1st time on a cruise 2/14/16

Myself, my husband and my 16 yr old son will be going on The Allure of the Seas the 14th of february. Bahamas, St. Thomas and St. Martin. We heard that its best to purchase your own excursions off the ship, then on. Does anyone have any good suggestions on where to go or what to do? :eek:

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Have you checked to see if there is a roll call for your sailing? If you want to purchase independent excursions, you should do some research before you go. There are Ports of Call boards here to help you with that, as well as Mr. Google. EM

I would visit the Cruise Critic ports of call section for each of the ports you are stopping at.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=587

Keith

The advice to purchase your own excursions is contingent upon you being otherwise experienced travelers even if you haven't cruised before. Newbies unaccustomed to international travel often feel safer going through the cruise line. It's convenient & the cruise line personnel help you find your tour.

DIY trips are often cheaper & have fewer people. However, you have to do everything: Make the arrangements, pay in advance (check the refund policies) and find your tour. The ship will not wait for you if you are late getting back.

To find out what to do in each port, I'd start with what the cruise line offers, then check the ports of call boards, check CC's sister site, tripadvisor, & then do a basic internet search. The various port's official tourism site can be quite helpful.

Have fun & enjoy.

Looks like you are a little late in planning. Go to your library or online bookstore. Frommers, Fodors \, Lonely Planet etc. have area travel books complete with maps. They also have websites. Pull up each port online by name. Only you know what your interests are. More planning yields a better trip.Do not expect any help from cruise staff. Their job is to sell pricey ship excursions.

Myself, my husband and my 16 yr old son will be going on The Allure of the Seas the 14th of february. Bahamas, St. Thomas and St. Martin. We heard that its best to purchase your own excursions off the ship, then on. Does anyone have any good suggestions on where to go or what to do? :eek:

If you intend to purchase duty free spirits or tobacco then purchase them in St. Maarten. Prices are excellent there. Lovely beach. 2 sun loungers with brolly for between 20 - 25 dollars. The transfer from ship to shore is excellent, quick and cheap. Every few minutes all day.

Forgot to mention a bucket of beer is included - cheers.

If you have enough time, head to your library and get a guidebook on your ports. It's seldom necessary to do excursion IF you know something about where you're going! Research is key!

Myself, my husband and my 16 yr old son will be going on The Allure of the Seas the 14th of february. Bahamas, St. Thomas and St. Martin. We heard that its best to purchase your own excursions off the ship, then on. Does anyone have any good suggestions on where to go or what to do? :eek:

For a first time cruiser (as your title suggests) I would recommend going on a ship sponsored tour. You can save some money by going independent, but there are a few pitfalls that could cost you a lot more then just the few dollars extra that the ship tours charge.

This late in the game I would like to suggest that you plan on a ship sponsored tour, if there any openings left.

As soon as you can after boarding locate the tour desk and find out the hours.

Then be early and hope that you can get onto tour you would like.

Since this is your first cruise you will be experiencing many new things. One of the things you do not want to experience is selecting the wrong tour guide on the dock.

Next cruise you will know to start your search early and make a good selection then.

Bob

Myself, my husband and my 16 yr old son will be going on The Allure of the Seas the 14th of february. Bahamas, St. Thomas and St. Martin. We heard that its best to purchase your own excursions off the ship, then on. Does anyone have any good suggestions on where to go or what to do? :eek:

Hi - Not sure where you heard that it is best to purchase your own excursions off the ship, but I'm not sure that is the best advice for first time cruisers.

You asked for suggestions so here are some:

Nassau, Bahamas - we took a cruise ship tour, and there was not much to see! Apparently there are beautiful beaches if you are beach people, we're not. Atlantis/Paradise Island has a lot of activities. I think you have to purchase a pass to go there.

St. Thomas - we really enjoyed the Tram ride up the mountain and the view at the top. Don't know where you will be docking, but there are nice shops at the Havensight Mall. We did the BOSS underwater scooter excursion and it was absolutely fantastic - we did it through the ship, so I don't know if you can book it on your own. We took a ship excursion to Coral World - some of it was excellent - some of it was cheesy. You can take a taxi there. There are nice beaches and some good shopping on St. John, but unless you take a ship excursion, the logistics to get there and back can be nightmarish.

Sint Maarten/Saint-Martin - watching the planes fly overhead at Maho Beach in Sint Maarten is fun and it is easy to get a taxi to and from the beach. As others have said - leave the beach at least two hours before you are supposed to be back on the ship to allow for any travel "glitches." Lots of nice shopping in Philipsburg - there is a water taxi that will take you from the dock area to downtown or you can walk from the ship. At some of the hotels along the waterfront in Philipsburg you can rent a beach chair for the day for a flat fee.

St. Martin has a very different feel - there are some nice shops and an old fort in Marigot. Treats from Sarafina's French Bakery are supposed to be delicious, but the lines are long. If you go to Marigot via taxi, just make sure you will be able to find a taxi to take you back to the pier!

And anytime you are taking a taxi, make sure you and the taxi driver are in agreement about where you are going and the fare to get there.

If you take an excursion on your own, make sure you take the name of the local Port Agent (it will be listed in the daily newsletter delivered to your stateroom) and your passports. Contact the Port Agent if you get stuck somewhere and will miss the ship. You will need a passport to be able to fly to the next port if you miss the ship while on a private excursion. Any travel to catch a missed ship will be at your own expense unless you have coverage through Travel Insurance.

You did not ask for travel advice, but I'm going to offer some:

You are leaving in 10 days - that does not leave a lot of time to research independent vendors and make arrangements for excursions. In addition, many of the "best" independent excursions may already be filled.

People on the Roll Call for your cruise may have set up independent tours that you could join. At least with that, there would be strength in numbers and someone else has vetted the tour company.

Link to Roll Call:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=48945309#post48945309

If you decide you want to totally want to strike out on your own, each of your ports has a forum that will provide a lot of information.

Bahamas:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=58

St. Thomas:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=133

St. Maarten:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=93

You will have to decide yourself what you want to see on each island, then decide how much risk you want to take. (You may have also heard that the ship will wait for you if you are late returning - don't count in it.)

On one of our cruises we wanted to take a tour of the island but did not book a ship excursion. Instead, a group of about 20 people from the ship were talked into taking a tour with a guy standing at the end of the dock with a map of the island in his hand. (Very typical in parts of the Caribbean.) Bad, bad, bad decision. On a four hour tour, there were no restroom stops and no "snack" stops. We did stop at several small "touristy" stores run by friends of the tour guide where we were encouraged to purchase local trinkets. At one point, all of us agreed that we had seen enough and, given the time, we wanted to return to the ship. We told the driver that we wanted to go back to the ship. He refused and said we had to make one more stop before the "tour was complete." We were on the far side of the island and had less than an hour till the deadline to be back on the ship. We made it back, but just in time and it was one of the most stressful days I have experienced in all of our travels. Sometimes those guys at the dock with the great sounding pitches just aren't worth it.:eek:

Hope you have a wonderful cruise, whatever you decide to do.

As your time to plan is short, and you haven't been to these places before, you could do worse than just getting off the ship and exploring the town near the port. That costs you nothing (except what you decide to spend), and each island is different, each port town is different. Excursions are fine, and they can take you to interesting places away from the town, but you can still have a great time ashore without taking an excursion, just walking around.

Another great option, if you have no plans, is to find a local taxi (they are always near the port on cruise days). Ask the driver what it would cost for a tour (say two hours) and if it's agreeable to you, let the driver show you the places he chooses - they are usually the nearby highlights. That will give you a taste of the island, and then you can explore around the town afterward.

I'd say it's late for trying to line up a set excursion, but so what? Take a short taxi tour, wander the town, you'll have a great time and discover a new place. And it will be less expensive than a pre-booked excursion, and much less than a ship tour. Have a great cruise!

You are leaving in 10 days and you are just now thinking of excursions. You should have done that a couple of months ago. At this time, you have 2 options - take whatever ship excursions that are available and the best ones are probably taken or just get off the ship and just walk around.

In direct answer to your question, doing a non-ship tour is almost always better and cheaper than a ship tour but you have to plan ahead on those. As someone on this thread has noted, there will be lots of people on the dock trying to sell you tours but many of them are really bad. The problem is that you can not tell which ones are good and which ones are bad.

DON

The advice to purchase your own excursions is contingent upon you being otherwise experienced travelers even if you haven't cruised before. Newbies unaccustomed to international travel often feel safer going through the cruise line. It's convenient & the cruise line personnel help you find your tour.

 

DIY trips are often cheaper & have fewer people. However, you have to do everything: Make the arrangements, pay in advance (check the refund policies) and find your tour. The ship will not wait for you if you are late getting back.

 

To find out what to do in each port, I'd start with what the cruise line offers, then check the ports of call boards, check CC's sister site, tripadvisor, & then do a basic internet search. The various port's official tourism site can be quite helpful.

 

Have fun & enjoy.

Great advice.

Myself, my husband and my 16 yr old son will be going on The Allure of the Seas the 14th of february. Bahamas, St. Thomas and St. Martin. We heard that its best to purchase your own excursions off the ship, then on. Does anyone have any good suggestions on where to go or what to do? :eek:

You've got some pretty easy ports and it isn't rocket science. For example you could catch a van-type cab on St Thomas to Magen's Beach and St Martin to Orient Beach. Cheap and easy. You do need to do a little research like, now.

You've got some pretty easy ports and it isn't rocket science. For example you could catch a van-type cab on St Thomas to Magen's Beach and St Martin to Orient Beach. Cheap and easy. You do need to do a little research like, now.

The 16yr old will love Orient Beach. ;)

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Have you checked to see if there is a roll call for your sailing? If you want to purchase independent excursions, you should do some research before you go. There are Ports of Call boards here to help you with that, as well as Mr. Google. EM

I dont believe there is a roll call, and I will definetly check to see about the ports of call.. Thank you

Forgot to mention a bucket of beer is included - cheers.

Thank you mushypeaman....

sounds great.... :o)

I dont believe there is a roll call, and I will definetly check to see about the ports of call.. Thank you

This looks like your Roll Call:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=48945309

Have a great cruise and enjoy your time away from this Boston snow!

Allure is our favorite ship!

Personally we only do excursions in Jamaica due to safety issues. Otherwise we find ship excursions to be overpriced.

Bahamas--day pass at Atlantis is always fun

St. Thomas--Paradise Beach on the other side of the island. Might be a bit sedate for your 16YO, but it is peaceful & gorgeous. Just be sure to arrange with your cabbie to pick you up about 2 hours before embarkation; it is about 30 min. drive away (they can also call you a cab--again, call early) Otherwise the downtown area is a fun area to shop.

St. Martaan--I recommend going over to the French side. Gorgeous.

As far as Nassau, Bahamas I would recoomend Blue Lagoon Dolphin encounter. Lots of fun and a beautiful boat ride to get to it. And right off the pier where you dock the ship. Check out their website.

I didn't feel comfortable booking my own excursions outside of the cruise ship until my last cruise. I guess I always made the assumption that anything outside of the cruise line would pale in comparison. I was certainly wrong about that. I've cruised to St. Thomas several times. The best thing I ever did was pay a little bit for a cab to take me to the ferry, which took me to St. John. Personally, St. John was far better than anything I ever experienced on St. Thomas.

As far as Nassau, Bahamas I would recoomend Blue Lagoon Dolphin encounter. Lots of fun and a beautiful boat ride to get to it. And right off the pier where you dock the ship. Check out their website.

We did this and it was great. They do also offer an observer package if only one or two of you want to actually interact with the dolphins. Do not book the Atlantis one as that is much more expensive.

In Nassau I would definitely recommend doing an excursion through the ship, or not venturing off too far. The port stop is very short. There was a good post from someone who was left watching the ship sail away without him.

If you like craft beer they also have a new brew pub that opened up that was really good. It is called Pirate Republic and is right next to the pier. It is on the main street (1st one once you leave the pier) by where the horse buggies are. We went there after the dolphin encounter. Beer was great and so was the BBQ.

We did a private sail on the Independence in St. Thomas (http://www.sailingvirginislands.net/) which was great, but since you are only 2 days away now it might be too late to book it.

We did the ships tour to Orient Beach in St. Martin as it was a good price, included a few drinks and lunch. They would probably still be open as there were a lot of spots for that one. The beach was nice, and we actually did not see anyone from the nudist beach walk over so your 16 year old might be a little disappointed. You could also check out Maho beach. It is where the planes land right over your head.