So many ports - tell me it's not crazy

[JohnSpo]

I will be doing this itinerary in April 2018. I am not big on excursions and shopping but I plan on taking taxis to the beach at most of these ports. I have not yet done the research on which beaches to go to but that is my plan. Enjoy this cruise. It should be fun.:cool:

[Mary Ellen1]

We just settled on a cruise for next year with a small group (9 people, 4 rooms) and the majority vote went to an itinerary with 5 ports in 7 days. Somebody tell me this is actually a FUN thing to do??

My daughter keeps reminding me I don't even have to get off the ship at all of them, but I guarantee you if I have a chance to explore a new destination I'll definitely be off that ship!! :D

 

Leaving San Juan, it will be:

- St. Thomas

- Sea Day

- Barbados

- St. Lucia

- St. Kitts

- St. Maarten

- Back to San Juan

 

How do you pace yourself on something like this? I've got a year to overthink it now - I'd like to know I'm just worrying for nothing.

 

As mentioned already, go easy! Don't try to do a full tour on every island. On several of these islands you could just have a relaxing beach day.

 

• St. Thomas is a nice island for taking a tour, combined perhaps with a beach stop. Or, just head to one of their many beautiful beaches for the day.
  
• On Barbados, there are several beach bars/clubs at Carlisle Bay Beach. You've got some nice options at that beach, because the waters out in the bay are where people swim/snorkel with turtles, and over shipwrecks. There are locals who'll come along on the beach & take you out to that spot in a boat, for around $20-25. It's the same spot that many of the snorkel excursions come to. This approach gives you some flexible options, without having to make a plan or a reservation. :D
  
• On St. Maarten, check out Maho Beach. The airplane landings are unreal!!!
  

 

 

I did this itinerary and it was one of my favorite cruises. You can relax at a beach or take a tour. Each place is unique! Just pace yourself. My favorites - a beachclub at Barbados and the day trip we took on a small boat around St. Lucia. I would do this trip again in a heart beat! Enjoy.

 

Do you happen to remember who you used in St. Lucia for that boat tour? Thanks.

[evandbob]

I would love to do this itinerary if it was on a different ship.

 

To pace yourself plan a couple of half days only. Then you can go back to the ship for a late lunch and relax while many people are still away. This worked great for us on the Vista when we had 8 ports/1 sea day.

 

I've done San Juan sailings solo on Celebrity Summit in December and the fare was lower than Carnival's when I booked.

 

I go out walking at home between cruises to keep my excursion muscles active. Many excursions (except in the Med and Alaskan) that I choose have a beach component to them, so I get to relax after my walk or snorkel on the beach lounger included.

 

I just had some coronary arteries cleaned out and 3 stents installed, so I'm good to go on the Vista in 35 days or so. That cruise has the opposite itinerary: 6 sea days and 4 ports.

[AZ Ocean Lover]

We just did a cruise in April that was almost the same. Let me also say the travel day for you flying from Oregon to San Juan will also be a killer (and the return trip is even worse).

 

While I enjoyed all of our stops it was a bit much for me. I know I can stay on the ship but sitting on a ship that is tied up to a dock is not the same thing, in my opinion, as a sea day. What we did do is make some days shorter than others. We would get off the ship around 9 and back on around 1 or 2. This gave us some time to lounge/swim and relax a bit. Mix in some beach days that the only thing you need to worry about is getting a good lounge chair and you should be fine.

 

We had a good time but I'll look for trips with more true sea days and less ports. We have our eye on a 7 day with 3 ports. That sounds perfect. I just wish you could have a port, sea day, port, sea day itinerary in the Caribbean but the islands are all so close that doesn't make it very practical.

[Micahs Grandad]

Lots of nice beach days at some of the best beaches in the Caribbean

[siestakeys04]

We just settled on a cruise for next year with a small group (9 people, 4 rooms) and the majority vote went to an itinerary with 5 ports in 7 days. Somebody tell me this is actually a FUN thing to do??

My daughter keeps reminding me I don't even have to get off the ship at all of them, but I guarantee you if I have a chance to explore a new destination I'll definitely be off that ship!! :D

 

Leaving San Juan, it will be:

- St. Thomas

- Sea Day

- Barbados

- St. Lucia

- St. Kitts

- St. Maarten

- Back to San Juan

 

How do you pace yourself on something like this? I've got a year to overthink it now - I'd like to know I'm just worrying for nothing.

 

 

Not crazy dh and I were looking at this exact same sailing for next year still haven't decieded!!:confused:

[bakersdozen12]

I don't think it's crazy! Of course, I'm biased because I'm doing this cruise in a few weeks. [emoji4]

 

That said, I have to admit that I did end up canceling an excursion that I was planning on doing in St Maarten. Decided that by the end of the week, we might be exhausted. So I'm opting for a sleep in/lazy shopping day in port, instead of doing any planned activities that say.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[gamblingrandma]

The name of the tour company in St. Lucia is dophindiveadventure. Can't say enough good things about them. Tour included drinks and lunch.

[h_blond2]

I think this sounds like an amazing cruise! Just make sure you throw some beach days in there!

[Mary Ellen1]

The name of the tour company in St. Lucia is dophindiveadventure. Can't say enough good things about them. Tour included drinks and lunch.

 

Thank you!

[skrufy]

We did the journeys cruise last January also. Without a sea day scattered around the ports it can get very exhausting, especially if you do excursions at each one. We don't do excursions in all the ports, but do wander into the port for the late morning, early afternoon then return to the ship and enjoy a warm Caribbean afternoon on the lido deck. When we were in Martinique we wandered the city came back towards the ship and had a few drinks at a local sidewalk café. Saw the city and didn't get worn out.

[jsglow]

We've done it twice with slightly different ports each time:

 

#1

San Juan, St. Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua

 

#2

San Juan, St. Thomas, Barbados, St, Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Maarten

 

Absolutely LOVED both.

 

Few thoughts not previously mentioned:

 

- Less touristy. Anything 'below' St. Thomas/Maarten is further away than the 7 day US mainland ships can get to. So if you enjoy a more natural Caribbean....

 

- No real need for a cabin upgrade. You're gone every day so an Interior or an OV are really just fine.

 

- You can also get advice on what port day to skip or minimize based on your taste. We've been to St. Lucia 3 times and this most recent time we simply walked around the bazaar a little and then headed back to the ship to create what amounted to a quiet sea day.

[Bringonthesun01]

We did this cruise 4 years ago and we leave for it again in 5 days. This is by far the best cruise I have ever done. The islands are amazing and 3 of the 5 for us are grab a taxi and go to a small beach. However, I will have to say, this is the only cruise I have ever taken naps on. It is a port heavy cruise, but it is well worth it to see some of these amazing islands.

[me-shel]

I can't tell you how much better I'm feeling about this itinerary now! Very reassuring, very thought provoking responses. I love the research/planning part... but it made me realize I think I'm more stressed about making everyone in the group happy in 5 ports, especially with 4 of the 9 being new cruisers/not big travelers. We're actually taking my mom & stepdad for her 70th birthday so I feel more responsible for making sure they're happy. As much as I enjoy the prep part, I don't want to have to be mother hen once we're underway. When it's just me and my husband, I tell him what we're doing, he says "yes dear," and we have a great time! ;)

 

I would love to do this itinerary if it was on a different ship.

 

We hadn't paid attention to ships - we were shopping itineraries, really. I've got to agree I wasn't really excited when I realized it was Fascination (older, smaller, not upgraded)... but I figure with this many ports it will be just fine!

 

Ps. I highly recommend Calabaza Sailing while in Barbados. What an amazing day!

 

The name of the tour company in St. Lucia is dophindiveadventure. Can't say enough good things about them. Tour included drinks and lunch.

 

I've got these on my list now, thanks for sharing!

[bnorris10]

In alot of these ports you will find people hanging outside the port offering little tours that take like a hour or two -- you could just do that and get back on the boat on a couple of them so most of your day is on the boat and so that you actually see the islands you visit

[pcvtmom]

To echo what other posters are saying...we've done this itinerary several times and LOVED it! Just plan in some beach (chill) time, like the Boatyard in Barbados, or Orient or Maho Beaches in St. Maarten. We found that we spent a little more off the ship (excursions, etc.), but our onboard account was FAR less, which was a bonus.

[me-shel]

... but our onboard account was FAR less, which was a bonus.

 

Now THAT is a bonus I hadn't considered! I like it. :)

[birdy]

The name of the tour company in St. Lucia is dophindiveadventure. Can't say enough good things about them. Tour included drinks and lunch.

 

Gamblingrandma, how much was your tour. I looked at their website but there wasn't any prices for the tour.

 

Thanks,

[JustCruiseMe]

We did this one and yes it was exhausting but fun. Best excursion/port in all of cruising has been St. Lucia on the Carnival Catamaran and tour. I forget what it's called but it was amazing.

[ray98]

That would be exhausting. I also really enjoy the sea days on a cruise.

[Mary Ellen1]

Gamblingrandma, how much was your tour. I looked at their website but there wasn't any prices for the tour.

 

Thanks,

 

Hi birdy. Let me jump in here and say that I emailed them just yesterday (and they replied very promptly). $60 per person for their Adventure Cruise tour that's listed on their website. :)

[beshears]

I haven't had a chance to read all the postings, but I understand where you are coming from.

 

I have a group of 8 going, (3 sons/d-I-l's)as well as a friend, and most of them have never been on a ship, or any of the ports. As you can guess they want to SEE/check them out. I want to go with them a well, and show them some of the highlights, but I know it will be a very BUSY schedule as well. We will be going to all the ports that you mentioned, and with our schedule, we will be going to San Juan, and St. Thomas too. Very nice ports.

 

Yes, the two sea days will be needed to REST UP!

[BenjiRodney]

We just settled on a cruise for next year with a small group (9 people, 4 rooms) and the majority vote went to an itinerary with 5 ports in 7 days. Somebody tell me this is actually a FUN thing to do??

My daughter keeps reminding me I don't even have to get off the ship at all of them, but I guarantee you if I have a chance to explore a new destination I'll definitely be off that ship!! :D

 

Leaving San Juan, it will be:

- St. Thomas

- Sea Day

- Barbados

- St. Lucia

- St. Kitts

- St. Maarten

- Back to San Juan

 

How do you pace yourself on something like this? I've got a year to overthink it now - I'd like to know I'm just worrying for nothing.

 

We have done it 3 times, loved it. You will need a vacation at the end to recover, but it is an amazing itinerary.