Tips for excursions for southern Caribbean cruise

[RaiderCruiser1971]

Hi everyone.

 

In January my wife and I and my parents and siblings (and their spouses) are going on the Jewel of the Seas, leaving from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

 

I've done a little bit of research on different things to do at each of the stops, but would like to know what experiences people have had. The ports are: Bridgetown, Barbados; Castres, St. Lucia; St. Johns, Antigua; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.

 

Any information on which stops would be best for snorkeling, zip-lining, just hitting the beach, shopping or seeing the sights will be appreciated (as well as if there is anything at any of the ports that we should avoid).

 

Thank you.

[Clarea]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

You may also want to check out the Caribbean Ports of Call forums:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587

[berry15]

Great Itinerary- We did the ship's Catamaran and snorkel tour in Barbados. While I generally do things on my own this was a great tour. The crew was outstanding and the snorkeling spot and beach very nice.

In St. Marten Bernard's Tours is awesome. He will meet you right at the pier and take you on a great tour of the island and you will have time at the beach.

[bouhunter]

Silver Moon in Barbados for snorkeling with the turtles. First Class operation. We'll be with them a third time when in Barbados for a week - soon!:)

[Anita Latte]

On our Southern itinerary, we did private excursions in Barbados and St Lucia.

 

My parents have done the Silver Moon catamarans in Barbados multiple times, and every time, they have been really good. It is snorkeling/sailing...you can snorkel and swim with the sea turtles and then there is another area with several ship wrecks.

 

In St. Lucia, we did Mystic Man. They were EXCELLENT. That cat was smaller and very, very nice. Our extended family of 5 were the only passengers on it. I don't recall the max occupancy. We did a lot of sailing that day and had one stop for some snorkeling. Mystic Man has several cats and they radio each other and talk and alert each other where sea life can be found, if any is sighted. We sailed to see the mountains.

 

The big draw in St Lucia is usually centered around the two peaks. It's a very mountainous island...but we have a member in our family that is prone to car sickness, especially in winding roads, so we went the sea route to see the mountains this time to not risk any vacation spoilers.

[BillOh]

Hi everyone.

 

In January my wife and I and my parents and siblings (and their spouses) are going on the Jewel of the Seas, leaving from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

 

I've done a little bit of research on different things to do at each of the stops, but would like to know what experiences people have had. The ports are: Bridgetown, Barbados; Castres, St. Lucia; St. Johns, Antigua; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.

 

Any information on which stops would be best for snorkeling, zip-lining, just hitting the beach, shopping or seeing the sights will be appreciated (as well as if there is anything at any of the ports that we should avoid).

 

Thank you.

 

 

Antigua had some beautiful beaches that I will check out my next time there. I made a mistake and took a stinker of an excursion there. Friends went to Cambrola (sp) beach club and loved it.

[ken_nyc]

Great Itinerary- In St. Marten Bernard's Tours is awesome. He will meet you right at the pier and take you on a great tour of the island and you will have time at the beach.

 

We did Bernard's Tour in 2009 and had a great time, I would highly recommend it! :)

[RaiderCruiser1971]

Thank you all for your feedback, especially the link to the ports of call forums - and for not slamming me for not going there first! :o

[girlzillla]

we did whale watching in St Lucia and the plantation and Cruzen Rum tour in St Croix. both were fabulous! We saw lots of whales and we got to see and hear a lot of history on St Croix and we got to drink rum...

[NKLCRUISES]

Hi everyone.

 

In January my wife and I and my parents and siblings (and their spouses) are going on the Jewel of the Seas, leaving from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

 

I've done a little bit of research on different things to do at each of the stops, but would like to know what experiences people have had. The ports are: Bridgetown, Barbados; Castres, St. Lucia; St. Johns, Antigua; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.

 

Any information on which stops would be best for snorkeling, zip-lining, just hitting the beach, shopping or seeing the sights will be appreciated (as well as if there is anything at any of the ports that we should avoid).

 

Thank you.

 

My suggestions based on experience.

 

Barbados: Calabaza or, Silvermoon catamaran

 

St Lucia: Day pass at Rendevous, or Spencer Ambrose tours

 

Antigua: Adventure Antigua - Eli's eco tour, or South Coast Horizons Jeep safari tour

 

St Maarten: Captain Bob Soualiga Destinations, or Bernard's tour II

 

St Croix: Big Beards to Buck Island, or Gecko's ATV/Jet Ski combo tour.

[erniesband]

We'll be doing a B2B in January on Jewel and have done a lot of 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

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.

 

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

 

St Martin - shoppers paradise Front Street in Phillipsburg

Orient Beach to people watch.

Maho Beach to watch the planes come in.

Bernard's Tour comes highly recommended

 

Barbados - most popular thing is swimming with the turtles, go with

Calabaza - http://www.calabazasailingcruises.com or

Silvermoon - silvermoonbarbados.com

If you like chocolate there's a small factory that gives tours

http://www.agapey.com

For history Glory Tours has some interesting tours.

 

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.

[skiiergirl]

Hi everyone.

 

In January my wife and I and my parents and siblings (and their spouses) are going on the Jewel of the Seas, leaving from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

 

I've done a little bit of research on different things to do at each of the stops, but would like to know what experiences people have had. The ports are: Bridgetown, Barbados; Castres, St. Lucia; St. Johns, Antigua; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.

 

Any information on which stops would be best for snorkeling, zip-lining, just hitting the beach, shopping or seeing the sights will be appreciated (as well as if there is anything at any of the ports that we should avoid).

 

Thank you.

 

While we haven't ziplined on any of these islands....I think St Lucia would be the best (due to terrain) of these islands if ziplining is high on your priority list.

 

Barbados....definitely do Silver Moon or Calabazza

 

St Lucia....tour with Island Man taxi...fabulous at usual tours or customizing to your desire!!!

 

Antigua....Cool Cat sailing! We have done them twice a year for several years now!

 

St Maarten....If this is your first time there then I would definitely do an island tour to see Maho Beach (airplanes landing directly over beach), Orient Beach (some nudity), and just general island. However, this is the best island of this route for shopping. So if shopping is a priority on this trip, then shop up and down Front Street and also check out the vendor's market for souvenirs. Have lunch at one of the great restaurants. Take the Segway tour if they are open. Then if you have any time left, just hang out at the beach right there in town and then take the water taxi back to the ship.

 

St Croix....do an island tour or...my suggestion...just make it a "ship day". Enjoy the ship with less pax on it. Go to the spa. Hang out in the solarium or pool area. Especially if this is your last day and also have to pack!

 

If you have any golfers in your group.....golf is ok in Antigua, great in St Lucia, nice in St Croix and...depending on whether you book through the ship or on your own in Barbados it varies from nice to fabulous (depending on the course ($) you pick). Skip golf in St M. Way too much other great stuff to do!

[bigque]

Another recommendation for Bernard Tours in St. Maarten they were excellent!

You also mention zip lines! I did a zip line excursion through the ship in Antigua called if I remember correctly "The Rainforest Canopy zip line excursion" and it was fun! It was a series of 12 zip lines over a forest and at the end of it you could do what is called a leap of faith off of a platform of what I think was a 30 foot drop. If you are a fan of zip lines you will love this! :cool:

Edited October 2, 2015 by bigque

[New2cruise1483]

I'll just give you a run down of what we did on our recent cruise.

In St. Croix we went to Sandcastle resort where you can get a day pass for $25 that included two loungers, an umbrella and two rum punches.

St. Maarten visited the Sunset bar at Maho beach and watched the planes

Antigua went to Valley Church Beach. Gorgeous beach and turquoise water

St. Lucia we did a beach tour with Spencer Ambrose to Jalousie Beach. It's a great way to see the real beauty of the island and it is nestled in between to Twin Pitons. The serve lunch and have rum punch, Piton beer, Coke and water included.

Barbados we found Neville at Carlisle Bay, and went swimming with the sea turtles. He has a glass bottom boat, and it is $20 a person. This was fantastic! He stays right with you, and feeds the turtles so they come right up to you. He also shows you a few ship wrecks that are out in the bay. He also includes VERY yummy rum punch ;):D. I hope this helps a little bit:)

[Smitty815]

If you want to go ziplining, the Extreme Zipline in St. Marteen (I don't remember the exact name but it's something like that) is an amazing zipline course!

I have done numerous ziplines on cruises and on other vacations. This one was the best by far. It's a combination of rope ladders and ziplines. You climb your way through a lot of it using caribiners. I absolutely loved it. It says on the description that you need to be fit to do it. I guess there is a certain level of fitness required, but you don't need to be a pro-athlete by any means. My girlfriend went with me and she is only 4'11, 110lbs. The main concern is that you aren't afraid of heights.

Trust me though, it's awesome. I know a bunch of other people that have gone on the same excursion and everyone has had a good time.

Edited October 3, 2015 by Smitty815

[justforkicks]

Great Itinerary- We did the ship's Catamaran and snorkel tour in Barbados. While I generally do things on my own this was a great tour. The crew was outstanding and the snorkeling spot and beach very nice.

In St. Marten Bernard's Tours is awesome. He will meet you right at the pier and take you on a great tour of the island and you will have time at the beach.

 

Love, love, love Bernard's. They are awesome!

[irishgal432]

Thank you for your suggestions. I just booked a Southern and it is so helpful to hear of everyone's opinions.

[cruiseapril]

Barbados- One time we took a (ship's) tour of the island and went to:

Bathsheba, Andromeda Gardens, St. John's Church, and Franconia Plantation. This was a good tour with a variety of stops. Barbados has

many, many scenic and historic sites.

 

Another time, we spent the day at Carlisle Bay- from Harbour Lights beach club (not far from pier.) It was a relaxing day which we would repeat- nice beach- and there are several beach clubs in the area.

 

St. Lucia- We did a (ship's) tour on the narrow and winding roads and were glad we had a good driver and guide. We traveled to a manor house, an artist's workshop, to scenic bays and through plantations to a fishing village.

A guided tour is a must for St. Lucia.

 

St. Maarten- We took the ferry to town and shopped and later took a tour

to Orient Beach. The beach was nice, but quite crowded and the surf was

high so we didn't swim that day. Another time we would opt for Marigot and a beach near there.