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Heellloooo??????? Favorite thing to do on the island?


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Hello Tink,

 

I'm monitoring this board because we will be going to Bonaire for the first time on the Sea Princess, with a 14 night cruise starting 1/28/06.

 

A lot of ships stop there, according to a site I found that shows ship arrivals. However, few of these ships seem to be the mainstream ships that sail with mainly U.S. passengers. I wonder why.

 

Bonaire is famous for it's scuba diving and I might do just that while I'm there, but it could get expensive. The Bonaire Marine Park, which includes all waters surrounding the island, as instituted a $25 permit fee to dive on the island. The permit is good to the end of the calendar year, but if you're on a cruise ship, you probably just shot your vacation time and won't get back anyway.

 

According to a scuba diving board that I monitor, there's been some crime problems as well, with several reports of rental cars and motel rooms being broken into. Lots of dive gear stolen, mostly the good stuff. The cheap stuff is left behind, so someone knows what they're doing. The authorities seem to be cracking down and hopefully it will make life easier for tourists.

 

I found it interesting that, in spite of having a cruise going to Bonaire, Princess does not currently offer any shore excursions on their web site.

 

I'll keeping monitoring this board to see if anyone has been there and can tell a little about the island.

 

Denny

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  • 2 weeks later...

10X,

 

I have no idea why this board gets no activity. I check it about once a week and never see any posts.

 

I been to Bonaire on a cruise a couple of years ago. Nice island. My husband wanted to do a tour so we got a taxi and saw one side of the island. The mountains of salt were interesting, and the salt along the shore line looked like ice ! We saw some pink flamingos close up.

 

There is a nice bar in town, it sort of sits on the water. We enjoyed a couple of beers there. There is a small shopping mall across from it. The shops do close for lunch.

 

The people on the ship that took a snorkel tour said it was the best. I may be going back this fall and will post if I do.

 

I think Princess will offer some tours, they just don't have them published yet.

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Hi Gizmo,

 

I just checked the site that shows which, and when cruise ships are arriving in Bonaire. Between now and the end of the year, only 2 mainstream (common everyday cruise lines sailing from the U.S.) lines, excluding Windjammer, call in Bonaire. The first ones won't call until November. In November and December, HAL will make 3 stops, and Princess will make 2. If you want to do luxury cruise lines, Silversea will also make 2 stops during that time.

 

I think the lack of stops is curious, and I wonder why the ships seem to avoid this port. The lack of stops is probably why so little is known about what's available on this island.

 

http://www.infobonaire.com/cruises.html

 

Denny

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Denny,

Thanks for posting the link.:) It was very informative. I can't believe how many snorkeling sites are available.

We are thinking of booking the 14 day Sea Princess cruise too. We will most likely book the one that leaves on 2-25-06. I haven't booked it yet. We are waiting for the price to come down some. There is still alot of availability on the 25th...so I'm sure the price will drop eventually. In the mean time I'm getting a head start on my research for all the ports.

If we do this cruise...I will definitely want to go snorkeling in Bonaire! :)

 

Thanks again

CaribbeanCrazy

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Denny - Found you here also! I was also curious as to why nothing is listed for Bonaire under shore excursions. Hmmm., guess we'll have to wait a bit longer to see what Princess offers. I can't imagine them stopping there but offering nothing for the passengers. Why stop if that's the case? We chose this 14 day cruise because it stops at places like Bonaire and Trinidad as opposed to the same old, same old islands.

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Hi Sandy,

 

We chose this cruise for the same reasons you did. My guess is that it's a good idea to either go snorkeling or diving in Bonaire. On scuba diving sites it's rated as one of the best. The neat thing is you can go right from shore, anywhere, including under the town pier, and have spectacular underwater sites. I don't like the idea that they charge scuba divers a $25 fee, but in compared to the cost of the cruise, it's not much, so I'll bite the bullet and go diving.

 

Denny

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We are booked on the March 25th, 2006 sailing of the Sea Princess.....we booked the trip two weeks ago while on the Sun Princess...and are looking forward to our first visit to this island.

 

..will probably book a snorkelling excursion.

 

marc

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10X:

I just came back from a week in Bonaire. I have been scuba diving for 20 years and I some some of the best underwater plant and fish life I have ever seen. I was there in 1995 and the underwater habitat is even more healthy today than 10 years ago. The marine park fee is $10, not 25 and believe me, to dive in Bonaire is worth it. I saw my first seahorse, five of them, and a giant green moray eel approximately 10 inches high and who knows how long. There are only slight underwater currents in Bonaire and chop at the surface only on the north end, toward Karpata.

There are many beautiful overlooks to be seen by car to the north of Krajelnic (spelling), the main town. Casablanca restaurant in the town where the cruise ships dock has excellent steak, but most restaurants serve their beef one degree rarer than what you order.

I have never experienced crime on Bonaire in the past, and we always hang our thousands of dollars of dive gear on pegs down by the pier where our dive boat departs. I highly recommend taking full advantage of the underwater sights on this island where everyone has always been nothing but friendly to me. By the way, my friend Willy Wanga plays Wednesday nights in a steel drum band at Plaza Resort Bonaire restaurant. Tell him Karla said hi. Unfortunately, the service is slow there.

Enjoy!!

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Karla,

 

Thanks for the info. Apparently you got in when the Marine Park Tag was cheaper. I copied this from the "Info Bonaire" web site. I wonder how they handle the orientation, etc. for cruise passengers, who will have a very limited time available to dive.

 

The Bonaire Marine Park

The fringing reef which surrounds Bonaire is a National Marine Park from the high water mark down to a depth of 200 feet/ 60m. Every diver who has not dived on Bonaire within the last calendar year must attend a diver orientation dealing with Bonaire Marine Park regulations and information. These orientation sessions are usually held at around 9AM the morning after you arrive on Bonaire, and you are required to attend and to obtain your Marine Park tag, which is necessary to legally dive in Bonaire's waters. The cost of the tag is US$25, and proceeds help support park management and services.

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  • 1 month later...

Thank you for the information on Bonaire tours, we wondered why Princess didn't have any. We also will be on Sea Princess Dec. 3rd 2005 cruise. Looking forward to seeing something new.

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  • 1 month later...

My wife and I will also be on the 1/28/2006 sailing of the Sea Princess. She was our favorite ship before going over to P & O. We have no idea what they have done to her. The Princess excursion site only lists excursions for regular popular stops or those which are in close proximity to the date of sailing. The 12 day Sea Princess cruises are just too far out to be listed since Princess does not regularly call at Bonaire. They probably do not have all of their contracts in order yet.

 

The reason Princess (and I suspect the other big lines) do not regularly call at Bonaire is simply that it is too far South. It competes with Aruba and Curacao as a stop on the Southern Caribbean itinerary. Up to now either Aruba or Curacao won out due to operations already being established there. The additional time of a twelve day cruise, and the desire to establish different ports, has led to Bonaire finding its way onto more itineraries.

 

Of course, you have been talking about scuba diving when mentioning the $25.00 cost/tax. The cost/tax is only $10.00 for snorkeling. Now I just have to figure out what I am going to do during the stop!

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  • 1 month later...

Hey all! I traveled to Bonaire in May and stayed at Capt Don's. It was my first dive trip, and I learned a lot. Easy shore dives are for me. Big shout out to MOOGIE with a voice of velvet who sings/drums at Capt Don's twice a week, and elsewhere other nights!

 

Towards the end of the week, we rented Harley's from Orlando (great guy!) at BMS to explore the island. Because my husband decided to do a boat dive, I ended up on Soroban Beach on Lac Bay very early one morning all by myself. This is where the windsurfing occurs. I probably walked out in crystal clear water, four feet deep for more than 100 feet. I just sat in the water and sang. Absolutely wonderful experience! It was probably so much fun because I was alone for a couple of hours. And the food was tasty too. Actually it was fun watching the locals, especially the children/teens preparing for the windsurfing competition. I really enjoyed the people. I didn't see desperate poverty on this island. I may try to learn to windsurf when we return next week.

 

And of course - I dove the Hooker (Hilma Hooker, that is)! It was my first wreck, and my deepest dive. Huge confidence booster!

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For those of you who are going to Bonaire on the Sea Princess (March 25/06 sailing for us), Princess now has Bonaire excursions listed on their website...not a huge list...but none-the-less, a list.

 

Marc

 

Join our "Roll Call"

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I was staying Bonaire several years ago and other than diving there was not much there. There are afew Chinese/Indonesian rest w/cheap but good food. Also on the waterfront is the famous Mona Lisa bar that has the original and claims the fake is in the Louvre. Not much shopping and prices not as good as duty free islands. Try swimming at Flamingo Resort. Most of these are walking from the pier.

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  • 3 months later...

We spent a week on Bonaire and spent two full days at Jibe City where my 13 year old got the hang of windsurfing and I alternated between lying on the beach and in a big old Mexican hammock. It's about a 15 minute drive from the dock but a group might get a taxi to save $. The bay is amazing--only hip deep, warm water, and the instruction is excellent. And, oh, those hammocks (along with a full bar and good food). A great way to spend a day.

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  • 7 months later...

We do our get away from the world each year in Bonaire. We spend two weeks here each year since 1990. Diving and snorkeling is the best in the world. Lac bay has wind surfing. If you are adventurous book a dive with Larry on the wild side, Which is wild!!! This is a laid back Island. Nice palces to eat are the City Cafe, Salsa(which is new) Richards' best food in town(who migrated from Boston 18-20 Yrs ago) Karls bar for late night, and It rains Fishes. Rent a car go to Pink beach which is south. See the salt mounds theat look like mountains of snow. catch a glimps of the flamingos @ the washington park. Not alot to do but that is the beauty of it in this rat race world.

 

Bob;)

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We have been about a dozen times in the last 20 years. Great shore diving, so NO problem for cruisers. We like the shore dive at Cap't Dons Habitat, they charge $5. for the use of the shore facilities. A taxi would be around $8.or $10.us, Tell them to take you to the dive shop-it's a little shorter walk if you're carrying a lot of stuff. Equipment is available there and many other places. We like this shore dive over the other resorts, ymmv.

 

One could also rent a car and go shore diving north or south of the cruise ship. Leave nothing in the car or trunk. The sites are marked with yellow rocks. A book, Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy; is available.

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DiveCruiser,

 

Pink Beach ... is that a nice beach to swim and/or sunbath? Is it far from the Pier where Princess docks? Are there amenities near?

 

Thanks :)

 

Brig

 

The pink beach in a mile south. You would need a car to get there. There are no amenities at all except trash cans. Your best bet would be to go to the Divi Flamingo. They have a small beach which you can walk to, and great snorkeling.

 

 

Bob

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