Is anyone else going to enjoy "cruise season" in the Caribbean this year?

[usmbguest5318]

After several hurricanes, Irma in particular, devastated several Caribbean islands this past fall, I was unsure whether I'd do the "normal thing" and spend a couple weeks in the warmth of the Caribbean. Fortunately, however, the place I like to go, St. Bart's, is "open for business," so off we'll go. My kids will get there in December for Jimmy Buffet's free concert and bring in 2018 with their friends. I'll join them after the New Year's celebrations; I prefer "chillaxing" and intimate gatherings more so than for 20-something-style bacchanalia. LOL

 

[DGS49]

If you are talking about a cruise with stops in the Carribbean, I think you can rely on the cruise line to give you a good experience, even if a destination or two is "compromised."

 

[Moonglow]

Not this year, and Mexico is off..So we went to Denver in a cloud of smoke...

 

[usmbguest5318]

If you are talking about a cruise with stops in the Carribbean, I think you can rely on the cruise line to give you a good experience, even if a destination or two is "compromised."

If you are talking about a cruise with stops in the Carribbean

I'm not specifically, but, yes, that people go on Caribbean cruises in the winter months is what gave life, as it were, to the term. I was thinking of it more in as period of time than as a thing to do. My family and I aren't cruising; we're simply going to St. Barts to party, or in my case, "chillax."

We will do a day charter for "grins," and if enough friends are there we may even do an impromptu regatta of sorts, but that's as much sailing I have planned to do. My kids may have other intentions....Depending on what they have in mind, I'll either join them or "chillax" at the house we've rented. I really just want to relax a lot, work a little, play a little, read a bit, eat good food, hang out with friends, host or attend a few smallish get-togethers, and maybe make some new acquaintances. Basically, what I normally do everyday but in a place that's not cold.

I think you can rely on the cruise line to give you a good experience, even if a destination or two is "compromised."

I agree.

 

[usmbguest5318]

Not this year, and Mexico is off..So we went to Denver in a cloud of smoke...

The "go skiing as a family" or "go to the Caribbean as a family" has been annually, ever since they reached ages where I let all four of them have a say in the matter, a hotly debated topic among my kids.

I prefer the warmer getaways, mainly because we all these days independently with our respective friends take a ski weekend here and there throughout the winter. Besides, at my age, I can't afford to waste however many years of gym-fitness I have left. I gotta spend as much time as I can on the beach now while I still look good shirtless in trunks. LOL

My kids mostly just want to go wherever there'll be a good party (or a close enough approximation, which generally means some guy or gal who catches,or before caught, their fancy will be there too LOL) to which they've been invited. If their mother only knew that I've taught her children to be "playas...." LOL (She probably does know; I was one when we met.)

"Damn, 'Xelor,' all that for just one woman?...What a waste..."
"Bestill your heart, my dear. I assure you it is not wasted."
-- Part of a chat I had with a lady who was chatting me up over a smoothie after we'd worked out at the gym​

 

[Moonglow]

Not this year, and Mexico is off..So we went to Denver in a cloud of smoke...

The "go skiing as a family" or "go to the Caribbean as a family" has been annually, ever since they reached ages where I let all four of them have a say in the matter, a hotly debated topic among my kids.

I prefer the warmer getaways, mainly because we all these days independently with our respective friends take a ski weekend here and there throughout the winter. Besides, at my age, I can't afford to waste however many years of gym-fitness I have left. I gotta spend as much time as I can on the beach now while I still look good shirtless in trunks. LOL

My kids mostly just want to go wherever there'll be a good party (or a close enough approximation, which generally means some guy or gal who catches,or before caught, their fancy will be there too LOL) to which they've been invited. If their mother only knew that I've taught her children to be "playas...." LOL (She probably does know; I was one when we met.)

"Damn, 'Xelor,' all that for just one woman?...What a waste..."
"Bestill your heart, my dear. I assure you it is not wasted."
-- Part of a chat I had with a lady who was chatting me up over a smoothie after we'd worked out at the gym​

We usually go where it's warm also.Hawaii was a stop for several years and Mexico since 1978, but the cartels and the hurricanes have left us with little doubt about where to go..California used to go there annually till the 1980's. And Dad is in Arizona so we stay away from that state..

 

[yiostheoy]

After several hurricanes, Irma in particular, devastated several Caribbean islands this past fall, I was unsure whether I'd do the "normal thing" and spend a couple weeks in the warmth of the Caribbean. Fortunately, however, the place I like to go, St. Bart's, is "open for business," so off we'll go. My kids will get there in December for Jimmy Buffet's free concert and bring in 2018 with their friends. I'll join them after the New Year's celebrations; I prefer "chillaxing" and intimate gatherings more so than for 20-something-style bacchanalia. LOL

Stuck on a boat with a spouse that you have known (in the Biblical sense) for decades -- what a prison !!

 

[yiostheoy]

Try Cancun or Cozumel instead.

 

[Faun]

After several hurricanes, Irma in particular, devastated several Caribbean islands this past fall, I was unsure whether I'd do the "normal thing" and spend a couple weeks in the warmth of the Caribbean. Fortunately, however, the place I like to go, St. Bart's, is "open for business," so off we'll go. My kids will get there in December for Jimmy Buffet's free concert and bring in 2018 with their friends. I'll join them after the New Year's celebrations; I prefer "chillaxing" and intimate gatherings more so than for 20-something-style bacchanalia. LOL

Yeah, just got back from one. Stopped in Haiti, Jamaica and Mexico.

 

[Moonglow]

Try Cancun or Cozumel instead.

Russian mafia took over and the whores are way overpriced...

 

[usmbguest5318]

Not this year, and Mexico is off..So we went to Denver in a cloud of smoke...

The "go skiing as a family" or "go to the Caribbean as a family" has been annually, ever since they reached ages where I let all four of them have a say in the matter, a hotly debated topic among my kids.

I prefer the warmer getaways, mainly because we all these days independently with our respective friends take a ski weekend here and there throughout the winter. Besides, at my age, I can't afford to waste however many years of gym-fitness I have left. I gotta spend as much time as I can on the beach now while I still look good shirtless in trunks. LOL

My kids mostly just want to go wherever there'll be a good party (or a close enough approximation, which generally means some guy or gal who catches,or before caught, their fancy will be there too LOL) to which they've been invited. If their mother only knew that I've taught her children to be "playas...." LOL (She probably does know; I was one when we met.)

"Damn, 'Xelor,' all that for just one woman?...What a waste..."
"Bestill your heart, my dear. I assure you it is not wasted."
-- Part of a chat I had with a lady who was chatting me up over a smoothie after we'd worked out at the gym​

We usually go where it's warm also.Hawaii was a stop for several years and Mexico since 1978, but the cartels and the hurricanes have left us with little doubt about where to go..California used to go there annually till the 1980's. And Dad is in Arizona so we stay away from that state..

Dad is in Arizona so we stay away from that state..

That is both funny and saddening.

 

[BuckToothMoron]

Not this year, and Mexico is off..So we went to Denver in a cloud of smoke...

I live in Denver. When were you here? I didn’t see you, what were,you wearing?

 

[usmbguest5318]

After several hurricanes, Irma in particular, devastated several Caribbean islands this past fall, I was unsure whether I'd do the "normal thing" and spend a couple weeks in the warmth of the Caribbean. Fortunately, however, the place I like to go, St. Bart's, is "open for business," so off we'll go. My kids will get there in December for Jimmy Buffet's free concert and bring in 2018 with their friends. I'll join them after the New Year's celebrations; I prefer "chillaxing" and intimate gatherings more so than for 20-something-style bacchanalia. LOL

Stuck on a boat with a spouse that you have known (in the Biblical sense) for decades -- what a prison !!

To each his own. My wife is long dead. She is no longer the lady with whom I'll share any time.

Out of curiosity, what suggested to you that I'm going to be "stuck on a boat" (presumably a cruise ship) with anyone? Was it one of the following things I wrote in the OP?

• "spend a couple weeks in the warmth of the Caribbean"
• "the place I like to go, St. Bart's, is "open for business," so off we'll go."
• "My kids will get there in December
• "for [the] Jimmy Buffet's free concert and bring in 2018 with their friends." (click the link)
• "I'll join them after the New Year's celebrations"

I'll be on land (assuming St. Bart's doesn't commence to float LOL) save for a day-sail I've chartered and the flight to and from St. Bart's.

 

[Moonglow]

Not this year, and Mexico is off..So we went to Denver in a cloud of smoke...

I live in Denver. When were you here? I didn’t see you, what were,you wearing?

I was there the third weekend in October at the Motel 6 by the airport...Wearing camouflage so no one would see me..I was there for a four day esporting event at the Western Arena...

 

[MarathonMike]

After several hurricanes, Irma in particular, devastated several Caribbean islands this past fall, I was unsure whether I'd do the "normal thing" and spend a couple weeks in the warmth of the Caribbean. Fortunately, however, the place I like to go, St. Bart's, is "open for business," so off we'll go. My kids will get there in December for Jimmy Buffet's free concert and bring in 2018 with their friends. I'll join them after the New Year's celebrations; I prefer "chillaxing" and intimate gatherings more so than for 20-something-style bacchanalia. LOL

I've been to the Grand Caymans which was fantastic for snorkeling and scuba. What is it that you like about St. Barts? Just curious we may want to try some other islands.

 

[usmbguest5318]

After several hurricanes, Irma in particular, devastated several Caribbean islands this past fall, I was unsure whether I'd do the "normal thing" and spend a couple weeks in the warmth of the Caribbean. Fortunately, however, the place I like to go, St. Bart's, is "open for business," so off we'll go. My kids will get there in December for Jimmy Buffet's free concert and bring in 2018 with their friends. I'll join them after the New Year's celebrations; I prefer "chillaxing" and intimate gatherings more so than for 20-something-style bacchanalia. LOL

I've been to the Grand Caymans which was fantastic for snorkeling and scuba. What is it that you like about St. Barts? Just curious we may want to try some other islands.

To sum it up, I like that St. Barts is a place where folks appreciate and revel in what is there and what there is to do rather than bemoaning what's not. More specifically:

• People I know and enjoy spending my time with vacation there too. As with any place I go, for me, it's the company that makes the difference. Plus, it's always nice to go somewhere and bump into someone whom one knows from elsewhere in the world or someone whom one previously met there and can trade stories about what we've been up to since last we met.
• The overall chic sophisticated ease of everyone when they're there and everything that is there. It's a place visited and inhabited by people who are comfortable in their skin, or at least they become so when they are there. Nobody cares that one is sophisticated or suburban; what matters is that one is "good people." It's as though people discard their "armor" and just "are." Conversations with strangers are always interesting and devoid of artifice and ego.
  
  For example, invariably I and/or my "regular people" friends/acquaintances have found ourselves bantering with "names you know" because someone quipped or remarked on something and conversation ensued, only to later find out that we just had a random chit chat about a hiking trail, food, a sporting event, or whatever with "so and so." It's not as though "rubbing shoulders" is sought, but rather that it's just nifty to encounter such people when they're just regular rather than "on."
  
• The absence of huge resorts and touristy anything. That too helps make St. Barts feel like one's neighborhood rather than a place where one is a visitor and it contributes greatly to the privacy about the place. I think the privacy has a lot to do with why normally guarded folks are so at ease there.
• Psychologically, I like that it was never part of the plantation system.
• Sailing around the island and taking the dinghy to a quiet beach for an impromptu picnic.
• The accommodations and the island at once serves one's desire for doing one's own thing without others being around and getting out and being a social person with other folks whom one can be confident want nothing but one's good company for a brief period.
• The restaurants; I've never had anything but outstanding food. The majority of the cuisine is French or heavily French influenced fusion.
• Does crime even happen on St. Barts? It's super safe. One need have no trepidation about letting one's kids go off and do their own thing.
• As for the island itself, there're 16 beaches, so there's lots of variety. (Make no mistake, though, in the abstract, Anguilla has better beaches.) great hiking amidst coral and volcanic landscapes as well as lush woods, which, IMO, make St. Bart's vistas unparalleled. Since there're not many food and drink establishments at many of them, it's something of a picnic when one is on the beach.
• Sometimes what I like is snorkeling with the turtles. Sometimes it's the glamor and crazy parties, though my kids like that more than I. Sometimes it's the relative solitude of the east beaches. Other times it's the hiking.

Are those things unique to St. Bart's? Not all of them, but as I suggested, the social atmosphere and people are by far the most appealing things to me. I can't use the Cheers line "where everybody knows your name," but there are enough people there for me who do that going is always a hoot of a good time. Best of all, however, it's French and, as you may have gleaned from what I've written above, it's Frenchness pervades the place. It's like Nice in the Caribbean, and what's not to like about that?

If you prefer a Caribbean vibe, I'd recommend trying Anguilla before trying St. Bart's. Whereas St. Bart's is a trendy and glamorous place where not very-low key people go to be low-key, relative to their usual routines, but make no mistake, what constitutes low-key there isn't what most folks would call low-key. It's too glamorous and trendy for that. As I said, it's French, so while the ease I described pervades the place, it's still always sophisticated, albeit without the contrivance one finds in the U.S. and on the Continent.

Anguilla is low key -- it's even sometimes called the Sleepy Island -- so if you seek "near total chill," as it were, it's a better base than is St. Bart's. That's the Caribbean thing. Also, though the food is great in both places, but I find a bit more variety and notably more Caribbean influences on Anguilla. Both locales are eminently enjoyable. It comes down to what one is in the mood for at any given moment. And besides, it's not as though one is confined to the island at which one takes lodging.

How would I sum it up? Whereas Cinque Terre is to Nice/Monte Carlo, or Amsterdam to Paris, or D.C. to Los Angeles, or Breckenridge to Aspen, is what Anguilla is to St. Bart's. Do you follow me?

 

[MarathonMike]

After several hurricanes, Irma in particular, devastated several Caribbean islands this past fall, I was unsure whether I'd do the "normal thing" and spend a couple weeks in the warmth of the Caribbean. Fortunately, however, the place I like to go, St. Bart's, is "open for business," so off we'll go. My kids will get there in December for Jimmy Buffet's free concert and bring in 2018 with their friends. I'll join them after the New Year's celebrations; I prefer "chillaxing" and intimate gatherings more so than for 20-something-style bacchanalia. LOL

I've been to the Grand Caymans which was fantastic for snorkeling and scuba. What is it that you like about St. Barts? Just curious we may want to try some other islands.

To sum it up, I like that St. Barts is a place where folks appreciate and revel in what is there and what there is to do rather than bemoaning what's not. More specifically:

• People I know and enjoy spending my time with vacation there too. As with any place I go, for me, it's the company that makes the difference. Plus, it's always nice to go somewhere and bump into someone whom one knows from elsewhere in the world or someone whom one previously met there and can trade stories about what we've been up to since last we met.
• The overall chic sophisticated ease of everyone when they're there and everything that is there. It's a place visited and inhabited by people who are comfortable in their skin, or at least they become so when they are there. Nobody cares that one is sophisticated or suburban; what matters is that one is "good people." It's as though people discard their "armor" and just "are." Conversations with strangers are always interesting and devoid of artifice and ego.
  
  For example, invariably I and/or my "regular people" friends/acquaintances have found ourselves bantering with "names you know" because someone quipped or remarked on something and conversation ensued, only to later find out that we just had a random chit chat about a hiking trail, food, a sporting event, or whatever with "so and so." It's not as though "rubbing shoulders" is sought, but rather that it's just nifty to encounter such people when they're just regular rather than "on."
  
• The absence of huge resorts and touristy anything. That too helps make St. Barts feel like one's neighborhood rather than a place where one is a visitor and it contributes greatly to the privacy about the place. I think the privacy has a lot to do with why normally guarded folks are so at ease there.
• Psychologically, I like that it was never part of the plantation system.
• Sailing around the island and taking the dinghy to a quiet beach for an impromptu picnic.
• The accommodations and the island at once serves one's desire for doing one's own thing without others being around and getting out and being a social person with other folks whom one can be confident want nothing but one's good company for a brief period.
• The restaurants; I've never had anything but outstanding food. The majority of the cuisine is French or heavily French influenced fusion.
• Does crime even happen on St. Barts? It's super safe. One need have no trepidation about letting one's kids go off and do their own thing.
• As for the island itself, there're 16 beaches, so there's lots of variety. (Make no mistake, though, in the abstract, Anguilla has better beaches.) great hiking amidst coral and volcanic landscapes as well as lush woods, which, IMO, make St. Bart's vistas unparalleled. Since there're not many food and drink establishments at many of them, it's something of a picnic when one is on the beach.
• Sometimes what I like is snorkeling with the turtles. Sometimes it's the glamor and crazy parties, though my kids like that more than I. Sometimes it's the relative solitude of the east beaches. Other times it's the hiking.

Are those things unique to St. Bart's? Not all of them, but as I suggested, the social atmosphere and people are by far the most appealing things to me. I can't use the Cheers line "where everybody knows your name," but there are enough people there for me who do that going is always a hoot of a good time. Best of all, however, it's French and, as you may have gleaned from what I've written above, it's Frenchness pervades the place. It's like Nice in the Caribbean, and what's not to like about that?

If you prefer a Caribbean vibe, I'd recommend trying Anguilla before trying St. Bart's. Whereas St. Bart's is a trendy and glamorous place where not very-low key people go to be low-key, relative to their usual routines, but make no mistake, what constitutes low-key there isn't what most folks would call low-key. It's too glamorous and trendy for that. As I said, it's French, so while the ease I described pervades the place, it's still always sophisticated, albeit without the contrivance one finds in the U.S. and on the Continent.

Anguilla is low key -- it's even sometimes called the Sleepy Island -- so if you seek "near total chill," as it were, it's a better base than is St. Bart's. That's the Caribbean thing. Also, though the food is great in both places, but I find a bit more variety and notably more Caribbean influences on Anguilla. Both locales are eminently enjoyable. It comes down to what one is in the mood for at any given moment. And besides, it's not as though one is confined to the island at which one takes lodging.

How would I sum it up? Whereas Cinque Terre is to Nice/Monte Carlo, or Amsterdam to Paris, or D.C. to Los Angeles, or Breckenridge to Aspen, is what Anguilla is to St. Bart's. Do you follow me?

Good info thanks for the in depth response.

 

[usmbguest5318]

After several hurricanes, Irma in particular, devastated several Caribbean islands this past fall, I was unsure whether I'd do the "normal thing" and spend a couple weeks in the warmth of the Caribbean. Fortunately, however, the place I like to go, St. Bart's, is "open for business," so off we'll go. My kids will get there in December for Jimmy Buffet's free concert and bring in 2018 with their friends. I'll join them after the New Year's celebrations; I prefer "chillaxing" and intimate gatherings more so than for 20-something-style bacchanalia. LOL

I've been to the Grand Caymans which was fantastic for snorkeling and scuba. What is it that you like about St. Barts? Just curious we may want to try some other islands.

To sum it up, I like that St. Barts is a place where folks appreciate and revel in what is there and what there is to do rather than bemoaning what's not. More specifically:

• People I know and enjoy spending my time with vacation there too. As with any place I go, for me, it's the company that makes the difference. Plus, it's always nice to go somewhere and bump into someone whom one knows from elsewhere in the world or someone whom one previously met there and can trade stories about what we've been up to since last we met.
• The overall chic sophisticated ease of everyone when they're there and everything that is there. It's a place visited and inhabited by people who are comfortable in their skin, or at least they become so when they are there. Nobody cares that one is sophisticated or suburban; what matters is that one is "good people." It's as though people discard their "armor" and just "are." Conversations with strangers are always interesting and devoid of artifice and ego.
  
  For example, invariably I and/or my "regular people" friends/acquaintances have found ourselves bantering with "names you know" because someone quipped or remarked on something and conversation ensued, only to later find out that we just had a random chit chat about a hiking trail, food, a sporting event, or whatever with "so and so." It's not as though "rubbing shoulders" is sought, but rather that it's just nifty to encounter such people when they're just regular rather than "on."
  
• The absence of huge resorts and touristy anything. That too helps make St. Barts feel like one's neighborhood rather than a place where one is a visitor and it contributes greatly to the privacy about the place. I think the privacy has a lot to do with why normally guarded folks are so at ease there.
• Psychologically, I like that it was never part of the plantation system.
• Sailing around the island and taking the dinghy to a quiet beach for an impromptu picnic.
• The accommodations and the island at once serves one's desire for doing one's own thing without others being around and getting out and being a social person with other folks whom one can be confident want nothing but one's good company for a brief period.
• The restaurants; I've never had anything but outstanding food. The majority of the cuisine is French or heavily French influenced fusion.
• Does crime even happen on St. Barts? It's super safe. One need have no trepidation about letting one's kids go off and do their own thing.
• As for the island itself, there're 16 beaches, so there's lots of variety. (Make no mistake, though, in the abstract, Anguilla has better beaches.) great hiking amidst coral and volcanic landscapes as well as lush woods, which, IMO, make St. Bart's vistas unparalleled. Since there're not many food and drink establishments at many of them, it's something of a picnic when one is on the beach.
• Sometimes what I like is snorkeling with the turtles. Sometimes it's the glamor and crazy parties, though my kids like that more than I. Sometimes it's the relative solitude of the east beaches. Other times it's the hiking.

Are those things unique to St. Bart's? Not all of them, but as I suggested, the social atmosphere and people are by far the most appealing things to me. I can't use the Cheers line "where everybody knows your name," but there are enough people there for me who do that going is always a hoot of a good time. Best of all, however, it's French and, as you may have gleaned from what I've written above, it's Frenchness pervades the place. It's like Nice in the Caribbean, and what's not to like about that?

If you prefer a Caribbean vibe, I'd recommend trying Anguilla before trying St. Bart's. Whereas St. Bart's is a trendy and glamorous place where not very-low key people go to be low-key, relative to their usual routines, but make no mistake, what constitutes low-key there isn't what most folks would call low-key. It's too glamorous and trendy for that. As I said, it's French, so while the ease I described pervades the place, it's still always sophisticated, albeit without the contrivance one finds in the U.S. and on the Continent.

Anguilla is low key -- it's even sometimes called the Sleepy Island -- so if you seek "near total chill," as it were, it's a better base than is St. Bart's. That's the Caribbean thing. Also, though the food is great in both places, but I find a bit more variety and notably more Caribbean influences on Anguilla. Both locales are eminently enjoyable. It comes down to what one is in the mood for at any given moment. And besides, it's not as though one is confined to the island at which one takes lodging.

How would I sum it up? Whereas Cinque Terre is to Nice/Monte Carlo, or Amsterdam to Paris, or D.C. to Los Angeles, or Breckenridge to Aspen, is what Anguilla is to St. Bart's. Do you follow me?

Good info thanks for the in depth response.

You're welcome.

 

[rightwinger]

We are going to the Bahamas in March on a cruise out of Baltimore

9 days and hits Charleston, Cape Canaveral, Miami and the Bahamas