Liberty 5/31/15 Southern Caribbean Review

Introduction: We just returned from a 7 day Southern Caribbean cruise aboard the Carnival Liberty (5/31/15 to 6/7/15). My name is Wendy and I cruised with my 14 year old son, Jack, and my 17 year old daughter, Lane.

Here we are...gosh we're good looking!

This was a high school graduation gift for my daughter. She chose a cruise as her graduation gift and didn’t care where we went but wanted to go someplace different.

Here's Lane in all her bling. She was a Valedictorian. So proud...

This was my 8th cruise (5 previously on Carnival, one on Norweigan, and one on RCCL). The kids have both sailed Carnival on 3 previous cruises and one on RCCL. I booked this cruise back in July of 2014 when the Valor was still making the southern route from San Juan. When Carnival decided to replace the Valor with the Liberty, I was very excited because it had the upgrades I had been wanting to try. By purchasing early saver and watching the Carnival fare viewer more than I should have, I was able to save $450. We started the trip with $220 OBC plus I bought two $50 gift cards from my local Kroger for only $90 (they would not put these on my account when we checked in, we went to guest services to have it done as soon as we boarded.

Cruise Full of Firsts: This was our first 7 day cruise having taken 5 day cruises in the past. This was our first cruise in the summer…we usually cruise during the kid’s fall break in October. This was our first balcony (we had an aft extended balcony…6454). This was the first time I flew anywhere which required a plane change and I was more than a little nervous about missing our connecting flight…that worry was for nothing. This was our first time at any of the ports including the port we cruised from (San Juan, St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten). This was the first time we had done your time dining. I had never ordered room service on my previous cruises (I don’t know why we didn’t do this in the past). And, this was the first time we have ever cruised on any Carnival ship that wasn’t a fantasy class ship.

Can't wait to read your review! Sounds like an amazing graduation trip.

:DI'm in! Can't wait for the rest of your review - We're leaving in 26 days for the same cruise.....

San Juan: We flew on Southwest from Nashville to Tampa and then onto San Juan. We only had about 30 minutes from touching down from Nashville to when we started boarding our second leg but this was plenty of time to find our gate, use the restroom, and for my son to eat a snack (he’s 6’2” and eats a lot). We got into San Juan about 3:00 in the afternoon. The baggage area at the San Juan airport was a little different. We are used to television monitors with the flight number showing us the proper luggage carousel to stand at. The San Juan airport only has a sign with the name of the airline (not flight number). So if you were flying in on Delta, you would go to the carousel with a sign for Delta. However, there were three carousels with signs for Southwest. So, we waited until we saw someone claim a bag from one carousel, and then asked that person which flight they were on. After figuring out the first carousel was for a flight from Houston, we found the next one to be ours.

We stood in the taxi cue and quickly got into a cab headed for the Sheraton/Old San Juan. They give you a slip of paper with your total amount owed written on it. We paid $26 plus tip for 3 passengers, 3 bags, and our destination of Old San Juan. I did pay more for this hotel ($250 for the night) but I will pay more for convenience sometimes. And, the ability to walk to lots of restaurants, explore the city on foot and walk to the port the next day saved me a second and possible third cab ride.

Check-in at the hotel was quick. We were upgraded to a junior suite overlooking the carnival dock. I am a Starwood Preferred Guest but let me say that I don’t travel enough for anyone to consider me preferred. I guess just because I signed up for this free perk, they wanted to reward me with a nice room. I highly recommend become a Starwood member (or HiltonHonors or any other high falutent member of some free hotel club…there’s usually a perk). There was also an RCCL ship in port and we could see it from our window. The room was nice and I would certainly stay here again. That evening we ventured out for dinner and also walked around town to the area where they set up tents and sell souvenirs and food from local vendors.

Can you tell we ate at Senor Frogs?

We stopped at the CVS at the port and I did find a box of Gasolina Sangrias (5 for $3.99). I bought them and thought I would stick it in my suitcase and see what happens (another first). It started to rain so we went back to the hotel and passed out.

We have an aft balcony scheduled on the Liberty next year. Curious to see if you liked it

Isn't she beautiful?

Embarkation: The next morning, we went to breakfast at the hotel. At 11:00, we walked down to the dock. We showed our boarding passes and passport to the gate security, went up the escalator and had our embarkation picture taken. Check-in was quick. We had purchased faster to the fun (a first). I know there is no reason to purchase this from San Juan (I read what you’re saying on Cruise Critic), but I will be the first to admit, I can’t stand big crowds and I wanted to disembark as soon as I could when we got back to San Juan. Even though our return flight boarded at 12:55, I wanted to get to the airport as soon as possible. We also wanted to get to our room as soon as we boarded and put our bags down before the usual 1:00 or 1:30 time frame because we were getting back off to explore one of the forts.

We went through the line designated faster to the fun and there was no one in front of us. We received our sail and sign cards (no pre-punched holes for those who were wondering) and were told to sit anywhere. FYI…the regular line was moving quickly. We were not given a boarding number so I wasn’t sure how we would know when to board. About an hour later, we saw the platinum, diamond, and suite guests being led out. About 3 minutes later, they started calling for faster to the fun (by simply yelling out “faster to the fun can now board”). We showed our passports and sail and sign cards before being allowed up the ramp to the ship. Once on board, we “dinged” our cards and we were done.

*I will now insert a negative comment and the only negative comment I shared on the survey I received from Carnival. After we “dinged” our card, we passed 5 carnival workers all wearing the red “ask me” shirts. Not one single worker acknowledged we had just gotten on board. They didn’t even make eye contact much less say hello. I thought it was just us but I watched the next two groups of people come on behind us and nothing was said to them either. I have never experienced this before. It didn't ruin a thing (I'm no celebrity...just looking for a simple hello). I just wouldn't want a first timer to think Carnival is not friendly. We didn’t experience this for the rest of the cruise (everyone we encountered after that was incredibly friendly).

We went to our room and were able to check out the fantastic balcony. We went up to the lido where I encountered quite possibly the best burger I have ever eaten. Kudos to Carnival and Guy Fieri for creating such a master piece in Guy's Burger Joint. Simply heaven...

After lunch, we decided to get back off the ship and find a trolley to take us to El Morro. There was a wait for the trolley. Apparently, on Sunday’s, not everything runs like it does on the other days. We probably waited about 45 minutes for an open-air trolley.

When we got to the fort, I was well prepared to pay my $3 per person for admittance knowing we would not be making it to both forts and had no need for the $5 dual fort ticket. Well, the park ranger/ticket money taker, was not going to give more than one option. For whatever reason (and believe me he wasn’t giving one), we were only offered the $5 ticket. Instead of questioning it anymore, I decided to pay it and move on. The fort was wonderful. It had great views and lots of history.

Obligatory Fort Pic...we are tourists after all.

We were there about an hour and a half and decided we would head back to the ship. This is when we encountered our first taste of pushy people. While waiting in the very organized line that had been started by some fellow travelers, a trolley finally made its way up to the fort entrance. As most normal humans would do, we proceeded to board based on the old first come first served method. But, this group came out of nowhere, not having stood in any line and decided they did not need to follow these same methods and proceeded to hop right on the trolley. Now, I won’t assume nationalities although they were the majority on our cruise and this was not the last encounter we had with them.

We left the others in the front of the line to confront the situation and we headed out on foot to the ship. It was quite a bit of a walk but we were able to stop for those slushy-like delicacies you can buy from the locals (only $3). We also used this now walking tour, to take in some of the local businesses and sites. It really wasn’t that bad of a walk, and we actually beat the trolley back to the ship because traffic was horrendous…so there...you pushy people!

We got back to port, showed our passport and sail and sign card and made our way back onto the ship. When we got back to the room our luggage (and my Gasolina) had arrived. Don’t flog me…they were only $3.99 and there were only 5 of them and I honestly didn’t think they would make it onboard. I did spend my fair share of money onboard for froofroo drinks.

I won’t be doing a day-by day journal of everything we ate, drank, saw, and did. I’ll mostly highlight areas of interest…mainly because I took no notes and my kids like to think my memory sucks…it does.

It was a fantastic trip...I can't say enough good things about it and Lane absolutely loved it!

We have an aft balcony scheduled on the Liberty next year. Curious to see if you liked it

Money well spent!! You will love having the extra room. All 3 of us had no problem spreading out and enjoying sail away at each port. We had one lounger, one straight back chair and another chair that was a combination of the 2...a straight back chair that reclined. We also had the small metal table.

I hope you enjoy your trip!

The Ship: The Liberty is a wonderful ship. It has lots of room. The changing lights of the atrium overflow to the promenade and if you sit and stare at them, you become mesmerized. The layout of the ship was a little confusing and we still got lost going to our embarkation spot on the last day so, apparently, we never did figure everything out. But, I enjoyed exploring a new ship layout.

Every person we encountered (minus my previous complaint) was as friendly and helpful as we have come to expect from Carnival. Our room steward (not stewart) was fantastic. He asked me what I wanted him to call me. I decided not to be creative and just used my first name, but he also called the kids by name. He always asked where one of them was if they weren’t with me. Now, what was this wonderful steward’s name? I have no idea…remember my memory sucks.

We did go to three shows…the Welcome Aboard Show, something called “Rock” something and some show about different Nations. I had never seen the last two and I always like the shows so I enjoyed them all. I always love what is now called the Love and Marriage show. It did not disappoint this time either. Before it started, our Cruise Director, Felipe, had helped arrange a proposal from a lovely couple from San Juan and it was very sweet to be a part of that. They received champagne and a watch set from Carnival which was very nice.

Let’s talk about Felipe. I love a good cruise director but I don’t pick a ship based on who the cruise director is. Felipe is awesome!!! He has energy, humor, a great personality, and he’s easy on the eyes. His assistant entertainment staff was just as good and we enjoyed all of the events that they hosted.

I don’t dance or smoke so I can’t speak of the dancing venues (I don’t wobble) or how the designated smoking areas were. I did see a couple of people with e-cigs on their balconies but, to be honest, I don’t care that people use those. I can’t smell them so it doesn’t bother me in the least.

We played bingo a couple of times. My daughter was so excited because she won $50 but I felt compelled to remind her that it cost $40 to play… Now, we could have played for only $20 a game. This would give us a card with 3 chances. We were trying to use up our OBC, so we went for the gusto and chose the $40 game with 9 chances. And, they always played 3 games so you do get several chances to win.

I went to the casino on the last night but had no luck so that was my only encounter with that area of the ship.

We don’t swim in the pools, sit in the hot tubs, or use the slides. We are people watchers. We like to plop ourselves down in a strategically located lounger and watch the entertainment provided by our fellow passengers. And these passengers did not disappoint. Were there chair hogs? Actually, no. On our one and only day at sea, there weren’t any available loungers immediately around the pool area (people were actually sitting on them), but we found a couple of loungers right at the top of the steps right in the front on the second level overlooking the pool.

We went to 3 comedy shows (all PG). Happy Cole and Azeem were hilarious, but Mr. Brick (a fellow Tennesssean) just tried too hard. None of the shows were packed so you could sit and wait for the next show without leaving the large lounge and re-entering.

Kids Circle C for 11 to 14 year olds was utilized by Jack every day. He loved it. He met all kinds of kids from all parts of the world and would interact with them on the ship but also at several of the beaches in the ports we went to. They have organized time with board and video games, they danced, and had trivia, but, they also had unorganized events which usually involved the sports deck until the wee hours of the morning. Grandma Lane and myself were usually in bed by 11:30 or 12:00 each night, and Jack would come in around 1:30 every night (or morning I guess). Lane did not participate in her age group’s activities (she loves her momma and likes to hang with her).

We did buy 3 pictures while on board. They are pricey but I had OBC so it didn’t bother me. A couple of days, we never could find our pictures. I wish they would utilize a different system instead of having us search through the humongous piles of faces to try and find our own. There has to be a more productive way.

Food: I should let my son review this area because he is an expert. I am no foody. I just want food when I get hungry without being pushed out of the way from someone who has chosen not to stand in the same long a** line that I just stood in (this was our most irritating encounter with the pushy people). But, I will say the only time we had a crowd at the buffet was the morning of St. Thomas. I think everyone rose at the same time and decided to eat at the same time. I think we (or those of us that follow the rules) stood in line for 45 minutes for food. We never had this problem again after that morning.

We ate at Guys, Blue Iguana Cantina, Swirls, the deli, 24 hour pizza, room service, lido buffet for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (on various days), the dining room with your time dining, and the coffee bar. I go on a cruise realizing that the food is being made in huge quantities to satisfy the masses. For me to expect a 5 star restaurant would be wrong…it’s not how Carnival ships are designed (for the most part).

Breakfast is my most favorite meal of the day. With that being said…the eggs on the buffet were not as bad as I had read, but the bacon (lovingly served to me by one individual who probably doesn’t know he has an official title of “bacon police”) was sometimes cooked by what had to be the lowest heat setting possible on the skillet…I had to make sure it wasn’t still alive. Other times, it was cooked perfectly. I ate it either way.

I had one sandwich at the deli, a turkey on country roll, and it was wonderful. However, when I ordered the turkey sandwich from room service, it was not good. The regular white bread it was served on was very moist…but, I ate it anyway. The BLT from room service was phenomenal!

Love the pizza, the fries from Guys as well as the previously mentioned burgers, the chicken tacos from the blue iguana, and the self-serve ice cream. I had a spiked coffee from the coffee bar and my daughter had a milk shake and a piece of black forest cake from there…all were delicious.

That brings me to the dining room. I chose your time dining because of the port intensive itinerary we were going to experience. I wasn’t sure that we would be back in time for the early seating (which is what we have always chosen in the past), and my son will not wait for late seating. We did go to the dining room twice for dinner (Golden Olympian deck 3) and sat at tables for 4 both times. There were table clothes, neither times we went were crowded (we usually got there around 6 or 6:30) and we had great service both times. But, I miss the old menu…there, I’ve said it. The American menu just didn’t have anything on it those 2 visits that smacked me in the face. I wouldn’t say you can use this as a proper review of the new menu because I didn’t look to see what was served on the other days. On our first visit, I tried the spring rolls, shrimp cocktail, steak from the regular menu, and the warm chocolate melting cake which were all good. On our second visit, I had the salad, lobster bisque, filet mignon, and warm chocolate melting cake which were all good. My children could not find anything that spoke to them, so they both ordered from the kids menu. Jack ordered 2 burgers one night and the waiter thought that was crazy! But, he ate it all and was still hungry. He also ordered the banana split and loved it. Lane had pizza and warm chocolate melting cake on both visits.

I did not eat at the Steakhouse, Seaday Brunch, Mongolian Wok, Fish N’ Chips or take part in Seuss at Sea. Just ran out of time and room in my belly.

Drinks: I do have a complaint but I chose not to formally complain to Carnival because I’ve seen this complaint before. Do they use alcohol in their adult drinks? I tried a few of the Miami Vices, Banana Daiquiris, Drinks of the Day, and Mocha Chocolate Getaways and only the last one ever tasted like there was any kick to it at all. I did try various different bars and drinks thinking something would change.

I don’t drink much at home but I finally stopped buying drinks on the next to the last day because of this. And, why would I see the price for the Mocha Chocolate Getaway for $7.95 at one of the bars (casino) but when I ordered it in the main lounge before a show, they would charge me $10.95? Maybe that was an error and only a one time thing, bu I started ordering them from the cheaper bar and carrying it to the lounge.

I had no complaints about the coffee on the lido, the iced tea on the lido, or the water. I did buy 2 six packs of cokes for Jack from the onboard shop to be delivered to our cabin before the cruise. They were there when we go on board and I immediately stuck 4 in the fridge in our room. Why do they have these refrigerators? They don’t cool anything…there were 3 cokes that stayed in the fridge for the entire week and never got above room temperature the whole time. In fact, we left those 3 for our room steward. I just asked for ice and we placed the cans in the bucket to get them cold. Our fabulous steward would re-fill the ice twice a day.

We also received 3 of the larger waters for being returning passengers. We only used 2 of them. I also received a drink coupon to be used on the last night after 5 pm because I’m a gold card holder. I won’t open a can of worms but I can’t figure out why they just won’t let you use it anytime during the cruise (I received it on the first day). Do they think people will forget about it by the last day? Oh well…we’ll just let that one go.

St. Thomas:

Beautiful port

We chose to go to Sapphire Beach. We took a taxi which cost $9 pp plus tip/one way. When you exit the ship, you go to the taxi area, and a person asks where you are going. Once you tell them, they group you with like passengers going to your beach or somewhere in the vicinity and everyone piles into an open air van.

We were dropped at Sapphire Beach and we rented 2 chairs, but no umbrella was needed because there was plenty of shade. The beach was nice, it wasn’t crowded, and it did have clean bathroom facilities. Someone from a surrounding resort came around a couple of times and asked if we wanted anything to eat or drink but we didn’t order anything. I brought snacks and we carried large water bottles with ice in them to drink. They are currently building a restaurant on-site so that will be nice when it’s done.

We pretty much swam and snorkeled while we were there. We laid out and people watched and met the local iguana, Charley. There were ducks that would come up to you looking for food but they weren’t a bother. We stayed there about 3 hours, then had a taxi drop us off at the base for the sky lift to Paradise Point (taxi was the same cost to go back to town).

Beautiful views and a fabulous drink were found at the top of Paradise Point.

The ride to the top of the mountain was $21 pp (I could have bought tickets for $19 pp through Carnival but I wasn’t sure we would do the lift so I decided to wait and see). The ride up was nice and the scenes from the top were beautiful.

We did eat lunch at the restaurant at the top. I had a famous Bushwacker and it was good and I knew our food would be pricey…which it was, but we will probably never do that again so we figure we’d enjoy it while we were there. When we were done, we went back down the mountain and had plenty of time to do some t-shirt shopping and walk back to the port (about a 10 to 15 minute walk).

Barbados:

We chose to go to the Boatyard. We got off the ship and went to the taxi area. Again, you are grouped with like passengers and are placed in a large taxi/van (cost was $5 pp).

When we checked into the Boatyard (uuuggghhh…I can’t remember the cost but it’s very reasonable), they tell you about all of the facilities, you are given a wrist band which has a tab at the end for your free drink, and they also tell you that your trip back to the ship is included and that returning taxis’ begin going back at noon.

Our entrance included loungers and an umbrella as well as the inflatable water toys and swing rope. We were lead to our seats and this began an afternoon on the most beautiful sand I have ever put my tootsies in. Oh my lord!! It was like walking on powdered sugar. It was so soft. The water was crystal clear and the most beautiful water I’ve swam in since 7 mile beach on Grand Cayman.

Now, the down side…you will be asked a hundred and a half times if you want to swim with the turtles. Usually a simple no was all it took but you had to say no to about 15 different people wanting to take you on a tour. I hear the tours are great but my children have a fear of swimming in the ocean when they can't touch the bottom.

There was also a man with handmade bird feeders made from coconuts (which were pretty cool), a lady selling garments, and a man carrying around a briefcase that he had opened to show his jewelry. After a while, they understood that you weren’t interested and it didn’t deter us from having an awesomely, amazing day. After about 4 hours, we took our free taxi back to the dock and shopped for more t-shirts before returning to the ship.

Doing this cruise in Nov. Interested in your comments about the taxis at the ports.

St. Lucia: We chose to tour with Cosol Tours. This tour does not disappoint. It is action packed and a full day of culture, food, and adventure. I would highly recommend this to anyone (we even had someone who had two knee surgeries and another who had trouble walking and they both did great).

When you get off the ship, you will see someone holding a sign for Cosol Tours. They put everyone in an area until all the other guests have arrived. Once they have everyone, you are broken into smaller groups. We had a group of 9 and Bumpy was our driver. Our van could have held 12 so it wasn’t quite full.

We first drove to a banana farm where we were given a sampling of the local bananas…they are delicious. We also got to see a local working the banana fields with a machete.

Bumpy explaining the banana growing process

A local working his family's banana farm

We drove through different villages included a fishing village, and went by Marigot Bay where the movie Dr. Doolittle was filmed. We then went to a place where a friend/family member of Cosol had prepared a delicious breakfast. We tried lots of local dishes such as fish cakes, johnny cakes, coconut and banana cake, and the pineapple was to die for. We were able to use the restrooms at this stop and they were clean.

We moved onto Soufriere where we had an overlook of the Pitons.

Pitons

We went to the mud baths but did not participate (I guess I’ll age at my own pace instead of shedding years off with the most awful smelling mud) and saw the volcano. We drove to Toraille Waterfall and enjoyed the refreshing water.

We then took the best speed boat ride ever to Sugar Beach (formerly Jalousie Beach).

The speed boat ride was AWESOME!!

Our view of Sugar Beach

Lane and I were able to grab a couple of loungers but they both had seen better days, and Jack swam the whole time with one of his Circle C friends.

Now, here is where the locals hang out. And, the locals like their weed. You could be asked to purchase but you can certainly smell it. This particular day was a national holiday (we were never told what the holiday was) but most things were closed and the locals are encouraged to hang out with family and that usually means going to the beach. So, I can’t say this is how it is all the time, but it was our encounter.

The locals were very friendly and never pushy. I actually found this beach to be very nice although a little rocky. We took the speed boat back over to meet up with Bumpy.

Our ride back to town included a stop for fresh bread and cheese. Wowser!! It was fantastic. The entire tour includes drinks in the price (water, beer, soda, and homemade rum punch). I chose the sampler package and had some of everything. They actually pushed for you to take extra beer and water with you to the beach so you would have something refreshing to drink while you swam and Bumpy allowed me to be the official holder of his bottle opener for everyone to use while we were away from him…although, I think it’s because he gave me the most bottles of beer to take. Bumpy wanted to make sure that we had plenty of time to take pictures at the stops. He even took our camera a couple of times and took our picture. He did make sure the person in our group with mobility issues was able to do things before attempting them and he was very versed in the history of his island.

The tour ended back at the ship and it was a fun packed full day. We did not shop at this port but we would have had time. The cost was $75 pp/plus tip

Doing this cruise in Nov. Interested in your comments about the taxis at the ports.

Because I had read so many reviews on Cruise Critic about these ports, I can say that I wasn't as nervous about the taxi part. I did make sure the price was given to me before agreeing to get in so there would be no issues with that. I thought we would have waited longer at some of the ports for our taxi to fill up but that process was always quick.

Both Sapphire Beach in St. Thomas and the Boatyard in Barbados were the first stops to unload the various passengers and we were the only ones who go off at both of those beaches.

I also always asked if there would be any problem getting a taxi to take us back to the port and this was never an issue. All of our stops had plenty of taxis to take us back.

You will love this cruise!

Great review!! Looking forward to the rest of it. Getting so excited about my upcoming trip. :D:D:D

Following along - on the Liberty with this itinerary next month!

Great review! You got on just as we were getting off. Thanks for taking the time to do such a great review! I'm doing one now too and they are so time consuming!

Great review!! Looking forward to the rest of it. Getting so excited about my upcoming trip. :D:D:D

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy your trip!

Following along - on the Liberty with this itinerary next month!

You will love it! Best itinerary out there. Have a great trip!

Great review! You got on just as we were getting off. Thanks for taking the time to do such a great review! I'm doing one now too and they are so time consuming!

I'm reading along on your review!! It's great and much more detailed than mine. I had lots of photos but just selected a few because it is time consuming.

St. Kitts:

We chose to tour with Thenford Grey. Again, I would highly recommend this tour to anyone. We got off the ship and met Mr. Grey’s daughter, who checked us in and then waited for others to arrive. We also met Mr. Grey’s eldest brother, who said he helps out when Mr. Grey has several bookings. However, after about 15 minutes of waiting, Mr. Grey led me and the kids and 2 other couples to his very nice passenger van. This van could seat about 24 individuals but there were only 7 of us on his tour. This made it very enjoyable.

Mr. Grey wears a head set so you can hear everything he says. You won’t find anyone else who knows St. Kitts better than he does. We learned so much history about the island and could ask any question and he would know the answer. There was a couple from Fiji in our group and Mr. Grey would even compare things between St. Kitts and Fiji. We drove through the different parts of the islands and stopped at the Botanical Gardens at Romney Manor which included the Caribelle Batik shop. Mr. Grey actually walks through the gardens with you and points out various native plants and trees.

Beautiful gardens

Batik factory

We were able to see how the different stages of the making of the fabric were done and had time to shop and take pictures. Lane purchased a scarf for $25 and it is beautiful. When we were done, Mr. Grey met us with cold bottles of water.

We next stopped at the Brimstone Hill Fortress and spent about an hour and a half learning the history of the fort and exploring the different parts of it as well as enjoying the breathtaking views.

View from atop the fort...it's quite a haul to the top

We stopped at Timothy Hill to see where the Caribbean and Atlantic meet and took a beach break at a local beach that had black sand.

Timothy Hill

One of the couples with us was actually staying on the island so while we were at the beach, Mr. Grey drove them back to their resort. The other couple wanted to return to the ship without swimming and he made arrangements for that as well.

So, it was just me and the kids on the way back. We talked about his bucket list item of seeing the Grand Old Opry and how he had been to Memphis to see the Lorraine hotel where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated. He is a great conversationalist. He dropped us back at the ship and we had plenty of time to shop for our required t-shirts. Cost of this tour was $48 pp plus tip and lasted about 4 hours.

St. Maarten: By the time this day rolled around, I was researched out. I really didn’t have anything planned so we decided to take a taxi to Maho Beach.

When you get off the ship, you walk a little bit until you get to the taxi stands. There are signs for each beach/location that the taxis go. You stand at the sign of where you are interested in going and they group you with like passengers. However, no one was going to Maho so we road in a Suburban taxi by ourselves that cost $9 pp plus tip/one way. The drive to Maho is quite a trek so I thought the cost was about right. They drop you at Sunset Bar and Grill and we walked in and were greeted by someone who collects the money for the loungers. We rented 2 loungers and a straight back chair with an umbrella for $30. This beach is odd because of the rocks so the loungers are placed strategically around the boulders. Because you are close to your neighbor and there are lots of umbrellas for shade, it was hard to see the planes coming in unless you strained your neck or got up. We found the water to be very nice so we stayed there a big part of the day. This was by far the most entertaining beach we went to. I can’t describe how low those planes get. The exhaust from the engines literally knocked grown men down the hill and threw them into the ocean. And, they would get right back up and stand and wait for another one to come in.

We had a fabulous time and I would love to go back. We did eat at Sunset grill and the food was very good…a little pricey but that was to be expected.

We stayed about 3 hours and then took a taxi back…same price and had plenty of time to shop.