St Thomas 
We awoke to beautiful sunny skies & hot air. We have been to St Thomas many times before. It is very beautiful. We love St John as well but decided we were tired & wanted to rest on the lido deck. We did get off the ship & do a bit of shopping right at the port. 
Other's in my group: Snorkeling at Coki Beach Paradise Point Shopping downtown 
They all had a great day enjoying St Thomas. 



St. Thomas

Dominica 

This was our 3rd or 4th visit to Dominica. This was the most anticipated stop for me. I booked several weeks before leaving on the cruise a private tour for the day with Woody Dominica. This was by far the best tour out of 14 cruises or out of 95+ days of cruising. Simply the BEST! 
Don't miss out on this tour if your planning on visiting Dominica. 
Our day began with meeting Woody at the pier. He was waiting on the street next to the Royal Canada(I think) bank. He had a sign held high up so we could clearly see him. He's 6'5 so it's not so hard!! Our group of 6 & Woody proceed to his Land Rover Defender. Seating was 4 inside & 2 outside. He showed us a map of where he would be taking us for the day. We made many stops for photo ops & he was full of knowledge. We beat the crowd to Jaco falls & had some nice pictures taken there as well. We never felt rushed just took our time looking around. There was a guy there offering fresh fruits, sugar cane, etc. you could enjoy & donations were accepted. At this point we were ready for Woody's homemade rum punch! He also had local beer, 2 bottle of wine (at our request), water, fruits & homemade breads. Again along the way he always showed us on a map of our next stop. Once we got by the river tubing area, he told us this is the final place that the cruise lines will stop their tours. It was nice to know that we wouldn't be seeing anyone else until we got back to the ship! My favorite stop- he took us down a steep path (off roading) down to a secluded beach.I have to say it was beautiful. Paradise. We had 1 1/2 hours there to swim, play, eat & drink. There was only 2 other people on the beach that are locals & they come this beach everyday. Woody took time out to talk to us, swim, take pictures. It was a perfect day in paradise. We left the beach the same way we came (off roading). We stopped a few more times for some history & photo ops. When we returned to the port it was sad to say our goodbyes but I know we'll be friends forever. He is a gentleman, professional, kind, knowledgeable, and handsome too! I just can't say enough about our day with him. You would be amazed at how reasonable his tour cost is. Carnival has a port rating with 5+ being the highest. I'm telling you this was a 10+ rated tour. 
Check it out under the boards & thread. Or visit: http://woodydominica.shutterfly.com/ 



Dominica

Barbados- 
Another island I have been to numerous times. I love this port. Nice locals & fantastic beaches. 
A group of 10 of us took a taxi to Rockley/Accra Beach. We walked out to the street to negotiate a price of $5.00 per person. Normal rate is $7.50. We piled into the van & headed towards the beach. I'll tell you these people drive crazy! LOL At arrival to Rockley beach, we proceeded down to the waters edge & got some beach chairs for 5.00 each. We had drinks at Chicken George. It's a beach bar there. They were tasty. The water is crystal clear & the beach sand is soft with a slightly pink hue to it. This is one of my favorite public beaches in the Caribbean. It was hot & sunny and the water was warm & refreshing. If you want a good beach, drinks, etc go here. You can walk the beach to a boardwalk & continue it down to the Hilton if you feel you need to get some exercise. On our return to the ship, there was plenty of taxi's waiting for us. 
At the port, we did a little shopping before boarding. 


Barbados

St Lucia 
This was our first visit to St Lucia. I had pre booked a private island tour for 29 of us with Serenity Tours. We had 2 vans & a private car. We had 6 tour guides for our group. They picked us up on time right at the port. We traveled up & down windy roads & stopped for many photo ops. Some site we saw were: Snake man, Pitons, Waterfalls, Rum Distillery.The highlight for me was the drive-in volcano. This was something not to be missed. Just amazing. We had a wonderful buffet lunch at the Beacon overlooking the Pitons. It featured local cuisine & beautiful views. 
I would highly recommend booking with Serenity. They have many tours to choose from but for our first visit I choose to see as much of St Lucia as I could. Serenity tour guides are professional, kind & knowledgeable. You won't regret booking with this tour operator! 



St. Lucia

St Kitts 
Another beautiful port of call. We have been here one other time so we felt we just needed a nice relaxing day. The port area is built up by the cruise lines & is full of bars & shopping. Behind the shopping area there are local vendors so make sure to go there! Much cheaper to shop & your supporting the locals! 
Some of our group went to Friars Beach. They had a great time there but watch out for a drink called Sand Dollar. Very good & strong. As the locals say it will cut you off at your knees! LOL 
There is plenty of good tours to do here as well. 


St. Kitts (Port Zante)

St Maarten/St Martin 
We love this island also. We docked just outside of Phillpsburg. The port area is again built up by the cruise lines. There is easy access via the water taxi to Phillipsburg & it is only $6.00 all day use. We proceeded to the taxi area as we were headed to Orient Beach for the day. The taxi fare is a set rate so there is not much negotiating. I think it was $6.00 per person one way. 
We arrived Orient beach at Bikini Beach bar. We walked toward Club Orient & found a place to lounge for the day. $5.00 for chair rental including an umbrella. Plenty of places to order food & drinks also. The water here is also crystal clear. Warm water & soft sand. Plenty of activity & it was very busy. It is a topless beach so if you can't handle it stay away. Future down the beach you'll find Club Orient which is a nudist resort. You will find peeps walking the beach without clothing or tops on as well. Again if your easily offended don't come here. It was again another perfect day at a beach. Taxi was easy to find for our return trip to the port. We had a few more drinks prior to boarding the ship. 


St. Maarten

Inside cabin # 6332

Just above the Casino. I could faintly here some of the slot machines at night while trying to fall asleep. It was so faint that it's probably hardly worth mentioning. 

Good midship location. Quiet location.

We also stayed here 1 night post cruise on Jan 24, 2010 and the hotel staff stored our luggage for us until out rooms were available.San Juan, Puerto Rico 
Jan 17, 2010 
We took a taxi from our hotel to the port about noon.

Carnival Victory Review

Cruisin Into 40! Carnival Victory January 17, 2010 THE BEST!

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