Ports for Summit Cruise 3/26/11

[TheresaK]

Hi,

 

Can anyone give me information about St. Thomas, St. John, Barbados, St. Thomas and St. Lucia? I have been to St. Thomas several times, but not the other ports. What I am looking for is information on where the ship docks, if there is shopping/swimming/ close to the pier. I am trying to figure out which ports to book a tour and which ones we can just do what we want without going anywhere. Any information appreciated. Thanks!

[Mrs_Tiki]

Theresa, your best bet for port-specific information would be to go to the "Ports of Call" message boards further down on the "Cruise Critic Message Board" page. All of your stops should have a sub-folder under "Caribbean."

 

Have a great cruise!

[Lois R]

Hi,

 

Can anyone give me information about St. Thomas, St. John, Barbados, St. Thomas and St. Lucia? I have been to St. Thomas several times, but not the other ports. What I am looking for is information on where the ship docks, if there is shopping/swimming/ close to the pier. I am trying to figure out which ports to book a tour and which ones we can just do what we want without going anywhere. Any information appreciated. Thanks!

 

I agree with Mrs Tiki and check the ports of call forum. Personally,

I love St Lucia:D and yes, there is a shopping area near the ship.

I took a tour through the cruiseline there called "Coastal Cruise to the

Pitons" and it was fabulous:)

 

Barbados has a lot of beaches but not sure they are right there

at the ship. Its been a while since I have been there though so

I don't want to give you misinformation. Check the Barbados board.

 

I just got home from SUMMIT and had a wonderful cruise and hope

yours is too:D

[kitkat9438]

Hi,

 

Can anyone give me information about St. Thomas, St. John, Barbados, St. Thomas and St. Lucia? I have been to St. Thomas several times, but not the other ports. What I am looking for is information on where the ship docks, if there is shopping/swimming/ close to the pier. I am trying to figure out which ports to book a tour and which ones we can just do what we want without going anywhere. Any information appreciated. Thanks!

 

Hi Theresa. I also recommend checking out the ports of call boards. I don't think there are many beaches close to the pier. Having said that, I can make my recommendations on the tours I took, what I did while at these islands. These are my favorite islands in the Caribbean.

 

St. Lucia:

The main docking facility is Pointe Seraphine in Castries. It is within walking distance to the center of town. On rare occasions, if the port is unusually crowded, some ships may have to dock at Port Careenage, less conveniently located to the center of town.

 

We did an excursion with Cosol Tours and it was one of the highlights of our cruise. St. Lucia doesn't have much in the way of beaches but it is a beautiful island to tour (it reminds me a lot of Hawaii). The tour includes Bernard's famous rum punch and he will stop at all of the highlights where you can sample island food. At the end of the tour we went to snorkel at Jalouise Beach between the Pitons.

http://cosol-tours.com/

 

 

St. Martin.

Most ships dock on the Dutch side, in Great Bay, at the A.C. Wathey Pier in Point Blanche. The pier is about 1 mile from the center of Philipsburg. Some ships anchor in Great Bay and tenders will transport passengers directly to the center of town. Taxis are readily available at the pier. Although taxis are not metered, fares are required to be posted on the Dutch side. Fare to Philipsburg is $2 and $10 to Marigot. Downtown Philipsburg is an easy 15 minute walk from the pier.

 

We booked a tour with Bernard so we could see a little bit of the island, go to Maho Beach to watch the big planes land and then go to Orient Beach. The price is right, $40 for a private tour, and $30 for a general tour, which includes transportation and rum punch, which was very good. We went on Sunday, and most of the stores are closed so we didn’t do much shopping. We stopped at Rima’s for a little souvenier shopping and it had good prices. Then we went to Orient Beach, a clothing optional beach which is very beautiful with soft sand beaches. We were dropped off at Pedro’s, which is the closest beach bar to Club Orient the clothing optional resort at the end of the beach, where we could rent two chairs and an umbrella for $15 and included two drinks and access to the rest room. There is a rock barrier which divided Club Orient from the rest of the beach and the people without clothes on did not come across the barrier. As we drove up, we saw some people walking around without clothes on. Most of the people you would not want to see without their clothes on anyway so it was no big deal. There was an occasional female who would walk down the beach topless. Orient Beach is beautiful with soft sand beaches. This was a very good excursion and can recommend.

http://www.bernardstours.com/

Barbados:

The ship docks about a mile from town at the Bridgetown Cruise Terminal

The first time we visited Barbados we did an excursion with Silvermoon, a catamaran where you can snorkel with the huge turtles and includes lunch and drinks. It was wonderful and they book up pretty fast. Highly recommended.

We wanted to go to Accra/Rockley beach and since a taxi is $15 each way we decided to use Scenic Barbados tours to see a little of the island as well as go to the beach. The tour is $30 and is supposed to be 2 hours touring and 2 hours beach time at Accra/Rockley Beach, but we spent a lot longer than the 2 hours touring and didn’t get as much beach time as we would have liked. You have to walk through the terminal building and then you get outside to a parking lot where other people are meeting tours and getting taxis - you have to cross the parking lot and go through the secure gate at the end and that is where Edwin will meet you with a sign with your name on it. This took quite a while to get there and also cut into our tour time. Edwin was very friendly and knowledgeable. We made several stops including St. james Church, the oldest Church on the island, a drive down Sandy Lane past the resort where Tiger Woods got married and where Mic Jagger lives, some stops for pictures and Bathsheba on the east coast which is magnificent. Edwin did stop at a bar so we could have a free drink on him, beer or soda, but this also took extra time out of the tour. This tour is good if you want to see the island, but if your main interest is getting some beach time, I would take a taxi or use Cameron Reid.

Bathseba:

St. Thomas:

We took a ferry across to St. John to go to Trunk Bay and Cinammon Bay. This is famous for snorkelers. I don't know if you've checked it out but it's beautiful and not as crowded as the beaches in St. Thomas:

Trunk Bay:

Antigua:

The ship docks right in St. John's and is within easy walking distance to everything.

We booked an all inclusive at the Hawksbill resort. It was awesome.

http://www.rexresorts.com/antigua/hotel-antigua-hawksbill-by-rex-resorts

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[TheresaK]

Thank you so much....that is exactly what I was looking for. Only 5 more weeks....getting very excited!