Caribbean Cruise Advice?

[RaceGrrl]

Later this winter we'll be taking a cruise on Holland America to Tortola, St Kitts and Half Moon Cay. I've been on cruises a couple of times with my mom, but this is Richard's first trip. I've been to Half Moon Cay on both of my previous trips and loved it so we'll probably just spend the day there on the beach or hiking the island. Never been to St Kitts or Tortola. We're not really interested in snorkeling or doing typical touristy things. Should we just plan on exploring on our own?

We'd appreciate hearing about your cruise experiences.

[JohnHKart]

My final 6 mos on Carnival in 01 was in the Caribbean. St Kitts: I enjoyed the Ballahoo restaurant each week and the food was good. Always got the conch fritters, usually have only eaten that in the Caribbean, love it!

http://www.ballahoo.com/

Used to walk up sugar factory road to look at the airport and there are cool old sugar cane rail cars up there too. It's a nice walk. This train ride looks cool:

http://www.stkittsscenicrailway.com/railway-tour.html

Tortola didn't do much there, but I highly recommend Brewer's bay. It's the kind of beach that an island would put on a postcard. I'm not a snorkeler either , but don't miss that beach!

Also ate a few times at Pusser's road town pub, which is just to the left of where the ship docks and it's on waterfront road .

http://www.pussers.com/t-road-town-pub.aspx

John

[chop456]

There's a shack on Cockleshell Beach in St. Kitt's that has the best beach food I've ever had. Lion Rock Beach Bar. It's an old Rastafarian dude (Lion), and his wife that run the place. They have Guinness and Dragon Stout, Carib, and some killer rum punch. Beers/drinks are about $2/$5, and a huge plate of BBQ meats and veggies was about $14. Beach chairs are $5. You'll have to rent a car or take a taxi. If you're scared of cratered mountain roads, you may want to take a blindfold. Shared minibus was about $10/pp, I think. You get to see Robert Redford's house, too. :gomer:

There's an outhouse and that's the whole amenities list. :D

If you want to chill, drink and eat and that's it - I recommend it. We'll be back in April and will be going to the same place if I have my way.

That's Nevis in the background.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uxhLyPjP2MY/Taq5dFy91uI/AAAAAAAAQl8/Bg8JGEPEd8Q/s1600/LionRockBar.JPG

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2a7IPMZcWeU/Taq6Dy_6xuI/AAAAAAAAQmE/mxEvd4wNum4/s1600/Huts.JPG

[TravelGal]

I'm simply crushed, shattered, despondent that you didn't book it through me. :cry: :D:D

That said, you're going to the one place in the world I know little about although I have been to Tortola with Cunard. I second JHK's comment. Not much doing. We had a gas on the round island drive or whatever they might call it these days. Dang near lost our lives. What driving. Lotsa fun. :thumbup:

Glad you're taking HAL. Another :thumbup:

Edit: Chop, you're hired also. I'm going to put your comments in my Carib file!!

[RaceGrrl]

Used to walk up sugar factory road to look at the airport and there are cool old sugar cane rail cars up there too. It's a nice walk. This train ride looks cool:

http://www.stkittsscenicrailway.com/railway-tour.html


John

Is this the famed "party train?" We were advised to take that trip. :D

[RaceGrrl]

Thanks for the info, Chop. We may have to check that out since the beaches close to port are likely to be crowded. We have enough time to make the trip- will have to see what the other couple traveling with us wants to do.

TravelGal- any advice for traveling with HA?

[JoeBob]

I've been on a lot of cruises.

Your best resource is the message boards at cruisecritic.com - pretty much anything you want to know can be found there. The Ports of Call boards in particular are great for finding tours and advice on the places you're visiting.

My wife was in St. Kitts, not long ago and really liked this place: http://www.caribellebatikstkitts.com/

[nissan gtp]

There's a shack on Cockleshell Beach in St. Kitt's that has the best beach food I've ever had. Lion Rock Beach Bar. It's an old Rastafarian dude (Lion), and his wife that run the place. They have Guinness and Dragon Stout, Carib, and some killer rum punch. Beers/drinks are about $2/$5, and a huge plate of BBQ meats and veggies was about $14. Beach chairs are $5. You'll have to rent a car or take a taxi. If you're scared of cratered mountain roads, you may want to take a blindfold. Shared minibus was about $10/pp, I think. You get to see Robert Redford's house, too. :gomer:

There's an outhouse and that's the whole amenities list. :D

If you want to chill, drink and eat and that's it - I recommend it. We'll be back in April and will be going to the same place if I have my way.

That's Nevis in the background.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uxhLyPjP2MY/Taq5dFy91uI/AAAAAAAAQl8/Bg8JGEPEd8Q/s1600/LionRockBar.JPG

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2a7IPMZcWeU/Taq6Dy_6xuI/AAAAAAAAQmE/mxEvd4wNum4/s1600/Huts.JPG


that looks better than Green Park. Maybe I'll go down and stalk you. :D

[TravelGal]

Thanks for the info, Chop. We may have to check that out since the beaches close to port are likely to be crowded. We have enough time to make the trip- will have to see what the other couple traveling with us wants to do.

TravelGal- any advice for traveling with HA?

I agree with JoeBob that Cruise Critic is a good source. The best? I always think it's a good travel agent. Why? Agents, good ones, know how to evaluate the source of the comments. With Cruise Critic, and even more so with Trip Advisor, there are comments from folks who give Carnival 5 stars for being the coolest thing afloat and others who give Windstar 3 stars because it skipped a port in a raging gale.

No special advice for HAL. They are good. Their crew is especially caring. General advice for a cruise of this quality is to take a few minutes to look at whether this cruise line and/or this particular ship offers something the others don't and then take advantage of it. Assuming YOU like it, of course. ;) If you're looking for rock climbing walls, you're out of luck with HAL. Their wine tastings are usually good, especially when they include the nice glass. Cooking classes are a lot of fun. Art auctions, if you bid on everything (make sure you don't win it), will usually win you the bottle of wine at the end. It's hard to go wrong with Holland America.

[Kiwifan]

What Gal said. We used Cruise Critic before we cruised but knew to sort out the wheat from the chaff comments. Some people just want to be miserable on holiday. ;)

We have only been on HAL and loved them. (an age thing maybe? )

Thanks for the card Gal! :thumbup:

[Ziggy]

Great minds think alike!

Were not going on a cruize, but we are going to the caribbean

weather here blows! :D

[dando]

I agree with JoeBob that Cruise Critic is a good source. The best? I always think it's a good travel agent. Why? Agents, good ones, know how to evaluate the source of the comments. With Cruise Critic, and even more so with Trip Advisor, there are comments from folks who give Carnival 5 stars for being the coolest thing afloat and others who give Windstar 3 stars because it skipped a port in a raging gale.

No special advice for HAL. They are good. Their crew is especially caring. General advice for a cruise of this quality is to take a few minutes to look at whether this cruise line and/or this particular ship offers something the others don't and then take advantage of it. Assuming YOU like it, of course. ;) If you're looking for rock climbing walls, you're out of luck with HAL. Their wine tastings are usually good, especially when they include the nice glass. Cooking classes are a lot of fun. Art auctions, if you bid on everything (make sure you don't win it), will usually win you the bottle of wine at the end. It's hard to go wrong with Holland America.

Those that know just do DCL. Nuttin' like Minnie or Daisy in a bikini. :D ;)

-Kevin

[nrc]

We made it through our cruise in one piece. Thanks to everyone for behaving yourselves while we were away.

The cruise we were on was The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise.

http://bluescruise.com/?page_id=1495

Grrl had been wanting me to go on a cruise (she'd been on a couple) but I really didn't think that a cruise would be my kind of of vacation. When I heard about the LRBC I figured it would be a good way to give it a try. With some of my favorite blues acts on board I knew that whether I enjoyed the actual cruise part of it or not there would be plenty to keep me entertained.

We had a fantastic time and I'd do this particular cruise again (some day), but I can't say that I'm any more enthusiastic about taking an ordinary cruise. Great music practically non-stop made it a wonderful experience but I generally prefer my vacations with less structure and fewer people.

[Ziggy]

Wow, lot of talent on that boat. Is it just me or is everyone getting old?

Little Charlie is a really good guitar player. Always went to see them when he was with the Nightcats.

I love Tab Benoit. I have seen him at least ten times.

Was Johnny Winter on that thing?

[Don Quixote]

Ziggy, have you seen a picture of Johnny Winter lately? As expected he has not aged well.

[RaceGrrl]

Johnny Winter wasn't on this cruise, but I think he's scheduled in October or next January.

IMO, Tab's concerts were the best ones on the cruise- he's just an amazing musician. I also loved Taj Mahal's shows... so much fun. We had a great time- and as a casual fan of blues music, I enjoyed the shows a lot more than I expected. Definitely have more of an appreciation for the genre than before the trip. :thumbup:

[nrc]

Wow, lot of talent on that boat. Is it just me or is everyone getting old?

Little Charlie is a really good guitar player. Always went to see them when he was with the Nightcats.

I love Tab Benoit. I have seen him at least ten times.

Was Johnny Winter on that thing?

Tab Benoit was definitely a highlight, along with Taj Mahal, Tommy Castro, and Otis Taylor. Samantha Fish and Ray Bonneville were nice discoveries. Little Charlie has never really clicked with me.

Tab Benoit will play all night and he's fun even when he's not playing. No clips from this trip but here he is telling stories a few trips back. NSFW language.

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[nrc]

A few clips from the actual cruise - not mine.

Otis Taylor is interesting. He has kind of a flat affect and his songs are pretty sparse on lyrics, but he paints a picture in few words and then builds this complex wall of sound around it. First clip is a cover of "Hey Joe" in one of the small bar venues, second is "Looking for Some Heat"

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During the cruise some of the ladies performing got together and did a jam session on the last night in the big showroom. These clips feature Samantha Fish, Debbie Davies, and Anne Harris the violinist from Otis Taylor's band. First is Fish's song "Down in the Swamp," the second is "The Killing Floor".

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[TravelGal]

Thanks for these. I'm following this thread with interest because I have a friend that I met while he was playing on the America Queen Steamboat (!) that is great blues guy from Nashville. He's been the second banana on lots of tours (Waylon and Willie, Dolly Parton, etc) but never broke through to the big time himself. I'm trying to develop more of an appreciation for the art form (while trying to get him some gigs).

[RaceGrrl]

What's his name, Gal?

I've definitely developed more of an ear for blues after this cruise. Really looking forward to seeing a lot of the artists from this trip in the future.

The have pro-am jams on this cruise, with musicians getting the opportunity to play with the pros on the trip. We met one guy who boarded when we did who played in the jamaramas every day. It made his trip and gets him exposure also. Pretty cool to be able to do that.

[nrc]

There are a lot of talented artists in Nashville who just make a living backing up the big names and do their own thing the rest of the time. If you're ever in Nashville be sure to check out the Bluebird Cafe which is a great place to see a lot that talent.

As Grrl mentioned the Legendary Blues Cruise is a great opportunity for amateurs and aspiring pros to network and jam with the pros.

[TravelGal]

Name is Joe Turley. Methinks the problem is that he loves the purity of the music so much, he has a hard time with the commercial end of it and trying to sell himself to the promoters. He mentioned the Bluebird Cafe in one of our conversations. And yep, Nashville is brimming. He said he was out looking for a place to play (and be paid) for a few nights and one owner told him that he had a TRIO playing for tips. That statement still haunts me. I'll tell him about this cruise. Who knows? All leads are worth investigating.

[nrc]

Tab Benoit and Elvin Bishop. Opening banter is mostly inaudible, skip to 3:50 for the music.

PSylS_wAGr8

[Ziggy]

Had a great time in Cozumel Mexico.

sucks to be back home, and back at work

[RaceGrrl]

Welcome back, Ziggy.

Know what you mean about being back. I'm listening to more blues music now, reliving the cruise.