cousinIT
April 28th, 2004, 01:32 PM
Sunday we arrived in Nassau, and we booked the Carnival Blue Lagoon tour ($29/person without snorkel) through Fun Vision in our room before dinner on Saturday. Mark announced that snorkeling portions of the tour had been canceled due to the sea conditions, http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gifbut we had our own equipment with us anyway so we brought it along). We had a lengthy walk from the ship to the tour ferry…and the 45-minute journey to Blue Lagoon…as we sailed away from the pier; this was the FIRST real look we got at Glory’s size and beauty..She really is the beauty of the fleet… http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif…on board the ferry we had VERY good rum punch, http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif and if you tipped the bar, you poured your own rum! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif We arrived at Blue Lagoon and it is quite beautiful…but the seas were very rough, http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif and the water was quite cool. But we enjoyed the beach, did SOME swimming, and the kids had fun cracking open coconuts, and playing what we called “Fred Flintstone” baseball with a stick and a coconut….ah youth! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif Here is where I bought the conch shell, and then headed back to the ship at 12:15….stopped in town to buy 2 bottles of local coconut rum, http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif then back on board by 1:30 and we set sail at 2:00 for our first sea day and then St. Thomas.
Monday was our first sea day, quite windy and rough, http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif but by mid afternoon you could tell we had “crossed over” the Gulf Stream as the seas calmed considerably. An enjoyable day on deck just relaxing, talking with friends and being together as a family. My youngest son won a “24 carat gold, plastic ship on a stick” http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif for guessing the correct sculpture design, during the ice carving demonstration…2 Love Birds… http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif he was quite happy with his prize. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif My oldest son had fun with his buddies exploring the ship, getting pizza and ice cream, and going to the arcade…and by now my little guy had made MULTIPLE visits to the arcade too with his pal from home!"CHA-CHING!!" Lunch was at the Red Sail buffet with many wonderful choices…breakfast today was in the dining room, open seating…Eggs Benedict..My favorite! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
Tuesday we arrived in St. Thomas, and the skies were overcast http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif but it was noticeably more humid. We went through the painful ordeal of US immigration, and didn’t get off the ship until about 11:00….this is the ONLY “suggestion” I would have for Carnival, to put Nassau at the END of the trip instead of the beginning… because of that stop US Immigration requires all passengers debarking the vessel to checkin…we got off the ship, hired a taxi as a mob http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif ($3/person each way..then he gave the us the little kids free),: and went shopping on the main drag. Bought our liquor, stopped at the straw market, then went back to the ship for lunch. Afterward we hooked up with our taxi driver, and again left as a mob this time for Coki Beach ($25 for 4 of us round trip). St. Thomas is usually my favorite stop, but this time it was disappointing…some of the charm seemed to have….left, http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif for lack of a better way to put it. We usually go to Megans Bay, and maybe this is where we went wrong. Coki Beach, although the snorkeling was good, was in a much more depressed area, and there were many local merchants strolling the beach…don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t a problem, as they were pretty polite and non bothersome, but it was just different from Megans Bay. Oh well..live and learn…got some good underwater pictures, and I was glad to be there and NOT in Connecticut! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif left Coki at about 4:30 as it got VERY cloudy. Sailed for St. Maarten at 8:00.
Wednesday arrived in Phillipsburg St. Maarten and immediately I knew this would be our new favorite island… http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif. And believe me, we weren’t disappointed. Off the ship by about 10:00, after waiting for Carnival Victory to dock. Seeing these two Carnival behemoths next to one another, really gives you the perspective on the differences between the two ship classes. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif Glory has it hands down! Victory looked like she needs a vacation in Dry Dock. Hopped onto the water taxi for $5/adult ,11 and under free….you got a wrist band and this was good for the whole day, multiple trips….some of our friends had gotten off earlier to shop, and we caught up with them in town. The local people were extremely polite and friendly, http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif and if you didn’t want something and said “no thank you” they replied back “ok..enjoy your visit”….very nice island. We strolled Front Street (I think that’s the name) looking for our destination “Every’tings Cool” http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif and came upon it about ½ mile down. We entered, no cover charge, people very friendly, and went towards the beach. One of the local workers on the beach “eyed” http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif us first, and her name was Amanda. She said anything we wanted, let her know and she would get it for us. 2 chairs/2 umbrellas $20…we got 3 sets for $25…and she set us up…a ways down from Every’tings Cool, but close nonetheless…waiters walked to beach, and their prices weren’t much different from Cool…beers here were $1, frozen drinks $5 with a variety in between and beyond, and food was that outrageous either…later in the afternoon, we had several “pain killers” and a good friend of mine had quickly renamed them “kill me quicks”! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif They packed a punch! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif Our friends who had shopped earlier met us on the beach and brought back sandwiches from the ship, which allowed for more cash spending at the beach. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif And at one point we indulged into some local attire, by purchasing island shirts from one of the ladies strolling the beach…the “men folk” each got an island shirt for $12…but we gave her $15 for putting up with us…and we were quite proud of our new “look”…it’s amazing what pleases you when you get past 40! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif We stayed on the beach, swimming, laughing, watching our kids have a great time, collecting shells and performing our annual obligatory “water dance with bathing suits on our heads” http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif to the laughter of the other beach goers…..one lady announced that she was about to go scuba diving..and we told her she better not because she would go blind! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif Many laughs had by all…… http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif .we ended our antics quickly as we realized it was now 4:45 and being our last island, my son wanted to shop at the local market…so we picked up, covered up, http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif and headed back to the ship, via the straw market up one of the side streets..we bargained (my first time ever! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif) for some trinkets and my son was happy and I was broke! And headed to the water taxi, and back on board by 5:30 as the ships horn sounded. Back to our room, just as we pulled out of the harbor and began our journey back to Port Canaveral. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_mad.gif http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif
Thursday and Friday were both sea days, with Thursday being a SUN filled enjoyable day, where we got THE most sun of the week. There were many “deck games” that day, which included the Hairy Chest contest, Survivor, Ship Building (which all our boys won together!!) http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif and Fear Factory where folks had to perform stunts and ultimately eat some things that ended up with one guy barfing his brains out into a bucket…this got him bonus points, and was the only time I thought it was all in poor taste..pardon the pun. Oh well..I could never handle my own kids hurling, let alone a grown man’s after consuming bananas, whole limes and lemons (skin and all!) with Wasabe and other things I can’t recall, mixed together with beer and other “drinks of the day”…YUK! Hope that “ship on a stick” and bonus points was worth it!
Friday was a “dark day”…always is..because it was the last day, with the debarkation talk taking place at 11:00 am. Here, Mark was at his funniest, and we learned of what our customs allowances were. Per adult we were allowed 4 bottles of booze from St. Thomas, 1 from St. Maarten, and no mention of Nassau??? http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif I don’t get it. $1200/person in goods purchased on shore, and up to $10k in cash…yeah right… http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif
If I left anything ELSE out, just ask! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif
ciao
RCI Nordic Empress 8/91
Disney Wonder 6/00
Carnival Victory 4/01
Carnival Triumph 4/02
Carnival Destiny 4/03
Carnival Glory 4/04
Monday was our first sea day, quite windy and rough, http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif but by mid afternoon you could tell we had “crossed over” the Gulf Stream as the seas calmed considerably. An enjoyable day on deck just relaxing, talking with friends and being together as a family. My youngest son won a “24 carat gold, plastic ship on a stick” http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif for guessing the correct sculpture design, during the ice carving demonstration…2 Love Birds… http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif he was quite happy with his prize. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif My oldest son had fun with his buddies exploring the ship, getting pizza and ice cream, and going to the arcade…and by now my little guy had made MULTIPLE visits to the arcade too with his pal from home!"CHA-CHING!!" Lunch was at the Red Sail buffet with many wonderful choices…breakfast today was in the dining room, open seating…Eggs Benedict..My favorite! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
Tuesday we arrived in St. Thomas, and the skies were overcast http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif but it was noticeably more humid. We went through the painful ordeal of US immigration, and didn’t get off the ship until about 11:00….this is the ONLY “suggestion” I would have for Carnival, to put Nassau at the END of the trip instead of the beginning… because of that stop US Immigration requires all passengers debarking the vessel to checkin…we got off the ship, hired a taxi as a mob http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif ($3/person each way..then he gave the us the little kids free),: and went shopping on the main drag. Bought our liquor, stopped at the straw market, then went back to the ship for lunch. Afterward we hooked up with our taxi driver, and again left as a mob this time for Coki Beach ($25 for 4 of us round trip). St. Thomas is usually my favorite stop, but this time it was disappointing…some of the charm seemed to have….left, http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif for lack of a better way to put it. We usually go to Megans Bay, and maybe this is where we went wrong. Coki Beach, although the snorkeling was good, was in a much more depressed area, and there were many local merchants strolling the beach…don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t a problem, as they were pretty polite and non bothersome, but it was just different from Megans Bay. Oh well..live and learn…got some good underwater pictures, and I was glad to be there and NOT in Connecticut! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif left Coki at about 4:30 as it got VERY cloudy. Sailed for St. Maarten at 8:00.
Wednesday arrived in Phillipsburg St. Maarten and immediately I knew this would be our new favorite island… http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif. And believe me, we weren’t disappointed. Off the ship by about 10:00, after waiting for Carnival Victory to dock. Seeing these two Carnival behemoths next to one another, really gives you the perspective on the differences between the two ship classes. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif Glory has it hands down! Victory looked like she needs a vacation in Dry Dock. Hopped onto the water taxi for $5/adult ,11 and under free….you got a wrist band and this was good for the whole day, multiple trips….some of our friends had gotten off earlier to shop, and we caught up with them in town. The local people were extremely polite and friendly, http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif and if you didn’t want something and said “no thank you” they replied back “ok..enjoy your visit”….very nice island. We strolled Front Street (I think that’s the name) looking for our destination “Every’tings Cool” http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif and came upon it about ½ mile down. We entered, no cover charge, people very friendly, and went towards the beach. One of the local workers on the beach “eyed” http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif us first, and her name was Amanda. She said anything we wanted, let her know and she would get it for us. 2 chairs/2 umbrellas $20…we got 3 sets for $25…and she set us up…a ways down from Every’tings Cool, but close nonetheless…waiters walked to beach, and their prices weren’t much different from Cool…beers here were $1, frozen drinks $5 with a variety in between and beyond, and food was that outrageous either…later in the afternoon, we had several “pain killers” and a good friend of mine had quickly renamed them “kill me quicks”! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif They packed a punch! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif Our friends who had shopped earlier met us on the beach and brought back sandwiches from the ship, which allowed for more cash spending at the beach. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif And at one point we indulged into some local attire, by purchasing island shirts from one of the ladies strolling the beach…the “men folk” each got an island shirt for $12…but we gave her $15 for putting up with us…and we were quite proud of our new “look”…it’s amazing what pleases you when you get past 40! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif We stayed on the beach, swimming, laughing, watching our kids have a great time, collecting shells and performing our annual obligatory “water dance with bathing suits on our heads” http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif to the laughter of the other beach goers…..one lady announced that she was about to go scuba diving..and we told her she better not because she would go blind! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif Many laughs had by all…… http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif .we ended our antics quickly as we realized it was now 4:45 and being our last island, my son wanted to shop at the local market…so we picked up, covered up, http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif and headed back to the ship, via the straw market up one of the side streets..we bargained (my first time ever! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif) for some trinkets and my son was happy and I was broke! And headed to the water taxi, and back on board by 5:30 as the ships horn sounded. Back to our room, just as we pulled out of the harbor and began our journey back to Port Canaveral. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_mad.gif http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif
Thursday and Friday were both sea days, with Thursday being a SUN filled enjoyable day, where we got THE most sun of the week. There were many “deck games” that day, which included the Hairy Chest contest, Survivor, Ship Building (which all our boys won together!!) http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif and Fear Factory where folks had to perform stunts and ultimately eat some things that ended up with one guy barfing his brains out into a bucket…this got him bonus points, and was the only time I thought it was all in poor taste..pardon the pun. Oh well..I could never handle my own kids hurling, let alone a grown man’s after consuming bananas, whole limes and lemons (skin and all!) with Wasabe and other things I can’t recall, mixed together with beer and other “drinks of the day”…YUK! Hope that “ship on a stick” and bonus points was worth it!
Friday was a “dark day”…always is..because it was the last day, with the debarkation talk taking place at 11:00 am. Here, Mark was at his funniest, and we learned of what our customs allowances were. Per adult we were allowed 4 bottles of booze from St. Thomas, 1 from St. Maarten, and no mention of Nassau??? http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif I don’t get it. $1200/person in goods purchased on shore, and up to $10k in cash…yeah right… http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif
If I left anything ELSE out, just ask! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif
ciao
RCI Nordic Empress 8/91
Disney Wonder 6/00
Carnival Victory 4/01
Carnival Triumph 4/02
Carnival Destiny 4/03
Carnival Glory 4/04