Question for all recent Constellation cruisers - What was your favorite port and excursion??

[crazy4cruzin]

I'm getting excited about my cruise on the Constellation, but reading a lot of negative things about Casa de Campo and Grenada. Can anyone tell me about any of the Southern Caribbean ports, best beaches, favorite excursion, sights not to be missed, did you do own excursion?
Itinerary: Casa de Campo
Barbados
Grenada
Antigua
St. Thomas

Any information would be appreciated. Thanks [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

[nywritestuff]

First of all, don't pay attention to the negative feedback you are getting about some of the ports.

I just returned on the 4/3 sailing on the Connie with the exact same itinerary. We loved every single port. It helped that I did a lot of research on the ports in advance. So here is what we did:
-- Dominican/Casa de Campo: We took the Bayahibibe beach break ship tour. It was fabulous. At the port, you get picked up in an air conditioned bus and taken to the Casa del Mar resort. All of your drinks are included in the excursion price. The resort has a fabulous swimming pool and a gorgeous beach. They have white wine and giant bottles of water (bring some back to the ship). We all had a great time, swimming and relaxing on the beach. There are beach chairs, no bothersome vendors, nice bathrooms, etc. It was a beautiful resort. And the gift shop sells Dominican coffee so you can bring some back.
-- Barbados: We did the island drive/green monkey ship tour, which was wonderful but a bit too inactive for us. I've heard wonderful things about the turtle excursions, however, and I will definitely go on that the next time.
-- Grenada: The best tour on the island is through Mandoo. He picks you up early, right at the tender dock and you spend the rest of the day touring this amazing island. You will go through St. Georges, up to a fishing village on the coast, to the Concord Falls in the rainforest, to Douglastown spice plantation, to Grand Etang Lake (a beautiful spot) and then onto Grand Anse Beach where we spent a few hours. Then, the guide takes you back to the tender area.

One note: Grenada can seem intimidating at first because there are some aggressive vendors and taxi drivers. That's why we booked the Mandoo tour in advance. Oh, and it was $40 US per person. It was an amazing experience. We became experts at picking out nutmeg trees, breadfruit trees, etc. We call it the edible island and it smells amazing. One tip: buy some unpeeled loofahs on the beach (they are a great conversation piece). Oh and another tip: At Grand Anse beach, we spent $5 per person to rent chairs and the vendor shooed away others. It was well worth the money!

Antigua: The absolute must tour is with Eli's antigua adventures (you can find out more on the antigua port of call board). My son (age 11) desperately wants to return on this tour. Eli will meet you very close to the ship's dock with his 54 foot catamaran. He will give you an ocean view of the island, its history and ecology, a fantastic lunch and terrific snorkling spots (and a lesson for those who have never done it). You will see massive orange starfish clinging to mangrove roots, fantastic coral formations, birds, etc.

St. Thomas: In the morning, we went shopping in Charlotte Amalie, and you can take a taxi drive there. It's easy. There also is a mall within walking distance of the ship. But in the afternoon, we took the cas cay eco tour, a ship excursion. Again, it was fantastic. This is a great tour for first time snorklers. They pick you up at the dock, take you by bus to their center. You board inflatables to Cas Cay, a small island formed by mangroves. The guides take you on a hike through the mangroves to a tide pool where you will see amazing fish and other wildlife. Then, you snorkle in two spots, one over a shipwreck and you see giant conch, angel fish, coral, etc. You can see a fish nursery in through the mangrove roots.



I hope this helps. Honestly, I am so excited that we experienced every port because we learned so much. Keep in mind that the Dominican is a poor country that is desperately trying to gain more tourism. Same with Grenada. But if you have an open mind and want some adventure, these ports will not disappoint you.

Good luck!

I am so jealous! I want to go back!!!!!

[nywritestuff]

By the way, there is another person's perspective on the Connie's Caribbean ports written by abczyx. It's below.

Check it out!

[crazy4cruzin]

nywritestuff - Thanks for all the information and I feel so much better about the ports after reading your reply and abczyx's review. I am not a swimmer, will I be able to do some of those boat/snorkling excursions? [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

[nywritestuff]

The answer to your swimming question is YES! For one thing, there were two guides on the Antigua tour, and they equip you with life jackets. You can just float in the water near the boat. But it also combines hiking and history as well. If you don't want to go into the water, you can relax on the boat (it's covered, so you won't have to worry about frying in the sun (take lots of sunscreen, though). And you can try a snorkling lesson with Eli. It's very peaceful just sitting on the boat watching the waves and taking in the scenery (which is fabulous!). You will learn a lot about the history and beauty of the island.

For the St. Thomas tour, many people opted to do the ferry to St. John's, where you can hike and swim at the beach. It's supposed to be amazing, and I'll do that next time as well.

On my St. Thomas eco tour, again, there was history, hiking and they equip you with life jackets, so you can just float. Or you can relax among the mangroves while others snorkle. We had three guides there. And it was so shallow in some spots that we couldn't use fins. You can just float near the beach if you want, as well.

[Johnny Squid]

We were on the Connie on the 4-17 cruise.Did the 4x4 tour in Barbados. The driver Grafton was great. The cost was 240 for up to 9 people for 6 hours. Adventurelandbarbados.com
The same tour thru the ship was 49.00 each for 3 hours.
Hope that helped. Squid

USS JFK 76-80, SS Pecos 81,
SS Concho 82-83,84,SS Trinty 83,SS San Marcos 84, USNS Mizar 84-85, USNS Misipillion 85,USNS Spica 85,87-88 DRYDOCKED 88-2000,Fasination 00,Destiny 02,
Connie 4-17-04