live from Regatta - almost

[marienbad]

Thanks, Hondorner. That was helpful.

We do pay for the sirius satellite signal, and with my new stiletto toy it might be possible on the balcony to receive the signal without using an internet connection. I may defer trying it until we sail on Regent where I get the internet for free.

[hondorner]

Do you pay a for satellite service at your home location??

If so you might be able to receive it on the ship but maybe not in the cabin.

Maybe on a balcony though.

Since I had my laptop along, just for grins I took my GPS antenna that hooks to the DeLorme Street Atlas program on the laptop. While DeLorme's detail is scant outside the US, the maps showed outlines of the various islands and was detailed enough to show major cities on the Amazon. I set the GPS antenna on the balcony railing and was able to access enough satellites to track the ship's location, heading and speed. Of course, the same info was on one of the ship's TV channels. but it was fun (in a geeky way) to see it for myself. Once the computer had accessed the satellites, it was not as touchy to stay in contact, and I could put the antenna on the balcony table. Considering that, the satellite antenna for Sirius should work most of the time if you position it on the balcony.

[marienbad]

Thanks again.

The antenna for the stiletto sl-100 is in the headset, although I could take my home docking system. The headset might work on the balcony, but certainly by the pool. Why would I want to go to all this trouble? For the classical music stations (including Met Opera achival broadcasts), news and NFL games.

[marienbad]

Thanks again.

The antenna for the stiletto sl-100 is in the headset, although I could take my home docking system. The headset might work on the balcony, but certainly by the pool. Why would I want to go to all this trouble? For the classical music stations (including Met Opera achival broadcasts), news and NFL games.

[sacway]

Hello everyone -

We have been so busy having a good time that never a chance till now to post. There are cabanas for rent, daily or the whole cruise, on the top deck.

The weather has been great so far. We did have a deck party "rained" out last night, mostly I think because it was intermittently sunny and downpouring in St. Lucia (e.g., 99 minutes of sun, then 2 minutes of drenching rain.)

Here's a tip for those of you who want to go to Nelson's Dockyard: We caught an official independent taxi at the port about 9 am, the one way is $32 dollars. On the way back we took the #17 "bus" (really, minivans but the bus # is on the windshield) and that was only $6 for the two of us. We could have caught the #17 out if we'd wanted to by walking a few blocks to the market, but we enjoyed our cab ride as a mini-tour. The local bus is about the same speed as the private hire, since there's approximately 350 speed bumps between St. Johns and Nelson's Dockyards. We were there about 2 hours and by the time we left, all the tours were showing up and the place went from a quiet, scenic refurbished fort-type place where yachts harbor to the equivalent of Epcot Center in crowding.

[sacway]

St. Bart's was closed for Christmas, and then Roseau was closed for Boxing Day. At St. Bart's we walked around, there's a funky grocer on the waterfront who caters to the multi-million dollar yachting set that are docked side-by-side like Winnebagos in a KOA campground. Go figure. The store was open (even the richest people run out of chips and salsa on holidays) and had some really amazing chocolate, priced to match. I got some for my chocoholic brother, hope it's a treat for him (my entire chocolate knowledge is spelled N-E-S-T-L-E-S or maybe "Hershey")

At Roseau we wanted to see the Cathedral and the museum and the botanical garden. The Cathedral was closed for the holiday, there's a Fort de Young (I think) hotel nearby that helped out with a map of the town and we found the garden which is free and was open. There's a little trail innocently called "Jack's Walk" that goes up out of the garden to a panoramic view of the harbor. There were some crafts up there, which I wasn't prepared to buy since I had no idea where I was going and no prices to compare. Turns out that one of the ladies up there had some of that Carib pottery, which we saw precisely zero of anywhere else within walking distance of the ship. I should have bought it all, as it was, I was happy to get a small vase. If you are going to Carib territory, you can buy it there, the other spot I had hoped to try was (guess) closed for the holiday.

We've eaten at all the places on the ship, love the speciality restaurants and the Tapas where where had Christmas dinner. If you can imagine Christmas goose at a buffet, well, that will give you an idea what it's like every day. Five kinds of ice cream at lunch, cappuccinos at no extra cost, gotta love it.

If you can't tell, we are having a really good time, All our first time on O worries dissipated.

I have my Treo and supposedly can use it, but can't figure out the 011 or whatever part before the call. Text messages are cheap too, from Cingular our carrier, compared to ship's internet. Really, though, we have not suffered from lack of communication, everybody will still be there when we get back.

Hope you are all having a great Christmas/ Hannukah/ Saturnalia/ Soltice/ whatever holiday break from the everyday and planning on a fabulous cruise.

[mdmourges]

Sacway,

 

I will be honest.... I could tell you were having a good time!!! lololo Nice posts. My wife and I are on the Miami to Miami on 3/10/08. Yes, 08. A long time from now, but fear not, there are are other nice advantures between now and then. Keep having fun and keep telling all of us about it.

 

Mark

[*oceanlvr*]

Sacway I saw your post (and great pic of Regatta) and wondered if you have any advice re getting a Miami hotel on Priceline.

 

We are off on the Regatta r/t Miami in March and will spend just one night beforehand in Miami. So far I've not been able to find a 3 or 4 star hotel at the airport or downtown for under $100. Am I likely to, and would you tell me what price they accepted for your stay? Am I looking too far in advance or do I need to up the price? Thanks.

[PurpleCow]

Just a little reminder for those using the ship's email system. The $2.00 applies to each address to which you send the email, so sending the same email to multiple addresses can add up. If you can, and want to, send your email to one person who would then forward it to a list you might leave with him.

[llarsen]

Thanks for the email info! We will be on board Jan 2nd, can't wait!

Linda

[sacway]

about to board a flight home. no wifi for free at airport so thumbing into treo briefly. easy disembarkation and cab to MIA cheaper than O bus transfer. happy new year all.

[sacway]

Sacway I saw your post (and great pic of Regatta) and wondered if you have any advice re getting a Miami hotel on Priceline.

 

We are off on the Regatta r/t Miami in March and will spend just one night beforehand in Miami. So far I've not been able to find a 3 or 4 star hotel at the airport or downtown for under $100. Am I likely to, and would you tell me what price they accepted for your stay? Am I looking too far in advance or do I need to up the price? Thanks.

 

It seems to me that the best results for PL derive from thorough preparation and persistence. That is, I figure out what prices are possible for the night and the level of hotel I want (by checking the hotels' own websites, mainly) and then start bidding around 50-60% of this. PL right now is advertising "up to 50% off" on hotels, I would use that measure as an approximation. Usually I aim for a fine hotel (e.g., 4 star) for the price of a garden-variety room, though you can use some version of this strategy for any level room. I hedge by making a regular reservation I can live with, and then plan on bidding for a few days, or weeks, or even months, for a "dream" hotel. (You can find tips on PL on a site like biddingfortravel.com, which also has lists of reported hotels by star level by PL zones.) Plan B, I've got my original booked hotel, and that keeps me from upping my price or adding zones that aren't where I want to be, just to get a room. I keep a file for each bid and might double check room rates before each re-bid, if I don't "win" a room on the first try.

 

As for the $100 mark, that's about what we paid, I think approx 50% off the reservation rate I found online (prepaid discount prices from any source are not the same as reservations you can cancel at no charge) Once PL service fees are added, a bid in the $70-80 range results in a charge of nearly $100. This was for a 4-star hotel, you should do better on a 3-star bid.

 

I've had luck with good prices on good properties both far in advance and just a day or two in advance. Obviously, you don't want to wait till two days out to get a PL room for a cruise, at least I couldn't take the suspense! That's where the other reservation comes in handy.

[*oceanlvr*]

Sacway - Welcome home and thanks for taking the time to write. I bid $97 for a 3* or 4* at the airport and downtown and was unfortunate enough (according to what I have read) to get the Holiday Inn. Trip Advisor reviews indicate this is not where I want to be and apparently the lesson to be learned here is to hang in there for the 4* hotel. Oh well. It's just for one night and they do have a shuttle from the airport and again down to the port (so they say).

 

Perhaps this will be helpful to someone else who has not yet secured their hotel.

[shoshona2]

Purple Cow,

 

I've been on Oceania three times and each time, I set up a free Yahoo email address and put all my friends and family in the address book. I just send ONE email ($1.00 per minute) to the whole address book by clicking on ALL. When one of my family or friends send me an email at my Yahoo address, I can just answer that email at $1.00 per minute or send everyone the same message during my travels. I NEVER used the $2.00 PER EMAIL or gave anyone my Oceania email address. but gave them the Yahoo address. I have 24 people in my traveling address book and if they all answered me at the Oceania email account, it would be a fortune.

 

I also buy a set amount of minutes since the internet is so slllllllllllllllllllllllooooooooooooowwwwwwwww on the ship.

 

Sheila

[sacway]

Sacway - Welcome home and thanks for taking the time to write. I bid $97 for a 3* or 4* at the airport and downtown and was unfortunate enough (according to what I have read) to get the Holiday Inn. Trip Advisor reviews indicate this is not where I want to be and apparently the lesson to be learned here is to hang in there for the 4* hotel. Oh well. It's just for one night and they do have a shuttle from the airport and again down to the port (so they say).

 

Perhaps this will be helpful to someone else who has not yet secured their hotel.

If this is the Holiday Inn Express, the rate I saw was $137 so you still saved a few bucks, even with fees. A lot of cruisers stay there. Another adventure in travel, and you can try again next trip!

[sacway]

Purple Cow,

 

I've been on Oceania three times and each time, I set up a free Yahoo email address and put all my friends and family in the address book. I just send ONE email ($1.00 per minute) to the whole address book by clicking on ALL. When one of my family or friends send me an email at my Yahoo address, I can just answer that email at $1.00 per minute or send everyone the same message during my travels. I NEVER used the $2.00 PER EMAIL or gave anyone my Oceania email address. but gave them the Yahoo address. I have 24 people in my traveling address book and if they all answered me at the Oceania email account, it would be a fortune.

 

I also buy a set amount of minutes since the internet is so slllllllllllllllllllllllooooooooooooowwwwwwwww on the ship.

 

Sheila

This is all good advice. One thing I like to do is pre-write emails and then send them off lickity-split in a post through a web-based mail client. But I didn't check how/whether this would work in the computer room on board. Some lines let you plug your laptop into their ethernet network, some places let you plug in your flash drive (with your super cruise pix) and that lets you work much more quickly. The posted info on network quality was inadequate ("network status - good") as it didn't provide any idea how long it would take to log on to a site and upload material. I spoke to my neighbor across the balconies who said that she ran up a multi-hundred dollar bill once without even trying, and mostly it was dead time waiting on the network. I wonder if a price per kB/MB transferred would inspire certain changes?

[PurpleCow]

shoshana2, I didn't use the ship's email, either. I bought the 100 minute package, but it was soooo slow I think I'll leave the Net alone next time and text with my cell if I need to a 20 cents a pop.

[shoshona2]

Dear Purplecow,

 

I also checked my email off the ship when we were able to find some internet cafes. I think it was just several dollars for about 15 minutes in the cafes.

 

Sheila

[Liv4cruzin]

Unfortunately, the internet is very slow (although not as slow as the C.C. Boards have been the past few days, what's up w/ this?). During our Med. cruise on Regatta this summer, I created my daily travel diary in Word; & then copied & pasted it into an e-mail. Worked out well.

[sacway]

This is the reason we love to cruise in the Caribbean. As nice as the weather was in Miami, look at the amazing sea and sky in Grand Turk! And, as a centerpiece, the wonderful conveyor of us lucky cruisers to this beautiful, beautiful place.

[*oceanlvr*]

Sacway - nice pic. That's the reason WE love the Caribbean too. If only we didn't have to fly across the country to all our favorite cruises (Mexico doesn't hold much appeal to us).

 

Since you appear to have visited many of the ports on our upcoming trip, do you have any suggestions for non-ship excursion ideas for:

Virgin Gorda, St Barts, Dominica, St Lucia, Antigua, Tortola, Samana, and Grand Turk?

 

We enjoy the local towns and markets, canopy experiences, kayaking, snorkeling/diving and the beaches. I've read bits and pieces on the Ports of Call and still have much research to do, but would appreciate any input you would be willing to share.

 

Thanks! And by the way, the hotel we got thru P/L is the Miami Holiday Inn Int'l Airport location. Trip Advisor reviews are generally more negative than positive even though it's supposed to be an "upscale" hotel.

[Nitrodog]

Where does the tender take you to on Virgin Gorda? We will be going in a month and are arranging to meet someone there. Do the tenders arrive at the Marina or elsewhere?

 

Your reply would be helpful.

 

Have fun,

 

Bill

[sacway]

.... Virgin Gorda, St Barts, Dominica, St Lucia, Antigua, Tortola, Samana, and Grand Turk ....Well, you can see you've got 8 ports in 8 days. Good thing I took at least one pix every day. I'lll break up some of this answer into more than one post.

We like to walk around on holiday, so some of our choices won't work if you are unaccustomed to going further on foot than a quarter mile.

Yes, the tenders come in at the Marina at Virgin Gorda, where there are two small sets of storefronts right there on either side of the dock. There is a supermarket (Buck's) which has everything you need that will cost you 5 times the price in the gift shop (and if you have to buy it on board, you'll probably be grateful to pay the cost!) and a couple other shops. We were there on Christmas Eve day and we had to do our last minute gifts... The BVI Dive Shop (among the shops on the other side of the parking lot) polo was a big hit.

The #1 thing to do is the Baths -- the official cab stand is across the parking lot to the left (Tourist board office is there). Go right away and you will have the beach to yourself. There's a great trail to another beach that goes under boulders and through shallows and up and over some ladders that gets really crowded, as does the Baths beach once those who went on tours arrive.

On St. Barts we also went to the beach, Shell Beach is walking distance (or a short cab ride). We window shopped since it was Christmas Day, saved a lot of cash but managed to blow some on Neuhaus chocolates.

There was a nice beach bar at Shell Beach; at the Baths, there was construction at the beachside bar, but one is open at the top of the hill you have to descend to get to the beach.

[AdamOfCanaveral]

This is the reason we love to cruise in the Caribbean. As nice as the weather was in Miami, look at the amazing sea and sky in Grand Turk! And, as a centerpiece, the wonderful conveyor of us lucky cruisers to this beautiful, beautiful place.

 

Thanks for the great picture of the Regatta. It's now my wallpaper as we count down the days to our transatlantic crossing next November.

[Nitrodog]

sacway,

 

Many thanks for the info on Virgin Gorda. Here's hoping that the cruise continues to go well and with only the best of weather.