Which Caribbean port to leave out?

[h-sar]

We often stay on ship whilst in port. Spas usually have special sales and it's wonderful to enjoy the ship: uncrowded and unhurried.

 

All the ports have something interesting but none are OMG, you can't miss THIS!

 

Decide how you feel in the morning (or night before!) and sleep in. That's what wonderful about holidays - go with the flow and decide at the time. No pre-planning necessary. If you are scheduling every day down to the hour, chill out - you definitely need a few more "sea" days.:)

 

And that is exactly what it might come down to - how we all feel on a particular morning. I absolutely love sea days on a ship itinerary, but feel guilty about creating one for myself on a port day. Have a feeling I might get over that by the fourth or fifth port, though :D

[CptSticky]

And that is exactly what it might come down to - how we all feel on a particular morning. I absolutely love sea days on a ship itinerary, but feel guilty about creating one for myself on a port day. Have a feeling I might get over that by the fourth or fifth port, though :D

Well you can always do what we consider a successful port stop. Get off, grab a local beer, a frig magnet and a hat pin and get back on for lunch. You get to sleep in, get off and still have most of the day on board.

I guess that I should also mention in full disclosure that we almost always do at least B2B and often multi B2B so getting off at every port just isn't that big a deal.

Edited July 30, 2016 by CptSticky

[meadowlander]

If you've done both, which do you consider the more beautiful island - St. Kitts or St. Lucia?

 

I have been to both St.Kitts and St.Lucia. I only viewed St.Lucia from the water, as the tour I took was on a boat. I was so impressed at how green, how lush, how well landscaped, how clean St.Lucia was. Again, this is only from a water view.

 

I have been to St.Kitts 3 or 4 times and only once to St.Lucia. I would not get tired of Barbados and of the three island you selected for elimination, I would skip St.Kitts. I did the island tour with Thenford Grey. He was very accommodating. I like history, enjoyed Brimstone Hill but overall I did not find St.Kitts appealing. While I very much enjoyed the "beach break" tour I did with Spencer Ambrose on St.Lucia, spending much time on a beach by the Pitons, I am having difficulty finding something I would like to do on my next visit in January 2017.

[navybankerteacher]

The irony is that, while St. Thomas is the one we have been to the most of the 6 ports, it is also one we look forward to greatly as well! Sigh... I'm not making this easy for myself...

 

The three ports you seem to be considering are far better in my mind than St. Thomas - even if you happen to like St. Thomas , why in the world would you repeat it again and miss an island you have not seen?

[taikoshiba]

Do a private tour on St. Lucia with Cosol Tours ---- great, affordable tour. Gets super reviews on Trip Advisor & will do whatever you want him to.

I second this! We had a great time with Cosol Tours. Highly recommend.

[marco]

I'd skip St Thomas and go over to St John while there . Particularly if you love the beach and snorkeling, go to Trunk Bay.

[capriccio]

Are you planning excursions or just planning to get off the ship and wonder around the port areas or go to local beaches? If it is excursions, I recommend:

 

St. Kitts - On our first visit we used Thenford Grey and it was interesting. On our second visit we went on the train excursion (must be booked through the cruise line) around the sugar cane fields and it was mildly interesting. If we ever stop again we'll probably stay on board.

 

St. Lucia - all three visits we have used Serenity Tours and they are wonderful and we will use them again should we stop in St. Lucia. The island is beautiful.

 

Barbados - on our first visit we went on a catamaran day trip (including snorkeling with the turtles) with Calabeza. An absolutely wonderful day! On our second visit we had a semi private tour of gardens on the island which was interesting. If we ever stop again we'd do Calabeza again.

 

St. Thomas - been there (including a week long vacation before we started cruising), done that and feel no need to get off the ship.

 

St. Martin - have only been there once but had one of our best excursions ever: America's Cup Boat Race. We aren't really beach people (although we live on the beach in south Florida :D) so I'm not sure what else we would do at that port if we should return.

 

Grand Turk - have only been there once and went power snorkeling on the edge of the 7000 deep reef and would do that again in a heartbeat. Otherwise we didn't see much to interest us.

[Bonnie J.]

All of those ports are fine. Jamaica is the only port we don't like at all. but, as was said if you've been to Barbados stay on the ship there. But why? Why not snorkel with the turtles or do something you didn't do before.

 

In St. Lucia Cosol is the tour to take. In more than 100 cruises this was the best tour we have ever been on!!!! Google them and you'll see why!

[h-sar]

High praise all around for Cosol! I appreciate all the input - it's been very informative. After reading the Cosol Trip Advisor reviews, looks like St. Lucia is off the list of 3 and I'll be deciding between Barbados and St. Kitts as a ship day. Some of you had mentioned St. Thomas, but the kids just booked the BOSS underwater adventure there this morning which is not available in any of our other ports.

[zoncom]

Celebrity did GT maybe 5-6 years ago. So many complaints, including me. they dropped it after that season.