Planning our 1st cruise activities... Please help

[travel_frog]

I love travel planning but with 4 ports this seems overwhelming... I am trying to figure out what to do at each port so we can enjoy this adventure and not spend too much money.

 

Our ports of call include:

Princess Cays (9AM-4PM)

St. Maarten (10AM - 6PM)

St. Thomas (7AM - 4PM)

Grand Turks (1PM - 7PM)

 

Husband and I are active vacationers, love to hike, swim and snorkel and enjoy nature.

 

So here are my questions and I would appreciate any help:

- Which port/island would be best for snorkeling, preferably from catamaran/sail boat?

- Which is best for a relaxing beach day? Where to rent chairs and umbrella?

- Best for photography? (well, I'll have my camera everywhere but if any of these places should be especially explored for their scenic beauty, I'd love to use that opportunity)

- Any special activities unique to a port?

- Are any of these islands good for renting a car and driving around?

- Are there interesting hikes?

- Any interesting villages/towns to explore? We love nature but also appreciate the cultural uniqueness of places we visit.

- Which beautiful Caribbean beaches not to miss?

 

Thanks in advance for your suggestions :D

[SeagoingMom]

Can't speak for the other ports as I haven't been to them, but we took a snorkel excursion (Celebrity's champagne catamaran snorkel tour) from St. Thomas to St. John and enjoyed it. Not the best snorkeling we have ever experienced, but the first we had done, and pretty good.

[Essiesmom]

Princess Cays is their private island, free beach day you can find shelter, picnic provided. I believe you can book excursions/acvtivities if you want. Or you could maje Grand Turk your beach day. There are a lot of shops at the cruise center, a Margaritaville with a beautiful (free) pool, and you can rent cabanas. Next door is the beach, free if you wish. I took a basic familiarization tour in both St. Thomas and St. Maarten, and shopped. Check out the Ports of Call boards for activities in those ports. Join your roll call to see what your fellow cruisers are planning. EM

[RunnerGirl26.2]

I do not know the other ports, but you can snorkel from the beach at Princess Cays in two areas. They also have kayaks, catamarans, stand up paddleboards, sea trikes, etc you can reserve as an excursion. You can rent snorkel gear too. Good beach day. Lunch is hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. Soda sticker does not work on PC either.

 

You can leave the Princess area and go to some local vendors on the other side of the fence or a long walk/run. You need a photo ID to exit and return through the gate.

[NoobCruise]

I recommend you also check out the boards for each of your specific ports. You might get more ideas and tips for specific excursions etc

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5

 

 

Have fun :)

[Keith1010]

I agree. You can get a lot of good ideas visiting the ports of call boards.

 

Keith

[one redneck cruiser]

I have been too St. Thomas and St. Maarten the other two I have not been too yet. St. Thomas photo op with a very beautiful view is the "Sky Ride to Paradise Point" is worth the price. Snorkel tour "Castaway Barefoot Sail & Snorkel to Shipwreck Cove" we enjoyed this trip. It was our first time on a sail boat and we enjoyed it greatly. The snorkeling was good but I would not rate it as great. The actual ship wreck was pretty deep and pretty small. The visability wasn't great but decent. The Crew on the Castaway Girl were great and helped make it a great trip. St. Maartens we simply went to the beach right there by the water taxi landing and shopping in that area. We basically had the beach to ourselves most everyone went to the beach bar at the end of the runway or on other tours to the nude beaches. Hope you have a great cruise and hope this helps you.:):):D

 

P.S. St Thomas is a US Possession and everything there is very very expensive. two beers at local bar was $16.00. St Maarten two beers $4.00

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Princess Cay -- beach day -- their own private island -- free BBQ for lunch.

St Thomas -- Princess docks 99% of the time at Crown Bay - thus it is a longer boat trip to get to St John's. You might consider taking the water taxi to Water Island:

St Maarten -- we love going over to Orient Beach. Or you can go to Maho Beach and watch the planes as their landing approach is right over the beach.

Grand Turk -- where the ship docks -- the area was built by Carnival -- there is a beach there and some shops, Margaritaville -- with swimming pool. You might consider renting a golf cart and touring the island - it is not big.

[cruiserking]

St. Maarten: Another vote for Orient Beach. This is our favorite beach here, beautiful white sands and turquoise blue water. We do the ship excursion which is around $40 per person for a two hour visit transportation included.

 

St. Thomas: A nice alternative is to take a cab up to the Marriott Frenchman's Reef Hotel about a five minute ride by cab. Grab a drink by the pool and enjoy the fabulous view of the harbor and your ship docked. There is also a beach there that is free of charge because all of the beaches on St. Thomas are considered free to the public.

 

Jonathan

[dorisis]

Can't speak for the other ports as I haven't been to them, but we took a snorkel excursion (Celebrity's champagne catamaran snorkel tour) from St. Thomas to St. John and enjoyed it. Not the best snorkeling we have ever experienced, but the first we had done, and pretty good.

 

St John's YES YES YES!

 

~Doris~

[Nebr.cruiser]

IMO snorkeling is not great at most of these ports, but a catamaran or sailboat to St. John's would be the best choice. We enjoyed Water Island too, for a relaxing beach day. St. Thomas has some spectacular views, either by going on an island tour or on the Sky ride.

 

Princess Cays is also a good beach day. We didn't swim/snorkel there as the water was cool. We did do a nice long hike out of the Princess compound and kind of in a circle around it and back in.

 

On St. Maarten we did a tour which took us to both sides of the island and some beach time at Orient Beach. Note that some areas of that beach are nude optional.

 

Haven't been to Grand Turk (I think).

 

On the ports of call you will find all kinds of info on active tours and tour operators. Or information about how to, say, get to Water Island or other places on your own.

[SeagoingMom]

I have been too St. Thomas and St. Maarten the other two I have not been too yet. St. Thomas photo op with a very beautiful view is the "Sky Ride to Paradise Point" is worth the price. Snorkel tour "Castaway Barefoot Sail & Snorkel to Shipwreck Cove" we enjoyed this trip. It was our first time on a sail boat and we enjoyed it greatly. The snorkeling was good but I would not rate it as great. The actual ship wreck was pretty deep and pretty small. The visability wasn't great but decent. The Crew on the Castaway Girl were great and helped make it a great trip. St. Maartens we simply went to the beach right there by the water taxi landing and shopping in that area. We basically had the beach to ourselves most everyone went to the beach bar at the end of the runway or on other tours to the nude beaches. Hope you have a great cruise and hope this helps you.:):):D

 

P.S. St Thomas is a US Possession and everything there is very very expensive. two beers at local bar was $16.00. St Maarten two beers $4.00

Re: the "Sky Ride to Paradise Point", check the website for this attraction, as I have been reading on these boards that it is closed for renovations -- check to see if it will be open when you cruise.

[travel_frog]

Thank you all for the suggestions!!

 

I have been checking the boards for all the ports ever since we booked the cruise and it seems that we could in theory do everything on the list on each of the islands. I was hoping that maybe someone here visited all/most of the islands and had suggestions as to which has the best snorkeling, best hiking, best for a trip around, and best for beach time... I like the idea of kayaking and paddle-boarding as well and will definitely look into sailing to St. John :)

 

Thank you again!

[SeagoingMom]

Thank you all for the suggestions!!

 

I have been checking the boards for all the ports ever since we booked the cruise and it seems that we could in theory do everything on the list on each of the islands. I was hoping that maybe someone here visited all/most of the islands and had suggestions as to which has the best snorkeling, best hiking, best for a trip around, and best for beach time... I like the idea of kayaking and paddle-boarding as well and will definitely look into sailing to St. John :)

 

Thank you again!

Maybe you could find a roll call for a recent cruise with the same itinerary and discuss this type of comparison with pax who are recently back from all the ports you will be visiting? Even though their cruise is over, sometimes folks still respond to/keep up with the roll calls, just to keep in touch.

[printingchick]

I love travel planning but with 4 ports this seems overwhelming... I am trying to figure out what to do at each port so we can enjoy this adventure and not spend too much money.

 

Our ports of call include:

Princess Cays (9AM-4PM)

St. Maarten (10AM - 6PM)

St. Thomas (7AM - 4PM)

Grand Turks (1PM - 7PM)

 

Husband and I are active vacationers, love to hike, swim and snorkel and enjoy nature.

 

So here are my questions and I would appreciate any help:

- Which port/island would be best for snorkeling, preferably from catamaran/sail boat?

- Which is best for a relaxing beach day? Where to rent chairs and umbrella?

- Best for photography? (well, I'll have my camera everywhere but if any of these places should be especially explored for their scenic beauty, I'd love to use that opportunity)

- Any special activities unique to a port?

- Are any of these islands good for renting a car and driving around?

- Are there interesting hikes?

- Any interesting villages/towns to explore? We love nature but also appreciate the cultural uniqueness of places we visit.

- Which beautiful Caribbean beaches not to miss?

 

Thanks in advance for your suggestions :D

 

If you're interested in hiking, I would recommend taking a taxi to Red Hook and then taking the ferry to St. John. GREAT hiking opportunities there.

 

See this site, which includes a map:

 

http://www.seestjohn.com/trails.html

[ladytiger96]

My only regret is I feel I planned too much stuff at each port. I wish I had saved one day for relaxing walking around and exploring with no itinerary.