jean87510

some of the photos look like the boat is fairly crowded. Did it feel like you were crammed in? Or were you able to move from sitting up front to the back if you wanted (once stopped of course!).

not really because you have your bag, snorkel stuff...etc... and you have to switch places with others willing to do so. I suppose if you know everyone on the boat it is ok. On ours we had a family who drank all of the soda and my kids and well quite frankly the front of the boat got one can each. We were told to ask but it's hard to move about when the boat is speeding along. So if you do plan to go, sit in the back and share/offer :D

Thank you. We are looking at a boat tour to the Pitons and Marigot Bay. Any opinions? Will we see the beauty of the island?

Pitons are in st lucia and I believe Marigot Bay is also.

Why not find some of the tour operators that have an itiniery that you like and email them your concerns? They may be able to help calm your fears and your husbands regarding missing the ship with a private excursion. Or check out the FAQs on the websites. I like personally Blue Safaris because they have the Anquilla day trip option. I know Soualiga for one has a lot of boats and prides themselves on never missing the ship. I am sure Captain Alan has the same promise. A 6pm departure is easily doable. Most of these tours end at 4pm anyway and the dock for Soualiga and for blue safari is walking distance from the ship (Bobby's Marina)

thanks for the update. Just booked on the 4/2/2018 sailing. Going back to Curacao which I loved. :D And I laughed too at St Maarten being "exotic". Fun and good times but def not exotic.

I have just noticed that you have your location as nj. If that means you are from North America, then you will be used to driving on the right with a left hand drive vehicle. Our thoughts on driving is that we are not used to that, so if you would feel confident with hairpin bends, or want to go off to the south, then driving may be more practical than it would be for us. Hiring a car for a week and getting used to it before heading off on difficult roads is quite different to just hiring it for a day from a cruise ship from our point of view. Though in some quieter locations have hired a car and enjoyed it.

 

Getting a slot for the caldera national park may be an issue though if you are on a large ship, which is what you appear to travel on normally. When there we have been on a land holiday or a much smaller ship. The largest ships we travel on have a max of about 800 passengers in total and a some have a max of much less than that.

 

 

 

La Palma is a lovely island though, so I am sure you will enjoy whatever you decide to do.

 

Happy Holiday.

Thank you for that info. We will be using the bus this time to go to the visitor's center, choose a short trek in the park, take bus to Los Canjacos for a while, then either walk, bus or taxi up to the port. We are pretty athletic and 2 miles is not a big deal for us from Los Canjacos to the ship if we have to. We will be renting a car for our trip in November 2017 where we will arrive earlier (7am) as opposed to 11am in April and will try to get to the north portion of island or the extreme south.

Ty for the information. This was exactly what I was looking for.

I have doing a lot of research for this port and have decided to either rent a car or take a bus if possible to visitor center of caldera. Has anyone done either or both and how did you do it. Our ship arrives on a Saturday at 11 am and every tour operator that has responded to me has stated their tours start earlier, or I have to arrange a transportation to the south...etc.. my husband and I decided to just go on our own rather than deal with the headache. If anyone can recommend either, it would be great

i actually have a question pertaining to this. how soon do you get your cabin assignment if it's guaranteed?

White rice isn't low carb, but maybe you meant sashimi.

of course. i forget that not everyone on cruise critic knows i try not to eat white rice or a lot of carbs. 😎

i cant wait. will start on the summit when i cruise. low carbs and good source of protein.

good to know. i do have a dongle. ty for feedback.

that's interesting that it doesn't sync. i just got one and love it. if you have the ship wifi package, wouldn't it sync?

this is why cell phones are useful on a cruise. Taking pictures of unruly children. And of adults...😎 Seriously though, it's 2016 and if you want to make a point with guest services, cruise police or whomever regarding anything that's bothering you, snap a picture and take a movie.

make sure if you do the bus to note that it says "bus".

we will be in tenerife on a sunday april 30 from 8a to 9p and I'm having a lot of difficulty finding anyone to take us to teide. is it a difficult drive? potholes, sharp turns, no guard rails? is it easy to get an automatic for a car rental? I can drive manual but I'd rather my husband drive. thx for any input.

treadmills are great for the 10,000 steps. Also avoiding elevators and taking the steps is a good workout. Of course going down is much easier and a great way to get the steps in. :D All joking aside, I was able to get my 10000 steps in on the summit very easily with the treadmill in the am before breakfast and throughout the day.

i guess they want to go to church?

no popcorn on my april cruise. And I was up there a lot at night. The movies were a welcome alternative to the shows.

we did in april with celebrity self explore st john and liked the convenience of just walking to ferry at cruise port. just make sure you have money for taxis in st john. we are going back in October doing the same thing.

there was an outside elevator in april for rooftop.

thank you for a great review. I really like your review about the train to naples and pompeii as we are doing a similar journey to this next year when we do the transatlantic from san juan to italy and are staying in italy/rome for 2 1/2 days. One of those days we plan to take train to naples then to pompeii and after reading your review, it gave me encouragement to do it.

i started calling her captain Confucius. 😆

booked choice air may 2017 rome to philly $378 2 days post cruise.

i know we were on a main road around airport and bridge. and did that circle area around maho.

Was this on your first visit to the island? Also did Trisport know where you were planning to ride to on that day with your 11 and 13 year old? I am very happy that you all made it safely through the day and even happier that you do not recommend this to others. :)

Yes it was. We had a map from trisports but who can read a map while riding a bike. A GPS would really have worked and in some other countries this is offered, but I don't remember if it was at the time at trisports. They did know we were riding to maho and mullet from simpson bay. Regardless of that, it was a foolish decision on our part. We are so used to bike riding in the US; we don't take into account the hot weather, sandy clothes, and unbelievable traffic and a lot of potholes on the side of the road. I do know their tours will take you around these areas and to some nice locations on the island which is why I strongly recommend a guide especially if it is your first time with kids. I do think 2 adults could do it with a GPS or mapmyride.