Friday, May 8, 2015

2015 (April 17- May 1) Southern Caribbean Cruise: St. Thomas; St. Barths; St. Lucia; Barbados; Grenada; Bonaire; and Curacoa

 We enjoyed our 2014 Maasdam cruise so much, that when  we received an email with an OBC offer if we booked a future cruise --- we checked the Maasdam itineraries and decided to go back to the Southern Caribbean in 2015---but for 14 nights this time (our longest cruise yet) and with some new (to us) ports of call (Grenada,Bonaire, and Curacao).  We booked a Spa Oceanview since we like being higher on the ship and it was almost affordable.  A couple months after booking our 2015 cruise, they offered a free Beverage Package and a cheaper fare for new bookings.  Since it was well before final payment, I called and got the reduced fare and the Beverage package, but had to give up our "welcome back OBC" which was only $50@.  After that, we waited about 7 months for the cruise to finally get here.  I was surprised the rates never lowered again.  Since we're not big drinkers, I didn't figure we'd get much use out of the Beverage package and would have given it up for a lower fare.  No further reduction came, but it turned out really nice having the Beverage Package.  On board they were charging $44.99/person/day for the package which included up to 15 drinks a day as long as they were under $7@ ---per person!   We did end up using the drink package a lot---a couple beers a day, bottled water, soda, hot chocolate... .

2015 April--The Maasdam (suite A 182) and around the ship:

 

2015-4-20   St. Thomas---8am-6pm:

 

2015-4-21  St. Barths (8-3)  Shell Beach:

 

2015-4-22  St. Lucia---8am-3pm: Pigeon Island

 

2015-4-23  Barbados (8-5): Folkestone

 

2015-4-24  Grenada (8-5): Aquarium beach 

 

2015-4-26   Bonaire (8-5): Eden Beach (Spice Island)

 

2015-4-27  Curacao (8-6) Blue Bay

 

  
We were suppose to have a stop at Half Moon Cay, but the surf was too rough, so we ended up having another sea day.  Although I was disappointed, I was really happy with the way the rest of the cruise went and the beautiful weather we had at all the other ports.  Can't wait until we board another ship for ports unknown!

 

3 comments:

  1. Thank you for all of these wonderful and informative photos! Can't wait to go to some of these ports on our upcoming Nov. 2016 14 day deep south Carib. cruise.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You are snorkelers like us. I admire your spirit of adventure and just going out on your own. We usually look for other snorkelers, and probably miss lots of good fish. Have you ever gotten in trouble going out on your own? We wear swim vests so I'm not sure what we're afraid of. Sharks, maybe?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When I'm out on my own, I look for other snorkelers to mingle near--just in case I do get into trouble I can yell out to someone) and don't go far from shore. I like taking underwater photos and they don't turn out very good in water more then about 5' deep anyway. I use to be a long distance swimmer, so I feel pretty comfortable in the water, especially with fins on. But I do respect the ocean and stay aware of my surroundings. Sharks---I do have a respectful fear of them, too, but figure if one really wants me, I'll never see it coming.

      Delete