05/09/2009 May 9, 2009 7-Night Eastern St Maarten... Watch Out!

[j2bmickey]

Evening all. I thought I would drop by and say hi!

Here's wishing all the new names a WELCOME ABOARD!!!!!

I have started compiling a list (rather long) of all the different things to do at the ports and some websites. I cannot take credit for all of them as I found other sites that list links that I have copied.

St Maarten/St Martin

• Orient beach
• Rouge beach
• Dawn beach for snorkeling
• Little Bay Beach
• Great Bay Beach (lots of vendors though)
• Butterfly farm
• zip line
• Golden Eagle Catamaran snorkelling excursion
• www.norushtours.com - 011-599-554-0961
• stmaartencruiseexcursions.com – fax = 1-345-946-6444
• www.stmaarten-activities.com - Ph: (599) 544 2640 / 544 2631 | Fax: (599) 544 2476
• http://www.sunnylistontours.com/st-maarten.html
• Caribbean-on-line : http://www.caribbean-on-line.com/sm/
• Experience St Martin : http://www.experiencestmartin.com/
• Jeff Berger's St Maarten : http://www.everythingstmaarten.com/
• Sunset Beach Bar : http://www.sunsetbeachbar.com/index_html
• Princess Juliana Airport : http://www.pjiae.com/main.html
• West Indies Online : http://www.wiol.com/st-martin-st-maarten/default.taf
• Sint Maarten Beaches : http://www.odrc.com/beaches/beaches.htm
• Eagle Tours : http://www.sailingsxm.com/
• 12 Meter Regatta : http://www.12metre.com/
• Butterfly Farm : http://www.thebutterflyfarm.com/
• Aqua Mania Adventures : http://www.stmaarten-activities.com/
• 4FunStMartin : http://4funstmartin.com/
• Dolphin Discovery Anguilla : http://www.dolphindiscovery.com/anguilla/
• Atlantis Adventures : http://www.atlantisadventures.com/stmartin.cfm
• St Maarten.com : http://www.st-maarten.com/
• St Martin.com : http://www.stmartin.com/
• St Martin.org : http://www.st-martin.org/
• Rental Car Shopper : http://www.sxmcars.com/
• Weather Underground SXM : http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=SXM
• Loterie Farm Zipline Adventure : http://www.stmaartencruiseexcursions.com/LoterieFarmZipLine.htm

St Thomas/St John

• Scuba
  1. ​
  2. ​
     http://www.stthomasdivingclub.com/ - (877) 538-8734
  3. ​
     http://www.cokidive.com/ - 1 800 474 COKI
  4. ​
     http://www.admiraltydive.com - (888) 900-DIVE
  5. ​
     www.diveusvi.com.home.htm -
• Coral World & Coki Beach
• Sapphire Beach
• Paradise Point Tram and bird show
• www.vinow.com
• http://www.sunnylistontours.com/
• USVI Tourism : http://www.usvitourism.vi/en/stthomas/st_Home.html
• USVI Guide : http://www.usviguide.com/
• St Thomas Traveler : http://www.stthomastraveler.com/
• St Thomas cam : http://www.earthcam.com/usa/virginislands/stthomas/
• Virgin Islands Map : http://www.virginislandsmap.com/
• Trunk Bay - St John Guide : http://www.stjohnbeachguide.com/Trunk Bay.htm
• Atlantis Adventures : http://www.atlantisadventures.com/stjohn.cfm
• Coki Dive : http://www.cokidive.com/
• Paradise Point Tramway : http://www.paradisepointtramway.com/
• Coral World : http://www.coralworldvi.com/
• Doubloon Sail and Snorkel : http://www.doubloon.com/Doubloon.htm
• NPS Virgin Islands : http://www.nps.gov/viis
• Virgin Islands Ferry Schedules : http://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/interisland_ferry/
• Budget Car Rental : http://www.budgetstt.com/
• Havensight Mall : http://www.havensightmall.com/
• Virgin Islands Ecotours : http://www.viecotours.com/
• Weather Underground Charlotte Amalie : http://www.wunderground.com/US/VI/Charlotte_Amalie.html

 

[j2bmickey]

Not to do with our cruise exactly but we are fresh out of airline tickets for our trip to Hilton Head in June. We had tickets on Skybus- which closed up shop this past weekend. I hate to make long drives but I guess that’s what we will be doing because I cant see myself spending over $1800 on airfare for for an 11 hour drive.

As for our Thanksgiving trip to Disney- that is up in the air now too. Airfare for the dates we have to fly is about $500 per person. We planned on using a low-cost airlines but they are all disappearing quickly! I will hope SouthWest comes out with some decent fares for Thanksgiving time. if not, I may have some DVC points up for rent for the first taker!

Now for the big cruise.... I fully plan to be on this ship so let’s just hope the airfare gods are somewhat kind to us for this trip but I don’t imagine I will think twice about the price! Just get us on the ship!

What a bummer. I have several coworkers who have run into the same problem with cheap fare airlines closing shop. If you end up driving, just think of it as an adventure (kind of like the Griswald's).

We found a good deal online for American Airlines to Omaha for the College World Series. I'm glad we went ahead and got them because they have gone up recently by about $50/person one-way.

 

[scottie]

Thanks for all the great info!!!

I have started compiling a list (rather long) of all the different things to do at the ports and some websites. I cannot take credit for all of them as I found other sites that list links that I have copied....

 

[scottie]

What a bummer. I have several coworkers who have run into the same problem with cheap fare airlines closing shop. If you end up driving, just think of it as an adventure (kind of like the Griswald's).

We found a good deal online for American Airlines to Omaha for the College World Series. I'm glad we went ahead and got them because they have gone up recently by about $50/person one-way.

I think we are pretty set on driving now to HH. I already convinced my parents to take one of the kids down with them so we dont have some much fighting in our car. I dont mind the drive down so much. It is the drive back that stinks, nothing big to look forward to other then work the next day!

I will just hope SWA comes out with some decent fares when they are released in a month or two for Thanksgving!

 

[scottie]

I was chatting with DW last night about the new limits on luggage and how we need to create a game plan for our cruise. With the nice dinners and 7 nights+ nights away from home we would likely be packing more then usual.
I am going to look into the ups/fedex ground shipping rates and see about sending some stuff to MIL in FL beforehand and she can drive up to the port with it.

 

[j2bmickey]

I was chatting with DW last night about the new limits on luggage and how we need to create a game plan for our cruise. With the nice dinners and 7 nights+ nights away from home we would likely be packing more then usual.
I am going to look into the ups/fedex ground shipping rates and see about sending some stuff to MIL in FL beforehand and she can drive up to the port with it.

I think if we fly on one of the carriers that is limiting checked bags to one/person, I will have to pony up the cash for the extra bags. With all the clothes, costumes, scuba/snorkel, snacks, etc. that we took last time, we barely made it with 2bags/person.

One of the best cruise tips I have seen about packing mentions taking dockers/capris that are a neutral color and could be worn for several dinners. It also mentions wearing a polo shirt at dinner and then wearing the same shirt the next day.

That reminds me, I had taken the several threads/spreadsheets/documents from the "best cruise tips summarized" posts and created my own spreadsheet. If anyone wants, I can try to post the spreadsheet or links to the original posts.

 

[scottie]

I know how much DW packs for our 4 night cruises with a couple of days at Disney so I am sure we are going to be spilling over for the big 7 nighter! I plan at this point to fly SWA so we will see what kind of fee they decide on by then- if any. We will also likely be dragging along a booster seat and stroller on top of all the bags. I may just consider packing the kids in a suitcase to save on their airfare

I am a solid fan of wearing my slacks to dinner on more then one night for the cruise. I just cant force myself to pack pants for every night so please no one say anything to me when you notice I have the same pants on!

 

[scottie]

Now that I have slacked off on transferring our reservations, I have cost us some extra onboard credit...BUMMER! DCL changed their policy in Feb to limit the amount of funds a travel agent gets/pays out- I guess. We will still get something from the agent, just not as much.

 

[scottie]

I went ahead and finally made the transfer today to our agent we used for our cruise this past February... now just need to pay the darn thing off And I am very happy to avoid the new fuel surcharge too!

 

[ROIE01581]

if you are looking for a tour in St thomas look at Sunny Liston we did his in Arpil and was great. We were 6 adults and 6 children under 7. WE did a private tour of shopping, tour and beach...best time.


sunnylistontours.com

 

[j2bmickey]

I went ahead and finally made the transfer today to our agent we used for our cruise this past February... now just need to pay the darn thing off And I am very happy to avoid the new fuel surcharge too!

That's a bummer that you lost some of the credit. I have learned the lesson that if I see something that looks like a decent deal or something I am pretty sure I would like to purchase, go ahead and do it before it is not a deal or sold out.

At least you are avoiding fuel surcharges, for now.

 

[j2bmickey]

So it looks like American Airlines has joined the ranks of charging for more than one checked bag ($25 one way). I guess I will just have to start travelling first class.

 

[j2bmickey]

My daughter saw me posting and wanted to put some of the funny people in so here we go.

 

[j2bmickey]

if you are looking for a tour in St thomas look at Sunny Liston we did his in Arpil and was great. We were 6 adults and 6 children under 7. WE did a private tour of shopping, tour and beach...best time.


sunnylistontours.com

Thanks for the info.

Are you returning with us in May of 09?

 

[scottie]

That's a bummer that you lost some of the credit. I have learned the lesson that if I see something that looks like a decent deal or something I am pretty sure I would like to purchase, go ahead and do it before it is not a deal or sold out.

At least you are avoiding fuel surcharges, for now.

I guess the thing that held me back from switching early to the agent who offered the higher credit was that I didn’t know a lot about her or the company. For some reason I am happier now (as hard as this may be to believe) that I ended up going with my agent again from this past Feb, who offered a lower onboard credit! I just feel safer with the transfer. On the plus side… with the onboard booking credit, and early booking credit for 09’ cruises from DCL, and the credit from the agent we have all our tips covered for the 6 of us plus a few hundred in spending money for the shops etc.!!

 

[scottie]

Thanks for the link to the tour operator! I checked into the Sunny Liston tours today to get us back and forth from a beach day. It would be $125 for transfers for the 6 of us. I am guessing we can land a taxi back and forth for a good bit less. If we were doing a tour of the area and not just a beach day I think I would go with Sunny Liston for sure!

 

[scottie]

I decided to take a look at airfare thru DCL for the cruise. I thought it might be nice to have everything in one package and easy to manage. I believe I will be passing on this offer! It was $430 per person, which included transfers. I am guessing I can find airfare for less then that, even with higher gas prices.

 

[scottie]

Not sure if anyone saw the posting on the main cruise board in regards to someones airfare quote from a 3/09 cruise... I believe it was over $1000 per person!!! Lets all hope airfare really doesnt skyrocket to that by the time we all need to buy tickets for our cruise!

 

[MickeyCruiser]

Booking airfare from Toronto Canada at a reasonable price is one of my biggest concerns for this trip. I think most airlines release dates about 9 months ahead, and I'll be sure to start shopping around right away. We always have flying out of Buffalo as an option but I'm hoping to go direct as I am not a great flyer. Our cruise is almost paid off with about $650.00 left. Now just have to save for airfare and the incidentals.

 

[scottie]

Our cruise is almost paid off with about $650.00 left. Now just have to save for airfare and the incidentals.

Isnt it a great feeling to have the room almost paid off already?! We have two rooms booked with one paid off as of last night and the other set to be paid off within the month!
We got a nice amount of onboard credit from our travel agent and DCL for rebooking onboard so we now have our tips covered and a few hundred in spending money left over for the shops onboard!
Airfare is our big worry- mainly because we have a holiday trip to WDW scheduled for 6 months before the cruise.