Diamond San Juan

[Charsie]

I have a quick question for those who have sailed the San Juan to San Juan 5 night itinerary (or even the 4 night...). We don't tend to do "excursions", but do like heading to a beach for a couple of hours on each island, if it doesn't involve a lot of travel to and fro. Does anyone have any recommendations - i.e., any "must see" beaches that we should choose over others while in St. Barts, Virgin Gordo etc. Are we going to be able to hop a cab for a short ride to a great beach in each port?

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

[dougburns]

On St. Barts I'd recommend renting a car thru the ship and get another couple to share expenses. It cost us $75 for the day for a manual shift, air conditioned car. We saw the entire island. There are some great beaches there.

[zacho46]

Having recently returned from a 5-day Diamond Caribbean cruise (with a stuck anchor and extra day in Virgin Gorda), I would suggest the following...

 

When visiting the beautiful island of St. Barts, rent a car - either from RSSC or Budget. The Budget office is just steps from the dock in Gustavia and an a/c automatic small jeep (Kia, Jimmy, etc) is $70-75 per day. Explore the island - it's very easy to get around. Don't miss St. Jeans beach, located just a few minutes from town. Located at the foot of the airport's runway, the beach has magnificent views, soft sand and very nice people. For lunch, consider the Eden Rock hotel - the food is excellent. If you want to spend the day, ask for Lu and she will set you up with beach chairs and an umbrella.

 

On Virgin Gorda, take a taxi and explore "The Baths." The bolders and scenery are amazing - bring your camera! If RSSC offers the Anageda excursion and you don't mind small planes, go for it. After a short, scenic flight from Virgin Gorda, you will arrive at a small, unspoiled island with excellent beaches. The excursion includes a delicious lunch.

 

If you visit St. Thomas, skip the shopping and take the ferry to St. Johns. The beautiful island offers many great beaches and taxis are available to provide transfers in both directions.

 

Have a great time!

[Charsie]

Thanks to both of you! I appreciate your advice. I'm looking forward to being on the Diamond one last time, and grabbing some time on beautiful beaches as well.

 

Charsie

[Jim B]

Just got back tuesday from Diamond 7 day.

St. Barts would be the place to go.

[lastlook]

I was also on the Diamond when we were "stuck" off of Virgin Gorda for two days. Not a bad place to be stuck! :-) We had taken the Anegada excursion the first day, and the beach was nice, but not a lot of shade, if that's a concern for you. The place that serves your lunch is shaded however, and the lobster was really good. The "Painkillers" from the bar are also very good!

The flight is short and a great opportunity to take some photos from the air.

 

We went to "The Baths" the second day. The water was too rough for snorkeling, but it was fun to walk the path through the boulders on land. The scenery is great, with the ship visible in the background - great photo op. There is a nice bar/restaurant above The Baths, called "The Top of the Baths", and we enjoyed some frozen drinks there afterward. The water is not always rough there, however, as I've snorkeled there on a previous visit when it was quite calm.

 

St. Jean beach on St. Barth's is the best - watching the small planes taking off and landing over the beach is entertainment in itself! We splurged and had a nice lunch at Eden Rock which is adjacent to the beach.

 

As you can tell, I'm in total agreement with the previous posts in reply to your question. We had a great time and RSSC applied a $200 shipboard credit to our account for the inconvenience of the anchor problem, which resulted in our missing St. Martin. Have a great time!