Cruise Excursions - Tips/Tricks?

[erby2283]

I love to just walk around Old San Juan. There is also a wonderful breakfast place to eat called  La Bombonera. Last time we were there, we were practically the first people there and the food was so good! It’s about a 15 minute walk and then you can take a cab to the el morro walk around and then easily walk back to the ship (as others mentioned it’s all downhill from the fort). 

 

Last time we were in St Maarten we did the ships Sea Helmet trek dive which was fun and then spent a few hours at Little Divi Bay (rent a brach chair and eat some food). Then we went back downtown and shopped on our back to the ship. But we have done Bernard’s tour in the past and that was fun as well! 

[bearchele2]

On 3/1/2019 at 12:32 PM, resjes said:

So far I have cancelled the ride to San Juan Mall of Americas and Amiga Island.

 

I'm interested in the forts of San Juan. How far of a walk are they from the port?

 

As of now, the only excursions I am doing are the St. Maarten Beach Rendezvous as it includes the beach chair cost and a lunch (I've noticed most excursions charge extra for a beach chair!), Bermuda's zoo/aquarium sightseeing tour, and finally the Labadee parasail.

 

You have all pointed out that it is cheaper to do excursions not with the cruise line. However, as one person pointed out, this is my first cruise so I'm not comfortable going off the beaten path...do the excursions NOT available thru the cruise have tour guides/etc standing there when you come to port so you can sign up? I'd prefer not to sign up now as I don't know what I will feel like doing until I actually arrive at the port.

 

Thanks for everyone's input!!

We did the  Beach rendezvous tour when we were in Saint Martin. It’s a nice relaxing beach day. We also did the zoo aquarium when we were in Bermuda. It’s a small aquarium. But we were traveling with a small child so that was good for her. You may wanna have your beach day in Bermuda at Horshoe Bay which I heard is a very nice beach.  In Bermuda there’s a glass blowing shop that is very nice to go see and there is shopping very close to port. I would suggest going to the fort in Puerto Rico. We did a tour and really didn’t see very much. 

[LeeW]

Walk to El Morro is maybe a mile, and best done by walking left along water to the gate and then uphill to the fort entrance.  You might even be joined by elementary school groups on outings on this route.  Heading uphill from pier is also possible but more vertical and some roads are glass/cobble that is VERY slick when wet.  If you have a national park pass you can use that for entry to both forts (and paid admission includes both).  There is a walking tour guide online for Old San Juan that is pretty good.  Most walking is cobblestone and broken sidewalk but roads are so narrow buses really can't get down them.  Lots of vendors around selling shave ice and soda/water.  Tons of shopping on the three streets that parallel the pier area and you will see tourists everywhere.

 

Tours in St Maarten will often drop you off for shopping downtown, again three streets paralleling the waterfront.  When done you just walk down to the water and take the ferry, or about .8 mile walk back to pier area.  Quite a bit of shopping in pier area at this port.

 

St Maarten is your best port for jewelry, but we wouldn't buy anything expensive there.  Make sure you know what real prices are before you go.  Bermuda glassworks has some really nice glass earrings that we have used for gifts at around $30-40, plus the ones we got were actually made by the person running the register.  As a first time cruiser you might want to stop by all the Diamonds International stores and get the free charms and bracelet.  Our granddaughters love collecting these.  Each location has a different charm, and often two different ones.  The shops in the pier area stay open until the ships leave.  Just make sure you are back onboard by the posted all-aboard time.

 

Last time we did this itinerary we went to forts in San Juan, Ultimate Snorkeling tour in St Maarten, and snorkeling in Bermuda.

 

Edited March 2, 2019 by LeeW
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