jgnova

We were on Bonaire in March and will be returning this December. In March, we took Azamara's "Bonaire Highlights" tour, which included the lagoons, salt flats, and the slave huts. We'd like to see other sites to get a better appreciation of the island. Can anyone suggest destinations/tours we could explore?  Are these feasible for someone who can't do a lot of walking or handle bumpy rides? One catch is that we'll be there on 26 December and we guess that may limit our options.

Thank you,

Jonathan

We visited Aruba in March and will return this December, In March, we took the Azamara "Best of Aruba" tour, which included the Aloe factory, the Casibari Rock Formations, the California Lighthouse, and the natural bridge. We're looking for something new to see on this trip. Can anyone suggest a tour or some destinations that would add to our understanding of the island? Looking at the various guides, the Ayo Rock Formations, Arikok National Park, and the Natural Pool look interesting. Are there tours we could book that include those? Are these feasible for someone who can't do a lot of walking or handle bumpy rides? One catch is that we'll be there on 24 December and we guess that may limit our options.

Thanks for any help.

Jonathan

Hi,

We were on the Journey for the March 25 sailing from Miami to New York via Cuba, ABCs, etc. This was our first sailing on Azamara and we loved it - working on a review and I'll post that link when it's published. I wanted to pass on a few things while that's in progress:

1. The coffee table has a lever under it (see photo) that allows you to change the height - from level with the sofa (traditional coffee table height) to high enough to sit with your knees under it (for room service).

2. The lamps by the bed have a USB socket on the bottom that you can use for charging things.

3. The AC receptacle at the desk is slightly recessed, which prevents the use of some of the power strips some people take.

4. I've posted our photos at https://www.flickr.com/photos/snjnova/collections/72157690907481133/ - this includes not only photos of the port stops, our cabin, food, and the ship, but also scans of the daily schedules and most of the Discoveries menus.

jg

Just a quick note. One evening as we were waiting to enter the main dining room on our recent Journey cruise (just disembarked yesterday), we saw one man turned away. He was wearing shorts. Long shorts, but not formal Bermuda shorts with other appropriate accessories. I don't know whether he would have been allowed in if they had been Bermuda shorts with appropriate socks and shirt and so forth. (I am thinking also of formal nights on other ships when a few of the Scots were wearing kilts with the right socks, jacket, etc. -- they looked grand. Almost as grand as DH in his tux, but I digress..... **smile**)

Susan

Just as an update, the teabags I've seen are both Bigelow and Twinings.

Jonathan will post later some photos. The "coffee table" in the cabin can be raised or lowered!

Susan

On 2/28/2019 at 5:35 PM, marinaro44 said:

It's not a dress code.  Dress is casual.  Always.  No reason to take a jacket or tie unless YOU want to wear same.  Relax and enjoy.

I've usually worn tropical shirts to dinner on =X= and RCI on non-formal nights. Will I feel out of place doing that on Azamara?

Thanks, Host Grandma Cruising. So I probably will take at least a few of my preferred teas (with and without caffeine), but I'm usually ok with Twinings varieties.

Lois R, yes, we're fine. And yes, this is the March 25 cruise that starts in Miami and ends in NYC. It'll be our first time on Azamara. Wish we could stay on for the next one but it looks as if you'll have to do that for us.

Susan

All these posts (yes, read all 14 pages) are really interesting and helpful! We're boarding on March 25th in Miami. Prior experience mostly Celebrity and Royal.

Can someone tell me what kind(s) of tea(s) they usually have on Journey? I usually carry teabags, but if I can omit that (and a lot of other things) from my usual packing list, it might be possible to get things down to one suitcase. Hmmm.

Susan

Not much else nearby the poet. Vigie Beach, if you wanted strictly a beach day.

Otherwise , Pigeon Island is lively - fort, ruins, hikes, beach, restaurants. Lovely spot..

Cab is $35 one way, readily available at both the port and right outside PI Park. About 30-45 minute drive, leave plenty of time for return as there's only one road. Park entrance is $8USD pp.

Some tour companies offer a PI day which includes transport, entrance fee, chair, drinks, etc. Serenity TVL, Real St Lucia Experience, Barefoot Holidays, GemXursions , etc.

Thanks - will check out those tour companies.

Jonathan

We'll be in St. Lucia on Grandeur of the Seas in December, our third visit to the island. We walked around town to see the Cathedral and Derek Walcott Square on our first visit, and took the island tour with Cosol on our second. So now we're looking for something to do on this visit. Are there any historical sites / forts close enough for a visit? Otherwise, we were looking at Pigeon Island. How can we get there - and back reliably? Are there changing facilities / restrooms / food / chairs / umbrellas?

Thank you

The solarium roof opened in March, but only the panel towards the elevators. I think the other panel is blocked by the work area for the scrubbers.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

A few postings here asked for menus and photos. I have uploaded scans of Cruise Compass, teen & kids activities schedules, ship photos, cabin photos, and photos of menus from three sailings (January 2015, November 2016, and March 2017 here.

jg

It makes zero difference how many ships are in port on a given day.

It affects my choice on places to go, especially on repeat port visits. If it's a new port and we want to tour the place, then we'd just book a tour knowing they can fit only so many in the van. But if it's a repeat visit, I might choose a less popular beach if the port is jammed, conversely, if we're the only ship in port, I might deliberately pick the popular beach knowing it won't be that crowded.

Cruise mapper and Sea Scanner seem OK, although the second doesn't have all lines.

Caribana in town should also have Stanger's(?) Rum Cream. There's a fairly new VI rum, Botany Bay, that has a rum cream. Haven't tried.

Thanks - I figured someplace in town would have it, but was trying to avoid the extra trip. But I hadn't heard of Botany Bay before - and it looks like Penha Duty Free at Crown Bay is listed as selling Botany Bay - so I'll call them to see if they stock the rum cream. Their corporate office never replied to my email.

In my view, Crown Bay has become a ghost town (we were there in November). So you'll likely need to go downtown or to Havensight.

That's disappointing. It was that way when we docked there on Caribbean Princess in 2008 and I was hoping that with RCI's contract putting all of their lines there it would have improved a bit. Oh well.

Jgnova, Pueblo has coquito. You might want to try it. I like it better than rum cream, though I haven't had the brand Pueblo is selling.

Thanks - that's probably sweeter than I like, which was my problem with the Rumchata I tried. I emailed Pueblo and they haven't replied. So I'll probably check out the shops at Crown Bay and then taxi into town to Dazzling Dynasty to order and have it delivered to the ship - and then go on to the beach for the day. And I'll check out whoever is on the dock in St. Martin while we're there as well, since the customs/immigration people have never actually asked to see any receipts proving USVI purchase when I've told them what we have.

There are 2 grocery stores within walking distance of Crown Bay - Gourmet Gallery and Pueblo. Both sell liquor and may have what you're looking for.

I checked with Gourmet Gallery last week and they don't stock it. Will ask Pueblo if I can find them on the net. Thanks.

I thought about St. Maarten (last stop on cruise) but the US regs allow 4 bottles/person on purchases in the US VI, but only two bottles per person on purchases elsewhere in the Caribbean. So I'd rather buy in St. Thomas to get the extra allowance.

 

Actually, you get 6 liters if one is produced in the USVI (Captain Morgan or Cruzan). Buy USVI!!:D

I thought it was five liters if one was made in the USVI? And I'd be happy to buy Cruzan - did so for years until two years ago when they stopped making Rum Cream. That's what makes this so annoying - because the stores all had Cruzan Rum Cream but very few, including whoever took over the AH Riise at Havensight, carry the Jamaican.

There is a fairly well stocked AH Riis liquor store branch at Crown Bay.

Don't know if they carry what you need, but you can certainly check.

 

If not, the open air taxi runs into Charlotte Amalie regularly, where you can find more options.

 

Are you going to St Maarten? I always found better prices on everything, including liquor there.

AH Riise at Havensight did not have it last time I was there (1/15). I thought about St. Maarten (last stop on cruise) but the US regs allow 4 bottles/person on purchases in the US VI, but only two bottles per person on purchases elsewhere in the Caribbean. So I'd rather buy in St. Thomas to get the extra allowance.

It would be nice if it was available in the US, but I guess there's no demand.

We'll be docked in Crown Bay in March - our first time there since 2008 when it was a ghost town. My major buying treat in St. Thomas is Jamaican Rum Cream and I bought it on our last cruise there at Dynasty Dazzlers in Havensight. Now we'll be in Crown Bay and I can't find a listing of stores there to contact the liquor stores. So I'm trying to find out (1) if there's a liquor store at Crown Bay that carries Jamaican Rum Cream or (2) how I can buy it from a place in town or Havensight and have it delivered to Crown Bay. And who is likely to stock Rum Cream. (It used to be easy when Cruzan made it because everyone had it. But Cruzan discontinued that product in favor of something with rice milk and it's harder to find the Jamaican stuff.)

Thanks

Has anyone taken the Bahamas Ocean Snorkel from the Bahamas Tour Center? We're thinking of trying that but I'm concerned about staying out of the sun on the boat and on their island. Besides being concerned about excess sun, I'm also trying to keep whatever hearing I have left in my 60's and was wondering about the noise level on the boat. I've heard too many tour boats in port where they sound too loud from our balcony.

Thanks

We bought two open bookings the first of March 2014 and used one last year. We're thinking of booking something for next year but some family health issues may force a change. So two questions:

1. If the booking has only one name on it (not sure why as I gave them both names), do we have to pay a full deposit for the second person?

2. Given the chance we may need to cancel, do we lose everything or can we put the booking back as open to rebook later?

Trying to figure all of this out. Trip insurance to cover pre-existing conditions requires that you buy it within a day or two of the initial deposit and is based on the amount paid, even if it is refundable. So if we book at regular price (ignoring the open booking) we have pay for insurance (not refundable) based on the higher deposit, even though it's fully refundable. And if we use the open booking, the deposit is much lower, resulting in much lower insurance, but then we'd be out that amount plus the advance booking cost?

Very confusing.

Thanks for any light anyone can shed.

j

No matter where you stay, you're going to wind up taking a taxi to the port. The Sheraton is somewhat isolated but was a nice place. Good food and bar by the pool - and nice breakfast place. But if you want to run around, I'd stay near Old San Juan.

j

I'm looking at Baltimore sailings for winter 2016 and they are only showing out to October 2016. Am I missing something?

And searching for Grandeur gets the same - are they getting rid of her and pulling out of Baltimore?