Triumph 2/20/2015 Review San Juan to Galveston with six ports

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

The review is great and I am so glad you have pics of this. We plan to do tis in Sept.

 

Thanks. It was fun for 'kids' of all ages! :D

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

St. Thomas

 

We have been to St. Thomas several times so we decided to just take a taxi to Sapphire Beach this time. It took about 30 minutes to get there from the pier & it is a scenic drive. A cab is $10pp each way & cabs are readily available when you get ready to leave.

 

Chair rentals are $9 each at the Dive Shop. There are no umbrellas at Sapphire but there is plenty of natural shade on the beach. There are also decent restrooms.

 

 

It was a little crowded at first because some people had booked the Carnival excursion to Sapphire but they had to leave at noon so it really cleared out after that.

 

 

Erika & Chris joined us at the beach

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

There were a few short showers in the morning but it turned out to be a beautiful day!

 

 

 

 

This little guy came up to visit.

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

We had a wonderful, relaxing, but fun-filled day at Sapphire Beach.

 

CAUTION!!!…If anyone comes out in to the ocean with dog food swim away as fast as you can!

J.R. & Chris were in the ocean while Erika & I lounged on the beach & somebody brought dog food out to feed the fish & the fish swarmed the area J.R. & Chris were in.

A fish bit J.R.!!! :eek:

How do I say where it bit him? A raised area on the chest? :D

I have a crazy ‘fishie’ phobia anyway so I would have absolutely freaked out!!!

Laughing about the ‘fish bite’ at dinner that night is what almost got us thrown out of the dining room! We bugged the guys about it the rest of the week.

 

Before the bite!

 

Fun times!

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

For lunch we walked up the hill (a pretty steep hike) to the Off the Grid BBQ truck. A pound of meat (pulled pork, ribs, sausage, and chicken wings & thighs) was $12 & sides were $3 each. They also offer all you can eat for $15pp. The sides are Caribbean Caviar (Beans and corn salad), cole slaw, rice & beans, grilled sweet potatoes & grilled onion rings.

 

They were out of sausage by the time we got there.

 

There have picnic tables where you can eat your lunch.

 

The food was good but the picturesque view of Sapphire Bay is phenomenal!

 

There is food available closer to the beach too. We bought rum punch at the dive shop for $4.

 

We had a great day at Sapphire with our good friends Erika & Chris. We caught a cab back to the ship & laughed the whole way back about the 'fish bite'!!!

[agp_mzk]

The next morning our daughter, Lacey & SIL, Charlie got off the Triumph

 

 

Lacey and I rode together on the TTU team in college and are still good friends. Small world!

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

Lacey and I rode together on the TTU team in college and are still good friends. Small world!

 

Lots of fond memories of the TTU team horse shows! :) Glad you enjoy cruising too!

Juli

[SMSACE6]

Loving your review! "Fish bite" sounds like a good name for a drink:D I think I might need a strong drink after that fish bite LOL.:)

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

St. Maarten

 

J.R. & I have been to St. Maarten a few times but Lynn & Mitch had not so we booked a private tour with Joyce Prince so we could see more of the island & customize our day. The cost of the tour was $300 for six hours for the four of us. It included drinks of our choice.

 

Joyce Prince's website

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&sqi=2&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fjoyceprince.com%2F&ei=b9kJVY-eL8abgwTCg4HICA&usg=AFQjCNG8WZVoSZU6y9pszUcQ_RHbVieecw&sig2=cDLjtOSzlAh4NjLqKDQucw&bvm=bv.88198703,d.eXY

And Trip Advisor reviews

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&sqi=2&ved=0CCoQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tripadvisor.com%2FAttraction_Review-g1606588-d3558857-Reviews-Joyce_Prince_Tours-Sint_Maarten_St_Maarten_St_Martin.html&ei=b9kJVY-eL8abgwTCg4HICA&usg=AFQjCNEX3e1vWG6V8TtA0eFbC3lkVi0YYA&sig2=3V-8P6S3NN1EZxIjGDDEJg&bvm=bv.88198703,d.eXY

 

 

Joyce picked us up in a nice, big air conditioned van. It rained off & on for a good part of the day.

 

I had hoped to go to Rima’s where I bought my favorite bathing suit cover up (that I was wearing that day) a couple of years ago but Joyce said they are a wholesale only store now. :( So if you see a cover-up like the one I am wearing in these pics let me know!

 

Joyce parked the van at the first stop & asked us if we wanted to hike up the hill for a great scenic view & photo op. We chose to do so & the view that met us at the top was stunning! There were several youth & their coach training for a marathon on the hill we hiked up.

 

 

 

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

Lynn & I with Joyce

 

 

 

 

 

 

The skies were getting pretty angry looking while we were up there so we made it back to the van as quickly as possible.

Edited March 18, 2015 by Cool Breeze Cruiser

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

We made several more photo op stops & went by a local artist shop to check out her wares. Her shop was FULL of things she had made herself. Paintings, jewelry, all kinds of arts & crafts. Her shop was so full I have no idea how one person did all of it! Lynn & I bought some inexpensive jewelry.

 

We raced to the van before it started to rain again & Lynn looked down & realized she still had on about a $5 bracelet she had tried on in the shop!

 

She pretended to be mortified but I think she was just trying to see if she could get thrown in jail so she could stay in St. Maarten! :p

 

She was so embarrassed she made poor Mitch take it back in. Lynn kept muttering ,”Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I was taking something from that poor little old lady!”

 

It was hilarious because Lynn could not steal anything if her life was depended on it but we sure had fun bugging her about it! That is what good friends are for! :D

 

It was to overcast for pictures to really turn out.

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

We headed to Maho Beach so we could get there before the big plane was due in. Joyce poured us a cup of her signature rum punch to take with us to wait on the planes.

 

 

The first plane coming in.

 

Had to get a pic with Captain Morgan!

 

There is a board with flight times posted but Joyce had looked it all up before we got there & timed it so we would get to see the big plane coming in. We saw quite a few while we were waiting on the big one.

 

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

 

Mitch took this pic under the plane & J.R. took a cool video that I have no idea how to post!

 

 

We got back in Joyce's van & enjoyed an icy cold Carib beer!

 

And the sun finally came out to stay!

[reerun25]

Thanks for sharing, really enjoying your review!

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

We went to Marigot next & walked around the open market booths for a few minutes before having lunch at Sandy’s Waterfront Bar & Restaurant where I had the Chicken Brochette & the others had the Coconut Shrimp. It was all yummy & then they brought out complimentary passion fruit shots. They were HOT but good!

 

 

 

And then we had to pull a prank & Mitch became Joyce's man! :p

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

Then we went to Orient Beach where we walked the beach for a while. It turned out to be such a gorgeous day!

 

 

 

And everyone has to get a pic with 'the sign'!

 

 

All to soon it was time to leave St. Maarten & go back to our home away from home!

 

Joyce was great to work with from our first correspondence to the end of our day in St. Maarten. She is very personable & knowledgeable about the history & culture of St. Maarten & we enjoyed our day with her.

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

Antigua was our next stop & I have about a 'zillion' pics from that day & I need to decide which ones to use for my review plus I need to get my story straight! :p Let's just say we had way to much fun in Antigua! :D

 

Loving your review! "Fish bite" sounds like a good name for a drink. I think I might need a strong drink after that fish bite LOL.

Maybe a drink served in a mini fish bowl that has a big bite to it! :D

I have a crazy 'fishie phobia' anyway & if I really thought there were fish in the ocean I would never get in! :p So I am glad Erika & I were lounging on the beach because I would have absolutely freaked out!!! :eek:

Maybe I will post the 'fake bite' the guys staged when I post our day in Antigua. ;)

 

Thanks for sharing, really enjoying your review!

Thanks for reading!

[Suncruz]

Hi Juli,

 

Getting excited about our October cruise by reading your review. As always, your pics are wonderful and so much fun seeing Lynn and Mitch and you two together. Does the Triumph seem much bigger than the Miracle? Maybe I'll be able to talk Don into the Suess brunch now after seeing how much fun it looks.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

Hugs,

Jacquie

[amysb]

Thank you, Juli, for posting a review! DH and I are booked on the November San Juan-to-Galveston cruise on the Triumph, so I was so tremendously excited to see this :D.

 

I do have a couple of questions - did you have many children on this cruise? I don't see any in the ship pictures you've posted. Also, what was the demographic? I'm figuring on an older one than our last 5-day cruise on the Triumph, LOL!

 

I can't wait to read more!!

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

Hi Juli,

Getting excited about our October cruise by reading your review. As always, your pics are wonderful and so much fun seeing Lynn and Mitch and you two together. Does the Triumph seem much bigger than the Miracle? Maybe I'll be able to talk Don into the Suess brunch now after seeing how much fun it looks.

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

Hugs, Jacquie

 

Thanks Jacquie. We did have so much fun on our cruise!

We considered doing the October Triumph cruise but we used our 25% off & booked the 14 day Glory cruise October 31st. Amazing itinerary with 8 ports!!! So far 10 of our group from our cruise to Hawaii plus our cruisin' buds from CA have booked .

The Triumph is bigger but you know the Spirit class (Miracle) is my favorite class. I like being able to walk straight through on all the decks on the Spirit class instead of going up & over on the Triumph. Small thing though. I would definitely book on the Triumph again!

Our cruise had no solo supplement so there were a lot of solos in double occupancy cabins so the ship did not seem crowded at all.

I know you & Don are 'beachy' people but you should check out Royston's Tour in St. Kitts. Probably the best & most bang for the buck tour I have ever done. I will try to add it to my review in the next day or so.

Hugs back,

Juli

 

Thank you, Juli, for posting a review! DH and I are booked on the November San Juan-to-Galveston cruise on the Triumph, so I was so tremendously excited to see this :D.

I do have a couple of questions - did you have many children on this cruise? I don't see any in the ship pictures you've posted. Also, what was the demographic? I'm figuring on an older one than our last 5-day cruise on the Triumph, LOL!

I can't wait to read more!!

 

Thanks! :) Hope you have as much fun on your cruise as we did & it will be AMAZING! :D

I did not hear a number but I did not see many kids. Of course Carnival does such a great job of hiding the little rascals, oh I mean of keeping them busy & having the time of their life's!!! :p:D

We were DEFINITELY not the youngsters on our cruise & I am 54 & J.R. is 61 & my daughter was on the 1st leg (Galveston to San Juan) & everybody said it was a lot older demographic than our cruise. Fun people are fun people at ANY age & we always manage to find those people to hang out with! :)

I have been really busy the last few days but I will try to post Antigua & St. Kitts in the next day or so.

Antigua= SO MUCH FUN & St. Kitts= one of the best tours ever!

Juli

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

Sorry for the delay. I have 222 pics from Antigua & had a hard time deciding which ones to post so if I add to many just skip to St. Kitts! :D

Also to protect the innocent :eek: I have to be VERY careful which pics from Antigua to add! :p:D

 

We have been to Antigua twice & both times we booked the See Antigua by Sea on the Excellence catamaran. We rarely book excursions through the cruise line & almost never book the same thing twice but it was so much FUN the first TWO times we booked it again!

 

See Antigua by Sea is a Carnival excursion that is run by Tropical Adventures that provides a circumnavigation of Antigua’s magnificent coastline. Carnival recently announced Tropical Adventures is the winner of the prestigious “Caribbean’s Leading Tour Operator” a new award offer by Carnival Cruise Lines.

 

Tropical Adventures website

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&sqi=2&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tropicalad.com%2F&ei=ChEOVZK2K4uwsAT0kILoDQ&usg=AFQjCNGz7hAQCx1hWACibHU_MGrNxvPB0w&sig2=THgHeaymxE2_-E12H_C1Gw&bvm=bv.88528373,d.cWc

 

And the Excellence Trip Advisor reviews

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&sqi=2&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tripadvisor.com%2FAttraction_Review-g147243-d1846671-Reviews-Tropical_Adventures_Excellence_Catamaran-St_John_s_Saint_John_Parish_Antigua_Anti.html&ei=oBEOVa7WPNOJsQS-i4CgDQ&usg=AFQjCNFeNKmFgF9T7TswftqDPPvaY63PLQ&sig2=v13bTJ4MrBzTA0WKx4Xdzg

 

Antigua is gorgeous and this tour is a great way to see the island by sea on an 86ft Power Catamaran.

 

We departed at 9:30AM & it lasted approximately six hours. The cost was $114.99 pp. & included lunch, drinks & snorkel gear. We definitely got our money’s worth!

 

We walked off the ship and down the pier to the where the catamaran was docked, not even a 5 minute walk.

 

We wanted to be some of the first to board the Excellence so we could get our favorite spot, the starboard side of the boat in the front. It provides the best view unless you want to go up on top. Even when everyone is on-board it doesn’t feel crowded.

 

We had an ominous beginning when J.R.’s ‘goofy hat’ went overboard in the first five minutes. Luckily a staff member was nearby with a hook & fished it out for J.R. It would have been a long day for him with no hat!

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

Off we go!

 

We passed a horse back riding excurision.

 

And we passed our 'home away from home'!

 

We stopped at a Sandals Resort and picked up additional passengers.

 

The crew was great and entertaining. The commentary was excellent pointing out all the popular spots and homes of the stars & the mega yachts in Nelson's Dockyard were spectacular!

 

Edited March 22, 2015 by Cool Breeze Cruiser

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

The catamaran ride begins very calm, but then goes into the Atlantic for an adventurous 15 to 20 minutes. This section of the trip was a bit rougher than the last two times we were on the Excellence because there were huge waves. It is like a roller coaster ride but only lasts a short time. One the most fun parts of the day!

 

The staff moved everybody back a little that were seated up front & they monitored the conditions.

 

You should expect to get wet if you are sitting near the front or along each side! :D

 

 

 

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

The Excellence pulls right up to the shoreline at uninhabited Green Island and has a descending staircase to get on the beach. You can relax on the beach, snorkel or swim in the warm turquoise waters. The beach stop is nice but there are no chairs or facilities. The restrooms on the Excellence are nice though for a catamaran.

 

 

Chris & Erika were 'almost" first time snorkelers.

 

Mitch was ready!

 

And of course Mitch's sidekick was right there with him.

 

I don't think the snorkeling was amazing but our group enjoyed it.

 

Everybody headed back to shore.

[PathfinderEss]

Really enjoying your review and beautiful photo's.