randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
if any of you have been to the caribbean, chirp in here.
we went on celebrity (as hubs said the wheelchair and walker cruise line), but hey, i enjoyed the no kids, no party college crowd. most were over 35 and that suited me just fine.
dining room buffet was the standard. i was a little disappointed in the main dining room food tho. i thought royal caribbean and even carnival did better on this food but hubs liked the dining room. i actually had some salmon that made me ill one night so i stuck with beef. always had shrimp as salad. no alchohol since i don't drink.
room was a standard balcony but close to elevator and i liked the not having to walk a lot.
ok, islands.
i'd heard alot about aruba but it was disappointing. it did have white beaches but overall it was a desert island, lots of rocks and cactus, which surprised me. not much shopping here, just mostly beach resorts.
cucacao - pretty. mike did the tour as i can't walk and it included a cave walk which had 50 steps to go down so i skipped it. we walked around town which was very pretty. each store a different color, mostly greens, pinks, yellow, etc. a shipping port so lots of large container vessels.
st. lucia - a very pretty island. two large mountains (which we'd call hills here in texas), but lovely. very poor. saw people washing clothes in the rivers and living in what we'd call just shacks. ate lunch at a restaurant on the side of the mountain. walking up to it wore me out as it was very steep. lunch was fish, jerk chicken, plaintains and other things i really didn't recognize but man, it was good. also tamarine juice which was good.
barbados - lots shopping but very poor, known for spices, etc. island very pretty with lots of trees, etc. water was exceptional.
grenada - surprised me. nice island. lots of stores. not very well developed.
st. martin - strictly tourist and very expensive. did a tour of orchid farm, churches, and all. lovely.
st. thomas -- probably our favorite. lots of shopping, beautiful island with easy access to everything. very friendly people. not cheap tho. husband's favorite as he bought birthday gift there.
i think we went other places but can't remember. got caught by customs as we went over but they let us go as st. thomas is a u.s. territory and we didn't have to pay duty. but they appreciated our honesty in at least filling out the form correctly.
flight home from ft lauderdale was bad. very choppy and at one point the plane dropped like a rock. i was almost crying i was so scared. pilot told attendants to sit down and they stayed in seats most of the flight. i was a very unhappy camper.
from houston to dallas was a short one hour.
funny thing tho. we got to dallas and picked up the car at southwest parking lot. then of all things, got lost on the way home. we took a wrong turn and ended up on george bush freeway and had to go the north way to fort worth. that was so funny. he couldn't believe he did that, but we were both so tired.
we were both over weight on our luggage but southwest was pretty good and didn't charge us. i'd fly them again but getting there is a pain.
i hope you are able to take a cruise and i recommend st thomas and celebrity.
but for right now, i'm happy to be home and staying put with no plans for the rest of the year.
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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posted
Randibear, what a wonderful trip! Loved hearing your account.
I love cruises. Haven't sailed on Celebrity, but have heard very nice things about them. Even in my younger days, I rather enjoyed the wheelchair and walker crowd, as they appreciate everything. We were on a pretty low-key voyage with Holland America once, and the seniors were up for anything. Had a ball. On the other end of the spectrum, we've sailed on Disney several times - never with kids, just us grown-ups - and it is my absolute favorite. Stylish, classy, caters to adults, and just simply magical. Best private island, ever.
So glad you got to make what sounds like a memorable trip. And such an awesome way to celebrate your birthday!
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Posts: 251 | From Florida | Registered: Aug 2011
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momindeep
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7618
posted
Never been on a cruise. Thanks for telling us about it...it sounded fabulous!
Posts: 1512 | From Glenwood City WI | Registered: Jul 2005
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Randi, Sounds like you did enjoy your cruise.
One of the most pleasant places in Aruba is going to the Butterfly Farm. They have places to sit down which is good for us with TBD. The butterflies are so beautiful, different colors and sizes. I had one land right on my chest attracted to the gold in my top. That was the highlight of Aruba for us.
St. Thomas is too commercial for me. I like things like going to Saba and climbing up Mount Scenery. Of course, that was before I had TBD.
If you get tired of cruising you may want to try one of the couple resorts or even a Club Med. They are fun with lots of things to do or you can do nothing but relax. The food is usually good at those clubs with lots of variety. Always music and dancing.
I've taken two Carnival cruises (terrible) to Carribean and Hawaii and one Princess cruise to the Panama Canal(last year). Princess had excellent food, in the regular dining room, compared to Carnival's terrible food and they are both owned by the same parent company. So, why the difference in the food?
On the Carnival Hawaii cruise we ate in a specialty restaurant every night (except for the first night) and paid the extra money. The speciality restaurant was excellent. The regular dining room food was not good. I would take another Princess cruise but really would rather fly to an island and just stay put and explore at my own pace.
A few of my favorite islands, not by cruise, Martinque and St Bart's. The most beautiful islands, Bora Bora and Moorea in French Polynesia. Another nice island for the water is Turks and Caicos, they have turquoise water as close as you can get to the Tahitian islands.
I've been to a lot of the islands so the above are my favs that I would visit again.
Posts: 671 | From Fort Myers, Florida | Registered: Jun 2009
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AuntyLynn
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 35938
posted
There's no island like Oahu, HI! (heh heh!)
But if you're talking caribbean, ANTIGUA gets my vote! British, lovely beaches, lots of history.
Cruised Celebrity to Bermuda and thought the food was tops - Bermuda was pretty but a little too stuffy. Good shopping though. May was a bit early to do any serious sunbathing there; and I got my first man o' war sting walking along the waterline at a pink sand beach. Yowsa!
Posts: 1432 | From New Jersey | Registered: Jan 2012
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Dogsandcats
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 28544
posted
Watch out for the butterfly farms...I came out looking like a leper from all the mosquito bites!
St Maarten was my favorite. We stayed I a cottage on the beach.
Been on Alaska cruise three times. Would go again, just not on the land part....that is where I got bit and the land trip is a bit arduous.
Not too much anymore...maybe someday.
-------------------- God will prepare everything for our perfect happiness in heaven, and if it takes my dog being there, I believe he'll be there.
Billy Graham Posts: 1967 | From California | Registered: Oct 2010
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