East. Carrib. Excursions help needed

[ghoterman]

Sailing Freedom on 2/12/12 to Eastern Carribbean.Looking for excursion suggestions. We like to snorkle, shop (Not at Del Sol, we prefer the locals and straw markets), beaches, ziplines and adventurous stuff. Also have you used Independent tour companies, rather than booking thru RCCL?

[39august]

Please go to the Ports of Call board and look at each of the ports you will be visiting. There is a ton of information on every port!

[Darkwolfe]

If you are going to St Thomas, you might try ViSnuba there. Gets you into Coral World and a diving experience that's a mix between scuba and snorkling. Quite fun!

[north29]

We did the eco hiking tour off the ship of the national park on St Johns, the hiking was easy, we are retired people, the boat ride over is great and of nice length , you do get a little beach time and a walk through the rich and famous, hotel on St Johns. You might be able to do the same thing with out paying $73 PP. Just do not get upset when you find all our politicians have multi million dollar homes there LOL

We did the Mountain Bike trip on St Martins(French side) and was it a mountain bike ride(at least for us), hills, rocks and cow dung, wet etc. It ends up with a drink and you might need it, LOL, on a famous beach, sorry for got the name, enough time for a dip in the surf, and even a, well if you call it that, fresh water shower. A very nice van ride over to the French side, just like in France, the streets are Rue.

PS had to wash the cow dung of my wife LOL, but enjoyed the tour, good memories LOL

[Familygoboston]

My cousin did a Snuba in St Martin they loved- but booked it through the ship.

We recommend Coco, on Orient Beach. The taxi will drop you at a lot that is midway on the beach and go North (left when facing the water). The chairs and an umbrella are $20 vs just $ 8 each further south, where the crusie ship excursion takes you, and doesn't include a drink. But you will notice the chairs arent near as packed in and we found they waived that fee when we had lunch and a couple of drinks. Its a short walk south to one of the water sports " desk" to rent water toys or do parasailing. It's a much more refined environment compared to the music pumping, people crammed in southern part...sssh!

[RedHeadTexan]

We did the eco hiking tour off the ship of the national park on St Johns, the hiking was easy, we are retired people, the boat ride over is great and of nice length , you do get a little beach time and a walk through the rich and famous, hotel on St Johns. You might be able to do the same thing with out paying $73 PP. Just do not get upset when you find all our politicians have multi million dollar homes there LOL

We did the Mountain Bike trip on St Martins(French side) and was it a mountain bike ride(at least for us), hills, rocks and cow dung, wet etc. It ends up with a drink and you might need it, LOL, on a famous beach, sorry for got the name, enough time for a dip in the surf, and even a, well if you call it that, fresh water shower. A very nice van ride over to the French side, just like in France, the streets are Rue.

PS had to wash the cow dung of my wife LOL, but enjoyed the tour, good memories LOL

We are doing the eco hike on St John in a couple of weeks. How long was the beach time?

 

In St Maarten we are taking a cab to the Sunset Beach Bar at Maho Beach to watch the planes land. We did this in 2010 and had a blast.

[seatraveler24]

Sailing Freedom on 2/12/12 to Eastern Carribbean.Looking for excursion suggestions. We like to snorkle, shop (Not at Del Sol, we prefer the locals and straw markets), beaches, ziplines and adventurous stuff. Also have you used Independent tour companies, rather than booking thru RCCL?

We just returned from the Eclipse earlier this month sailing to the Eastern Caribbean. We were looking for something different being we've been to most of the islands multiple times. Even though we normally venture out on our own, we decided to book the ship's snorkel tour to Christmas and Honeymoon coves on the pirate ship, Bones. It was one of the best tours we've ever been on. We snorkeled in two different spots, one cove included about 12 sea turtles. Jaison, one of the tour operators, snorkeled with us and pointed out an abundance of sea life, etc. Following our snorkeling, we had a delicious barbeque lunch at a private beach. There was volleyball, frisbee, etc. at the private beach as well. On the sail back, the adults had all the beer and/or painkillers (drink) they wanted. The crew was very personable and even gave us pirate temporary tatoos to remember the day. It truly was worth every penny!

[north29]

We are doing the eco hike on St John in a couple of weeks. How long was the beach time?

 

In St Maarten we are taking a cab to the Sunset Beach Bar at Maho Beach to watch the planes land. We did this in 2010 and had a blast.

 

Not really long enough, but we had some people with High, well medium high shoes??????????anyway that really slowed the group down. At the beach there are no freshwater showers, so plan to be salty. I guess they are use to this and the people who did take a swim, got right into the new Ford van for the ride back to the dock area and no one complained. The water in December is colder than most thought, even from the north, they were surprised.

[cruiseguy1016]

We just returned from the Eclipse earlier this month sailing to the Eastern Caribbean. We were looking for something different being we've been to most of the islands multiple times. Even though we normally venture out on our own, we decided to book the ship's snorkel tour to Christmas and Honeymoon coves on the pirate ship, Bones. It was one of the best tours we've ever been on. We snorkeled in two different spots, one cove included about 12 sea turtles. Jaison, one of the tour operators, snorkeled with us and pointed out an abundance of sea life, etc. Following our snorkeling, we had a delicious barbeque lunch at a private beach. There was volleyball, frisbee, etc. at the private beach as well. On the sail back, the adults had all the beer and/or painkillers (drink) they wanted. The crew was very personable and even gave us pirate temporary tatoos to remember the day. It truly was worth every penny!

 

What port were you in when you did this?

[Steppy08]

If you want a really interesting beach in St. Maarten, Maho Beach can't be beat... Especially if anyone in your family likes airplanes. It's a one-of-a kind beach for sure. And actually, the snorkeling is pretty good off the beach, next to the rocks and Sunset Bar. we spent a week on St. Maarten this summer and loved it.

[seatraveler24]

What port were you in when you did this?

Sorry about the omission -- it was St. Thomas.