JohnG

Bumping up again. You are all in the wrong ocean! :smiley:

Bumping up again. You are all in the wrong ocean! :smiley:

Star Clipper is the cruise line, with three ships. The Royal Clipper is the flagship of their fleet. http://www.star-clippers.com/ We did not take the catamaran excursion, but we could see them sailing there when we sailed by on the Royal Clipper. My daughter honeymooned there and drove to see them.

Star Clipper is the cruise line, with three ships. The Royal Clipper is the flagship of their fleet. http://www.star-clippers.com/ We did not take the catamaran excursion, but we could see them sailing there when we sailed by on the Royal Clipper. My daughter honeymooned there and drove to see them.

The Navy sent me here in 1975 after a 3 year tour of duty in Greece. I went ship to shore several times and when I retired from the Navy I just stayed here.

The Navy sent me here in 1975 after a 3 year tour of duty in Greece. I went ship to shore several times and when I retired from the Navy I just stayed here.

Check your PM message :smiley: s

Check your PM message :smiley: s

My wife Karen and I have cruised 20 times now. I've been writing reviews and posting them here and elsewhere on the web, too. When my last job with a University dried up for lack of state funding I decided to turn our vacations into a vocation, got the computer system training, and we were on our way. We have cruised Princess 5 times, Carnival about 7, RCCL 3, NCL 1, HAL 2, Celebrity 2, Star Clipper 1, and Imperial Majesty 1. HAL is one of my wife's favorites. Our first HAL cruise was Ryndaam, and the second Maasdam, which is homeported here in Norfolk from Oct - Apr every year. My favorite is the ship I'm on! We are booked for four in the next 12 months. After all, I must do my product research :grin:

My wife Karen and I have cruised 20 times now. I've been writing reviews and posting them here and elsewhere on the web, too. When my last job with a University dried up for lack of state funding I decided to turn our vacations into a vocation, got the computer system training, and we were on our way. We have cruised Princess 5 times, Carnival about 7, RCCL 3, NCL 1, HAL 2, Celebrity 2, Star Clipper 1, and Imperial Majesty 1. HAL is one of my wife's favorites. Our first HAL cruise was Ryndaam, and the second Maasdam, which is homeported here in Norfolk from Oct - Apr every year. My favorite is the ship I'm on! We are booked for four in the next 12 months. After all, I must do my product research :grin:

I have not found the snorkeling to be particularly good in St Maarten/Martin. I have snorkeled at Cupecoy Beach, neat Long Bay where the Lord Sheffield goes, at Grand Case, at Orient Beach, at La Galleon Beach east of Orient Beach, and that is four different sides of the island. While we have not done Lord Sheffield, from their website it looks to be similar to the various Jolly Roger excursions in other ports. We did that in Barbados and enjoyed it. We prefer to rent a car at the end of the pier and drive around the island, going from place to place, beach to beach. About $45 for the day.

I have not found the snorkeling to be particularly good in St Maarten/Martin. I have snorkeled at Cupecoy Beach, neat Long Bay where the Lord Sheffield goes, at Grand Case, at Orient Beach, at La Galleon Beach east of Orient Beach, and that is four different sides of the island. While we have not done Lord Sheffield, from their website it looks to be similar to the various Jolly Roger excursions in other ports. We did that in Barbados and enjoyed it. We prefer to rent a car at the end of the pier and drive around the island, going from place to place, beach to beach. About $45 for the day.

The view is the best, in my opinion, from the catamarans. We were on the Royal Clipper, see the photo at the left, and got reasonably close.

The view is the best, in my opinion, from the catamarans. We were on the Royal Clipper, see the photo at the left, and got reasonably close.

Frankly the best recommendation I can make on St Kitts is to negotiate with a driver and have him give you a tour. South Friars Beach on Frigate Bay has good snorkeling, port a pottie's on the beach, and vendors with drinks. Unspoiled views makes you think of how it must have looked in Columbus's time. There are resorts around the island that will let you have day use. The port has shops on the pier and in the town, a nearby museum, some nice restaurants in town, a facsimile of Trafalgar Square, a historic cathedral by a city park, and not much else. The island was mostly sugar cane plantation. They do have some catamaran snorkel tours and the cat's leave from the marina by the pier.

Frankly the best recommendation I can make on St Kitts is to negotiate with a driver and have him give you a tour. South Friars Beach on Frigate Bay has good snorkeling, port a pottie's on the beach, and vendors with drinks. Unspoiled views makes you think of how it must have looked in Columbus's time. There are resorts around the island that will let you have day use. The port has shops on the pier and in the town, a nearby museum, some nice restaurants in town, a facsimile of Trafalgar Square, a historic cathedral by a city park, and not much else. The island was mostly sugar cane plantation. They do have some catamaran snorkel tours and the cat's leave from the marina by the pier.

I usually carry about $300 in cash when I leave for a cruise. Tips at the airport and at the pier for baggage is $1 per bag. Taxis you might use in each port require cash. Some vendors in the ports will not accept credit cards. I use cash for the small amount we spend in the casino. Tips for room service ($1 or 2 per person served). Everything else I put on credit cards because I have the protection of the credit card company and can dispute charges if something is wrong. Onboard ship, it is cashless, except for room service tips. Everything goes on your shipboard account and you use your ship key/credit card to pay for everything. You give them a credit card authorization when you board, just like when checking into a hotel, and all your shipboard charges will go on the account. Most 8x10 formal photos are 19.95, and 6x8 informal shots are about 9.95. Purchases in the gift shops, go on the ship card. On a 10 day cruise, if you don't gamble much or drink alcohol/wine, I'd say $300 onboard for two might be realistic. We do drink and order a bottle of wine each night at dinner, and our shipboard account on a 10 day cruise is usually about $700-800.

I usually carry about $300 in cash when I leave for a cruise. Tips at the airport and at the pier for baggage is $1 per bag. Taxis you might use in each port require cash. Some vendors in the ports will not accept credit cards. I use cash for the small amount we spend in the casino. Tips for room service ($1 or 2 per person served). Everything else I put on credit cards because I have the protection of the credit card company and can dispute charges if something is wrong. Onboard ship, it is cashless, except for room service tips. Everything goes on your shipboard account and you use your ship key/credit card to pay for everything. You give them a credit card authorization when you board, just like when checking into a hotel, and all your shipboard charges will go on the account. Most 8x10 formal photos are 19.95, and 6x8 informal shots are about 9.95. Purchases in the gift shops, go on the ship card. On a 10 day cruise, if you don't gamble much or drink alcohol/wine, I'd say $300 onboard for two might be realistic. We do drink and order a bottle of wine each night at dinner, and our shipboard account on a 10 day cruise is usually about $700-800.

I am a cruise travel agent and I have personally booked with shoretrips.com. My daughter went for spring break on a cruise with a friend and her parents. I booked their Dolphin Interaction excursion in Nassau. They use the same provider that the cruiseline uses, but the price was less. I also booked Bone Fishing in Key West for them. They were very pleased. I am now recommending them to my clients. The cruiseline wouldn't even let them book the dolphin one until they were onboard ship and then you don't know if they could get tickets.

I am a cruise travel agent and I have personally booked with shoretrips.com. My daughter went for spring break on a cruise with a friend and her parents. I booked their Dolphin Interaction excursion in Nassau. They use the same provider that the cruiseline uses, but the price was less. I also booked Bone Fishing in Key West for them. They were very pleased. I am now recommending them to my clients. The cruiseline wouldn't even let them book the dolphin one until they were onboard ship and then you don't know if they could get tickets.

Have to bump it up again. Put on your thinking caps. :grin:

Thank you! I haven't been to Kauai since I was there on Vietnam R&R in January 1970. I stayed at the Coco Palms, and did the island drive, too. Never did Na Pali coast. We are booked for June 2006 on Pride of America and it does an overnight in Nawiliwili, so I'm looking forward to that. Thanks, again for the fantastic photos.

Twenty so far. We have booked Aug NCL Star Oct Carnival Conquest Dec Caribbean Princess June 2006 Pride of America

No more clues needed. :grin: NJFUNCRUISER got it right! It is Bridgetown, Barbados, the beach were the Jolly Roger dropped us, just down the beach east of The Boatyard. Congratulations!

For the right price, any cabin is fine. We don't mind inside. Outside is nice. Balconies are great on warm weather cruises. We will try our first mini-suite in August. When we are cruising without our teens, we always get a table for two, late dining, for dinner. We don't get that chance at home. I'll go to large tables for breakfast to meet and talk with other people.