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Southern Caribbean out of San Juan


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Hi everyone. My sister and I just booked our 5th Sisters Cruise, but it is our first cruise on Royal. Our previous 4 cruises were with Carnival. We're really excited about cruising with Royal.

 

 

I have some questions about the ports. The itinerary is St Kitts, Antigua, St Lucia, Barbados, and St Marteen.

 

The only port we have been to before is San Juan, so we feel so lucky to find an itinerary with 5 ports new to us!

 

I was wondering if any of the ports are tender ports.

 

Also would love to hear excursion experiences or recommendations. We like to do about anything on the cruises, but we don't scuba and don't do a lot of snorkeling either. We do love the islands and beaches, food and drink :D

 

The ship we'll be cruising on is Freedom of the Seas and we booked a junior suite. Any information about the ship would also be appreciated.

 

We cruise every 2 years so this cruise is way out there March of 2019. How far out from sail date will excursions and other services like beverage packages be available?

 

Thanks for your replies. We're anxious to get to know the Royal community.

 

Pat

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We LOVE cruising from SJU. So many great ports. None of those tender.

 

We do a lot of snorkeling/water excursions but it sounds like you aren't into that. We did the ziplines in St Lucia, booked on our own not through the ship. It was GREAT. Island tours are nice there too, it's beautiful.

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Also, forgot to ask if guests can do self assist when it's time to disembark at the end of the cruise instead of putting luggage out the night before. This can be done on Carnival which was always our preference, so just wondered if one can do the same on Royal.

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Yes, RCI offers self-disembarkation.

 

In the Caribbean, we usually book excursions with local vendors rather than through the cruiseline. We only use those who are highly recommended on Cruise Critic and TripADvisor.

 

In St. Kitts, we used Thenford Grey tours .

 

In St. Lucia, we used Cosol tours.

 

In Antigua, we used Lawrence of Antigua.

 

In St. Maarten, we used Bernard's Tours. We've also just taken the water ferry to the town where there is a beach and a shopping district.

 

In Barbados, we took the ship's tour of the caves and do not recommend it. Boring and too expensive.

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Yes, RCI offers self-disembarkation.

 

In the Caribbean, we usually book excursions with local vendors rather than through the cruiseline. We only use those who are highly recommended on Cruise Critic and TripADvisor.

 

In St. Kitts, we used Thenford Grey tours .

 

In St. Lucia, we used Cosol tours.

 

In Antigua, we used Lawrence of Antigua.

 

In St. Maarten, we used Bernard's Tours. We've also just taken the water ferry to the town where there is a beach and a shopping district.

 

In Barbados, we took the ship's tour of the caves and do not recommend it. Boring and too expensive.

 

Thanks! Looks like lots of good information. I'll be checking these out! :)

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We LOVE cruising from SJU. So many great ports. None of those tender.

 

We do a lot of snorkeling/water excursions but it sounds like you aren't into that. We did the ziplines in St Lucia, booked on our own not through the ship. It was GREAT. Island tours are nice there too, it's beautiful.

 

Because the ship leaves so late in the evening,will they let you check in and board and then leave the ship to sight see around San Juan?

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Because the ship leaves so late in the evening,will they let you check in and board and then leave the ship to sight see around San Juan?

 

Yes, you can check in and then get back off the ship to wander around. We've sailed out of San Juan several times. We usually get to the pier by 11:00 and are on board by 12:00. That leaves plenty of time to explore Old San Juan.

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St. Lucia - word of caution - if you take a land based excursion (not with RCL) make sure you allow plenty of time to get back to the ship.

 

The reason is the roads are very bad (with wash-outs & detours) and if you're late the ship will leave without you.

 

Have personally witnessed this on three different occasions.

 

St. Lucia has the only drive-thru volcano in the world. If you go there and take the mud baths make sure you have an old bathing suit because you won't wear it again. You will have that wonderful, medicinal mud in places that you never even knew existed.

 

There are so many wonderful things to do on St. Lucia you could easily spend a week there to get the full experience.

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You don't need to book any shore excursions through the ship. Very expensive and usually more crowded. I agree with poster about Bernard's tours in St. Maarten or you can take a cab to Orient Beach (nude optional beach) or Maho Beach where the planes fly directly over your head. In Barbados we like to take a cab to the Boatyard. It's a beautiful beach. You pay $15 pp I think and you get a lounger, umbrella, drink of your choice and a ride back to the ship. That was the cost about a year ago. The other islands we have been there but it's been years. Have fun.

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St. Lucia - word of caution - if you take a land based excursion (not with RCL) make sure you allow plenty of time to get back to the ship.

 

The reason is the roads are very bad (with wash-outs & detours) and if you're late the ship will leave without you.

 

Have personally witnessed this on three different occasions.

 

St. Lucia has the only drive-thru volcano in the world. If you go there and take the mud baths make sure you have an old bathing suit because you won't wear it again. You will have that wonderful, medicinal mud in places that you never even knew existed.

 

There are so many wonderful things to do on St. Lucia you could easily spend a week there to get the full experience.

 

Thank you for that advice!

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You're welcome.

 

As another poster mentioned the Boat Yard in Barbados is a wonderful beach. You can take a taxi there or if you want some exercise it is only a 20 minute walk from the ship.

 

If you go to the top deck on the Freedom and look out to the right from the front of the ship you can see the bay the beach is on.

 

Once at the Boat Yard you can walk down to the Renaissance and swim out to where the turtle excursion goes. Not necessary to pay for a trip when it's right in front of you.

 

I'm also on the Freedom for the month of March 2019 and their two itineraries in the southern Caribbean have always been my favorites.

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I just want to offer my opinion that what has been mentioned above is good advice. We did Cosol Tours in St. Lucia and really enjoyed it (would do it again). We did Bernard Tours in St. Maarten (twice) and doing the same tour twice should tell you how good we thought it was. We visited Carlisle Bay in Barbados. It is large and beautiful. There are several places on Carlisle Bay, one of them being the Boatyard, which others have mentioned (we have not done that specific club - we just sat on the beach and I went scuba diving in the bay with Roger's Scuba Shack - fantastic dive shop).

 

By the way, which sailing are you on the Freedom in March 2019? We are also booked on the Freedom for the same month and will also be doing all these same ports (plus a few others) on a 10 day New Year cruise 6 months from now.

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One of our favorite excursions ever was Calabasas in Barbados. Just an incredible day on the water.

 

We did self-disembark in San Juan in December and were at our departure gate at SJU by 7:45 am. So smooth!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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You're welcome.

 

As another poster mentioned the Boat Yard in Barbados is a wonderful beach. You can take a taxi there or if you want some exercise it is only a 20 minute walk from the ship.

 

If you go to the top deck on the Freedom and look out to the right from the front of the ship you can see the bay the beach is on.

 

Once at the Boat Yard you can walk down to the Renaissance and swim out to where the turtle excursion goes. Not necessary to pay for a trip when it's right in front of you.

 

I'm also on the Freedom for the month of March 2019 and their two itineraries in the southern Caribbean have always been my favorites.

 

I just want to offer my opinion that what has been mentioned above is good advice. We did Cosol Tours in St. Lucia and really enjoyed it (would do it again). We did Bernard Tours in St. Maarten (twice) and doing the same tour twice should tell you how good we thought it was. We visited Carlisle Bay in Barbados. It is large and beautiful. There are several places on Carlisle Bay, one of them being the Boatyard, which others have mentioned (we have not done that specific club - we just sat on the beach and I went scuba diving in the bay with Roger's Scuba Shack - fantastic dive shop).

 

By the way, which sailing are you on the Freedom in March 2019? We are also booked on the Freedom for the same month and will also be doing all these same ports (plus a few others) on a 10 day New Year cruise 6 months from now.

 

Our cruise is March 31-April 7, 2019. By any chance will mattpro or Russ Lomas be on the same sailing?

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Yes, I sail the Freedom from mid-Jan. thru mid-April.

 

You will definitely enjoy this ship and all the ports, especially if you like beaches.

 

In St. Maarten the three most popular beaches are the one in Phillipsburg because it's close to the ship and allows for shopping on Front Street.

 

Orient Beach so you can say you went to a nudist beach - CAUTION - there are somethings you just can't unsee.

 

Maho Beach where the planes literally fly just over your head as they come into land.

 

However, arguably the nicest beach in all of the Caribbean is Mullet Bay, located a quarter of a mile from Maho going toward Marigot.

 

Go to uTube and watch the videos.

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One of our favorite excursions ever was Calabasas in Barbados. Just an incredible day on the water.

 

We did self-disembark in San Juan in December and were at our departure gate at SJU by 7:45 am. So smooth!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Just wanted to add the link (& correct spelling) for the excursion in Barbados: Sail Calabaza

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We had prebooked with a tour company on St. Kitts and arrived 5 minutes early and they were gone! Luckily, we were not out any money and booked with a another group to do the same itinerary for less money. Also, there will be people in the dock area with monkeys wanting tips to let you take a picture holding the monkeys. great pictures. Our tour ended at a Beach that my husband would have been happy to stay at all day -- Carabella Beach.

 

In St. Maarten, we've done our own thing several times, taking a taxi to Marigot (the French Capitol) and wandering around, enjoying the Marchet (Market), having brunch, just enjoying the town (I was born in France, so this feels wonderful to me). We've also gone to Orient Beach --There is a non-nude part also and just went to the beach in Phillipsburg and shopped too.

 

It was so long ago that I was in Barbados (25 years!!!) that I can't recommend what to do there and I've never been to St. Lucia.

Have a great trip!

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At those ports we have done both Private and ship excursions.

St. Kitts - Another vote for Thenford Grey (Private)

St. Maarten - Another vote for Bernard Tours (Private) - Outstanding - All of Orient Beach is not nude by the way. There is a separate area to go into for the nude beach and there is a big billboard type sign to let you know you are entering that area. Women can go topless however and you do get a stragler that will come ove to the regular side from the nude side every now and then!

Antigua - ship Excursion to a Canopy Zip Line Adventure. Lots of fun with a series of 12 zip lines over a forest.

St. Lucia & Barbados - Did tours of the islands through the ship. Can't remember the name of the tours however!

Self Disembark was easy and painless! :cool:

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I also recommend Cosol Tours in St. Lucia and Bernards in St. Maarten. Because there are 5 of you, you might want to email them in advance and inquire about a private custom tour. They will make recommendations if you're not sure what you want to see.

 

I have found that with 4 or more people, sometimes it's not much more to get a private tour as opposed to their regular tours which are 12 - 20 people. That way you can spend as much or as little time as you want and also stop if you see something interesting.

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