Celebrity first timer excursion advice

[telnshell]

We're sailing on Celebrity Equinox in September. We have six ports scheduled in six days. We're looking at a beach excursion at each port. Do you think this is a good idea or could we be overdoing it? Thinking of booking them all in advance to get the payment out of the way and to ensure we get the ones we wanted too. Any advice appreciated :)

[casper106]

If you are just interested in lying on a beach,there is no need to book excursions in advance in the Caribbean. There are always cabs and vans or public transit near to where the ship docks at a fraction of the cost of the ones offered by Celebrity. Just head out there and tell them where you want to go and ask the price. Also, arrange for them to pick you up at a designated point and time bearing in mind the time needed to return to the ship on time for sail away from each port.

 

A good place to check out where to go in each port is to go to the boards here on CC where the ports are listed. Click on which ones you want, eg. Barbados, and scroll away and research what others have posted.

[easyboy]

I agree that advance booking on shore excursion for the Carabbean is not necessary. Several transport options in port, including tours. Your fellow passengers on your Roll Call may already have specific places to be in port.

 

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[Mr. Click]

To be specific, join the roll call for your cruise and there will be lots of information there about where to go, what to do and people making up small groups to do it. Ship's excursions are expensive and rarely worth the extra cost. If you are thinking of 6 days on the beach please remember that the Caribbean sun is very very strong so bring sun screen, rent an umbrella or a cabana so you don't get fried like I did 47 years ago...

[Aunt Tina]

Definitely look at private tours on the ports of call thread. There are really great private tours in the Caribbean which are so much better than ship's tours. You can check your roll call and partner with others to do the private tours too.

 

Some of the best tours we have taken include:

 

Bob Cass snorkeling in St. Maarten'

Calabazza in Barbados

Levi Baron and Bumping tours in Dominica

Fleisher Ellis in Puerto Rico

Godfrey Tours in St. Thomas

 

On our last cruise we chartered a boat with 4 other people in St. Thomas and spent the whole day in St. John. We snorkeled in three places, ate lunch at Caneel Bay and spent an hour on Trunk Bay. It was so much better than the 1 hour 15 minutes you get at Trunk Bay on the ship's tour.

[ClaudiaB]

An excursion, whether Celebrity's or independent, is not necessary for hanging out on the beach. You'll pay a lot of extra $$. Get out and take a cab and tell them which beach you want. Which one you want will require a little bit of homework on your part - on your roll call, on Trip Advisor, on the ports forum here. That's part of the fun!

Don't let the "warning" about missing the ship worry you. On a ship excursion if you're late back, they'll wait. If you are independent, they won't. However --- the independent excursions work great - it's what these people do! They know their island and traffic and ship schedule and you won't be late. They'd be out of business if they got you late. If you take your own taxi, just get back on a taxi in plenty of time to be back about an hour ahead of when you need to. It's easy.

 

If you like snorkeling and you're going to Bonaire, Woodwind is the best in the Caribbean for snorkeling. Best snorkel location and best excursion.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

You don't need to worry a lot about overdoing your excursions. On ship-sponsored tours you can cancel twenty-four hours in advance and not be charged. Just be sure to bring your excursion ticket to the tour desk when you cancel. I learned that lesson the hard way once.

[chemmo]

As others have said, if you just want beaches you can just look at port info and then get a cab.

 

Six beach days in a row, however, is a lot of sun! I honestly would consider some variety....Island tours, boat trips and cultural lunch can all happen pre a beach stop in the pm. That way you can see a bit of the islands you are visiting and have some beach time....

 

I think if you look at the roll call, Celebrity's excursion choices (even if you don't use them they will give you ideas), and port information you will be able to put a really nice itinerary together.

 

One final hint....if there is an island you have already visited staying ON the ship when everyone else is off is is great. Really quiet pools and bars, Oceanview empty at lunchtime.....I miss confess most Caribbean cruises we will opt for at least one 'ship day'! We

[vickykay]

If you're going to St. Thomas the only ship excursion I weluld recommend in the Caribbean is the transportation by boat to St. John's if your thinking of going there. Cost comparable to taxi, ferry, etc. and we enjoyed the boat ride over there. Then grab a cab to one of the beautiful beaches. The other advantage of going on your own to most beaches as you can control how long you want to stay. Enjoy!

[NordicPrince]

The last time we were on Equinox in March 2017 Celebrity was offering a package of beach visits on 3 islands for $99 p\p (St. Thomas (Magen's Bay), St Maarten (Oriente Beach), Barbados (I believe it's the Boatyard) which seemed like a pretty good deal. They featured it on the excursions booking page.

On our first visit to the islands DW and I did not feel comfortable going out on our own and that is perfectly acceptable, contrary to some of the advice you are seeing here. The second time around you can venture out on your own. One good thing about the ship excursions is they usually include something to drink and sometimes a chair and umbrella will be available for you. Definitely try to use umbrellas as much as you can unless you are really able to handle the strong sun. DW and I like to just go in the ocean as much as we can, so we don't do the snorkeling and all that. The beach excursions from the ship are not really that expensive and you don't have any worries for the first time. If you're going to St. Thomas a very nice day trip to St. John to visit Trunk Bay is great. If you don't want that they have an excursion called Secret Sands which is really beautiful also. If you're going to St. Kitt's and you want a little fun on your own there is a small place called Palm Court Gardens. It's about a 10 minute taxi ride from the pier ($10) and $12 p\p to get in (reserve in advance). They have an Infinity pool there that looks out over the bay and the ship plus they have food and drinks available. You won't be sorry. They are nice people too.

Most importantly relax and enjoy your cruising days. Sailing in the Caribbean is like sailing in a bathtub so you should not experience any major motion (unless you get caught in a hurricane that is).

Edited June 23, 2017 by NordicPrince