The original itinerary was NYC to Tortola and ending Puerto Rico. Unfortunately because of the October of 2017 hurricane, Tortola wasn't an option and we headed for Antigua!
We pulled in first thing in the morning and rolled up to the dock next to the biggest Princess Cruise line ship I'd ever seen. Until later in the day. You'll see in the video.
Disney Magic holds about 2500 passengers when full. Almost every other ship we ran into could hold about 4000 people. I loved our ship. It was the perfect size. Not too big, not too small.
By far the cutest ship in the harbor.
I was fascinated by the Princess, 3 Celebrity cruise ships, the cutest one had the face on it. I believe it was a German ship, can't remember the company's name.
With so many ships in the bay we knew the closest beach would be packed full of people. Frye Beach was further out. We hired a driver to drop us off and pick us up.
When you walk up to where the cabs are, they'll give you beach choices and prices to get there.
Ours was $60 that included both ways and we added a $10 tip.
Excellent conversation and tour. Our driver was fab. As a life long resident he told us about the island's history, showed us his daughter's school which was on the way. It was a fascinating tour. I had no idea Antigua was known for it's sugar cane at one time.
Little pastel houses dotted the hills and streets. There was an occasional goat or chicken.
We pulled up to a beach that sat inside a cove. The water was clean, clear and blue. There weren't many people when we first arrived but more came over a few hours. It was still never crowded. We rented 2 beach chair and an umbrella, $10.
3 hours was enough for us. We decided to go back to the ship. We'd asked the driver to come back at 2:30 but it was 12:30. We didn't think it would cause a problem, but it did. They are scheduling rides all day so our decision to go back early messed things up for him. No one else would drive us back. They don't pass off rides to another driver. We apparently belonged to him for the day. Keep that in mind if you decide to take a cab and ask what happens if you decide you want to leave before the time you've asked to be picked up. The further away you are, the harder that will be. Not that I felt guilty. It was never expressed to us that we couldn't go back early. For $60 I also expect to be able to leave. We waited over an hour but now we know. We'd treat that situation differently the next time.
It was a lot of money for a ride to the beach, but we'd never been there and had no other stops. I'd planned to spend $100 for the day.
I wouldn't veer off the tourist path unless you know your way.
Our itinerary had one stop. I liked it. We were having fun on the ship we didn't care about getting off. Yet we were excited to step on a Caribbean Island for the first time! If you have many stops, you don't have to leave the ship if you don't want to. My sister felt it was easier to stay on board with my nieces then pack them all up etc. They were left with an empty Disney boat to enjoy!
Coming back early was nice. We were hungry so we didn't have to pay for an extra meal and the ship was quiet!
We didn't sign up for any of the Disney excursions. You can book them yourself when you arrive or call ahead direct to the excursion company. It's much cheaper. Though, if you want to go via Disney, you will be all set and not have to worry about a thing. If for some reason, there was a delay, and you booked through Disney, they'd wait and make sure everyone was on the boat. If you booked it yourself? They won't wait.
There's no reason to be late. You arrive at the crack of dawn and don't leave til around 4pm. Just plan and give yourself extra time just in case.
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Our first cruise ever! Disney Magic from NYC to Puerto Rico.
I'm Melissa - 48, married to Jim - 59 and we have Madeline-16 and Luke -13 (and Jordan 25).
Vintage Promotions is my company and runs vintage markets like Vintage Garage Chicago and Chicago Vintage Clothing & Jewelry Show.
My sister Manda is 35, married to Mike 37 with Caroline 4 and Camille 3. She owns Manda's Rhythm and Dance.
As a small business owner I worked long and hard for our first family vacation since moving to Chicago 9 years ago.
Being in 2 different cities, it harder for us to spend time together. Chicago is long car ride from my nieces. When we go to Detroit there's always so much to do and so many to see it's almost easier to Skype.
We committed to a vacation together and were so excited!
My sister suggested a Disney Cruise and it was the best time of our lives! More to come, like our Disney Magic stateroom 5006 tour. It was a perfect OGT oceanview stateroom! share2steem #share2steem
