A week to remember! - Southern Caribbean "Ports" Review by SOPOME

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Home > Member Reviews > SOPOME's Port Reviews of Jost Van Dyke,, Barbados, Grenada

SOPOME's Port Reviews of Jost Van Dyke,, Barbados, Grenada
Serenade of the Seas cruise in December 2009

Member Name:	SOPOME
Cruise Date:	December 2009
Embarkation:	San Juan
Destination:	Southern Caribbean
Member Review:	SOPOME's Serenade of the Seas Review

	Jost Van Dyke Port Rating: Technically the ship stopped in Tortola. But we chose an excursion to Jost Van Dyke and really didn't spend any time on Tortola to rate the island. We LOVED Jost Van Dyke. We booked this through RCCL. We (about 20 of us) took a boat to White Bay Beach, which took about 45 minutes. We were on one end of this pristine white sand beach at a private catering spot for us. The excursion hosts set up a bar and barbecue for lunch. We had loungers for the beach. There were no umbrellas but there was shade beneath some trees. I had read about The Soggy Dollar Bar so we walked down the beach to find that. At about 10am we were sampling the famous PAINKILLER drink, and it was definitely worth the trip! When we arrived on the island there may have been 2-3 sailboats anchored off shore, but by the time we left around 1pm, I think there were 10+. What did we love about it? The seclusion of the island and beach, the setting, the scenery, the swimming, the relaxing, Soggy Dollar -- you get the idea! By the way, for any law enforcement people out there, Soggy Dollar has patches on display everywhere, along their ceiling. Bring one with you if you intend to go!
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	Barbados Port Rating: This was the only port where we didn't plan a tour. Our ship didn't get into port until 11am and there were 4+ ships already there. I knew this ahead of time and figured it would be a crazy day. We like history, so we decided to take a taxi to the George Washington House and tour the property. It was really interesting and we are glad we went. The taxi cost us $12 from the pier and $10 to return. We were able to catch a taxi one street over from the GWH. (ask at the house for directions) We initially were going to go to Carlisle Beach after the GWH (which we could have walked to) but we decided to head back to the pier and do a little shopping. My DH ended up buying a watch, and found out later that he beat the price of the same watch on the ship -- that was a good feeling! (not to the salesperson on board though, when we asked!)
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	Grenada Port Rating: We took an RCCL tour to see Fort Frederick, Grand Etang Lake, Annadale Falls, and a spice plantation. It was so interesting! The tour guide did a great job telling us about the 1979-1983 period of unrest on the island, and also the destruction from hurricane IVAN in 2004. It was all fascinating (and sad) to hear from someone who experienced it all. The island is beautiful -- the vegetation from the rain forest, the flowers, and the fruit and spice crops! One of the shoreline roads was damaged on the day we were there so the tour guide had to drive us up over the mountain(s) to get to all of our stops. I think we actually "lucked out" to be able to see what typically others would not. There are opportunities at each stop to buy spice souvenirs from vendors, so be sure to bring some home. The smell alone is amazing!
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