Caribbean Cruises
Discussion
Its a big anny coming up for The Mrs and myself and the only thing we have never done together is a cruise. I've done a few trips on the grey funnel line here and there and twice to the Carib. But she hasnt so we figured that its something we wish to do this Oct/Nove as we also have some business to catch up to in Floriduh as well......2 birds etc. Looking at 10-14 days.....pref for southern Carib islands etc.
Have you been on one recently, hints tips etc. Yes know all about hurricanes etc.....Thankyou.
Have you been on one recently, hints tips etc. Yes know all about hurricanes etc.....Thankyou.
I did one last year with P&O around the southern Caribbean islands. We'd never wanted to try a cruise before and always thought they'd not suit us as we're much happier with basic travelling than luxurious hotels but It was a last minute booking and too cheap to miss up when we were looking for a trip to celebrate my 40th.
Overall we enjoyed it but having never done it before and having done no research into the best cruise line to suit us it did take a considerable amount of getting to used to. A couple of the big takeaways for us were the food and the drinking culture on board. The food was absolutely amazing, we both thoroughly enjoyed every meal but found ourselves desperate for some real local food and in our experience P&O aimed their offer squarely at the moderate British market who mainly want solid options you'd find in Britain, not necessarily British but things you might be aware of having lived in Britain. The curry place was fantastic, the Epicurean was a high end Mediterranean inspired place that was easily our favourite and the main restaurant had some of the best steak I've had. We just found ourselves thinking whilst the food was wonderful, it wasn't different to the wonderful food we'd get when out at home and we regularly popped out when in port to find a back alley food place selling rice and pea, plantain and breadfruit. That's almost certainly our issue than P&Os, they cater for their market and we probably aren't their market.
That leads to the culture on board. We're not heavy drinkers and we're very active. We'd wrongly assumed that the ship would be full of middle aged people keen to sample the wealth of history the Caribbean offers. In reality my Mrs. quickly became a focus of attention on board for being so adventurous after she'd be spotted (nobody ever noticed me for some reason!) walking to catch a bus for a none ship lead tour of our own or each morning carrying snorkel gear or whatever that day's activities required. Of an evening people would spot us around the ship and say how adventurous she was and they'd never catch a local bus. Many said they'd never go outside the port. It was quite obvious that the ports were set up to accommodate vast numbers of people at bars who didn't ever need to go through the port and enter the country proper. Our early evening entertainment always included having a drink on the balcony watching people stagger back to the ship dragged by their less drunk friends in a desperate attempt to not be left behind. We were surprised at how many people were of the opinion that it wasn't worth getting off the ship as there wasn't much history like there is in the med. That's quite sad on a ship full of Brits considering that Brits caused or had involvement in most of the history on the islands.
As I said, the two points above are clearly a result of us choosing a line that probably wasn't catered to us. It didn't stop us having an amazing holiday and being out of our comfort zone probably added to the holiday in many ways. I'd definitely do it again but ideally I'd put more research into what cruise line best suits us.
Overall we enjoyed it but having never done it before and having done no research into the best cruise line to suit us it did take a considerable amount of getting to used to. A couple of the big takeaways for us were the food and the drinking culture on board. The food was absolutely amazing, we both thoroughly enjoyed every meal but found ourselves desperate for some real local food and in our experience P&O aimed their offer squarely at the moderate British market who mainly want solid options you'd find in Britain, not necessarily British but things you might be aware of having lived in Britain. The curry place was fantastic, the Epicurean was a high end Mediterranean inspired place that was easily our favourite and the main restaurant had some of the best steak I've had. We just found ourselves thinking whilst the food was wonderful, it wasn't different to the wonderful food we'd get when out at home and we regularly popped out when in port to find a back alley food place selling rice and pea, plantain and breadfruit. That's almost certainly our issue than P&Os, they cater for their market and we probably aren't their market.
That leads to the culture on board. We're not heavy drinkers and we're very active. We'd wrongly assumed that the ship would be full of middle aged people keen to sample the wealth of history the Caribbean offers. In reality my Mrs. quickly became a focus of attention on board for being so adventurous after she'd be spotted (nobody ever noticed me for some reason!) walking to catch a bus for a none ship lead tour of our own or each morning carrying snorkel gear or whatever that day's activities required. Of an evening people would spot us around the ship and say how adventurous she was and they'd never catch a local bus. Many said they'd never go outside the port. It was quite obvious that the ports were set up to accommodate vast numbers of people at bars who didn't ever need to go through the port and enter the country proper. Our early evening entertainment always included having a drink on the balcony watching people stagger back to the ship dragged by their less drunk friends in a desperate attempt to not be left behind. We were surprised at how many people were of the opinion that it wasn't worth getting off the ship as there wasn't much history like there is in the med. That's quite sad on a ship full of Brits considering that Brits caused or had involvement in most of the history on the islands.
As I said, the two points above are clearly a result of us choosing a line that probably wasn't catered to us. It didn't stop us having an amazing holiday and being out of our comfort zone probably added to the holiday in many ways. I'd definitely do it again but ideally I'd put more research into what cruise line best suits us.
Thanks for that.
What was the ship/ports?
Comfort zone...although we are now mid 60's, just 3 yrs ago we backpacked thru, Vietnam/Cambodia/Laos/Thailand........for 3 months. So theres no way we will be sitting on the dock with a bottle of beer! (Although I have done that in my previous life a few times I can tell you).
With 14 days ish to play with, I was thinking southern Carib, with the outer islands, Deffo Barbados...St Lucia etc and maybe Trinidad. I have done a few islands before but when in my late teens/early 30's, but all with other sailors!!! Ahem.
What was the ship/ports?
Comfort zone...although we are now mid 60's, just 3 yrs ago we backpacked thru, Vietnam/Cambodia/Laos/Thailand........for 3 months. So theres no way we will be sitting on the dock with a bottle of beer! (Although I have done that in my previous life a few times I can tell you).
With 14 days ish to play with, I was thinking southern Carib, with the outer islands, Deffo Barbados...St Lucia etc and maybe Trinidad. I have done a few islands before but when in my late teens/early 30's, but all with other sailors!!! Ahem.
sebdangerfield said:
Stuff
It’s been some years since I’ve been to the Caribbean but there’s some ports you probably don’t want to be going off and doing your own things. Jamaica as an example the FCO sums it up quite well:he motive for most attacks on tourists is robbery. There are mobile police patrols, but you should take steps to protect yourself and your belongings. Be vigilant at all times, even if you’re staying with friends and family. Don’t walk alone in isolated areas or on deserted beaches, even during the day. Take particular care when withdrawing money from ATMs. Don’t carry large amounts of cash or wear eye-catching jewellery. Try to vary which restaurants you use. Using the same place too often might make you a target for thieves. Avoid using buses at night.
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/jamaica/s...
Very similar words used for most Caribbean islands.
My first one was a major anniversary and I thought I would hate it as my idea of a perfect holiday is a nice hotel that doesn’t cram everyone in.
I haven’t done many, but I have zeroed in on the Freestyle type of cruise experience offered by the likes of NCL where you don’t have two or three formal nights, requiring a suit or jacket to be packed.
That is a personal choice and mostly because I associate a suit with work, but I do appreciate that for some people that is important.
The biggest downside is that it rules out P&O for me, because they do a cracking British orientated breakfast.
Edit. Oct/Nov means Halloween.
The yanks go mad for it and most of them dress up.
I haven’t done many, but I have zeroed in on the Freestyle type of cruise experience offered by the likes of NCL where you don’t have two or three formal nights, requiring a suit or jacket to be packed.
That is a personal choice and mostly because I associate a suit with work, but I do appreciate that for some people that is important.
The biggest downside is that it rules out P&O for me, because they do a cracking British orientated breakfast.
Edit. Oct/Nov means Halloween.
The yanks go mad for it and most of them dress up.
Edited by Hol on Thursday 9th February 10:12
Sounds like we'd enjoy similar cruise lines then!
We were on Azura. We had a balcony cabin which was fantastic, far bigger than we expected or needed and the bed was great.
Our itinerary was;
Day 1 Bridgetown, Barbados (overnight)
Day 2 Bridgetown, Barbados
Day 3 Kingstown, St Vincent
Day 4 At sea
Day 5 Bassetere, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Day 6 St Maarten, Saint Maarten
Day 7 At sea
Day 8 Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos
Day 9 At Sea
Day 10 Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Day 11 Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda
Day 12 Castries, St Lucia
Day 13 Grenada, Grenada
Day 14 At sea
Day 15 Bridgtown, Barbados
Every island was significantly different but some weren't necessarily set up well for tourists to explore on their own as the bulk of the tourists come from ships and do their own tours so locals don't tend to see them and interact other than in tour guide/bus driver roles. That meant interactions with people when we did go off on our own tended to be different in that some folk saw us as a piggy bank and wanted money for help we didn't need and others just wanted to learn about the UK, snow, politics, family over here etc. It really added to the adventure but may not be for everyone, I can see why people may prefer to do organised trips.
They were also coming out of covid and the huge gulf in income that had brought so whilst it was frustrating knowing we were massively overpaying for things it was something we just accepted. For example, we decided to go away from the beach in Barbados to find local food and a gent hiring loungers on the beach had offered to help us find somewhere, we knew we'd pay him and the tourist rate for the food but so be it. Within 100 yards or so were in a place that was very moody, had chickens running around and large groups of young men sitting around playing dominoes and drinking, staring at us. We ordered some food from a small backstreet shop and it came to something daft like $50us for what was a takeaway, they'd basically overcharged us and then converted a Barbadian dollar for a us dollar 1:1 when it should be 1:0.5, then obviously we had to tip the guy who took us there. We had similar examples with taxis and other vendors. It was frustrating but their economy essentially brings tourists who only really interact with the wealthy locals who are able to accommodate the cruise ships or posh hotels so normal folk don't really get much of a cut of that pie so some take advantage when they do come into contact with tourists.
We were on Azura. We had a balcony cabin which was fantastic, far bigger than we expected or needed and the bed was great.
Our itinerary was;
Day 1 Bridgetown, Barbados (overnight)
Day 2 Bridgetown, Barbados
Day 3 Kingstown, St Vincent
Day 4 At sea
Day 5 Bassetere, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Day 6 St Maarten, Saint Maarten
Day 7 At sea
Day 8 Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos
Day 9 At Sea
Day 10 Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Day 11 Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda
Day 12 Castries, St Lucia
Day 13 Grenada, Grenada
Day 14 At sea
Day 15 Bridgtown, Barbados
Every island was significantly different but some weren't necessarily set up well for tourists to explore on their own as the bulk of the tourists come from ships and do their own tours so locals don't tend to see them and interact other than in tour guide/bus driver roles. That meant interactions with people when we did go off on our own tended to be different in that some folk saw us as a piggy bank and wanted money for help we didn't need and others just wanted to learn about the UK, snow, politics, family over here etc. It really added to the adventure but may not be for everyone, I can see why people may prefer to do organised trips.
They were also coming out of covid and the huge gulf in income that had brought so whilst it was frustrating knowing we were massively overpaying for things it was something we just accepted. For example, we decided to go away from the beach in Barbados to find local food and a gent hiring loungers on the beach had offered to help us find somewhere, we knew we'd pay him and the tourist rate for the food but so be it. Within 100 yards or so were in a place that was very moody, had chickens running around and large groups of young men sitting around playing dominoes and drinking, staring at us. We ordered some food from a small backstreet shop and it came to something daft like $50us for what was a takeaway, they'd basically overcharged us and then converted a Barbadian dollar for a us dollar 1:1 when it should be 1:0.5, then obviously we had to tip the guy who took us there. We had similar examples with taxis and other vendors. It was frustrating but their economy essentially brings tourists who only really interact with the wealthy locals who are able to accommodate the cruise ships or posh hotels so normal folk don't really get much of a cut of that pie so some take advantage when they do come into contact with tourists.
ecsrobin said:
sebdangerfield said:
Stuff
It’s been some years since I’ve been to the Caribbean but there’s some ports you probably don’t want to be going off and doing your own things. Jamaica as an example the FCO sums it up quite well:he motive for most attacks on tourists is robbery. There are mobile police patrols, but you should take steps to protect yourself and your belongings. Be vigilant at all times, even if you’re staying with friends and family. Don’t walk alone in isolated areas or on deserted beaches, even during the day. Take particular care when withdrawing money from ATMs. Don’t carry large amounts of cash or wear eye-catching jewellery. Try to vary which restaurants you use. Using the same place too often might make you a target for thieves. Avoid using buses at night.
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/jamaica/s...
Very similar words used for most Caribbean islands.
In reality checking out government advice for most of the islands in the south Caribbean there's nothing that isn't also written for Spain.
Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 9th February 10:43
ecsrobin said:
sebdangerfield said:
Stuff
It’s been some years since I’ve been to the Caribbean but there’s some ports you probably don’t want to be going off and doing your own things. Jamaica as an example the FCO sums it up quite well:he motive for most attacks on tourists is robbery. There are mobile police patrols, but you should take steps to protect yourself and your belongings. Be vigilant at all times, even if you’re staying with friends and family. Don’t walk alone in isolated areas or on deserted beaches, even during the day. Take particular care when withdrawing money from ATMs. Don’t carry large amounts of cash or wear eye-catching jewellery. Try to vary which restaurants you use. Using the same place too often might make you a target for thieves. Avoid using buses at night.
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/jamaica/s...
Very similar words used for most Caribbean islands.
sebdangerfield said:
You're quite right but it's all relative too. Whilst I know my partner and I might be a bit on one side of the spectrum in that we will seek out interesting situations I did find that there were huge numbers of people that were basically so worried about things it prevented them from actually exploring. That's again relative as for me it's the main focus and why I've travelled through places many wouldn't want to go to but for most, the main focus is being on a luxurious ship in great weather so not exploring isn't a big issue.
I love adventure but you don’t see me travelling to Djibouti to get myself into an “interesting situation”. If you got off that ship and went to one of the many hotel resorts you’d also find people don’t leave the security patrolled wires. Im pretty sure there was a thread on here about a member and his wife that went beyond the wire in Jamaica against the advice of security and ended up down an alley in a high street in a sticky situation. You touched on it in an earlier post but there are many destinations in the world that are explored by passengers but rightly or wrongly the Caribbean isn’t one of these.
mikal83 said:
I just dont get why some feel they have to reply with posts like this. It might be better if you stayed in bed all wrapped up in bubble wrap.
Because I was responding to someone with a view about why no one went off the ship. Being naive about the risks of travelling especially in this part of the world is what will get you in trouble.
Just also clocked you’re the OP. Sorry but you asked for hints and tips so this information should be exactly what you’re after.
It’s a nice place but be very aware of going off-piste. And follow FCO or the cruise ship securities advice.
Edited by ecsrobin on Thursday 9th February 11:00
mikal83 said:
ecsrobin said:
sebdangerfield said:
Stuff
It’s been some years since I’ve been to the Caribbean but there’s some ports you probably don’t want to be going off and doing your own things. Jamaica as an example the FCO sums it up quite well:he motive for most attacks on tourists is robbery. There are mobile police patrols, but you should take steps to protect yourself and your belongings. Be vigilant at all times, even if you’re staying with friends and family. Don’t walk alone in isolated areas or on deserted beaches, even during the day. Take particular care when withdrawing money from ATMs. Don’t carry large amounts of cash or wear eye-catching jewellery. Try to vary which restaurants you use. Using the same place too often might make you a target for thieves. Avoid using buses at night.
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/jamaica/s...
Very similar words used for most Caribbean islands.
Not everyone wants the same, or enjoys the same experiences. I know one couple who only ever go cruising and know nothing of the UK - and another couple who have done many different types of holiday, but found cruising to be somewhere between boring anf utterly ghastly.
ecsrobin said:
sebdangerfield said:
You're quite right but it's all relative too. Whilst I know my partner and I might be a bit on one side of the spectrum in that we will seek out interesting situations I did find that there were huge numbers of people that were basically so worried about things it prevented them from actually exploring. That's again relative as for me it's the main focus and why I've travelled through places many wouldn't want to go to but for most, the main focus is being on a luxurious ship in great weather so not exploring isn't a big issue.
I love adventure but you don’t see me travelling to Djibouti to get myself into an “interesting situation”. If you got off that ship and went to one of the many hotel resorts you’d also find people don’t leave the security patrolled wires. Im pretty sure there was a thread on here about a member and his wife that went beyond the wire in Jamaica against the advice of security and ended up down an alley in a high street in a sticky situation. You touched on it in an earlier post but there are many destinations in the world that are explored by passengers but rightly or wrongly the Caribbean isn’t one of these.
ecsrobin said:
mikal83 said:
I just dont get why some feel they have to reply with posts like this. It might be better if you stayed in bed all wrapped up in bubble wrap.
Because I was responding to someone with a view about why no one went off the ship. Being naive about the risks of travelling especially in this part of the world is what will get you in trouble.
Just also clocked you’re the OP. Sorry but you asked for hints and tips so this information should be exactly what you’re after.
It’s a nice place but be very aware of going off-piste. And follow FCO or the cruise ship securities advice.
Edited by ecsrobin on Thursday 9th February 11:00
sebdangerfield said:
ecsrobin said:
sebdangerfield said:
You're quite right but it's all relative too. Whilst I know my partner and I might be a bit on one side of the spectrum in that we will seek out interesting situations I did find that there were huge numbers of people that were basically so worried about things it prevented them from actually exploring. That's again relative as for me it's the main focus and why I've travelled through places many wouldn't want to go to but for most, the main focus is being on a luxurious ship in great weather so not exploring isn't a big issue.
I love adventure but you don’t see me travelling to Djibouti to get myself into an “interesting situation”. If you got off that ship and went to one of the many hotel resorts you’d also find people don’t leave the security patrolled wires. Im pretty sure there was a thread on here about a member and his wife that went beyond the wire in Jamaica against the advice of security and ended up down an alley in a high street in a sticky situation. You touched on it in an earlier post but there are many destinations in the world that are explored by passengers but rightly or wrongly the Caribbean isn’t one of these.
I have never been to Djibouti, but if a tour...........LOL. Next winter, Jan-march, we are planning spending 2 months bumming around Mexico for my 67th. (Mrs will be 64)
Vasco said:
mikal83 said:
ecsrobin said:
sebdangerfield said:
Stuff
It’s been some years since I’ve been to the Caribbean but there’s some ports you probably don’t want to be going off and doing your own things. Jamaica as an example the FCO sums it up quite well:he motive for most attacks on tourists is robbery. There are mobile police patrols, but you should take steps to protect yourself and your belongings. Be vigilant at all times, even if you’re staying with friends and family. Don’t walk alone in isolated areas or on deserted beaches, even during the day. Take particular care when withdrawing money from ATMs. Don’t carry large amounts of cash or wear eye-catching jewellery. Try to vary which restaurants you use. Using the same place too often might make you a target for thieves. Avoid using buses at night.
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/jamaica/s...
Very similar words used for most Caribbean islands.
te]
NO. Start your own thread.
mikal83 said:
Back in the early 70's, my then GF (now wife of 40 yrs) and I spent 2 weeks busing/trains around Morrocco. Getting back to that armpit called Tangiers for the boat back to Gib, we decided to splash out on a "posh" hotel. 4 star..(yeh OK)....was about £5. Met a young cpl in the bar. They spent a whole week just in the hotel, by the pool and that was it................
I have never been to Djibouti, but if a tour...........LOL. Next winter, Jan-march, we are planning spending 2 months bumming around Mexico for my 67th. (Mrs will be 64)
Mexico's a good example. One of the few places I felt like it would be easy to get out of your comfort zone even when trying not to. Many moody places have a definitive line between the criminal underworld and the tourist economy and most groups, criminal and government see the benefit of the two not meeting. In mexico we were stopped by a "police road block" we paid the inevitable bribe to later find out they weren't even police officers, they were gangs who target tourists with a road block bribe scam and kidnaps of tourists weren't uncommon. At least in other places I knew where the risks were likely to come from and that decision was then a calculated risk based on what I know but Mexico made me feel like I was just lucky especially given the increase of criminal activity in the tourist areas. Completely agree on Tangiers too. We went in our camper from Spain just to say we'd driven to another continent, we shouldn't have.I have never been to Djibouti, but if a tour...........LOL. Next winter, Jan-march, we are planning spending 2 months bumming around Mexico for my 67th. (Mrs will be 64)
Sorry to digress OP, I think this type of thread would benefit many on here, me included. What type of cruise to you envisage doing? It's been commented on before that P&O do a full on tuxedo night, roughly twice a week which can limit things a bit if it's not for you although the buffet is still open to you if you don't wish to do the dress code. I agree that whilst I really enjoy dressing up, I find dinner jackets hark back to when gentlemen didn't know how to dress well so all wore the same. Women all wear lovely dresses and gowns but the blokes either all look the same or go for a jazzy one where they look like they're hosting a game show. I think Virgin do a similar night but call it a scarlet night and the dress code is more modern, they also apparently have very good food. Some lines are posher, some are more traditional, some are more active. It all comes down to what type of ship would suit you.
Cheers Seb.
I cant imagine me getting dressed up like a penguin for eating. its not me or my wife....(had enough of that everynight in my previous life). We would much prefer casualish dining, maybe 2/3 differant syles of dining....we have read that a lot of people put on weight during a cruise!....and dont mind a proper sit down dinner, just not dressing up like in some gentlemans club. I wouldnt mind a jacket and tie night BUT that means its all extra luggage. And we are planning a 2/3 week stoppover in FL for business........before and after the cruise. So we would be looking at a FL departure port ideally.
Mexico....we have also read theres several differant Mexicos....if you know what I mean and I am sure you do. The US border towns, central Mex and the east coast holiday areas....its just a thought.
Another is India. Have been twice but only the Goa area. Maybe a month beachbumming then some serious train journeys from Rajasthan across to Kolkata and many stops in between..
We campervanned OZ for 3 1/2 months 9 years ago and wouldnt mind doing more again and in 2019 NZ for 2 months.
Paying "fines" in Mexico makes us laugh. In Cambodia they call it "tea money"...$5 here and there to the border control fellas. Even the "Doctor" got $2 for his health inspection as you passed thru. Of course you didnt have to pay. A South African young lad refused to, so we left them behind at the Cambodia/Vietnam border, (we were all on the back of scooters with local transportation couriers).... carried onto Kep, settled down for a few cold ones and he turned up several hours later.....all for $10ish.....!!!
Tangiers....I camped in the dunes an hrs south of Tangiers in 1968 when I were a lad with the first Gibraltar scouts. Morocco was really really not modern in anyway then, as were the areas around Gib. La Linea for example had maybe 3 paved roads. The rest earthen.
Thanks for your info, btw.
I cant imagine me getting dressed up like a penguin for eating. its not me or my wife....(had enough of that everynight in my previous life). We would much prefer casualish dining, maybe 2/3 differant syles of dining....we have read that a lot of people put on weight during a cruise!....and dont mind a proper sit down dinner, just not dressing up like in some gentlemans club. I wouldnt mind a jacket and tie night BUT that means its all extra luggage. And we are planning a 2/3 week stoppover in FL for business........before and after the cruise. So we would be looking at a FL departure port ideally.
Mexico....we have also read theres several differant Mexicos....if you know what I mean and I am sure you do. The US border towns, central Mex and the east coast holiday areas....its just a thought.
Another is India. Have been twice but only the Goa area. Maybe a month beachbumming then some serious train journeys from Rajasthan across to Kolkata and many stops in between..
We campervanned OZ for 3 1/2 months 9 years ago and wouldnt mind doing more again and in 2019 NZ for 2 months.
Paying "fines" in Mexico makes us laugh. In Cambodia they call it "tea money"...$5 here and there to the border control fellas. Even the "Doctor" got $2 for his health inspection as you passed thru. Of course you didnt have to pay. A South African young lad refused to, so we left them behind at the Cambodia/Vietnam border, (we were all on the back of scooters with local transportation couriers).... carried onto Kep, settled down for a few cold ones and he turned up several hours later.....all for $10ish.....!!!
Tangiers....I camped in the dunes an hrs south of Tangiers in 1968 when I were a lad with the first Gibraltar scouts. Morocco was really really not modern in anyway then, as were the areas around Gib. La Linea for example had maybe 3 paved roads. The rest earthen.
Thanks for your info, btw.
You're welcome, sorry I can't add much more but am certainly interested in a line you find which suits as I'm similarly not interested in silly dress codes for dinner, I used to wear uniform so don't particularly like (or need) a dress code. I love wearing nice clothes and getting dressed up but I found it a bit archaic on P&O, the women all looked amazing in different coloured gowns but the gents all pretty much looked the same; as was the point of a dinner jacket back in the day.
I heard several stories of people gaining weight and it was brought up by plenty of people we chatted to but we actually lost weight, I think easy access to a great gym and plenty to do saw to that. There are plenty of online guides about which cruise line is better suited to you, many of the main ones depart Florida.
I heard several stories of people gaining weight and it was brought up by plenty of people we chatted to but we actually lost weight, I think easy access to a great gym and plenty to do saw to that. There are plenty of online guides about which cruise line is better suited to you, many of the main ones depart Florida.
sebdangerfield said:
Sounds like we'd enjoy similar cruise lines then!
We were on Azura. We had a balcony cabin which was fantastic, far bigger than we expected or needed and the bed was great.
Our itinerary was;
Day 1 Bridgetown, Barbados (overnight)
Day 2 Bridgetown, Barbados
Day 3 Kingstown, St Vincent
Day 4 At sea
Day 5 Bassetere, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Day 6 St Maarten, Saint Maarten
Day 7 At sea
Day 8 Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos
Day 9 At Sea
Day 10 Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Day 11 Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda
Day 12 Castries, St Lucia
Day 13 Grenada, Grenada
Day 14 At sea
Day 15 Bridgtown, Barbados
Every island was significantly different but some weren't necessarily set up well for tourists to explore on their own as the bulk of the tourists come from ships and do their own tours so locals don't tend to see them and interact other than in tour guide/bus driver roles. That meant interactions with people when we did go off on our own tended to be different in that some folk saw us as a piggy bank and wanted money for help we didn't need and others just wanted to learn about the UK, snow, politics, family over here etc. It really added to the adventure but may not be for everyone, I can see why people may prefer to do organised trips.
They were also coming out of covid and the huge gulf in income that had brought so whilst it was frustrating knowing we were massively overpaying for things it was something we just accepted. For example, we decided to go away from the beach in Barbados to find local food and a gent hiring loungers on the beach had offered to help us find somewhere, we knew we'd pay him and the tourist rate for the food but so be it. Within 100 yards or so were in a place that was very moody, had chickens running around and large groups of young men sitting around playing dominoes and drinking, staring at us. We ordered some food from a small backstreet shop and it came to something daft like $50us for what was a takeaway, they'd basically overcharged us and then converted a Barbadian dollar for a us dollar 1:1 when it should be 1:0.5, then obviously we had to tip the guy who took us there. We had similar examples with taxis and other vendors. It was frustrating but their economy essentially brings tourists who only really interact with the wealthy locals who are able to accommodate the cruise ships or posh hotels so normal folk don't really get much of a cut of that pie so some take advantage when they do come into contact with tourists.
That is the one and only P&O cruise I have done and why I like their breakfasts most.We were on Azura. We had a balcony cabin which was fantastic, far bigger than we expected or needed and the bed was great.
Our itinerary was;
Day 1 Bridgetown, Barbados (overnight)
Day 2 Bridgetown, Barbados
Day 3 Kingstown, St Vincent
Day 4 At sea
Day 5 Bassetere, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Day 6 St Maarten, Saint Maarten
Day 7 At sea
Day 8 Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos
Day 9 At Sea
Day 10 Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Day 11 Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda
Day 12 Castries, St Lucia
Day 13 Grenada, Grenada
Day 14 At sea
Day 15 Bridgtown, Barbados
Every island was significantly different but some weren't necessarily set up well for tourists to explore on their own as the bulk of the tourists come from ships and do their own tours so locals don't tend to see them and interact other than in tour guide/bus driver roles. That meant interactions with people when we did go off on our own tended to be different in that some folk saw us as a piggy bank and wanted money for help we didn't need and others just wanted to learn about the UK, snow, politics, family over here etc. It really added to the adventure but may not be for everyone, I can see why people may prefer to do organised trips.
They were also coming out of covid and the huge gulf in income that had brought so whilst it was frustrating knowing we were massively overpaying for things it was something we just accepted. For example, we decided to go away from the beach in Barbados to find local food and a gent hiring loungers on the beach had offered to help us find somewhere, we knew we'd pay him and the tourist rate for the food but so be it. Within 100 yards or so were in a place that was very moody, had chickens running around and large groups of young men sitting around playing dominoes and drinking, staring at us. We ordered some food from a small backstreet shop and it came to something daft like $50us for what was a takeaway, they'd basically overcharged us and then converted a Barbadian dollar for a us dollar 1:1 when it should be 1:0.5, then obviously we had to tip the guy who took us there. We had similar examples with taxis and other vendors. It was frustrating but their economy essentially brings tourists who only really interact with the wealthy locals who are able to accommodate the cruise ships or posh hotels so normal folk don't really get much of a cut of that pie so some take advantage when they do come into contact with tourists.
Luckily it was in 2019 and before COVID.
The Flying Dutchman zip wire back down in St Martin was epic, if you did that.(spoiler alert)
Sorry to hear all the other stuff though.
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