AntiHamstr

:D I have read that is the beach is crowded.rocky with murky water and dominated by the private hotel,on the other hand,I have read it is spectacular with great snorkling and ample space.

 

The biggest appeal of Jalousie Beach is the view: anything else is an added bonus. Depending on the weather, the snorkeling there can vary from average to pretty darn good. It would have been even better if they hadn't imported a ton of fine white sand for the hotel guests which can limit visibility either a little or quite a bit.

 

 

It's definitely not the best on the island. If snorkeling is your highest priority take a boat snorkeling trip where they will try to find the best spot on that particular day.

 

 

Dennis

Renaissance and Howard Johnson are both a VERY short walk from the pier area. I would definitely look into this option.

 

 

 

There are actually two piers in Curacao: the MEGA-PIER and the smaller one next to the floating bridge. The Renaissance and Howard Johnson are walkable from both, but it's a longer walk from the MEGA-PIER.

 

 

Carefully check the hours the rental offices are open. I paid a little bit extra to pick up at the MEGA-PIER because their hours were a little better and we wanted an early start. The Avis website says the “location hours” are “Only when there are cruise ships moored”, but in reality we had to wait until 8am for them to show up. She told us they leave at 5pm, but left instructions on how to do an after hour drop off. The lot is within the secured port facility, so I felt much better leaving the car there (after dark) than someplace else.

 

 

See some of the other threads. The drivers in Curacao are slightly nuts. I would rate them worse than Washington DC drivers but better than NJ ones. I wouldn't recommend renting to people who are timid drivers or aren't used to city driving.

 

 

Dennis

[quote name='mitsugirly']When we went no, I think we seen maybe 2 and I believe one of them was dead and just floating with the waves. It was not the harmful jelly fish with the long tentacles.

[/quote]


FWIW, a dead jellyfish can and will sting you. Even one that got chopped up by a propeller or washed up on the beach can sting.


If you can't identify the species, it's best to just avoid them. Some are harmless, some are annoyances, and a few can kill you.


I don't think I've seen a single jellyfish near STT. YMMV.

Lautoka is a cargo dock. The main “city” shopping area is maybe a 10-15 minute walk away. When we visited in March, the store Jack's of Fiji had free shuttles from the dock to (you guessed it) the corner right in front of their store and back. IMHO, you could only occupy yourself for an hour or two at most in Lautoka. Take a boat tour to one of the outlying islands, or go farther inland, and save the city for the end of the day.

 

 

Noumea is a fairly common port of call. Do a search for “Noumea” in this board and in the Aussie one and you should find lots of information. Some people like to go to the small islands. Others take the Petit Train, or there is a hop on/hop off type bus that runs a loop through the city. IIRC, while there are a few things to see withing walking distance of the port, a lot of the other sites are spread pretty far out.

 

 

Dennis

The $2 “dollar bus” is always a big argument. Just do a search for “bus” and you will find many many threads with reasons both for and against trying to use it. For example...


Con:
[URL]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1552492&highlight=bus[/URL]


Pro:
[URL]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1532184&highlight=bus[/URL]


I'm firmly in the “pro” group, but even I'll admit it's not for most cruisers, and you shouldn't even think about trying to use it unless you have done a LOT of research first.

I agree with blue_water... You should budget enough to pay the full published rate, per person, each way, but you MIGHT get a driver who will charge you slightly less depending on the size of your kids.


It is possible to TRY to negotiate with taxi drivers, but it has to be to their advantage too. If you walk outside of the immediate port area, a driver in one of the “smaller” van taxis (vs the HUGE open air safaris) MAY try to convince you to go with him, and you have a shot of negotiating a deal for an out and back trip if he thinks two guaranteed trips at a reduced rate is more than he will make waiting around for other fares.


On the other hand if it's a busy day your chances of getting a deal are pretty low, so it might not be worth the time spent haggling, especially with three kids in tow.


Whatever you do, make sure he/she is a licensed taxi driver in an official taxi, and not an unlicensed “gypsy” taxi.


Dennis

[quote name='woohoo1971']alot of coral?[/quote]

The beach is nice and sandy, so water shoes aren't required but are nice to have since you can never tell what is really in the sand (e.g. something sharp, or jellyfish bits).


There are two separate sections of live coral on either end of the beach. Please don't walk on them, even with water shoes. It's kills the coral and water shoes don't really offer you that much protection. If you can't see what you are standing on, than don't stand on it!


The good news is that between the two coral sections is a mostly sandy section where you can just wade in.


Dennis

To the original poster...

I have a question..

 

we can't decide where my boyfriend should scuba dive on our upcoming trip, I was first thinking St. Thomas but now I'm thinking St. Martin may be better and we can spend the day at Sapphire.

 

If we want to check out the shops closer to port also(since we missed them last time), should we plan to do that in the afternoon?

 

How long of a cab ride is it from the Havensight pier to Sapphire?

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

First question. How experienced is your boyfriend?

 

 

At Coki Beach on St. Thomas he can do a single tank shore dive while you enjoy the beach. It's not the best diving, but it's a good refresher/warm up dive for the rest of the cruise. There is a dive shop at Sapphire too but I keep forgetting to ask if they do shore dives there or if they only do boat dives.

 

Look/ask in the SCUBA and Snorkeling forum about St Thomas vs St Martin diving. You will get 20 different answers, and YMMV, but IMHO on average the diving in St Thomas is better.

 

 

Strike two for St Martin is that it's on your last day of the cruise. What time is your flight home the next day? You should wait at least 24 hours after diving before flying: some people need more time than that.

 

 

If you REALLY love your BF, let him do the shore dive on St. Thomas AND let him do another dive at St. Lucia and/or Barbados.

 

 

 

 

Dennis

My wife could not find one before we left for on our trip and we saw no evidence of any when we were at the Princess terminal. In fact, there does not appear to be any car rental shuttles that pick up at the Pan Am pier either.

 

Charlie's Rental Car has a shuttle to/from their Condado office.

We are thinking of doing a snorkel tour near the Pitons with Mystic Man? Anyone ever used his tours? Would love some feedback here. Thanks!

 

 

They are more then willing to pick you up at the cruise dock so don't even bother driving to Soufriere. Just email them and tell them what you are interested in doing. If you have a small group the prices are reasonable, and they are pretty flexible.

 

 

Dennis