DougYWG

Go ahead, he'll be fine. The water is only up to his waist. It's a great excursion and I really enjoyed it. The guides are good, they feed the stingrays and you can try it yourself. They have names for each one. F-in-L should be able to haul himself up the ladder out of the water and back onto the dock. I would like to think I can still do it when I'm 95.

To OP: dead easy. It's probably not more than a quarter of a mile from the main road. In fact, if you chat up the bus driver you might get lucky and he'll go off route and drive you down there. (Nice tip?) Remember, the buses are actually minivans, the driver owns it, he's working for himself and there is no schedule.

No, it has been closed for quite a while.

I suppose technically Ft. James beach is closest to the port as the crow flies. However, if you have to go by road instead the distance is about the same and there's a bus route to Dickenson but not Ft. James. The service may not be very frequent outside of rush hour. Be aware, the busses are all minivans. At Dickenson, you have to get off either at the south end or north end of the huge Sandals resort. At the south end, walk down the hill, through the Antigua Village parking lot and you're on the beach. At the north end - probably preferable - walk down towards Sneaky Pete's, it's a shorter walk. And don't worry about Sandals, the entire beach is public property so go where you like. From the bus station to Dickenson Beach by car would be about ten minutes so the bus might take eleven.

Catherine's Cafe just recently opened up in a new location. I have had lunch many times at the old location. Guillaume and Claudine are still the owners. I have every reason to believe that this will still be one of the top spots in Antigua and can't wait to get back. It was mainly a lunch spot. Dinner was only once or twice a week. Don't know if that is still true.

The Tides is on Dutchman's Bay. It is less than three miles from the ship, as the crow flies. It is just to the north of the airport and you will be looking out at Long Island. Try Google maps for 'The Tides, Antigua' and it will come up as marker A correctly. (Google maps are often hopeless. Maintain large degree of doubt. Marker B claims to be English Harbour but might as well be on the other side of the moon.)

Hey jimbo, went for dinner to The Tides last night. It was excellent. It's a lovely location with a view out over the bay towards Long Island. There are patio tables which are the preferred seating as long as the wind is not howling (not very likely). Indoors looks really nice too. Service was friendly, smooth and attentive. Food was very good and prices were just a bit less than some of the top restaurants in this area. We immediately added this to our list of regular haunts. If you do come here for lunch, I can only hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

The rate is running around 2.7 to 1, EC to USD. So your sumptuous buffet would be $33. Watch how you pay. Many establishments in Antigua will process a credit card charge in USD so if you sign for $33 you would expect to pay Visa $33. Well, you do but VISA will slap on an extra 3% fee, even although there is no foreign exchange conversion. I refuse to use any card which gouges like this, charging for a service they never performed.

Deja vue, all over again.

Take a look at The Tides, on Dutchman's Bay near the airport. It's new and the locals tell me it's worth the trip. I hope to try it myself in the next couple of weeks. It's a 15-minute taxi ride from the ship. It does do a Sunday brunch from 11:00 to 3:00.

You got me interested. I looked it up on Trip Advisor - wow! Must try it myself, new one on me. Two minute walk from the ship, save the cab fare and upgrade your wine! Looks like a winner. Thanks.

No, sorry.

Yup, back to the beginning! How bad could it be? Maybe you can let us all know what it was like. It's just past La Bussola, see above.

Not quite. The airport is not too far, maybe fifteen minutes from the port. It is not on the way to Grand Pineapple. Grand Pineapple, however, is about as far away as you can get, on the east coast. Too far just for lunch.

You may be right, St. John's was awful quiet yesterday, a Sunday. Saturday was a zoo.

The big stadium in the middle of the island was finished some years ago, built by the Chinese. It is for cricket. They have also had concerts there.

It's unusual. La Bussola used to close on a Tuesday (Le Bistro was closed on a Monday. Makes sense.) Most of Antigua is actually open on Sundays.

Suggest you investigate Cecilia's or Catherine's Cafe. Cecilia is a retired Swedish model and is close to the airport on Dutchman's Bay and Catherine's Cafe is run by a French couple down by Nelson's Dockyard. It would be a longer taxi ride but the location is wonderful, as is the food.

Fraid so, closed Sundays.

Curses! La Bussola no longer does lunch. It's open for dinner except Sunday. They are installing a proper pizza oven and may consider opening for lunch in three or four weeks, they say.

Runaway and Dickenson are side by side so there's nothing in it. Go down the hill at the south side of Sandals, past Antigua Village and keep going till you reach La Bussola on your right. It is actually on the waterfront. Not sure about opening hours and their website does not show. I would like to know myself so will try and call. Prices for mains, speaking from memory, range from $25 to $44 or so.

Had dinner at Coconut Grove last week. Was O.K., not exceptional, but way overpriced for what you get. Have not had lunch there so can't comment. Pepperz n'Limes has a Mexican theme and would be somewhat similar to Tex-Mex chains in the U.S. Nice waterfront location. Close by for a superb lunch would be La Bussola. Easy walk from the ship downtown St. John's, is Hemingways, Caribbean theme. Look 'em all up on Trip Advisor.

I'm told that Lobster Shack is open again but can't comment.

Official Antigua government published rate for a taxi from St. John's would be USD 12 for either of them one way.

Lobster Shack was closed for a long time but I have heard it may be open again.

I have had dinner at Trade Winds. Frankly, I wouldn't choose either for lunch.

Sandals is about a mile from the ship. Take a taxi.

I'm booked on the Quest Dubai-Singapore (Dec 9th embarkation). I was told by my visa agency that a copy of one's birth certificate is req'd by the Indian Embassy (mine is "Report of Birth Abroad"...that's all...I'll report my progress!). In addition, I was told that 6 months must elapse b4 one can revisit India. In addition, I was told that (at least the Houston Consulate) the Indian Embasy(ies) is/are very behind...submit your apps ASAP!

All we had to do was download the app from the VF website, complete it, take it in with a photo and valid passport and pay almost a hundred bucks each. That's it. Others have reported being asked for driver's license, marriage certificate and, as above, birth certificate. Should be delivered to us via UPS from the Toronto office in two weeks, Inshalla.

A multiple entry tourist visa is good for six months from date of issue. However, there is a rule that there must be at least two months between entries. If the cruise calls at Mumbai then Cochin, it is one entry - you never left India.

Good luck with it. Only seven weeks till sailaway!

Thanks, Lair Bear. DW has focussed on St. Pete and I have been delegated to research other ports. We'll be in Tallinn in three weeks or so and your pdf is invaluable. Your time and effort in putting this together is much appreciated.

Literate, creative, erudite, observant and very funny. SailorJack, that was priceless!

On the old Royal Princess, they told us that each stabiliser cost them half a knot. On a trans-At trip, that equated to a whole lot of diesel, I forget how much. So because of the drag, they tried not to use the stabilisers any more than they had to.

The old QEII was built to shuttle back and forth across the pond in all weathers. In contrast, the new cruise ships are very wide, flat-bottomed tubs that do better to avoid the weather.

Interesting. Another question for any of the engineers or master mariners out there. Does the ship handling affect reliability? i.e. can you get ham-fisted deck officers who are hard on machinery?