Fairgarth

Main attractions in town? None. Get out of town. I did the sting rays when I was on island for a couple of weeks. Entrance fee was $50. You also have to get there and it's on the opposite side of the island from the port. I really enjoyed it. You might find a taxi driver who would take you there, wait a couple of hours and bring you back. Trips to see the sting rays depart at specific times e.g. 11:00am and you should book in advance. You'll be back in two hours. Sting Ray City would be about 40 minutes from the port. The other big non-beach attraction in Antigua is Nelson's Dockyard - a UNESCO site. You can look it up. Again, a cab ride since it is on the south coast.

Is it possible & safe to walk to Fort James Beach from the pier? Thanks!

I know Antigua really well. It's possible but don't try. You'll get lost. The roads are narrow and have no sidewalks so it's not that safe. The locals are friendly, that's not the issue.

The badmouthing of Air Canada comes from Canadians. It's almost a national religion to profess hatred of Air Canada. Full disclosure: I'm an AC frequent flier. I have also flown on many foreign airlines. Canadians don't know when they are well off. So read all the comments and make up your own mind but discount any from my fellow Canadians. Sad!

You'll be fine. In the last ten years, we have had three cruises that we booked and paid for and then had to cancel with less than a week to go. Family emergencies. I can't believe the bad luck fairy is picking on us only. Out of the thousands booked on these two crossings, Cunard will get its share and you'll be on your way. Good luck!

I recently booked a “back-to-back” pair of cruises on the QM2 in September/October 2019: a R/Trip transatlantic from NYC to Hamburg followed by another R/Trip NYC to Quebec. I found out after I’d booked that the National Symphony is “in residence” on the eastbound transatlantic, and that they have a passenger chorus!

 

I had no idea this was happening, and to say I’m thrilled would be an understatement.

 

I retired in 2003 from 32 years in high tech/IT to go to university to study music. I finished my undergrad degree with a triple major in conducting, composition, and vocal performance. Went on to get a M.Mus. In choral conducting and a M.A. in music history & literature with a heavy emphasis on women’s choirs. Sang and composed music for several choirs in the Seattle, WA area.

 

My voice hasn’t aged as gracefully as I’d like, but I can still manage a halfway decent alto line. The trip is almost two years away, so I still have some time to do some “reconditioning” work. I just have to think that this is one of those “meant to be” situations.

 

 

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Wow! I think that is fantastic! Well done. I retired after a career in accounting and IT, have never done a music degree but have wondered if I could/should. I really admire your determination and achievement. I sing tenor in a choir - only because they are short of tenors but a high G is out of range now - and play trumpet and trombone in local community bands so that's it for me. On an Azamara cruise I joined a passenger choir - the "High C's". That was fun. My wife has video from the front row. I'm sure you'll have a great cruise.

Depends on the type of cruise. For garden variety Caribbean and Bahamas cruises, I'd say they are losing popularity. However for unusual cruises, like repositioning/transatlantic, still very popular.

Actually, too popular. We just did Jewel from Rome to San Juan. M & M was huge. The two things you couldn't do were meet and mingle. Then they had a raffle and that took far too long while making it impossible to M & M. Waste of time in this case.