Cruising the Southern
Caribbean on the Princess Dawn to: San Juan , St. Thomas , St. Kitts , Grenada , Isla Margarita, Aruba
I
have the cruise bug this year! After thoroughly enjoying my Mediterranean
cruise on Celebrity in May, I decided to go on another one for my fall
vacation. My friend Carolyn mentioned she was going on a Southern Caribbean cruise and I thought what a great
idea. I love the idea of "moving" into a room and unpacking
only once. It also reduces the extra planning since most things are
already taken care of (where to go, where to eat, where to stay, etc), with the
exception of what do to in the ports.
After
researching the various itineraries between Celebrity, Princess, Norwegian, and
Royal Caribbean, I picked Princess. Tony and I have sailed the Caribbean a few times, but haven't been to all the
islands. Princess had an itinerary that included 3 ports we had yet to
visit. A travel agent told me that Princess is a great line, almost up to
par with Celebrity. Celebrity has spoiled me with their wonderful food,
service, and style. With Princess and their "Personal Choice Dining"
I liked the idea of dining whenever we wanted to instead of the traditional
dining hours. I liked the idea of a relaxed vacation.
I
booked our cruise through Cruises Only, the fourth time using this company,
after searching with different companies. Rudy was quite helpful. I
booked a "guaranteed" room and would know our room (Dolphin deck) a
couple of weeks prior to sailing (D746). I booked our own airline
tickets and reserved a hotel via Priceline.com. I also contacted a few
tourist offices for information and brochures: Grenada
I
was pleased to learn that Princess allows passengers to bring wine and
champagne (but no alcoholic beverages) on board. Our plan was to purchase
2-3 bottles while in San Juan
Because
of the US State Department's travel warning to Caracas , Venezuela
Just
like my last cruise, I checked out the Cruise Critic (CC) web site for other
passengers. CC is a great web site with tons of cruise information and a
discussion board. Like the last one, I met several people going on the
same cruise. I made plans for a get together on board at 9:30pm the day
we sailed, as well as dinner and drinks the night before with Fred and
Lois. Fred and I also made plans to do day trips together.
November
1, 2003 Saturday: Our day started very, very early in the morning.
Our flight from Dulles International was at 7am, so we had to get up around
4:00am. I didn't particularly care for the early wake up call, but I
wanted as much time as possible in San
Juan San Juan
We
paid $20 for the taxi ride, which included our tip. I was surprised that Ashford Avenue Miami Waikiki with all
the high-rise buildings. The lobby was noisy as we could hear the casino
machines being worked like crazy. I wondered if there were any big
winners. Check-in was a little slow, but the man at the desk was very
friendly. He also gave us a concierge room, but no access to the
amenities with the concierge room. Our room was large and comfortable
with nice views facing west. Looking to the right we could see the
ocean. The only complaint of the room was the poor lighting.
We
had asked about a place for lunch and the man at the desk suggested pizza at
Danny's International, just a block west of the hotel. The pizza was
excellent! We had one with eggplant and roasted garlic. I had a
glass of red wine while Tony tried the local beer. It was raining at the
time and many popped in wait out the rain or have lunch.
Nearby
was a small grocery store where we purchased some wine for the cruise. It
was nice to have this store near our hotel. Also nearby is a Walgreen's
where we picked up a few items we needed
After
lunch, we took the local bus (B21) to Old San Juan (OSJ). It rained off
and on, but not too heavy. It was humid and our days averaged 88
degrees. We shopped a little and found a small restaurant with a
bar. Alberto, the owner, made us a couple of local drinks and we chatted
with him for about an hour. I was bitten in the legs by mosquitos and
Alberto gave me some Off, which was a little too late.
We
had dinner plans with Fred and Lois at the Tropical restaurant. It was
only a 5-7 minute walk from our hotel. We showered and later had
complimentary rum drinks in one of the hotel bars. The bar tender told us all
about the local rums. We planned to purchase a bottle and smuggle it on
board for the cruise.
It
was a nice evening for walking to the restaurant. We met Fred and Lois at
7:30pm and had an excellent dinner with them. The food was great (I had
their pork tenderloin with congri (black beans and rice) and yuca (a root
vegetable). Tony had a skirt steak, while Fred had veal and Lois had a
steak. Everything was very good. The prices were reasonable
too. The restaurants web site, http://www.tropicalrestaurant.com/index.html,
shows the menu, which has a variety of Cuban and Puerto Rican dishes.
After dinner, we took a taxi to their hotel (the Wyndham) and enjoyed drinks at
the Fiesta bar while listening to salsa. The place was packed with
dancers. It was quite dark and very loud. Mike and Patty, also from
CC, were supposed to join us, but they never showed up.
Sunday,
2 November 2003: Embarkation - pretty smooth. There was no express
check-in line anymore. We were on board within 20 minutes. We could have gotten
on board if we had been in another line. The couple ahead of us asked a hundred
questions!
Tony
had purchased rum at the store near our hotel and put it in his carry on bag.
Security didn't take it away. We found the security people didn't take any away
unless they were packed in liquor boxes.
We
had our photo taken, and then boarded the ship. There were Princess
representatives located throughout the ship to direct people to their
room. I missed that glass of champagne what I received on Celebrity in
May. It's a lovely ship and it didn't look its age. Our room, D746, had a
large window, king bed, tiny bathroom, refrigerator, tv. The room was
very comfortable. It was a little smaller than the Celebrity Mille (I compared
this cruise quite often to the Millie). Our room was port side, and the
second to the last room aft. We did a lot of walking to/from our room
walking through the La Scala pizzeria and the casino.
Raul
was our room steward. He was a quiet man, but excellent. I would ask for
wine glasses for the room and he ensured we had some for the wine we brought on
board.
After
dropping off our bags, we headed to the Horizon court for lunch. I wasn't
impressed with the food there, but it was okay. Some of the selections
were good, such as the Weiner schnitzel. I found the breakfast foods to
be lathered in oil.
We
walked around checking out the bars and lounges and getting familiar with the
deck plans of the ship. I walked into the Florentine restaurant (5th
level) to see about making dinner reservations for the evening. No one
was around. I heard a voice, "Are you Monica?" I turned
around and it was Mike and Patty. He recognized me from my photo that I
had posted on line. We chatted a few minutes, with them before making our
dinner reservations at the purser's desk. After, Tony and I decided to go
into OSJ. Our taxi driver had pointed out the local bus stop across the
street from the pier gate. It was convenient for us and we preferred the
.25-cent ride rather than a taxi. I also told Mike and Patty about the
cheap ride to OSJ.
We
wandered around OSJ and stopped under some shelter as it poured. It
didn't last long and we were on our way again to walk around the area. We
ran into Mike and Patty who told us about the Pueblo Marshall
Across
the street was the Pueblo
Dinner
was at 6:30pm. We chose PC dining where we made our dinner reservations
rather than dining the traditional method. Our waiters were Marvin and
Dragon, table 88. I had selected M&D based on a few positive comments on CC
stating they received excellent service from them. Not so for us! We were
disappointed in Marvin who seemed to have an attitude. Dragon was the friendly
one (and should be promoted about Marvin) and had to deal with Marvin who was
pretty demanding with him. And they are cousins, from Grenada
We
had plans to meet everyone from CC at the Riviera
After
watching the ship leave port at 11pm, Patty and I headed to the La Scala
Pizzeria for a bite to eat. We weren't satisfied with our meals (Sail
Away Dinner: seafood turnover in a lobster sauce mine had 1 shrimp and 1
calamari ring) and were hungry. A few others joined us and we all enjoyed
the pizza. The selection choices were limited: Hawaiian, pepperoni,
Margarita, and choose your own toppings. Service was prompt and the
pizzas were delicious!
Monday,
3 November 2003: St Thomas St Thomas
After
a few hours, we taxied back to town and window-shopped. Mike's goal was
to purchase a t-shirt from a bar. No luck there. Back on the ship
we relaxed by the pool while the ship set sail for St. Kitts.
Our
first formal night, we had our pictures taken before dinner. Around the
atrium, there were 3 set ups for picture taking. The line at the steps of
the atrium was long, so we had our photos taken at the other locations. A
variety of drinks were served at the Captain's welcome cocktail event.
Waiters walked around serving drinks and appetizers.
Shortly
after, I noticed there was no line at the one photo place next to the atrium,
so I suggested to Mike, Patty, Matt, and Kat that we have our pictures
taken. The photographer was in the middle of taking photos, so we walked
behind him to the waiting point at the stairs. When he was done, he
motioned us to move in. An older man, who was standing behind the
photographer (and in the WRONG place), started barking at us for "cutting
in line." I immediately and politely said, "Please go
ahead." He wasn't satisfied with that and argued with us. Mike
charged in stating, "We've all been there [standing in the wrong
line]." The old man, in which I called him Walter the rest of the
cruise, stated, "I don't think you have!" I told him again to
go ahead of us, but he was determined to spoil his own evening. He
finally walked up with his wife to the photo spot and kept saying rude things
to us. He finally just walked away angry and without any photos
taken. Tony said, "He sure showed us!" (I saw him once
later in the cruise and he had that same "I'm so mad, I hate
everyone!" look.
Dinner
was the "Captain's Welcome Dinner." I enjoyed the smoked
supreme of duck with wild greens and a Cassis vinaigrette, followed by a
Veloute of asparagus soup, Caesar salad, and bowtie pasta in a creamy sauce of veal,
morel mushrooms, green peas and parmesan cheese. I also ordered a beef
tenderloin to taste, but it came out over cooked for me, so Tony ate it since
his was very well done.
Evening
entertainment in the Vista lounge consisted of
Paul Edison, "The voices of Tom Jones, Sinatra, Niel Diamond, Elvis"
He was very good! We also had drinks in the Magnum's bar. I enjoyed
their Cosmopolitans, and so did Patty.
Tuesday,
4 November 2003: St Kitts. The mountaintops of St Kitts were
covered with clouds. I was amazed at the absolutely flat Caribbean ocean. Not a single ripple. The
island is lush with tropical plants and flowers. Our group of 8 hired a
van to take us around the island ($16.50 per person). We drove to a few
places, including the impressive Brimstone fortress, a batik factory set in a
tropical setting, and the point in the ocean where the Atlantic and Caribbean waters meet. Along the way we passed
small villages, the ruins of sugar cane factories, and goats along side the
road. Signs were posted everywhere to "Prepare now" for the
next disaster: hurricanes.
In
town we were dropped off at the Circus, the center of town where slave trading
was once held. We found a small bar and everyone enjoyed the local
beer. I peeked in a few shops, but didn't purchase anything. At one
liquor store, we tried some rum. Very tasty.
Back
on the ship, as most afternoons were the same, we enjoyed the Riviera
Dinner
this night was pretty good: French night. We enjoyed the escargots and
Patè de Foie de Strasbourg
The
evening entertainment was Words and Music, an intimate cabaret. It was
pretty good, but it's not Tony's cup of tea.
Wednesday,
5 November 2003: Grenada
We
stopped at one point at a little shop for great views of the mountains and the
town of Saint George
Our
next stop was Annandale
Big
Joe took us to FortFrederick where we had great views of the town and our
ship. The police officer at the fort walked us through the place
explaining the history of the fort. It was a very hot afternoon, so I
found some shade.
Our
last stop was at a small resort south of Saint George. A lovely area, we
swam at the beach at the Flamboyant hotel. It's a hotel on the side of a
hill (lots of stairs) with a pool, bar area, restaurant, located on a quiet
beach at the far end of Grand Anse beach. The views are spectacular as
one can see the entire Grande Anse beach and town in the distance. I
think this was everyone's favorite day trip. It was my favorite
island. For $15/person plus tip for the tour and an afternoon at a
beautiful beach, it was great bargain.
Since
we knew it would be a full day of sightseeing, I had changed our dinner
reservations to 8pm. Joe had picked us up in the afternoon, dropped us
off at the port, and we walked around town for a short while. Getting
hungry, we headed to the ship, via tender, to have lunch.
Dinner
was Italian night. The shrimp, squid and mussels appetizer was very
good. Tony had the baked eggplant parmigiana. The veal chops were
excellent and probably the best meal on the ship, with the exception of the
Sterling Steakhouse. The chop was thickly cut and very tender. For
dessert, I enjoyed the Limoncello sorbet and amaretto cookies.
We
took in the late show (10:30pm) and saw Chip Romero who was a magician.
He put on a good show, but once in a while one could easily figure out the "magic."
Thursday,
6 November 2003: Princess should have skipped Isla Margarita and had
another day at sea. We were originally supposed to go to Caracas
The
ship left at 12:45pm. The pool deck was crowded as everyone enjoyed the
afternoon sun at sea. We had lunch in the Horizon court. Again, I
wasn't satisfied with the food selections.
After
dinner, Chef's dinner (smoked wild salmon, delicious king crab leg; rack of
lamb), we went to the Vista lounge to watch
"C'estMagnifique," a French musical revue. The dancers wore
very colorful and fancy costumes.
The
best part of the night was the Island Night deck party on the Riviera
Friday,
7 November 2003: Aruba . I normally
don't book a shore excursion with the cruise ship. I find them to be too
expensive, especially since one can plan their own tours in advance and share
the expenses with one to three other couples. Tony wanted to do the
Atlantis submarine tour. After checking on line, I discovered the prices
were the same, so I pre-booked this tour with Princess.
After
breakfast in the dining room where Tony enjoyed the eggs benedict, we met Fred
and Lois and the rest of the tour group at 9:50am in the terminal. On
board a small boat, we headed out past the airport to an area where we waited
for the submarine to emerge. It was a small submarine, holding 48
passengers. We were a group of 36. Our dive lasted 40 minutes and
we saw a variety of fish. Also, two ships had been sunk a few years
previously. I spotted a tire, to which Tony said, "That's a tire for
an airplane." It was a neat ride, though I was a little nervous
being underwater.
Back
on the ship, we changed into our bathing suits, met Fred and Lois at the
terminal, and walked into town. Aruba
has changed quite a bit since the last time we were there (1997?). There
were many shops, restaurants, and casinos. Lois and I bought black
carrying bags for $5. We saw them everywhere. After purchasing some
bottled water, we took a taxi to Palm beach to Moomba hotel to enjoy the
afternoon there. Right on the beach was a restaurant with a thatched
roof. We were hungry, so we had lunch: Mexican chicken wraps. Talk
about Island Time! It was the slowest
service ever! The sandwiches were very good, as well as the tropical
drinks.
Mike,
Patty, Tina, and Rob joined us at the beach. The water was warm and the
sun extremely hot. The trade winds can be deceiving: It can cool
the body, but the sun, being so close to the equator, can quickly burn. I
was in the water for a short while, laid in the sun for ½ hour, and then moved
into the shade. Later, all eight of us crammed into a taxi van and headed
back to the port. Our ship departed at 5pm.
Dinner
this evening was the Captain's Gala Dinner and our second formal night. We had
more pictures taken; then we went with Fred and Lois to the Captain's cocktail
party. The Captain was introduced, and then he introduced some of his
staff. We departed before it ended since we had reservations.
Lobster tails flowed freely at dinner. They were a little overcooked, but
very tasty. Tony had the beef Wellington, which he said was very good.
The
show this evening was a comedy show with Mike Wilson. He was
excellent! He had everyone in stitches. Two older couples were
targeted because the two men sat next to each other instead of next to their
wives on a couch. They took the jokes quite well. At one point,
while the comedian wasn't looking, they switched seats: The men moved to
the middle of the couch with the wives on either end. That caught the
comedian by surprise, but he loved it.
At
11:30pm, the Maitred'HotelNicolFurlan hosted a Champagne Waterfall, consisting
of over 600 classes stacked like a Christmas tree. They must have used
over 100 bottles of champagne to fill those glasses. Champagne
Saturday,
8 November 2003: Day at Sea. This was a
lounge-all-day-and-do-nothing-day. I was glad for this day at sea and
wish I had picked a cruise with a day at sea at the beginning of the
cruise.
We
found many people had been hogging up the pool lounge chairs all week that our
group decided to meet at 9am at the pool deck to claim our chairs for the day.
However, unlike the hoggers, we used them all day and didn't disappear for
hours.
While
Tony held fort with the lounge chairs, the rest of the group headed to the Vista lounge for a culinary demonstration, then a tour of
the galley. The galley was spotless. It would have been interesting
to see the cooks in action.
Wanting
to have one last pizza on board, I went to La Scala pizzeria to order take out,
but was told I had to order it from my room. So, after calling in my
order and waiting for the pizza to be delivered, I packed my suitcase. My
pizza arrived, so I carried it to the pool deck to enjoy. Tony had a
burger at the grill, which he said was very good.
In
the afternoon, we watched a pool game: Flip, flop and fly. Guys would take
turns strutting around the pool and lap dancing on the female judges before
jumping (some were belly flops) into the pool. One judge always scored
much lower than the other and the audience booed and hissed at her. In
the end, three of the guys grabbed her and tossed her into the pool. She
was a good sport.
Before
dinner, Tony packed his suitcase. We joined the group at 6:30pm at the
Sterling Steakhouse. Fred bought a bottle of red wine for the table and
even made a toast to me for organizing our get together with the group.
Thanks so much Fred! The appetizers were very good: spinach and
artichoke dip with chips, chili, bloomin' onion. The steaks were excellent.
I had the 10 oz fillet mignon, while Tony dove into the 20 oz porterhouse
steak. Mike had to order another steak as his was overcooked.
Service was excellent and the best we encountered on the ship. We didn't
mind missing dining at Marvin's table on our last night.
We
enjoyed the variety show with the comedian and juggler, but the comedian wasn't
as funny as the other nights. After the show, we noticed a large group of
people outside on the promenade deck. In the distance we could see the
lights of Puerto Rico .
Saying
our goodbyes to some of the group, we changed in to our clothes for the next
day and placed our suitcases outside our room. It was requested we do
this before dinner, but that was too early!
Later,
we met Fred and Lois at the Atrium lounge to listen to some music and have one
last round of drinks. We met the juggler and chatted with him for a few
minutes. He works on board for 5 weeks in a row, and then takes a month
off.
Sunday,
9 November 2003: Early wake up call. We had to be at the Vista lounge by 7am to get our customs card
stamped. We walked down 1 flight of stairs to find a very, very long line
of people. Looking for the end of the line, we noticed it was
"wrapped around the ship" twice! After 10 minutes in line and
hearing others had waited 45 minutes already and probably had another 30
minutes to go, we decided cut out and have breakfast and deal customs
later. There should have been Princess employees to keep things calm, but
no one was to be found. I heard later that people were arguing and even
cutting in line to avoid the long wait.
At
the Venetian dining room, the host took us to a table for 6 and there was Mike
and Patty! Tony and I enjoyed one last serving of lox and bagels.
One couple apparently ordered a double batch of the lox everyday.
Back
to the Vista lounge, the line had
dissipated. We walked right in and out in just minutes. Next was
the long wait for our group (green 2) to be called. We finally got off
the ship at 10:30am. No one even said "Thank you" when people
disembarked the ship. Princess Cruises definitely needs to improve on
their disembarkation process and their customer service. What a
headache! What a mess!
The
next headache was finding our luggage amongst hundreds and hundreds of
them. Mike and Patty were waiting for us so we could take a taxi together
to the Caribe Hilton (http://www.caribehilton.com/ - $65/night via
priceline.com). They had plenty of time before their flight. After
about 10 minutes of searching, we gathered our luggage and grabbed a taxi to
the hotel. We were able to get a room without having to wait till the
afternoon. However, it was a smoking room, so Tony turned on the air
conditioning to see if that would help.
The
four of us headed to OSJ via taxi and shopped around a bit. Later, Mike
and Patty went off to the hotel to get their luggage and head to the airport,
while Tony and I found a place for lunch LaBombonera (259 CalleSan Francisco
Instead
of taking a taxi back to the hotel, we took a walk along the water. It
was about a 40 minute walk, but enjoyable as we needed some exercise after all
that eating on board. The skies were dark with clouds and the wind was
blowing a rainstorm towards the island. The waves were pretty high. Near
the hotel was a small convenience store where we picked up a large bottle of
water. The bottled water in the room cost $7! Back in our room, the
air conditioning had not improved the smell of the room, so I talked to a woman
at the front desk, who arranged another room for us. Room 823 was much
better with a great view of the Condado area.
I
wanted to explore the grounds of the resort, so we headed outdoors. There
is a lovely infinity pool, a small beach area, and two bars. Also on the
grounds was a human size chess table set. Peacocks roamed the grounds
and near the guests for bits of food. We had drinks at the bar. I
ordered a pina colada, which apparently was invented at this same hotel.
I was very disappointed with it. I have a bartender friend who once told
me, "Never buy a frozen drink unless you know the bartender. Most
bartenders hardly add any alcohol." This was true with this drink.
The bartender asked how I liked the drink and I said, "Did you put
any rum in?" He added another shot. I switched to a drink
called the Hangover. Now that was good!
Back
in the room, we relaxed for a while and showered before dinner. We were
hoping to have dinner with Fred and Lois, who were staying closer to the
airport, but we were told that some election was going on that day and that
traffic would be horrible. We decided to dine close to our hotel. I
had asked at the Concierge's desk if there was a good local restaurant
nearby. I was given directions but wasn't sure if she was correct.
She stated it was off the main street near the hotel and a 10-minute walk, the
same path we took home from OSJ. We didn't see any restaurants along the
way except for KFC. We decided to walk to the restaurant, all along
wondering where she meant. After about 10 minutes and starting to sweat
from the humidity, we turned back. The hotel has 4 restaurants, so we checked
out the menus. All were expensive, especially Morton's. We decided
on the restaurant Madrid. The food was excellent! I had their
Asopao de Mariscos, a delicious seafood rice soup. Tony had their veal
chop. My soup was so filling, I asked for another bowl for Tony to have
some. Service was excellent. Luis took good care of us.
We
retired early, as it was a long day.
Monday:
We woke up to another cloudy day in San Juan
We
had to change flights in Miami
Home
again. I love to travel and hate it when I have to get on an airplane to
fly home, but it always feels great to be home again: my own bed, pillow,
and the comforts of home.
We
really enjoyed our cruise and had fun with our cruise mates: Fred and Lois,
Mike and Patty, Matt and Kat, and Tina and Rob. Thanks everyone for a memorable
cruise!
We
enjoyed all the islands (but we could have skipped Isla Margarita), especially Grenada with the beautiful Grand Anse beach and
Magen's Bay on St Thomas
I
am not sure I'll travel again with Princess. I compared frequently with
my Millennium Celebrity cruise. We weren't excited about the food and the
service varied among the employees. The food in the dining room was good,
but I can't say very good to excellent, with the exception of the veal chop,
the steaks (excellent 10 oz fillet mignon perfectly cooked to order) in the
Sterling Steakhouse, and the French night appetizers. The buffets in the
Horizon court were a disappointment. I found a lot of the food greasy or
saturated in oil and I thought the lunch buffets had too much of a variety, but
understand we missed a couple of theme buffets such as the Italian buffet.
The
entertainment on board was good. We loved the comedian. I didn't see any of the
shows on the Millie, so I can't compare or say how good they were.
I
think for our next cruise, we'll head to Alaska
or the Mediterranean or...
Useful Websites:
http://www.vinow.com/
Virgin Islands
http://www.usvi.net/
http://www.cruisecritic.com/
http://www.princess.com/
http://pub210.ezboard.com/bpricelineandexpediabidding
http://www.stkittstourism.kn/
http://www.aruba.com/
http://www.arubaexperts.com/
http://welcome.topuertorico.org/
http://sanjuanpr.ags.myareaguide.com/detail.html
http://www.geographia.com/grenada/
http://www.venezuelatuya.com/eng.htm
http://www.webcom.com/earleltd
Caribbean-on-Line
http://www.freetraveltips.com/Cruises/
http://www.caribehiltom.com/
In Memoriam
May
3, 2004: I am sorry to be writing the following sad news. Fred
passed away Saturday, April 24, 2004. Tony and I were expecting a
(second) visit from Fred and Lois a week before Easter. Just before their
trip, Lois emailed me saying that Fred had gall bladder surgery, but they were
still planning to drive to Maryland
"May
the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back. May the
sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields. And
until we meet again - may God hold you in the palm of His hand."
No comments:
Post a Comment