Anthem of the seas 12 night southern Caribbean cruise January 2018 excursions advice

[saread]

hi everyone. We are a family of 5 from Australia sailing on the anthem of the seas Jan 7 2018 12 night southern Caribbean cruise out of New York. I just wanted some advice about destinations and excursions. We are 46, 41, 18,12 and 7. We like sailing and snorkelling excursions, beach excursions, city sightseeing, adventure excursions, (eg, atv's or zip Line or waterfall walks). Not so interested in historical tours. I have just checked out all the excursions offered by RCI, and would love some feedback about any of them. But would also love to hear from anyone that might have done some tours not offered by RCI. A few years ago I hired a catamaran privately in US Virgin Islands when we did an oasis cruise and thoroughly loved it. Has anyone done anything like this in st kitts, or barabados , or st Maarten, or Antiga, or San Juan? Is it just as good to hire a local taxi and get them to take us to a beach? Has anyone tiki hut in st Maarten? What beaches would anyone recommend at each of these destinations? We don't get to San Juan until 3pm and depart at 11pm. Any recommendations for that destination? Thanks for your help!

[Biker19]

The Roll Call thread for your sailing may also have some suggestions.

[Amtrac]

Old San Juan if walk around old town. They have a trolley right off the pier and one block up to the right that takes you around for free but it can get crowded. Weather could be cool at first.

St Maarten has Orient beach with all nude to right and the family friendly to the left. Any other stops you can research cat tours and beaches. They abound and the local taxi wound steer you wrong.[emoji12][emoji12]

 

 

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[jamesboat]

San Juan gets you just in time to walk over to the forts and tour them. No need to pay for a tour, although there is a small entrance fee ($5?), The forts close around 6pm, so after that, just meander back to the ship, taking in the old town.

[voyager70]

We did the See Antigua by Sea excursion a few years back and it remains our favorite Caribbean excursion ever. It's a complete circumnavigation of the island by catamaran with a 2-3 hour stop at a little uninhabited island. They prepare a nice lunch onboard the boat and drinks are included and unlimited! It was a blast & I'd highly recommend.

[LeeW]

Also check the Cruise Critic port boards for each port you are going to. They will give you a lot more information on non-Royal shore excursions than you will get here. We like the Power Rafting boat for snorkeling in St Maarten. Travels at 50mph when in the open ocean and gets to snorkeling spot faster than the small boats you can drive yourself (although these might be fun for your kids). Trevor and Jess do a great job. Floating bar available at the beach after snorkeling and short stop at Majo Beach to watch planes. Have done this twice through different cruise lines, including Royal.

[Hoopster95]

Jan 7 2018 12 night southern Caribbean cruise out of New York.

 

So many options and ideas for you. If you are interested and have a bit of time, I offered full port reviews with plenty of photos and narrative to follow on several of my reviews to help other fellow cruisers see how excursions and ports may work for them.

 

(Quantum, most of same ports on my 11 day sailing) San Juan starts here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=45014178&highlight=San+Juan#post45014178

San Juan - RCL bicycle tour

St Marten - Soualiga Boat tour

Barbados - Glory Tours

St Kitts - (Thenford) Greys Tours

 

Here's more port reviews starting with St. Thomas

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=46195871&highlight=st+thomas#post46195871

St Thomas - RCL Turtle Bay Sail & Snorkel Adventure - ST97

St Kitts - Blue Safari Catamaran to Nevis

Antigua - Gordon's Tours

St Marten - DIY to Maho Beach

 

 

Here's another DIY day in St Marten - Orient Beach/Fort Louis/Marigot

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=50940969&highlight=orient#post50940969

 

 

St Lucia - discussed yesterday on this thread

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=53519367&highlight=Herod%27s#post53519367

 

 

An excursion not reviewed on any of my reviews:

AntiguaAdventure Tours - google them... hilight! Adrenaline day full circumnavigation in power boat around Antigua. Absolutely loved this day.

 

Have a great cruise and enjoy your planning! :D

[wombat10]

We visited San Juan a few years back and took the Segway tour. It was fantastic! You rode right up to the fort and avoided all the crowd. It was one of the best excursions we have ever taken. We made reservations through the tour company website, not the ship.

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147320-d1074063-Reviews-Segway_Tours_of_Puerto_Rico-San_Juan_Puerto_Rico.html

 

In St. Martin, we learned how to make perfume/cologne at Tijon. It was a great experience. After an introduction to how scents are made, each person create their own bottle of perfume/cologne to take home. When we were finished we walked down the street and had lunch oceanside. It was a great day!

 

 

 

https://tijon.com/

Edited July 14, 2017 by wombat10
Additional Information

[CruisinFinsUp]

In Barbados I highly recommend catamaran Tiami cruises. They are the tour provider on Princess for the Barbados catamaran shore excursions - I don't know if they do RCI as well - you could email and ask.

They do a great day, great lunch and snorkeling. We have taken their tour 4 times and reLly enjoyed it. http://tiamicatamarancruises.com/

[7leagueboots]

The Roll Call thread for your sailing may also have some suggestions.

 

Good advice. Could join up with other people who have already arranged tours.

[saread]

You guys are all awesome! Thanks for taking the time to give me some advice. It's much appreciated, you all rock!!!

[MidwestOceanToo]

Highly recommend Herod's Land and Sea Tour in St. Lucia. http://herodstours.com/ it was a full day and a great value.

[MidwestOceanToo]

St. Maarten, we have done Bernard's Tours twice. It is a sightseeing tour with some beach time at Orient Beach. If you visit Marigot, on St. Maarten, I recommend a stop at Sarafina's French bakery for a snack. Delicious! http://www.bernardstours.com/tours.html