Caribbean Cooks St Kitts

[vplsh]

Thanks, Diane. I have done a couple of cooking classes in Cozumel and loved them.

 

I am looking for something to do in the morning while dh scuba dives. I hope I hear back from Kiran soon.

 

Lisa

[Ms411]

Can you do this class in both morning and afternoon? I want to hike in the morning and cook in the afternoon.

[jilro]

that sounds great! i hope I hear from her soon so i can book it.

[25years2gether]

Can you do this class in both morning and afternoon? I want to hike in the morning and cook in the afternoon.

 

I'm not sure on this. You would have to ask Kiran. I do know that they require a minimum of 4 people to run this class and beginning it in the afternoon (if they did a morning one on that day too) may cut you close to getting you back to the ship on time. If you are active on the roll call for your cruise, perhaps you could see if others are interested in an afternoon class. D.

[25years2gether]

I wanted to share the link to my son's girlfriend's blog on our day in St. Kitts. Hopefully the pictures show up as well. Diane

 

 

http://jennifermolnar.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/caribbean-cooks-tour-fairview-great-house-and-botanical-garden-st-kitts/

[jilro]

that was wonderful! i sent a request for the culinary class and got an email back just for the tour. I hope I can get into the class. Thanks Judy

[jilro]

I would also love to go back! We did our cooking class at a private home and it was excellent.

[vplsh]

Thanks, Diane. Both the pictures and the blog are terrific.

 

 

I heard back from Kiran today. Unfortunately, I have to book through Celebrity. Since this is offered as a ship excursion, I cannot book through her directly. She sounded very nice.

 

Guess I just have to decide if I want to go through the ship.

[jilro]

when are you going to be in St Kitts? I am going to be there on the 17 Feb. She did get back to me and can book it for me, as Carnival does not offer the tour. She did say I need a min. of 4 people. So if anyone is interested let me know. It sounds wonderful!!

[25years2gether]

when are you going to be in St Kitts? I am going to be there on the 17 Feb. She did get back to me and can book it for me, as Carnival does not offer the tour. She did say I need a min. of 4 people. So if anyone is interested let me know. It sounds wonderful!!

 

Hopefully people from your roll call will join in. Why don't you also post it on the Celebrity Roll call? Even though they would have to book through their ship, they may not be aware that the tour even exists. Good luck. D.

[jilro]

Thanks, They can not take private reservations from Celebrity passengers, as Celebrity have to go thru the ship. I assume it is something they agreed upon with Celebrity. Do you think thou if I dont get to do the cooking class, is it worth to go see the house? Also did you ever go to Romney Manor. I am looking for something other than a beach and forts. Thanks Judy

[25years2gether]

Thanks, They can not take private reservations from Celebrity passengers, as Celebrity have to go thru the ship. I assume it is something they agreed upon with Celebrity. Do you think thou if I dont get to do the cooking class, is it worth to go see the house? Also did you ever go to Romney Manor. I am looking for something other than a beach and forts. Thanks Judy

 

How much is Celebrity charging for the cooking class/transportation? Romney manor had nice gardens, but that was all there was, other than the Caribelle Batik - which gave a demonstration of batiking and sold some 'batikked' (?) clothing/purses in their gift shop. It was nice, but you could see just as nice gardens at the Fairview Great House. If Celebrity is charging a comparable rate, I would do the cooking class through Celebrity. The Palms Court Gardens also looked nice. We passed by it on our way to the Fairview Great House. It was about a 20 minute walk from the ship and if you want to see some nice gardens but stay local, it was, I believe $10 for the day, including lounging at their pool. I'm going to go there next time I'm in St. Kitts.

[Ms411]

I'm not sailing until Nov 2012, and last I checked there wasn't a Roll Call yet.

 

I'll also be on Celebrity, but didn't check to see if this tour was offered. In fact, since I'm part of a "group" tour, I don't have a reservation number, so can't reserve tours yet.

 

If I don't get to do this tour, it won't spoil my cruise. I already know how to make jerked meat, and I've been drinking ginger iced tea for the last 2 weeks. I'm waiting to hear from a cooking class in San Juan and since I love their rice and beans, that might be a better option for me!

 

Thanks to everybody who posted.

[jilro]

what cooking class in San Juan?

[jilro]

Thanks, it does look nice, I may take a walk there. What else did you do?

[25years2gether]

Thanks, it does look nice, I may take a walk there. What else did you do?

 

I haven't actually been to Palms Court Gardens yet. I always comprise a list of things I would like to do at each port based on cruise critic and Trip Advisor recommendations. Then I narrow it down to create a balance of activities during the week. While on the islands, I make note of what I would like to do if I return to the island again. Palms Court Gardens made my list for next time. I figure it would be a casual, easy going day - just walking 20 minutes and relaxing in a peaceful atmosphere and perhaps taking a dip in their pool. I also like local culture and there is plenty of that at the open market stands along the way. As you can see by my signature, I'm not a seasoned cruiser by no means of the imagination --- yet. I would say that I have caught the bug in a big way and love researching almost as much I love the actual vacation.:D

[hungbig]

Hello 25years2gether, been reading your CC messages and enjoying them, we are going on our 1st cruise this fall for our 25th ann, our question is have you two booked in niagara falls since the flight company screwed up last time? We will be cruising out of Miami and were thinking about driving and then seen you message about cheap flight just over the boarder.We live the opposite way of you, were about 45 mins south of Hamilton on lake erie.

Thanks for the help

Martin and Merianne

 

I haven't actually been to Palms Court Gardens yet. I always comprise a list of things I would like to do at each port based on cruise critic and Trip Advisor recommendations. Then I narrow it down to create a balance of activities during the week. While on the islands, I make note of what I would like to do if I return to the island again. Palms Court Gardens made my list for next time. I figure it would be a casual, easy going day - just walking 20 minutes and relaxing in a peaceful atmosphere and perhaps taking a dip in their pool. I also like local culture and there is plenty of that at the open market stands along the way. As you can see by my signature, I'm not a seasoned cruiser by no means of the imagination --- yet. I would say that I have caught the bug in a big way and love researching almost as much I love the actual vacation.:D

[Ms411]

jilro, I'll post the cooking class link in the San Juan forum.

[25years2gether]

Hello 25years2gether, been reading your CC messages and enjoying them, we are going on our 1st cruise this fall for our 25th ann, our question is have you two booked in niagara falls since the flight company screwed up last time? We will be cruising out of Miami and were thinking about driving and then seen you message about cheap flight just over the boarder.We live the opposite way of you, were about 45 mins south of Hamilton on lake erie.

Thanks for the help

Martin and Merianne

 

Hello Merianne and Martin: I haven't personally booked any flights from the Niagara Falls airport since 'the incident' but I know others who have flown Direct Air to Florida from Niagara Falls. I'm looking at giving them a second chance, flying to Myrtle Beach. Unfortunately Direct Air doesn't fly to either Miami or Fort Lauderdale (the airports you will be wanting to fly in for your cruise). I have flown out of Buffalo on numerous occasions when it is worth my while. The $$ savings have to offset the extra couple of hours travel time both ways. I've been looking at a cruise out of Miami myself and from what I've read on cruise critic, it may be worth your while to fly into Fort Lauderdale as opposed to Miami. I believe there are shuttles from Fort Lauderdale to the cruise pier in Miami for $15 per person, plus from what I have read, hotels are cheaper in Fort Lauderdale. I take all things like this into consideration when choosing flights. I always arrive at least 1 day pre-cruise as you never know what may happen. Sometimes flights can be so much cheaper flying in on a Friday and returning on a Monday that the money you save will pay for your hotel and meals and extend your vacation by a few extra days!! Hope this answers your question - and then some. Diane

[SuzCruzin]

For those interested, I found the cooking 'tour' listed on the Celebrity shore excursions page ("Caribbean Cooks"). For the March 24 Celebrity Eclipse excursion, the cost is $79.75 per adult. Departure time is listed as 9:30 am, with a trip duration of 3.5 hours.

[Buffettfan 225]

We did this excursion thru RC 2 weeks ago. It's "view only" but still quite interesting. It is held on a restored sugar plantation in one of the out buildings. In addition to the class, we got a tour of the grounds & the various other structures. The main chef was a British ex-pat & her assistant was local. They had a continuous dialogue about the various dishes with their cultural influences. We highly recommend it to anyone with interest in regional cooking. BTW, the plantain crusted grouper was outstanding!

Did they provide recipes? I'd love to read a recipe using plaintains that way.

[Pack My Bags]

I did this tour in Feb & we made jerk pork, coconut rice w/pigeon peas, cinammon chicken & plantains (OMG YUM i make it once a month!) and an awesome mango bread pudding with rum sauce. (Ohh bread pudding for super bowl Sunday. Sounds like a plan!)

 

They WILL give you ALL the written recipes they cook on your visit & they also have a small gift shop where they sell a cookbook that has ALL the recipes listed above plus many local ones as well! It was $18.

 

***if you want the UP CLOSE seats, try to get into the van LAST, so you will be in the bldg FIRST. There are about 6 seats around the cooking area & then about 4 tall bar tables with high stools to watch a little further back. They also have a huge mirror angled on the ceiling so you can see directly on the stovetop & in the pots & pans. We sat at the stools by the window which was also fine because of the breeze, view & the spices can get very strong, but they taste deeelicious in the end product.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[vplsh]

I did this tour in Feb & we made jerk pork, coconut rice w/pigeon peas, cinammon chicken & plantains (OMG YUM i make it once a month!) and an awesome mango bread pudding with rum sauce. (Ohh bread pudding for super bowl Sunday. Sounds like a plan!)

 

They WILL give you ALL the written recipes they cook on your visit & they also have a small gift shop where they sell a cookbook that has ALL the recipes listed above plus many local ones as well! It was $18.

 

***if you want the UP CLOSE seats, try to get into the van LAST, so you will be in the bldg FIRST. There are about 6 seats around the cooking area & then about 4 tall bar tables with high stools to watch a little further back. They also have a huge mirror angled on the ceiling so you can see directly on the stovetop & in the pots & pans. We sat at the stools by the window which was also fine because of the breeze, view & the spices can get very strong, but they taste deeelicious in the end product.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Thanks for the info!

[paul58]

The operators of the current Caribbean Cooks are different than the ones who had it up until August of 2011 or so. The location is also different so do not confuse the two.

[Buffettfan 225]

I did this tour in Feb & we made jerk pork, coconut rice w/pigeon peas, cinammon chicken & plantains (OMG YUM i make it once a month!) and an awesome mango bread pudding with rum sauce. (Ohh bread pudding for super bowl Sunday. Sounds like a plan!)

 

They WILL give you ALL the written recipes they cook on your visit & they also have a small gift shop where they sell a cookbook that has ALL the recipes listed above plus many local ones as well! It was $18.

 

***if you want the UP CLOSE seats, try to get into the van LAST, so you will be in the bldg FIRST. There are about 6 seats around the cooking area & then about 4 tall bar tables with high stools to watch a little further back. They also have a huge mirror angled on the ceiling so you can see directly on the stovetop & in the pots & pans. We sat at the stools by the window which was also fine because of the breeze, view & the spices can get very strong, but they taste deeelicious in the end product.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

I have the recipes for most -thanks to a CC member, but didn't make the cinnamon chicken & plaintains-would you be willing to email it--sounds delish if you make monthly! thanks if you can honor request

Suzy buffettfan225-cruise@ yahoo.com (no space before yahoo)