Southern Caribbean ports: best excursions

[Carol RN]

Can anyone recommend the best excursions and/or don't miss sights at the following ports:

 

St Croix

St Johns, Antigua

Fort de France, Martinique

Castries, St Lucia

 

Thank you!

[susie63]

I'd love to know this as well. Thanks!

[sherilyn70]

It all depends on what you're looking for. Do you want beaches, shoping, adventure, history, etc? My idea of the best may not be others.

[mjtripper]

Can anyone recommend the best excursions and/or don't miss sights at the following ports:

 

St Croix

St Johns, Antigua

Fort de France, Martinique

Castries, St Lucia

 

Thank you!

 

I can recommend the following:

Antigua - Normally we do not take ship tours however this tour we have done twice and absolutely loved it. The Excellence - highlights by sea. I think around $90pp. This includes a boat tour around the island. You can experience both the Caribbean and the Atlantic. The Atlantic can be a bit rough but only lasts for about 10-15 minutes. The views from the shore are breathtaking. You stop at a private island for lunch and snorkeling. The boat operators are alot of fun, getting people to dance and the drinks are flowing.

 

St. Lucia - we took another boat tour -with Spencer Ambrose to Jalousie Beach. This was another great day on the water and beach. We saw the scenic coast line of St. Lucia, and stopped at the beach for lunch, sunning on the beach however you can not use the chairs from the resort. The beach and grounds are beautiful. There is a small bar on the beach which have some of the best pina -colada so fresh...

 

Best of luck in your planning....

[DonnaK]

St Lucia: Cosol tours was outstanding

 

Antigua: Lawrence of Antigua was an excellent private tour guide.

[OCruisers]

Can anyone recommend the best excursions and/or don't miss sights at the following ports:

 

St Croix

St Johns, Antigua

Fort de France, Martinique

Castries, St Lucia

 

Thank you!

 

St. Croix .... The water is so lovely and clear. If you like to snorkel, taking a catamaran to Bucks Island is great!

 

Antigua .... Known for beaches (blue water & sugar white sand). We like taking a catamaran that has a beach stop at one of the beaches that is difficult to reach by land.

 

Martinique .... Our favorite was taking a boat tour and viewing the island from the water.

 

St. Lucia .... Best know for The Pitons (twin peaks). Pick a catamaran excursion that gets you up close to The Pitons and has a beach and/or swim stop.

 

Have fun planning! :)

 

LuLu

~~~~~

[erniesband]

We'll be doing a B2B in January on Jewel and have done 15 Southern cruises from San Juan. Here's some things we've done over the years and would recommend:

 

St Croix - Virgin Kayaking on the Salt River - http://www.virginkayaktours.com

Cane Bay for snorkeling, Buck Island is supposed to be real good but we go in January when the North Swells are coming in and its just too rough to snorkel.

A trip into Christianstad for it's history.

Rainbow Beach really close to the pier.

You can see most of Fredrickstad in an hour.

 

Antigua - For water adventures any of the tours by Adventure Antigua - http://www.adventureantigua.com

For history, a tour that goes to Nelson's Dockyard, Shirley Heights, etc. Gordon or Lawrence get good reviews.

 

Martinique - this will be our first time there.

 

St Lucia - this island is best seen with an all day tour like Cosol, Mystic Man and others offer, It's a natural paradise. Ziplining is very popular here. If you want a great beach day with good snorkeling look into a day package with Island Divers at Ti Kaye resort. http://www.tikaye.com

 

And don't forget to give yourself some time to explore San Juan. Come in a few days early, see Old San Juan, the forts and El Yunque.

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[ZAL's Nan]

Last year, when we were in Martinique, we booked RCCL St. Pierre and the rum factory tour. It was pretty good. Just a FYI, some people on our cruise were upset because Martinique is french and they do speak french there. They also use Euros but the duty free will take USD

[kms8066]

Lawrence of Antigua was wonderful! Full of knowledge and excellent tour guide in every way. Very reasonably priced, too. (LawrenceofAntigua@gmail.com)

[mom says]

St Lucia: Cosol tours was outstanding

 

Antigua: Lawrence of Antigua was an excellent private tour guide.

 

I would give an enthusiastic second to these recommendations.

You might also want to check the ports of call forums as well. Here's a link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587

[scarby]

St Lucia- Dolphin Dive Adventure with Papa Irwin. Had an amazing time! Nice scenic boat ride and great snorkeling at Anse Chastanet. Plus all the drinks you wanted, rum punch, beer, water or pop.

 

Antigua- South Coast Horizons Jeep Safari Eco Tour. We had a great time with a land tour, kayak trip and great snorkeling! Plus drinks and a great lunch. Very cheap for all you get!

[cruiseapril]

We enjoyed our Martinique ship's tour to St. Pierre, the rain forest, and Balata Gardens. Then our ship, the Noordam, later sailed past Mt. Pelee-the historic volcano. Our tour guide was very good-the entire experience was far better than we expected.

[USOBuckeye]

We are scheduled to sail in February and are trying to select mild to moderate difficulty excursions. Can anyone tell us about the following: St. Croix - Panoramic Drive, Historical Walking Tour Fredriksted; St. Kitts - Caribbeam Scenic Rail and Sail or Caribbean Scenic Railway tour; Dominica - Southern Atlantic Panoramic Drive or Explore Cabrits Marine Reserve; Grenada -Spice and Waterfalls; St. Thomas - 5 star island tour or Legendary KonTiki Sightseeing & beach cruise.

 

I am beginning to see that we can do some on our own in some locations, but we would like to see as much as possible on what may be our only trip to this area.

 

Thank you for your help.