Conference abbott::cruise_travel

    
    
    I don't know what your time schedules are on the islands, but here are
    a few ideas.
    
    St. Thomas:  Try to visit Coral World -- a wonderful aquarium where you
    go down inside a building and look out at the sea world looking in at
    you!  If you have time, have a banana daiquiri at the Mountain Top. 
    And, of course, buy your jewels, perfume, and liquour in Charlotte
    Amalie.
    
    Barbados:  Take a deep sea dive in the submarine Atlantis.  They
    take you down about 50 - 100 feet under water for an hour of viewing
    the underwater world.  Cost is approximately $50.  
    
    Spend some time on the beach at the Hilton Hotel.  It's a lovely beach
    with an outdoor bar overlooking beach and water.  Our ship had an 
    agreement with the Hilton to allow its passengers use of the Hilton beach.
    
    St. Lucia:  I loved St. Lucia, though I've heard some rumblings about it 
    being a dangerous place.  It is a luxuriously verdant and mountainous
    island.  We took an all-day trip on a pirate ship up the coast to 
    Sufriere (spelling?), where we toured the volcano.  The trip included
    free drinks on the boat, the volcano tour, and lunch at The Still.  We 
    had a wonderful buffet with lots of native foods.  On the way back down 
    the coast we stopped for swimming off the boat at a lovely little cove. 
    This was a great trip -- but you need all day.
    
    I think St. Maarten's is probably one of the best places on your
    itinerary for snorkeling, but this is only hearsay from a friend.  I've 
    snorkeled at the underwater trail at St. John's, but I don't think you 
    will be in St. Thomas long enough to take a jaunt over to St. John's.
    
    The ships usually list all the tours available and you may be able to
    get more info from passengers who are doing repeat trips.
    
    Have a ball!
    
    

    
    About St. Lucia - I spent a week there last May.  It is always wise
    to be careful no matter where you are, however given all things,
    it is relatively safe.  I snorkelled for the first time at the beach
    at Soufriere (sp?) and it was fantastic!
                              
    Be very careful about leaving your snorkelling stuff out though,
    because flippers are in high demand there.
    
    My (now ex) husband's aunt and uncle lived on St.Lucia about 10
    years ago for several years (they have a small plant/factory there)
    and so they made all reservations for us.  We stayed in a very cheap
    place and went to all the places that most tourists don't go since
    his aunt and uncle and 7 other family members were also there with
    us, so I can't really give you a good overview from a novice tourist
    perspective going there without much knowledge of the area.  Our
    cottages were right on the beach and just down the beach from the
    Club Med over on the other side of the island from Soufriere.
    
    Recommendation - do not stand in any stagnant pools of water because
    there is a snail disease you could catch which is transmitted through
    the skin.  Don't worry about taking a shower though, because that
    water is safe (we all did and we're all OK, as were his aunt and uncle 
    who lived there for several years).  If it makes you feel more
    comfortable, wear flip-flops in the shower - I did).  It's best to 
    drink bottled water in any case.  
    
    If you would like any specific add'l information or have more
    questions, feel free to contact me offline.  It's a beautiful island
    and I highly recommend it.
    
    Cindy

    Chris
    
    I haven't heard of the Chandris Cruise line...???  I am looking
    into going on a cruise in April, but am currently just checking
    prices everywhere before I commit to anything...
    
    Are the prices any better for this cruise line than say Carnival??
    
    Where can I find information on it????
    
    Also...I entered a note (#81) asking about the Mardi Gras, you
    mentioned you went on this ship???  Could you tell me a little 
    about that trip too??  Is 4 days enough time????
    
    If you don't get to reply before you leave....have fun and let us
    know how it went !!!!!!!!
    
    Chris
    

    They almost always have an add in the Sunday Globe. The ads have
    prices and ports of call.
    

    
    
    Chris, 
    
    	Are you back from your cruise yet???
    	
    	Can you tell us how it was??  How was the ship/cruise line?
    	Did it meet your expectations?
    	
    
    			Chris
    	

    I may be going on the Britanis (spelling??) could anyone give me any
    info on the cruise line, or the ship or both. The price for this cruise
    line seems real low compaired to others. Plus they have openeings on
    their Xmas cruise. Have to make a decision soon.
    
    	Thanks...
    		Lloyd
    
     

    I've sailed on Chandris a couple of times and it pretty much turns
    out that you get what you pay for. The ships are not in quite as
    good shape as some of the other lines and perhaps the food isn't 
    quite as good. On the other hand, you typically get more ports of
    call than you do on other lines which I think is worth a lot. I
    wouldn't have any qualms about sailing with them again but if its
    your first cruise and you're looking for the ultimate in luxury,
    you might want to try another line. If on the other hand, you are
    looking for a pleasant few days at sea and you don't care too much
    about it being a somewhat older ship and you are looking forward
    to lots of neat ports of call and most importantly, you
    are looking to save a few bucks, I don't think you will be
    disappointed.

    RE: NOTE 78.6 - In case you were not aware although the Brittanis
    is an older ship it was voted #1 for Value by the Cruise Magazine
    survey done a few months back.  My husband and I just returned last
    Saturday from a Sales Seminar at Sea held by Cruises Inc. for which
    my husband is an outside sales rep.  It was aboard the Chandris
    Amerikanis which is their oldest, budget category ship.  Although
    the ship did show its age the service, food and entertainment were
    excellent and the entire crew were eager to please.  This was our
    fifth cruise and I felt that from a service standpoint it was just
    as good if not better than more upscale cruises we have been on.
    I'm sure you'll have a great time and enjoy your cruise experience.
    
    The ny/nj District Sales Manager from Chandris accompanied us on
    this cruise and during our meetings presented us with a overview
    of Chandris new division "Chandris Celebrity Cruises" which will
    be premiering in Feb 1990 with the SS Meridian.  For anyone who
    has previously cruised on the former Chandris Gallileo, the SS
    Meridian is the reconstructed Gallileo after multi-million $
    redesign and construction.  We were told that it was actually stripped
    to the bulkheads and completely redone.  It sound as if it will
    be a beautiful ship and will be offering suites that actually contain
    skylights... Chandris will also be adding the brand new SS Horizon
    doing the NY to Bermuda sailing starting in April 1990.  Then in
    October 1990 it will transfer to San Juan and do 7 nite cruises
    to Barbados, Antigua, Martinque, St Lucia and St Thomas.  This will
    put a brand new ship sailing out of San Juan where mostly older
    ships are operating now.  I would like to try this one... 
    
    Also note that Chandris has signed a 20 yr agreement with the Bermuda
    government.  Next year only three cruise line (Royal Viking, Royal
    Carribbean and Chandris) will be allowed dockage in Bermuda.  As
    I understand it, the Bermuda government is trying to limit the #
    of cruise passengers to their island and promote more land packages,
    which will mean more income for the Bermudians. The Chandris SS
    Meridian will dock at the "West End" of Bermuda and the SS Horizon
    will dock one night in Hamilton and 2 nites in St Georges.  
    
    If anyone would like anymore info just send a Decmail to Kathy Shields
    GRANDPA::SHIELDS
    
    

    RE: Note 78.8
    
    Correction 
    
    E MAIL = GRANPA::KSHIELDS