From: shepherd@cme.nist.gov (Kent Shepherd - pdesinc)
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: Re: Experience on Carnival cruse line?
Date: 5 Jan 93 15:29:39 GMT
Organization: National Institute of Standards and Technology
In-reply-to: vin@cbnews.cb.att.com's message of 30 Dec 92 21:00:52 GMT

I did the Southern Caribbean on Norwegian Cruise Lines last May.
Itinerary was the same except we stopped at Antigua instead of
Dominica.  I will attempt to respond to your questions having the
limited experience that I do.

Weather in November?  Well, that is the end of the hurricane season,
but that wouldn't concern me.  Usually there is not much activity that
late.  I would think that the rainy season is done and it should be
good.

Barbados:  Snorkelling is fair at Folkstone Marine Preserve.  Not that
great, but not too bad.  The beach there is nice and the water is
beautiful.  The water was not too rough at this beach.  For
spectacular scenary, drive to the opposite side of the island from
where Folkstone Marine preserve is.  This would be the Atlantic side.
The drive will take you through sugar cane fields, and hills.  The
Atlantic side is rugged and interesting to look at.  We rented a car -
scary.  The car was a piece of junk, they drive on the left hand side
of the road, and we were pressed for time.  Use good judgement.

Martinique.  Martinique is a large island.  You can't see it all so
plan well.  The city where the cruise ships dock is clean and nice.
There are several nice beaches to go to.  This island does not have
that great of snorkelling.  We messed up in Martinique and took the
wrong ferry to the wrong destination.  Although we ended up in a
quaint fishing village (it reminded me much of Europe), the beach
wasn't that great and the snorkelling was dismal.  On Martinique,
quite a few people went topless at the beaches (not my wife of course
though).

Dominique.  I can't help here.  We went to Antigua instead.

St Martin.  This was our second favorite stop on the cruise.  We
rented a car from Avis (right near where the cruise ships dock in
Philipsburg).  We drove to the French side of the island to Orient
Beach.  The beach was beautiful with crystal clear blue waters and
pink sand.  There was a small island perhaps 1/2 mile off shore from
Orient Beach where the snorkelling was pretty nice.  We swam over to
that island, but you can hire a boat to take you there.  By the way, a
portion of Orient Beach is a totally nude beach, so if you are
squemish, take blinders.  It is also fun to walk down the shopping
zone in Philipsburg.  The town is clean and nice.  Watch out for
thieves though.  We saw some shady characters examining our rental car
at Orient Beach.  We had to have someone from our group hang check the
car every few minutes.

St Thomas.  This was the highlight of our trip.  The shopping part of
the town was nice.  Best of all, had a taxi driver suggest Sapphire
Beach for a nice quiet beach with natural beauty and good snorkelling.
We had wanted to go to St John but he suggested we save time and money
by going to Sapphire Beach.  We were not disappointed.  As a matter of
fact, the snorkelling there was funner that I have experienced
elsewhere in the Caribbean, the Bahamas, and Mexico.  The coral was
beautiful, we saw sting rays, a couple of nurse sharks, lots of fish,
jelly fish, and sea turtles.  The prettiest snorkelling is to the
right hand side as you face the water.  You have a nice view of the
British Virgins from here.  If we were to take another vacation to the
Caribbean, it would be to St. Thomas.  We would visit St John,
Sapphire Beach, and Magens Beach (Supposedly one of the top 10
beautiful beaches in the world).

Good luck.

-Kent Shepherd