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CORAL NECKLACES : I posted a short message earlier this week, regarding Grenada and the quality ofthe time ashore, considering the number of cruise ships in port at the time. Roland Behunin asked for more information. It's questionable whether this topic should be on this newsgroup or rec.travel.caribbean, but since the discussion is aimed at cruisers, I'll post it here. We've done it both ways, both as cruise ship passengers and as visitors to the island. The whole discussion started because of one day when there were 5 ships in port (4 large ones and one smaller one). These put quite a strain on the resources.Most cruiseship destinations live for cruiseships and cater to them. Places like St. Thomas, Curacao, St. Maaarten, Aruba, Nassau and San Juan have cruise ships visit (usually two or three or more) on a daily basis. It's difficult to imagine what these ports would be like without a cruise ship (or two or three) in port. Some islands, for example Martinique and Guadaloupe, could care lessif the cruise ship stops there or not. Other islands are a little bit more off the beaten path, so cruise ship visits are the exception rather than the norm.
CORAL NECKLACES : For example, we were in Bonaire a few years ago. We learned that theyhad two cruise ship visits a month. Our ship was on a two week cycle, so Iam assuming that the the two visits were "our" ship. This posting concernsGrenada, but it is probably generic to the lesser developed islands.Grenada is normally very quiet and "laid back", except when the ships are in.For example, the secluded beach that our resort was on is considered crowded if there are more than 10 people on it. When there is a ship in port, the "rhum runner" cruise uses the beach as the destination, so all of a sudden there are 200 people and 15 vendors on the beach. The touristy attractions near the pier (within 20 minutes taxi distance) will be more crowded when the ships are in; the further out you go, the less effect there is. On non cruiseship days, there are only locals and guests in town, so if you literally fired a cannon down the main street, you might hit someone. If three or four ships are in, then there is no question about it. There will certainlybe more people, vendors and panhandlers on the street.
CORAL NECKLACES : Some, but not all prices go up when the 'fleet is in'. Taxis can be a littlescarce, and visitors don't know the going rate, so the fare may be slightlyinflated. I'm guessing that it may be about 20%. We rarely use the taxissince we know our way around, and the local bus system is great. They (the taxi drivers) are better at bargaining than you are; after all, they do it every day. And, if you don't pay, then the next guy down the gangway will. There's lots of competition, so the prices won't changemuch from driver to driver (same taxi co-op !!) The prices in the stores,restaurants and the local buses all seem to stay the same. Prices from the beach vendors seem to increase. There are three classes: local, guest (someonestaying on the island) and cruise ship passengers. I'll leave it to youto figure out who gets the best price! Oh, you guessed it! Right, if you'rewhite, they assume that you are rich. Cruise ship passengers are perceivedas cheap, primarily because they don't spend much on the lesser developedislands. Guests, on the other hand, must eat in the restaurants, shop in the markets, drink in the bars, and use the local taxi/bus system, so theyleave a lot more money in the local economy. There is not much shopping for watches, jewellry, china or crystal. There is much better shopping in St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Curacao etc etc etc.Since your meals are already paid for on the ship, you are not likely to eatin a restaurant. If you book a rum runner cruise, the rum punch barrel is bottomless, so you're not likely to hit a local bar. For example, the bar associated with our hotel probably did less than $20 US in business to 'rum runner' passengers over a two week period. This leaves the taxi driversand the beach vendors. And how many coral necklaces can you buy? BTW, the little spice baskets that are sold by the beach vendors, and at the spice market in town, are not very expensive and make great gifts. There is lotsof room for bargaining on coral and spice necklaces, but not much room for bargaining on T-shirts. As a matter of fact, a lot of beach vendors buy the shirts from the stores in town; the same store that you can buy from. Consequently, the shirt is a little more expensive on the beach, but that's the price you pay for convenience (one on one service and delivery!)
CORAL NECKLACES : The biggest problem is that cruise ship passengers generally operate in UScurrency. The vendors take both local and $US, but the rounding is generallypretty creative, and you usually pay considerably more if you use $US. You have to watch it though; sometimes it's the same or less if you use $US. Askfor the price in both $US and $EC, then figure which is best.In town, you are constantly asked if you want a taxi back to the ship, evenif you just got out of another one or are less than a block from the ship.Maybe they think we can't walk . Fortunately, they are friendly, and apolite "no thank you, not right now" usually suffices.For cruise ship passengers, the most popular excursions are the short islandtour (St. George's, Grand Etang, Annandale Falls, Grand Anse beach and the resort area on the southwest tip of the island). Grande Anse is the premier beach on the island; this is two miles of pure white sand and clear blue water, and is the destination for most passengers wishing to 'beach it'. There are other more secluded beaches, but they are a little harder to get to. There are other waterfalls (Concord, Mt. Carmel, Seven Sisters), lots of hiking trails, hot springs and generally spectacular scenery, but they are not normally within reach of cruise ship passengers due to the length of the stay.
CORAL NECKLACES : I'll just add a list of things from a similar thread some years ago:- You leave all coral necklaces and purple wands behind, because they arechaotic.- You spend hours performing to your neigbours dog in order to make ityour companion.- You take bottles of water to your local church and drop them to thealtar.- You try to 'O'ffer the priest in your local church in order to convertthe altar.- You refuse to wear any new clothes/jewelry before dropping it to thealtar of your local church first.- You never sleep in the dark, because you're afraid of grues.- In a queue, you try to ':s'wap places with the person in front of you,only to find out he doesn't like to be pushed around.- You own a lot of books, but won't read them, because you don't wantthem, to dissappear.
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