Excursions needed or on our own?

Hi Everyone - My husband and I have been on a handful of Carnival cruises to the Western Caribbean. In Sept 2017 we will take our first cruise to the Eastern Caribbean on the Carnival Splendor . The ports are Grand Turk, San Juan, St Thomas, and Amber Cove. Any recommendations for things to do if we do not book excursions? We always book excursions but were hoping to save a little money and venture out on our own. Since these are new ports to us I wanted to see what other people experienced. Also, are any of these ports unsafe and we should 100% book an excursion if we are leaving the port for safety reasons?

Thanks!

Jill

I haven't been to all of those ports, but I have been to two of them.

We had fun in San Juan venturing on our own. You can just walk around the city and see the fortress and historic areas. I recommend going to El Yunque if you have the chance, but I did not visit it on a cruise (seperate trip). I did not see any beaches near the port, so you'll probably have to spend money to get to them.

We walked around on our own at St. Thomas for a bit, and I didn't think it was anything special. We took a gondola ride that had a nice view, but that only took a very short time and costs money. The main attraction there IMO is the reefs/turtle sanctuary.

If you want to save some money you can look at independent excursions outside of the cruise line, they are generally cheaper than excursions through carnival.

I haven't been to all of those ports, but I have been to two of them.

 

We had fun in San Juan venturing on our own. You can just walk around the city and see the fortress and historic areas. I recommend going to El Yunque if you have the chance, but I did not visit it on a cruise (seperate trip). I did not see any beaches near the port, so you'll probably have to spend money to get to them.

 

We walked around on our own at St. Thomas for a bit, and I didn't think it was anything special. We took a gondola ride that had a nice view, but that only took a very short time and costs money. The main attraction there IMO is the reefs/turtle sanctuary.

 

If you want to save some money you can look at independent excursions outside of the cruise line, they are generally cheaper than excursions through carnival.

You can take a cab to Magen's Bay beach in St. Thomas. Last time we were there it was about $8 per person. It's a gorgeous beach, but can get crowded.

I agree with the previous post for San Juan. We visited the fort and just wandered around.

Hi Everyone - My husband and I have been on a handful of Carnival cruises to the Western Caribbean. In Sept 2017 we will take our first cruise to the Eastern Caribbean on the Carnival Splendor . The ports are Grand Turk, San Juan, St Thomas, and Amber Cove. Any recommendations for things to do if we do not book excursions? We always book excursions but were hoping to save a little money and venture out on our own. Since these are new ports to us I wanted to see what other people experienced. Also, are any of these ports unsafe and we should 100% book an excursion if we are leaving the port for safety reasons?

 

 

 

Thanks!

Jill

These ports are fairly safe. St Thomas, Paradise point by cab don't forget to try the mudslide drink ;).

San Juan ,there are tours buses with reasonable rates right after you exit the ship. Still fun to walk around and explore the area . There's a straw market not to far from where you dock if your a shopper. GT most people just hang around the pool at Margaritaville .

I have actually been to San Juan, and you would totally be fine without an excursion. If you go a few blocks away from the port (where they have all the shops) you will find wonderful restaurants and the home of the pina colada. Just do a little research on places you would like to visit and you can walk around there all on your own. Old San Juan is very safe.

Hi Everyone - My husband and I have been on a handful of Carnival cruises to the Western Caribbean. In Sept 2017 we will take our first cruise to the Eastern Caribbean on the Carnival Splendor . The ports are Grand Turk, San Juan, St Thomas, and Amber Cove. Any recommendations for things to do if we do not book excursions? We always book excursions but were hoping to save a little money and venture out on our own. Since these are new ports to us I wanted to see what other people experienced. Also, are any of these ports unsafe and we should 100% book an excursion if we are leaving the port for safety reasons?

 

Thanks!

Jill

Hi Jill

Welcome to cruise critic.

This is a great site to research these ports. If you go to main forum page, look down the page, you will see that it is divided into many sections. Find the "Port of Call" section. Click on the "Caribbean" link you will find that there are further links for each of your stops. Take the time to read the information available for each island.

That should keep you going for a while. Try to pick out ideas for each island that might interest you and if you need more information, ask more specific questions. Also for your information, there is a search function at the top of each thread that might speed up finding answer.

hope this helps you get started

have a great cruise

I always try to have a plan for each port--sometimes it's just walking around and then getting back on the ship. Other times we plan to pick up a local tour. Occasionally we'll book something such as snorkeling excursion through the cruise line, especially in a port where we don't have much time.

I haven't been to Grand Turk, but St. Thomas and San Juan are easy to do on your own; either just walking around or finding a tour or ride to one of the beaches.

You can easily spend all your time at Amber Cove in the pool area, shops and zipline, etc. However, we were there in Feb. and did take a tour that we found right outside the port area--there were lots of tour vendors there. We enjoyed that tour as we had not been to the DR before.

W started out doing a lot of cruise line offered excursions but have gradually "graduated" to being independent. On our last TA we did no cruise line excursions at all for Canary Is., Mallorca, Barcelona, Nice/Monaco and Livorno(Pisa). We are always mindful of the time and allow plenty of it to get back to the ship early. The key has been research and planning before we leave. One of the best tools has been TripAdvisor.com and the forums there which for many destinations there are Destination Experts - locals in the know about what to see and do (or not do).

We also found that on Caribbean islands you can sometimes hire a taxi for the day for a reasonable amount per person split 4-6 ways and often (depending on the driver) they can be great "local" guides too. There are usually flocks of them just outside the pier security gate. Drive a hard bargain and if they are good tip well.

We always book our own excursions.....you can save half, if not more, booking yourself. Unless you have a tight timeline, then book thru the ship, that way, if its late, they wont leave without you.

We always book our own excursions.....you can save half, if not more, booking yourself. Unless you have a tight timeline, then book thru the ship, that way, if its late, they wont leave without you.

We too always book our own excursions, never do it through the cruise line. You can typically save and do a lot more.

A guidebook is a must if you will be going to a new place! Find out about your ports...shopping, eating, beaches, points of interest, safety,transportation, etc.... Libraries have guidebooks in the reference section.

We almost NEVER do any excursions, because we do the research and know what we want to do, and how to get there!!

Honestly, it depends on the port and the length of time you will be there.

If it's somewhere you've never been before, and/or the time is limited, it can be more prudent to do a ship's excursion if there's something you really want to see.