We chose this cruise for the value and because we had not been to three of the ports yet. We were looking forward to relaxing on beautiful beaches. The first port was St. Martin. It poured most of the day! The winds were blowing at 30+ mph so excursions were getting cancelled. We fought the winds and walked off the ship to the pier shopping area. Nothing much was open at 0830 on a Sunday, so we let the wind blow us back to the ship. We enjoyed the pool until it began to rain. The next port was St. Kitts which had a national holiday. Museums and shops on pier were closed for that reason. We went back to ship to enjoy the pool again, as we had been here before. The next port was Antigua which was on the final day of their week long Carnival celebration. We took a taxi to nearby beach for only $12. Rented chairs and umbrella for $20 and thoroughly enjoyed the lovely beach and water. The taxi driver returned as promised in time to get us back before the streets would be blocked by the Carnival parade. We ate on the ship, then came out to watch some of the parade. Many steel bands later we returned to the ship for some quiet! It was interesting! St. Lucia was gorgeous! We took the water taxi which dropped us across the street from the craft market. I spent all my cash and returned to the ship for more! This island actually produces spices, fruits and vegetables and all kinds of unique handicrafts not seen elsewhere. They still had some of the "Made in China" items all ports have, but the handicrafts were lovely. Next time we will look around the island or go to a beach. Barbados was also lovely. We took an island tour that went all around the island and ended at Pirate's Cove. We had chairs, drink coupon and a boat ride out to the sea turtles. We would have like more time there, but the group had to agree on a pick up time. It ended up raining so we were all ready to get back to the ship after all. Swimming with the turtles was definitely a highlight of the trip! All the beaches on the islands are public and enjoyed by the locals so it's nice not to feel so "touristy."
We were scouting the last three ports for when we return in January with our son and daughter-in-law. We will get off the ship and jump on one of the many tours if they want to see the islands. The ship excursions were all upwards of $50 for island overviews. These open air buses, vans and taxis all offered the same itineraries for $20-$30 per person with a "better deal" for multiple people. We got phone numbers from two drivers and will make arrangements ahead of time with them. This confirmed our feeling that we can always "do our own thing" in a port. Rides to beaches were no problem either and gave us much more flexibility than booking a beach excursion.
We knew this ship is scheduled for dry dock and a major overhaul in October, so we were very pleased to see how clean, well kept and "unshabby" the ship was. The crew takes great pride in their ship and is excited about the reno. They were particularly engaging on this ship....very willing to stop and talk with passengers.
Not sure if it was (L) but it was clean and in an EXCELLENT location. It was the first one in the corridor and close to elevators with a cabin on only one side of us. It was quiet, with no noisy clubs above us!