A
alleghator
Guest
Just a little background before I dive into this lengthy review. Joe and I are 32 years old, have two kids (aged 4 and 2) and live in Southern New Jersey. Joe is a college math professor, and I’m currently a stay-at-home mom. We cruised once before on the Carnival Ecstasy for our honeymoon, and Joe cruised once before that on a four-day Disney cruise with his family. We took this cruise to celebrate our 10th anniversary and we booked it in June 2002 through www.icruise.com. We made regular payments, took advantage of three price drops, opted for the insurance and paid in full 70 days before sailing. After final payment, there was a price drop, for which we were granted $75 shipboard credit. We had an inside cabin on the Upper deck (U150), which we found to be very convenient and quiet.
You can see a ton of pictures from the cruise on our homepage: http://alleghator.tripod.com.
Our vacation started when we left home on Saturday, May 24. We stayed overnight at the Philadelphia Airport Hilton (great rate of $45 on Priceline.com). We did this for a couple of reasons … to avoid an even earlier wake-up on Sunday, and to avoid paying airport parking for our car all week.
Sunday, May 25 we woke up early (about 5am) and took the shuttle to the airport. Security was no big deal. We used plastic cable ties to “lock†our checked luggage. We did have to remove our shoes at the security checkpoint. The flight was uneventful and included a snack. We landed on time in Miami. We proceeded to the baggage area where most of the people standing around had cruise line tags of some sort on their luggage. There were a lot of announcements in this area soliciting the cruise line transfers. We opted to take a cab. The flat rate fare of $18 isn’t supposed to have any additional charges, but when our driver asked for the $.75 toll to cross the bridge, we didn’t feel like arguing. It came out of his tip. The drive was no big deal, but our taxi had to wait in a long line of cars after we got through the port security (have your cruise tickets and photo ID handy on the taxi ride to show at security).
We checked our bags, tipped the porters and entered the embarkation building. We were handed a SARS form and went through the X-ray security checkpoint with our carryon bags. After waiting in a quick-moving line, we showed our birth certificates and driver’s licenses, handed over our tickets and Bahamas immigration forms and were sent on our way up an escalator. We stood in another very short line for our Sign and Sail cards, a slightly longer line for our Sign and Sail card photos, and then sent to wait at the foot of another escalator. We were then sent up in a group with some other people. One embarkation photo later, and we were onboard. Some crewmembers (in room steward uniforms, I think) handed us deck plans as we boarded. We entered the ship in the corner of the atrium right next to the Internet Café.
We went to the Purser’s desk to activate our S&S cards with our traveler’s checks (which was no hassle at all), and had the cards punched for the lanyards we’d brought. After this, we found our cabin and proceeded to wander the ship. We’d been given the late dinner seating, after requesting early, so we went to the Elation Dining Room as instructed to request the change. We were told to go ahead to the late seating that first night and that we’d be informed of things the next day (we were moved to early, and it was not really a hassle). We listened to the classical trio in the atrium for a few minutes, then returned to the cabin to put on our plastic leis (used for all us CC members to identify each other onboard for sailaway). We ran into Marci and Jason from CC while sitting on the Lido Deck avoiding an afternoon rain shower. Muster drill was no big deal and we had time to return the lifejackets to the cabin in plenty of time to get a good spot right in front on the Verandah deck for sailaway. We ran into Brendan and Donna (from CC) on our way there and hung out with them until we cleared the channel out of Miami. We took note of the Coast Guard boat that escorted the ship out of the harbor. And, we met ZaxsPa and his group (who we met via CC) right before we sailed.
We wandered around a bit again until dinner, had plenty of time to unpack all our luggage into the more than ample storage space, left a goody bag for our cabin Stewardess (Jana, who was wonderful and supernatural about getting our cabin turned around so quickly each day after we’d left it) then went to eat. Our first-night tablemates were also trying to switch to the early seating, so no hard feelings there. We attended the Welcome Aboard show and then crashed for the night.
The next day was in Nassau. We’d pre-booked the Barefoot Sailing Cruise (http://www.barefootsailingcruises.com/) half-day snorkel. It was $49 per person minus a 10% discount for printing out their webpage. We breakfasted in the Paris Restaurant, the disembarked onto the pier. Nassau was like a ghost town this early. Even the hair braiders were just getting set up. We took a couple of pictures, then met our group, called for the shuttle bus and were off to the marina. I should mention here that my camera fogged up a LOT when we got off the ship. It was probably a solid 10 minutes before it was clear enough for good pictures.
We boarded our sailboat along with the three other couples (Marci and Jason, her parents, and Brendan and Donna) sailing with us. It was a 40-ish foot single-mast sailboat. I completely forget the name of our captain, but he was great. His “First Mate†Jason was quieter, but helped us with whatever we needed or wanted. It turns out after-the-fact that we were on the wrong sailboat (same company, two boats), but it didn’t seem to really be a problem. The weather was threatening rain, so we motored out to a reef spot near Atholl Island. After a brief snorkeling lesson, we were in the water. It was warm and much saltier than we expected. The fish were everywhere. The crew dropped crackers into the water to keep the fish close. We saw many different kinds everywhere we could look. We even saw a sting ray at one point. After about 45 minutes or so, we’d generally had enough and came back onboard. We had plenty of water and rum punch to drink, and lots of cheese and crackers to eat.
Just before we got out, a giant cruise-sponsored snorkeling excursion boat showed up and dumped dozens of snorkelers all on top of each other. The fish pretty much vanished. SO glad we didn’t have that kind of tour. They hoisted the sails and we whisked away around the islands. The wind picked up and it did start to rain, so they brought the sails back in so we could motor through the narrow channel back to Nassau. We sailed very close to many large mansions, and the Atlantis resort. They dropped us right next to Senor Frog’s and the Straw Market (apparently pre-September 11, they could drop people right by their ship on the pier).
Joe returned to the ship for a nap (He hadn’t taken any precautionary Bonine, as I had. He started taking it late Monday night and was fine by dinner time on Tuesday.), and Brendan, Donna and I shopped in the Straw Market and in a couple of shops downtown. One word for the Straw Market – Haggle! I paid $33 for stuff that they asked $50 for. I returned to the cabin in time to shower and primp for our first formal night.
We attended the Captain’s cocktail party and saw the first of the large group on the cruise with us swing-dancing onstage. (http://www.frankiecruise.com/index.html) We enjoyed our free drinks, saw all the officers onstage and then headed to the dining room. We met our tablemates (Sarah and Eric on their honeymoon, and Eric’s brother Wally and his wife Stacy celebrating their 10th anniversary), and our waiters (Carmelo and Alex from the Philippines). The food all week was great. There were highs and lows, naturally, but I think it was all prepared and presented very well, particularly considering the quantities and quick turn-around they’re dealing with. We all had celebratory cakes that first formal night. I wished they’d spaced them out during the week, but they were yummy anyway.
We opted for lots of portraits that night, but didn’t end up liking the way any of them turned out when we saw them in the morning. It was still fun to pose, though. We went to the “Dream Voyage†show but had really crummy seats because we hadn’t gotten there early enough.
Joe had been really looking forward to karaoke on the ship, as he’s a great singer. But, it was often held during the end of the early dinner seating. We listened to Bobby Calabrese in the US Bar for awhile and enjoyed him, but wandered on until we got to the America Bar (piano bar). Pianist Mark Guttenplan was filling in for the usual piano bar player, Brie, as she was hospitalized for pneumonia. We had so much fun with Mark and all the piano bar gang (Russ, Andy, William, Charles, Vicki, Daniel … and others whose names I forgot to write down while we were still onboard), that we wound up back there for several hours each night for the rest of the cruise. The cocktail waitresses (Katerina and Danica) knew ours drinks by the second night and were really great, fun people. We didn’t go dancing, we didn’t go to the Gala buffet, we didn’t go to “Shout,†because when it was time for each of those events, we’d look at each other and ask “Do you want to leave?†And the answer was always that we were having too much fun to leave.
The next day was our first “Fun Day at Sea.†Even without any environmental cues (interior cabin), I was up at about 7:30am. Joe was still a zombie, so I went to breakfast in the dining room on my own. We’d highlighted the Capers together the night before, so I knew he’d know where to find me once he got up and moving around.
After breakfast, I took a bunch of pictures of a little frog all around the ship. We brought one of kids’ toys with us and took pictures as though “Froggie†was taking a vacation. I haven’t printed them out, yet, but I intend to make a little book to help explain to my kids all about the cruise.
Then I went to a trivia quiz on the Lido deck, met Erin the social host and talked to her a bit (she and my husband grew up in neighboring towns in Southeast Pennsylvania), read a book for awhile, ate lunch in the dining room with Joe, watched the first part of Survivor (I wasn’t picked.), then went to a new trivia quiz, where I met and talked to Karl (with a K) for awhile.
This brings me to a point I cannot emphasize enough … talk to people, and not just passengers. Talk to your steward(ess), waiter(s), cocktail waitresses, social hosts, entertainers. They are all people with great stories, families, etc. And, they will remember you the next time they see you. It’s like sailing with a bunch of your friends.
Anyway, we lounged around the ship awhile, got some sun then went back to the cabin to get dressed for dinner. After dinner we went to the Show. It was magician John Duffy (I like magic shows, but his was kind of lame/corny), and comedian Adam Ace (who was indeed as zany as advertised in the Capers). We enjoyed the show, and then took our usual stools in the America Bar for the rest of the night.
The next morning (Wednesday), we docked in the Dominican Republic. We’d set an alarm and gone up to the Elation dining room buffet for breakfast. We’d booked (through Carnival) the Santo Domingo City Tour. When we got to the dining room, we were surprised to see we hadn’t docked yet (we’d thought we still felt motion when we were getting dressed, but thought it was imaginary). We docked about an hour late (9am), but then everything proceeded smoothly. We walked up the pier to our waiting tour bus. There were rows of buses waiting to take all the various excursion groups away, and plenty of Carnival and independent tour staff around to assist everyone.
Our tour guide, Franklin, made the tour a real pleasure. He narrated regularly throughout the hour and a half ride to Santo Domingo, pointing out local sights such as sugar cane fields, sugar can factories, important rivers, towns along the way, etc. He gave some history of the island and of Santo Domingo in preparation of our upcoming walking tour. This is a poor country, and we saw trash along the sides of the road and other signs that this isn’t a touristy area, yet. We arrived in Santo Doming, drove to the Colonial section of town, and got off the bus. It was no problem carrying water with us, and we left other stuff on the bus.
The tour included such significant sights as the Alcazar de Colon (the home where 4 generations of Columbus’ family lived, still housing original furniture and paintings), the Calle das Damas (Street of the Ladies, one of the oldest streets in the New World), a building housing the remains of many of the Dominican’s significant patriots and heroes, a couple of impressive Plazas, and the Cathedral of Santo Domingo. We heard the story of the disputes over where Columbus is, in fact, buried. (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030603/ap_on_re_eu/spain_columbus__bones_3)
After the Cathedral, they took us to a gift shop, gave us some freebie drinks and we had time to shop. There was a later shopping opportunity with better prices later. But, this first store had fancier stuff, if that’s what you’re shopping for.
We walked back to the bus and drove to a coastal hotel for a complimentary lunch buffet. After lunch, we re-boarded the bus and drove through the newer part of town. Photo opportunity at the President’s house, the US embassy, then off to the Columbus Lighthouse. There wasn’t time to tour through the Lighthouse, but we could get out for a few minutes for some pictures. We all pretty much crashed on the bus on the way home. Near La Romana, we stopped for more shopping. From the outside, the place looks like it only sells pottery, but they also have jewelry, T-shirts, mahogany carvings, salad sets, paintings, liquor, tobacco, food stuffs, local handicrafts and other souvenirs. It’s much bigger than it looks, and there are some bargains to be had!
We got back to the pier at about 5:05pm. The ship was to have sailed at 5:00pm. The other Santo Domingo tour bus was even later than we were. We changed and made it to dinner (5:45pm) on time. We skipped the show, I crashed for the night around 9pm, and Joe went to the piano bar until late.
On Thursday, we docked in St. Thomas. We had breakfast in the Paris Restaurant and headed for immigration. The line was long, but moved quickly. We got into line around 8:30am. We had to show our birth certificates again, and everything was simple. They gave us name stickers for our shirts that we had to keep on to disembark. I got off the ship for some quick shopping in the mere steps away Havensight Mall, while Joe took a nap (remember I mentioned a late night in the piano bar). I stashed my purchases in the cabin, and we headed ashore for our tour.
We’d booked a 10am tour with Godfrey, an independent tour operator (http://www.godfreytoursvi.com/). He charges only $20 per person for what turned out to be a fantastic day. We met Mary Ann (from CC) and her friend Danyette. Although, we’d already met in the piano bar, we hadn’t made the CC connection, yet. There were about 11 of us on the tour, altogether.
Godfrey dropped us downtown for two hours of shopping time. Joe and I wandered the downtown shopping area, picked up a couple souvenirs and then went to the nearby old Fort. The fort is free to enter and tour, but they do appreciate donations. We looked around, took some nice pictures from the vantage point of the walls and then it was time to rejoin our tour group. Godfrey headed through town, pointing out sights and giving us a lot of background on St. Thomas and the US Virgin Islands, in general. We started up toward Mountaintop on St. Peter Mountain. It’s the highest point on St. Thomas. We stopped a few places on the way up for nice views of the harbor. Godfrey also pointed out places where the bad hurricane season of 1995-1996 damaged homes. Many of the homeowners were uninsured, and so there are a lot of places that just haven’t been rebuilt. They’re expecting a bad hurricane season this year and are bracing themselves for it. Apparently, it can take a year or more of work after a hurricane before cruise ships really return to the port.
The weather was sunny, but hazy so we didn’t have crisp clear views. Apparently this is pretty typical this time of year, coming into hurricane season. Up on Mountaintop (http://www.greathouse-mountaintop.com/mtp/index4.htm), there was time for pictures (great views of Magen’s Bay), a little shopping, a famous banana daiquiri. There’s an ATM machine there, too, which is nice. We reboarded the bus and headed down the mountain. The ride down was fun on the twisty-turny roads. A little like a roller coaster. We stopped at Francis Drake’s Seat for a couple of more pictures, then we had our choice of Magen’s Beach, Coki Point, or Sapphire Beach. Coincidentally, everyone in our group choice Coki (for its “crystal clear watersâ€Â). The beach area had snorkeling, SCUBA, parasailing, jet skis, a gift shop, a fast food snack bar, a Caribbean snack bar, chair and umbrella rentals, and roaming drink waiters. We rented an umbrella ($10), and relaxed on our beach towels, reading. Mary Ann and Danyette apparently had a bad experience with the dive shop there, so beware. Coki Beach also hosts the Coral World underwater observatory (http://www.coralworldvi.com/).
At about quarter to 4pm, we got back on the bus and were dropped at the pier at about 4:05pm. Plenty of time to shower and dress for dinner. We went to the comedy show that night featuring a ventriloquist/comedian (can’t find my Capers for his name) and Jim Brick, a comedian. We liked his act, as did some of our onboard friends. So, we had fun in the piano bar and then all went together to Jim’s midnight “adult†show. It was pretty funny, but we weren’t rolling on the floor or anything. Be forewarned, the adult shows are definitely adult shows. If you’re easily offended or traveling with kids, skip these.
Then we had two more days at sea before returning to Miami. We jumped right into things, participating in a lot of events, such as Sea Feud (like Family Feud, I won a medallion!), Carnival Quest (you just have to see it to understand), hanging out watching our favorite pianist Mark play in the atrium, eating, eating, eating. We went on the galley tour, which was interesting, particularly the demonstrations afterward (ice sculpting, towel animal folding, napkin folding, cooking). We played win-a-cruise BINGO (our only BINGO of the week), and lost. We didn’t vist the gym, the spa/salon or the casino. Well, we walked through the casino with friends, but didn’t gamble anything. We didn’t attend any art auctions, but two of our tablemates did and they said it was very interesting. They bought some Thomas Kinkades.
We chose not to alter our tips, and didn’t tip extra to the maitre’d. We did tip Mark, the pianist, as well as our America Bar cocktail waitresses Danica and Katerina. They were great to us all week. (in fact, Katerina was on Coki beach with us and came over to chat for awhile) Other miscellaneous notes … make sure you have your camera situation well in hand in advance. We had planned to download our digital pics onto my husband’s laptop. But, when we tried to do so onboard, we were missing a driver. So, we wound up buying an extra memory card. And, I packed extra batteries for the camera, but forgot to take them along in St. Thomas, and had to buy new batteries mid-day.
We took advantage of the $12 per bag laundry special and it really was a bargain considering what we crammed into the bag.
Take Bonine even if you don’t think you’ll need it. You never know how the movement of the ship might affect you. Joe and I were fine with it, and drank several drinks per night with no adverse effects. And, there is meclazine (the generic name for Bonine) available FREE at the infirmary on deck 3.
Use sunblock! I didn’t on St. Thomas and got burned even in the shade of the umbrella. Not horribly, but badly enough.
The ship’s gift shops really can have good bargains. For example, the rum cakes were cheaper there than any I priced in port.
There was no trouble getting a deck chair even right by the pool at pretty much any time of day.
Get and use lanyards for your S&S cards, and use an over-the-door-shoe-holder thingie in your cabin. Invaluable!
The kids were quiet and unobtrusive until the very last day at sea. I don’t know if Camp Carnival cuts back on their scheduled activities by then, or what. But, after about 4pm on Saturday, we suddenly noticed kids running around when we hadn’t at any other point in the week.
I guess that’s it. That’s more detail than I probably should have gone into. It was such a fantastic trip, and we really felt prepared by the information we found on Cruise Critic. I can’t thank you all enough!
--Heidi
You can see a ton of pictures from the cruise on our homepage: http://alleghator.tripod.com.
Our vacation started when we left home on Saturday, May 24. We stayed overnight at the Philadelphia Airport Hilton (great rate of $45 on Priceline.com). We did this for a couple of reasons … to avoid an even earlier wake-up on Sunday, and to avoid paying airport parking for our car all week.
Sunday, May 25 we woke up early (about 5am) and took the shuttle to the airport. Security was no big deal. We used plastic cable ties to “lock†our checked luggage. We did have to remove our shoes at the security checkpoint. The flight was uneventful and included a snack. We landed on time in Miami. We proceeded to the baggage area where most of the people standing around had cruise line tags of some sort on their luggage. There were a lot of announcements in this area soliciting the cruise line transfers. We opted to take a cab. The flat rate fare of $18 isn’t supposed to have any additional charges, but when our driver asked for the $.75 toll to cross the bridge, we didn’t feel like arguing. It came out of his tip. The drive was no big deal, but our taxi had to wait in a long line of cars after we got through the port security (have your cruise tickets and photo ID handy on the taxi ride to show at security).
We checked our bags, tipped the porters and entered the embarkation building. We were handed a SARS form and went through the X-ray security checkpoint with our carryon bags. After waiting in a quick-moving line, we showed our birth certificates and driver’s licenses, handed over our tickets and Bahamas immigration forms and were sent on our way up an escalator. We stood in another very short line for our Sign and Sail cards, a slightly longer line for our Sign and Sail card photos, and then sent to wait at the foot of another escalator. We were then sent up in a group with some other people. One embarkation photo later, and we were onboard. Some crewmembers (in room steward uniforms, I think) handed us deck plans as we boarded. We entered the ship in the corner of the atrium right next to the Internet Café.
We went to the Purser’s desk to activate our S&S cards with our traveler’s checks (which was no hassle at all), and had the cards punched for the lanyards we’d brought. After this, we found our cabin and proceeded to wander the ship. We’d been given the late dinner seating, after requesting early, so we went to the Elation Dining Room as instructed to request the change. We were told to go ahead to the late seating that first night and that we’d be informed of things the next day (we were moved to early, and it was not really a hassle). We listened to the classical trio in the atrium for a few minutes, then returned to the cabin to put on our plastic leis (used for all us CC members to identify each other onboard for sailaway). We ran into Marci and Jason from CC while sitting on the Lido Deck avoiding an afternoon rain shower. Muster drill was no big deal and we had time to return the lifejackets to the cabin in plenty of time to get a good spot right in front on the Verandah deck for sailaway. We ran into Brendan and Donna (from CC) on our way there and hung out with them until we cleared the channel out of Miami. We took note of the Coast Guard boat that escorted the ship out of the harbor. And, we met ZaxsPa and his group (who we met via CC) right before we sailed.
We wandered around a bit again until dinner, had plenty of time to unpack all our luggage into the more than ample storage space, left a goody bag for our cabin Stewardess (Jana, who was wonderful and supernatural about getting our cabin turned around so quickly each day after we’d left it) then went to eat. Our first-night tablemates were also trying to switch to the early seating, so no hard feelings there. We attended the Welcome Aboard show and then crashed for the night.
The next day was in Nassau. We’d pre-booked the Barefoot Sailing Cruise (http://www.barefootsailingcruises.com/) half-day snorkel. It was $49 per person minus a 10% discount for printing out their webpage. We breakfasted in the Paris Restaurant, the disembarked onto the pier. Nassau was like a ghost town this early. Even the hair braiders were just getting set up. We took a couple of pictures, then met our group, called for the shuttle bus and were off to the marina. I should mention here that my camera fogged up a LOT when we got off the ship. It was probably a solid 10 minutes before it was clear enough for good pictures.
We boarded our sailboat along with the three other couples (Marci and Jason, her parents, and Brendan and Donna) sailing with us. It was a 40-ish foot single-mast sailboat. I completely forget the name of our captain, but he was great. His “First Mate†Jason was quieter, but helped us with whatever we needed or wanted. It turns out after-the-fact that we were on the wrong sailboat (same company, two boats), but it didn’t seem to really be a problem. The weather was threatening rain, so we motored out to a reef spot near Atholl Island. After a brief snorkeling lesson, we were in the water. It was warm and much saltier than we expected. The fish were everywhere. The crew dropped crackers into the water to keep the fish close. We saw many different kinds everywhere we could look. We even saw a sting ray at one point. After about 45 minutes or so, we’d generally had enough and came back onboard. We had plenty of water and rum punch to drink, and lots of cheese and crackers to eat.
Just before we got out, a giant cruise-sponsored snorkeling excursion boat showed up and dumped dozens of snorkelers all on top of each other. The fish pretty much vanished. SO glad we didn’t have that kind of tour. They hoisted the sails and we whisked away around the islands. The wind picked up and it did start to rain, so they brought the sails back in so we could motor through the narrow channel back to Nassau. We sailed very close to many large mansions, and the Atlantis resort. They dropped us right next to Senor Frog’s and the Straw Market (apparently pre-September 11, they could drop people right by their ship on the pier).
Joe returned to the ship for a nap (He hadn’t taken any precautionary Bonine, as I had. He started taking it late Monday night and was fine by dinner time on Tuesday.), and Brendan, Donna and I shopped in the Straw Market and in a couple of shops downtown. One word for the Straw Market – Haggle! I paid $33 for stuff that they asked $50 for. I returned to the cabin in time to shower and primp for our first formal night.
We attended the Captain’s cocktail party and saw the first of the large group on the cruise with us swing-dancing onstage. (http://www.frankiecruise.com/index.html) We enjoyed our free drinks, saw all the officers onstage and then headed to the dining room. We met our tablemates (Sarah and Eric on their honeymoon, and Eric’s brother Wally and his wife Stacy celebrating their 10th anniversary), and our waiters (Carmelo and Alex from the Philippines). The food all week was great. There were highs and lows, naturally, but I think it was all prepared and presented very well, particularly considering the quantities and quick turn-around they’re dealing with. We all had celebratory cakes that first formal night. I wished they’d spaced them out during the week, but they were yummy anyway.
We opted for lots of portraits that night, but didn’t end up liking the way any of them turned out when we saw them in the morning. It was still fun to pose, though. We went to the “Dream Voyage†show but had really crummy seats because we hadn’t gotten there early enough.
Joe had been really looking forward to karaoke on the ship, as he’s a great singer. But, it was often held during the end of the early dinner seating. We listened to Bobby Calabrese in the US Bar for awhile and enjoyed him, but wandered on until we got to the America Bar (piano bar). Pianist Mark Guttenplan was filling in for the usual piano bar player, Brie, as she was hospitalized for pneumonia. We had so much fun with Mark and all the piano bar gang (Russ, Andy, William, Charles, Vicki, Daniel … and others whose names I forgot to write down while we were still onboard), that we wound up back there for several hours each night for the rest of the cruise. The cocktail waitresses (Katerina and Danica) knew ours drinks by the second night and were really great, fun people. We didn’t go dancing, we didn’t go to the Gala buffet, we didn’t go to “Shout,†because when it was time for each of those events, we’d look at each other and ask “Do you want to leave?†And the answer was always that we were having too much fun to leave.
The next day was our first “Fun Day at Sea.†Even without any environmental cues (interior cabin), I was up at about 7:30am. Joe was still a zombie, so I went to breakfast in the dining room on my own. We’d highlighted the Capers together the night before, so I knew he’d know where to find me once he got up and moving around.
After breakfast, I took a bunch of pictures of a little frog all around the ship. We brought one of kids’ toys with us and took pictures as though “Froggie†was taking a vacation. I haven’t printed them out, yet, but I intend to make a little book to help explain to my kids all about the cruise.
Then I went to a trivia quiz on the Lido deck, met Erin the social host and talked to her a bit (she and my husband grew up in neighboring towns in Southeast Pennsylvania), read a book for awhile, ate lunch in the dining room with Joe, watched the first part of Survivor (I wasn’t picked.), then went to a new trivia quiz, where I met and talked to Karl (with a K) for awhile.
This brings me to a point I cannot emphasize enough … talk to people, and not just passengers. Talk to your steward(ess), waiter(s), cocktail waitresses, social hosts, entertainers. They are all people with great stories, families, etc. And, they will remember you the next time they see you. It’s like sailing with a bunch of your friends.
Anyway, we lounged around the ship awhile, got some sun then went back to the cabin to get dressed for dinner. After dinner we went to the Show. It was magician John Duffy (I like magic shows, but his was kind of lame/corny), and comedian Adam Ace (who was indeed as zany as advertised in the Capers). We enjoyed the show, and then took our usual stools in the America Bar for the rest of the night.
The next morning (Wednesday), we docked in the Dominican Republic. We’d set an alarm and gone up to the Elation dining room buffet for breakfast. We’d booked (through Carnival) the Santo Domingo City Tour. When we got to the dining room, we were surprised to see we hadn’t docked yet (we’d thought we still felt motion when we were getting dressed, but thought it was imaginary). We docked about an hour late (9am), but then everything proceeded smoothly. We walked up the pier to our waiting tour bus. There were rows of buses waiting to take all the various excursion groups away, and plenty of Carnival and independent tour staff around to assist everyone.
Our tour guide, Franklin, made the tour a real pleasure. He narrated regularly throughout the hour and a half ride to Santo Domingo, pointing out local sights such as sugar cane fields, sugar can factories, important rivers, towns along the way, etc. He gave some history of the island and of Santo Domingo in preparation of our upcoming walking tour. This is a poor country, and we saw trash along the sides of the road and other signs that this isn’t a touristy area, yet. We arrived in Santo Doming, drove to the Colonial section of town, and got off the bus. It was no problem carrying water with us, and we left other stuff on the bus.
The tour included such significant sights as the Alcazar de Colon (the home where 4 generations of Columbus’ family lived, still housing original furniture and paintings), the Calle das Damas (Street of the Ladies, one of the oldest streets in the New World), a building housing the remains of many of the Dominican’s significant patriots and heroes, a couple of impressive Plazas, and the Cathedral of Santo Domingo. We heard the story of the disputes over where Columbus is, in fact, buried. (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030603/ap_on_re_eu/spain_columbus__bones_3)
After the Cathedral, they took us to a gift shop, gave us some freebie drinks and we had time to shop. There was a later shopping opportunity with better prices later. But, this first store had fancier stuff, if that’s what you’re shopping for.
We walked back to the bus and drove to a coastal hotel for a complimentary lunch buffet. After lunch, we re-boarded the bus and drove through the newer part of town. Photo opportunity at the President’s house, the US embassy, then off to the Columbus Lighthouse. There wasn’t time to tour through the Lighthouse, but we could get out for a few minutes for some pictures. We all pretty much crashed on the bus on the way home. Near La Romana, we stopped for more shopping. From the outside, the place looks like it only sells pottery, but they also have jewelry, T-shirts, mahogany carvings, salad sets, paintings, liquor, tobacco, food stuffs, local handicrafts and other souvenirs. It’s much bigger than it looks, and there are some bargains to be had!
We got back to the pier at about 5:05pm. The ship was to have sailed at 5:00pm. The other Santo Domingo tour bus was even later than we were. We changed and made it to dinner (5:45pm) on time. We skipped the show, I crashed for the night around 9pm, and Joe went to the piano bar until late.
On Thursday, we docked in St. Thomas. We had breakfast in the Paris Restaurant and headed for immigration. The line was long, but moved quickly. We got into line around 8:30am. We had to show our birth certificates again, and everything was simple. They gave us name stickers for our shirts that we had to keep on to disembark. I got off the ship for some quick shopping in the mere steps away Havensight Mall, while Joe took a nap (remember I mentioned a late night in the piano bar). I stashed my purchases in the cabin, and we headed ashore for our tour.
We’d booked a 10am tour with Godfrey, an independent tour operator (http://www.godfreytoursvi.com/). He charges only $20 per person for what turned out to be a fantastic day. We met Mary Ann (from CC) and her friend Danyette. Although, we’d already met in the piano bar, we hadn’t made the CC connection, yet. There were about 11 of us on the tour, altogether.
Godfrey dropped us downtown for two hours of shopping time. Joe and I wandered the downtown shopping area, picked up a couple souvenirs and then went to the nearby old Fort. The fort is free to enter and tour, but they do appreciate donations. We looked around, took some nice pictures from the vantage point of the walls and then it was time to rejoin our tour group. Godfrey headed through town, pointing out sights and giving us a lot of background on St. Thomas and the US Virgin Islands, in general. We started up toward Mountaintop on St. Peter Mountain. It’s the highest point on St. Thomas. We stopped a few places on the way up for nice views of the harbor. Godfrey also pointed out places where the bad hurricane season of 1995-1996 damaged homes. Many of the homeowners were uninsured, and so there are a lot of places that just haven’t been rebuilt. They’re expecting a bad hurricane season this year and are bracing themselves for it. Apparently, it can take a year or more of work after a hurricane before cruise ships really return to the port.
The weather was sunny, but hazy so we didn’t have crisp clear views. Apparently this is pretty typical this time of year, coming into hurricane season. Up on Mountaintop (http://www.greathouse-mountaintop.com/mtp/index4.htm), there was time for pictures (great views of Magen’s Bay), a little shopping, a famous banana daiquiri. There’s an ATM machine there, too, which is nice. We reboarded the bus and headed down the mountain. The ride down was fun on the twisty-turny roads. A little like a roller coaster. We stopped at Francis Drake’s Seat for a couple of more pictures, then we had our choice of Magen’s Beach, Coki Point, or Sapphire Beach. Coincidentally, everyone in our group choice Coki (for its “crystal clear watersâ€Â). The beach area had snorkeling, SCUBA, parasailing, jet skis, a gift shop, a fast food snack bar, a Caribbean snack bar, chair and umbrella rentals, and roaming drink waiters. We rented an umbrella ($10), and relaxed on our beach towels, reading. Mary Ann and Danyette apparently had a bad experience with the dive shop there, so beware. Coki Beach also hosts the Coral World underwater observatory (http://www.coralworldvi.com/).
At about quarter to 4pm, we got back on the bus and were dropped at the pier at about 4:05pm. Plenty of time to shower and dress for dinner. We went to the comedy show that night featuring a ventriloquist/comedian (can’t find my Capers for his name) and Jim Brick, a comedian. We liked his act, as did some of our onboard friends. So, we had fun in the piano bar and then all went together to Jim’s midnight “adult†show. It was pretty funny, but we weren’t rolling on the floor or anything. Be forewarned, the adult shows are definitely adult shows. If you’re easily offended or traveling with kids, skip these.
Then we had two more days at sea before returning to Miami. We jumped right into things, participating in a lot of events, such as Sea Feud (like Family Feud, I won a medallion!), Carnival Quest (you just have to see it to understand), hanging out watching our favorite pianist Mark play in the atrium, eating, eating, eating. We went on the galley tour, which was interesting, particularly the demonstrations afterward (ice sculpting, towel animal folding, napkin folding, cooking). We played win-a-cruise BINGO (our only BINGO of the week), and lost. We didn’t vist the gym, the spa/salon or the casino. Well, we walked through the casino with friends, but didn’t gamble anything. We didn’t attend any art auctions, but two of our tablemates did and they said it was very interesting. They bought some Thomas Kinkades.
We chose not to alter our tips, and didn’t tip extra to the maitre’d. We did tip Mark, the pianist, as well as our America Bar cocktail waitresses Danica and Katerina. They were great to us all week. (in fact, Katerina was on Coki beach with us and came over to chat for awhile) Other miscellaneous notes … make sure you have your camera situation well in hand in advance. We had planned to download our digital pics onto my husband’s laptop. But, when we tried to do so onboard, we were missing a driver. So, we wound up buying an extra memory card. And, I packed extra batteries for the camera, but forgot to take them along in St. Thomas, and had to buy new batteries mid-day.
We took advantage of the $12 per bag laundry special and it really was a bargain considering what we crammed into the bag.
Take Bonine even if you don’t think you’ll need it. You never know how the movement of the ship might affect you. Joe and I were fine with it, and drank several drinks per night with no adverse effects. And, there is meclazine (the generic name for Bonine) available FREE at the infirmary on deck 3.
Use sunblock! I didn’t on St. Thomas and got burned even in the shade of the umbrella. Not horribly, but badly enough.
The ship’s gift shops really can have good bargains. For example, the rum cakes were cheaper there than any I priced in port.
There was no trouble getting a deck chair even right by the pool at pretty much any time of day.
Get and use lanyards for your S&S cards, and use an over-the-door-shoe-holder thingie in your cabin. Invaluable!
The kids were quiet and unobtrusive until the very last day at sea. I don’t know if Camp Carnival cuts back on their scheduled activities by then, or what. But, after about 4pm on Saturday, we suddenly noticed kids running around when we hadn’t at any other point in the week.
I guess that’s it. That’s more detail than I probably should have gone into. It was such a fantastic trip, and we really felt prepared by the information we found on Cruise Critic. I can’t thank you all enough!
--Heidi
