Jump to content

Eastern Caribbean Ports of Call


Crusier2010

Recommended Posts

We are a 50's couple taking our first cruise Jan 9 on NA. One thing, only thing, that I know for sure is that CC is the one/only stop for all the information I will need for this cruise.

 

I need help with planning our activities at the ports. I believe we would like to go it alone on most of them. I would like some suggestions/tips on what and how we may go about doing that.

 

St. Maarten - maybe renting a car and touring the island on our own, ending up at Orient bay for some beach time before tendering. How/where do I find rental cars, sites to see

 

Grand Turk, San Juan, and HMC

 

Any and all suggestions/tips would be appreciated.:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We are a 50's couple taking our first cruise Jan 9 on NA. One thing, only thing, that I know for sure is that CC is the one/only stop for all the information I will need for this cruise.

 

I need help with planning our activities at the ports. I believe we would like to go it alone on most of them. I would like some suggestions/tips on what and how we may go about doing that.

 

St. Maarten - maybe renting a car and touring the island on our own, ending up at Orient bay for some beach time before tendering. How/where do I find rental cars, sites to see

 

Grand Turk, San Juan, and HMC

 

Any and all suggestions/tips would be appreciated.:)

 

My husband and I will be doing the same itinerary on the Westerdam in March so hopefully I can be of some help.

 

First I would recommend you check out the Ports of Call boards, there's one for each of the ports (under the Caribbean header and HMC is in the Private Islands section there). There's lots of information for you to get a headstart. :cool:

 

Based on what I learned here we've booked a private tour with Bernard in St. Maarten, and we'll be heading to Jack's Shack in Grand Turk. There are a lot of great people here with tons of great advice. Good luck! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We rented a car in St. Martin 2 years ago and enjoyed it. Plan to arrive in Grand Case around lunchtime..........at the end of the foodie main street, you'll find a bunch of local "lolos", which are like covered barbecue/snack bars serving good local food and killer rum punches. It's also fun if you can plan to get to Maho Bay when the planes are landing or taking off from the airport literally across the street.

 

Grand Turk is a big beach with good snorkeling. We found it very safe and unthreatening. It's basically a desert (sort of).

 

I've never been to San Juan, but it's on the list.

 

On Half Moon Cay, you may want to rent a $14 clam shell for the beach if you burn easily. The part of the island not developed by HAL is a wild bird sanctuary, so if you're a birder you'll find it interesting. You can bring your own snorkel equipment or floats or rent them from HAL. Everything you buy on the island goes on your ship card. There are some very good threads on the "Private Islands" destinations board to show you all about it.

 

Actually, you'll find all kinds of good ideas and recommendations on the destinations boards. Have you posted there yet?

 

Have a great time!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are several options in San Juan to consider.

We love El Yunque Rainforest. It is about an hour's drive from the port. There are guides recommended on the Ports of Call/Caribbean boards. Make sure you have good shoes as you will need traction on the damp trails. It is absolutely beautiful.

Another recommendation is to amble from the port in Old San Juan up to the fort. There are shuttle busses available but the old city is fascinating if you look above the store fronts and wander through the narrow streets. When you exit the cruise terminal there are city maps available and you can find plenty of maps on line that will be better than the map from HAL.

You can also take a little side trip to the Bacardi distillary. They have a tour and tasting. It is about a 20 minute drive from the port.

If you are a beach person you can always head to one of the hotels and purchase a day pass or just go to the public beach.

On St. Maarten you can do better hiring a cab at the port. There are not many roads to get lost on, but a local guide/driver can get you to the area at Orient Beach, for example, that you want. It is a rather large beach with designated areas for clothing optional beachgoers. Traffic in Phillipsburg is heavy in the afternoons. Between the locals leaving work and the cruise passengers heading back to their ships it can be a mess. Cabbies can arrange to meet you at the beach for a pickup if you want an entire day there. There are restaurants and food shacks on the beach. If you are still planning on driving make sure you have the bridge closing schedule if your are returning from Marigot to Phillipsburg.

I hope you have a wonderful cruise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know this is common sense, but if you rent a car to go to the beach, make sure you don't leave any valuables in the car. Years ago, I rented a cuv with a soft top in St Maarten which was easily broken into at the beach parking area. :( My friend had $50 stolen - a cheap lesson.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

San Juan - if you like history and architecture, I would definitely walk to El Moro (the fortress). It is really neat. Old San Juan is very beautiful and worth the walk. enjoy your cruise :D:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We got robbed in Antigua "going it alone" just two blocks from the ship. Along with three other passengers on other ships that same day. Please alert yourself the Caribbean crime reports before you make decisions not to take ship excursions, though that did not help those on a ship excursion in St Kitts recently.

 

I am disenchanted more and more with Caribbean port stops though overall we had a very good cruise and did enjoy our ship excursions a lot, particularly the river tubing in Dominica and the Frederikstad tour in St Croix. We did other port stops on our own and now looking back, I think we were just lucky more harm did not come our way. This area is riddled with drugs and easy violence.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm a history buff, and I adore San Juan. I love historic walking tours here.

 

You can self tour, if you drop by the Tourist Bureau in La Casita and pick up a free walking tour guide. Link shows map to get to La Casita, quite close to pier:

 

http://www.discoveramerica.com/ca/puerto-rico/san-juan-la-casita.html

 

Personally, I prefer a good local guide. Legends of PR dot com is one.

 

While I generally don't do "ship's own" tours, I've also done HAL's own, and been incredibly pleased and very pleasantly surprised.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In Phillipsburg, St. Maarten the car rental area is less than 1/4 mile from the dock. There are signs for rental cars pointing to the right as you reach the end of the pier. I know there is Budget and 2 or 3 other places that have kiosks. You can book in advance or (most of the time) get a car when you arrive.

 

Make sure that you get the insurance for your rental. It's around $10 for the day and most American insurance policies will not cover you. I had a clerk want me to pay for a scratch that I knew was on the jeep before we rented it. I had noted it on the form but she tried to claim it was a different scratch. I finally told her that I had paid for the insurance so let them take care of it.

 

Also, make sure the car is in good condition before you drive off. In January the guy tried to give me a car with the "check engine" light on. He told me that it was on all the time and not a big deal, but I would take it. I didn't want to get stuck on the far side of the island because the rental broke down. He eventually brought another vehicle out.

 

Finally, check the fuel level before driving off. If it isn't full, make sure you have that noted. Otherwise, you will have to pay to fill the entire tank - what you used plus what the person before you used. If it's at half a tank when you leave and you have that recorded, you only have to bring it back with a half tank. There's a gas station on the right as you return to the pier. The display is in liters not gallons, approx. 4 liters per gallon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We are a 50's couple taking our first cruise Jan 9 on NA. One thing, only thing, that I know for sure is that CC is the one/only stop for all the information I will need for this cruise.

 

I need help with planning our activities at the ports. I believe we would like to go it alone on most of them. I would like some suggestions/tips on what and how we may go about doing that.

 

St. Maarten - maybe renting a car and touring the island on our own, ending up at Orient bay for some beach time before tendering. How/where do I find rental cars, sites to see

 

Grand Turk, San Juan, and HMC

 

Any and all suggestions/tips would be appreciated.:)

 

Hi Cruiser2010 - we are on the same cruise as you. We are booked into a 2 hour Segway tour of Old San Juan on Jan 12th - Segway Tours is the company. Join us on the segway tour...we did one in San Diego and LOVED it...very easy and the first part is learning how to use the segway. Check out the company website for details of the 2 hour tour (at 4pm - walking distance from port too).

 

Watch out for St Maarten as there will be two other huge ships in port at same time - traffic as I understand on the island at the best of times can be challenging - then add the ALLURE and Soltice and the NA...will be a very busy, busy port of call.

 

Are you on the Roll Call?

 

SP

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Cruiser2010 - we are on the same cruise as you. We are booked into a 2 hour Segway tour of Old San Juan on Jan 12th - Segway Tours is the company. Join us on the segway tour...we did one in San Diego and LOVED it...very easy and the first part is learning how to use the segway. Check out the company website for details of the 2 hour tour (at 4pm - walking distance from port too).

 

Watch out for St Maarten as there will be two other huge ships in port at same time - traffic as I understand on the island at the best of times can be challenging - then add the ALLURE and Soltice and the NA...will be a very busy, busy port of call.

 

Are you on the Roll Call?

 

SP

 

 

SweetP I just registered for the same Segway tour. It should be alot of fun. We are registered on the MG on the 10th. Thank you:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...

If you are already a Cruise Critic member, please log in with your existing account information or your email address and password.