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Trip report for 1/26/92 sailing of
the RCCL Monarch of the Seas
This was my wife Pam and my first cruise. We were with three other
couples that have cruised a various number of times. Overall the trip
was EXCELLENT. We both loved everything about it.
The shows on the ship were very good. We especially liked the comedy
acts. One show had an ocean scene with fluorescent fish, mermaids and
octopus' using black lights (very good).
We arrived in San Juan around 8:00 PM and the ship stayed in port until
midnight. I believe they had cable hookups in order to broad cast the
superbowl. We spent the evening on the pool deck unwinding from the
flight down.
The first port was Martinique. We walked around a little and took a
ferry to check out a couple of the beaches across the bay. We were not
very impressed with this island, but did not see much of it.
The second port was Barbados. We rented a caravan with driver for the day.
We toured the crystal caves and then had the driver bring us all over the
island. Pam and I had seen caves in Bermuda which are very similar.
We spent the last few hours on a beach where I tried windsurfing and
riding a jet bike. The cost of having the driver all day was less than
a 3 hour tour (thru ship) and we could do things at our own pace. The
driver brought us to some incredible view points.
The third port was Antigua. This island was beautiful except for the
locals relentless attempts to sell you something. We spent most of the
day on the beach. We rented horses ($20.00/ 1 hour+) and rode inland
and on the beach. They even let us go bareback into the ocean! We
didn't feel rushed at all.
The fourth port was St Martin. I believe we had to tender to this
island. The tender boats (3) are fairly big (200+) and we didn't have
to wait too long. We shopped a little in the morning and hired another
caravan with driver for the afternoon. The Dutch side of the island is
much cheaper for food then the French side.
The last port was St Thomas. This was a beautiful island. The view
from the ship was great. We walked around the shopping area and looked
in a good number of stores. Most of the afternoon was spent at Magens
(or Hagens?) Bay. This is rated as one of the ten most beautiful beaches.
I thought it was very nice.
We booked the cruise through Jeff Burstein of South Florida Cruises, Inc.
He doesn't do much hand holding, but if you know what you want I think
the prices are very good. We received our tickets (federal express) 17
days in advance and everything went smooth. The only disappointment was
that we were booked on a late flight to San Juan and an early flight
from San Juan. I called the airline to switch the flight, but the
early one was already full. Jeff had no problem applying an upgrade
to our cabin that I sent to him a couple of weeks before we left. Jeff's
number is 800-927-7447 EXT. 231. Please let him know that I referred you.
Rick
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