerary on the Norfolk based Maasdam really could use some tinkering. I would have liked more time in HMC and San Juan, and would gladly forego St. Thomas in order to get it!
More later!
Gerry
I previously mentioned St. Thomas and HMC.
Dominica is a beautiful, lush island that apparently wants to attract cruise ships - they do need to spruce up a bit, but the potential is there, especially for eco-touring. We took the Indian River Cruise and Beach transfer. The trip up the Indian River in small pirougues was beautiful, jungly, and hot! The boats were very low to the waterline with eight people and guide aboard, and I kept wondering what would happen if a large alligator charged the boat! But we reached our destination - an abandoned banana plantation - with no untoward incidents. This landing was a stop for refreshment and potty break. The facilities were very primitive, and the folks manning them so nice and eager to please. After we got back to the buses we were driven to a beach at a hotel, where the drivers tried to discourage us from swimming- goodness knows why - but several of us had quite a nice swim as well as rum drinks. I recommend this shore excursion!
Barbados is a place I would gladly visit again for a week at a resort or in a condo! The terminal was lovely with lots of shops and services, and was almost a destination in itself. We took the Turtle Encounter and Beach swim. It was great! Despite rainy weather we enjoyed the long and rough boat ride to the turtle area. My companions are good snorkelers, and I just swam - can't see diddly without my glasses. There were lots of turtles - very tame - and not at all scary! Then after snorkeling the boat was beached, the rum was broached and we had a great time, Banana boat rides were part of the package, as well as wild chair rides - again, not for me, but some of my companions had a blast! I loved the beach, the waves, watching people having fun on the rides, and the rum. A Great Shore Excursion!
Incidently, when I booked my shore excursions on line, and then made a telephone call to HAL, I was told that the Turtle Encounter would not be available on our cruise. When I got aboard and read the shore excursion brochure, the Turtle Encounter WAS available! I was able to get a full refund for the excursion I had previously booked, and was able to book the Turtle Encounter for the five of us.
St. Kitts - again, a lovely, interesting island that needs a bit of sprucing up to attract more cruise ships. The terminal area was well within walking distance of shopping. DH and I hired a taxi to take us to the Fortress - As history buffs we were very pleased with this fabulous structure and its magnificent views. The taxi then took us to a beach in the resort area for more swimming.
San Juan - we did not have nearly enough time! A taxi took us to El Morro - we had seen San Cristobal in April. The Fort is well worth a visit for views alone! Then we walked back through the old section of the city - lots of pastel colored buildings and lacy ironwork - really lovely. There are vendor booths set up nearer the waterfront with interesting things for sale. I bought a silver necklace and pendant made of sand-smoothed glass that is as pretty as a gem stone. Cost? $10!
The itinerary on the Norfolk based Maasdam really could use some tinkering. I would have liked more time in HMC and San Juan, and would gladly forego St. Thomas in order to get it!
More later!
Gerry