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Equinox - Southern Caribbean in April

JaneAustenCruiser

By JaneAustenCruiser,
in Celebrity Cruises

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JaneAustenCruiser

JaneAustenCruiser

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Posted

I was hoping the experts here can give me some sound advice. 😀 We will be on the Equinox for the 12 day Southern Caribbean cruise in April and its looking like we might have to be pretty choosy with our shore excursions due to some $$ issues. Are there certain ports that really DON'T lend themselves to a do-it-yourself, walk around the town type thing? Safety issues? Town too far or port not really great? I checked the Ports of Call board, but there didn't seem to be a good way to put this in for all of the ports. I'll of course be doing some additional research, but figured the experts here would also have some good advice!

 

The ports on this cruise are:

  • St. Croix
  • St. Johns, Antigua
  • Bridgetown, Barbados
  • Castries, St. Lucia
  • St. George's, Grenada
  • Roseau, Dominica
  • Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis

 

We're both healthy and in good shape so a little walk won't hurt us. I saw a number of excursions on Grenada about spices, which I was really excited about, but wasn't sure of the others. I saw a Youtube video (Mr. and Mrs. Traveler) about Rainbow Beach in St Croix being a good walkable, free one from the ship. Anyone else been there?

 

Thank you in advance! 😍

 

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davekathy

davekathy

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Posted

Speaking only from our past experiences. We've been to all these ports multiple times and have always felt safe walking around. Like everywhere you go in this world beware of your surroundings and use common sense. We've walked them all. Also go back to the Ports Of Call forum and review each island and ask additional questions you might have.

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LeeW

LeeW

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The big problem in Granada is that the port is on the opposite side of a hill with a very narrow tunnel through it (with traffic).  While you can get through it, it isn't very safe.  The main spice market is downtown through the tunnel, but there are lots of vendors in the terminal if that is what you are looking for.  Nice little baskets with spices for gifts.  Vanilla has taped-on labels but stronger and sweeter than Cinco Soles in Cozumel.

 

All of these ports have vendors in the terminal for tours, or you can book through a consolidator like shoreexcursioneer or shoreexcursionsgroup.  We have used both.  On most of these islands the ship docks in town. 

 

Roseau doesn't really even have a port, but there is a flea market and a store across from the dock.  Feels like ship is docking at someone's house.

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NBliving

NBliving

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Posted
On 10/26/2021 at 12:10 PM, JaneAustenCruiser said:
  • St. Croix
  • St. Johns, Antigua
  • Bridgetown, Barbados
  • Castries, St. Lucia
  • St. George's, Grenada
  • Roseau, Dominica
  • Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis

We have been to all of these but St Kitts & Nevis. In St Lucia my husband did the ships’s zip line excursion.  Assuming you can do it yourself in all of these ports in April, I think you’d be just fine. I’ll tell you what we did. 
St Croix - walked from port to Rainbow Beach. I think it was about a mile. We might have taken a taxi back. 
Antigua - shared a taxi with one or two other couples to Valley Church Beach. 
Barbados - once we took a catamaran snorkel trip with Callabeza tours and another time we took a cab to Boatyard Beach

Grenada - we walked up to tour the Fort near port and then took a van driver up on a tour of the island and drop off at Grande Anse Beach. The tour was great! We stopped at a spice booth (probably ran by a friend) and I bought some spices there. 
Dominica -  we had booked with Bumpiing Tours for an island treasures tour that included snorkeling. Unfortunately it was a rainy day when we were there and the tour was canceled. They met us in the designated meeting area to let us know which we appreciated. I hope to go back and book with them again. 

Have a great cruise!

 

 

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39august

39august

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I second Bumping Tours for Dominica. The island is a lush paradise and reminded me of Maui. The ships we have been there on have docked right in town at Roseau. I don't advise walking around town on your own except very near the port area.  Also agree that if spices are your interest at Grenade, there are plenty of choices right around the terminal. 

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Fouremco

Fouremco

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12 hours ago, LeeW said:

The big problem in Granada is that the port is on the opposite side of a hill with a very narrow tunnel through it (with traffic).  While you can get through it, it isn't very safe. 

I found that the drivers were very conscious of pedestrians, but it certainly can be a challenge for the faint hearted. Fortunately, there are other walking options when walking to the harbour.

 

P1010941.thumb.jpeg.01989c9827fdc0f743f2f11a1611c037.jpeg

 

P1010914.thumb.jpeg.8a7853ef40c7af99e69ff186f089474c.jpeg

 

P1010912.thumb.jpeg.38a01ae29132dfcdb580f604d5cc9276.jpeg

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JaneAustenCruiser

JaneAustenCruiser

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3 hours ago, canderson said:

@JaneAustenCruiser

April is a long way off, but it may still be important to be watching the X web site with regard to DIY excursions prior to your cruise.  It's presently not allowed everywhere.

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/us-travel-requirements

I saw that!! Really crossing my fingers that things open up a bit. It is a long way off sooooo.... 🙏

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JaneAustenCruiser

JaneAustenCruiser

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2 hours ago, 39august said:

I second Bumping Tours for Dominica. The island is a lush paradise and reminded me of Maui. The ships we have been there on have docked right in town at Roseau. I don't advise walking around town on your own except very near the port area.  Also agree that if spices are your interest at Grenade, there are plenty of choices right around the terminal. 

Great info, especially on Dominica. It can be so hard to tell sometimes just from a Youtube video.

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fount

fount

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@JaneAustenCruis, are you on the April 3rd 12 night Southern Caribbean Cruise?  If so, we are too!  We have already booked 3 Celebrity excursions (during the 20% off sale) and 1 on Calabaza in Barbados.

 

Those tunnel pictures are intimidating for sure!

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davekathy

davekathy

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15 hours ago, LeeW said:

The big problem in Granada is that the port is on the opposite side of a hill with a very narrow tunnel through it (with traffic).  While you can get through it, it isn't very safe.

We enjoy walking thru the tunnel and don't consider unsafe. We're still alive and have never had a close encounter. But not everyone's experiences or fear factor is the same. Just beware of the traffic in front and behind.   There is two other ways to get to the other side besides the tunnel. 

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PTC DAWG Holiday Sharing Rare

PTC DAWG

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Fouremco said:

I found that the drivers were very conscious of pedestrians, but it certainly can be a challenge for the faint hearted. Fortunately, there are other walking options when walking to the harbour.

 

P1010941.thumb.jpeg.01989c9827fdc0f743f2f11a1611c037.jpeg

 

P1010914.thumb.jpeg.8a7853ef40c7af99e69ff186f089474c.jpeg

 

P1010912.thumb.jpeg.38a01ae29132dfcdb580f604d5cc9276.jpeg

Nice pics, thanks for posting

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NBliving

NBliving

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2 hours ago, JaneAustenCruiser said:

@NBlivingthank you so much for the info! To book Bumping, did you do that when you got off the ship or online in advance? I see that TripAdvisor now has a tour booking service. We've only been on group cruises before so this will be our first time going 'solo', so to speak.

I booked by emailing through their website I believe. I hope by then you are able to do tours on your own! Thinking back on the itinerary makes me want to book another cruise there to try Bumpiing again. I was so disappointed the weather didn’t cooperate. 

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RetroSister

RetroSister

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 10/28/2021 at 3:34 PM, NBliving said:

I booked by emailing through their website I believe. I hope by then you are able to do tours on your own! Thinking back on the itinerary makes me want to book another cruise there to try Bumpiing again. I was so disappointed the weather didn’t cooperate. 

I know this is an old thread, but this looks like exactly what I've been trying to find for Dominica! We went there for our honeymoon in 1992, and this will be our first time back since then. We stayed at Papillote Wilderness Retreat near Trafalgar Falls and were hoping to go back there for nostalgia's sake, but none of the tours are quite a perfect fit. I was hoping to book an independent tour, if we're allowed to, and this sounds like just the thing. Do you know what their website is? I googled it, but can't find anything but Tripadvisor reviews. (Edit: I found a web address, but couldn't access it. I assumed it perhaps had changed, but it might be that my browser isn't allowing me to go there.)

@JaneAustenCruiser if you're interested in teaming up for a private tour (if we can) let me know! 

Edited by RetroSister
clarity - correction
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NBliving

NBliving

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13 minutes ago, RetroSister said:

I know this is an old thread, but this looks like exactly what I've been trying to find for Dominica! We went there for our honeymoon in 1992, and this will be our first time back since then. We stayed at Papillote Wilderness Retreat near Trafalgar Falls and were hoping to go back there for nostalgia's sake, but none of the tours are quite a perfect fit. I was hoping to book an independent tour, if we're allowed to, and this sounds like just the thing. Do you know what their website is? I googled it, but can't find anything but Tripadvisor reviews. (Edit: I found a web address, but couldn't access it. I assumed it perhaps had changed, but it might be that my browser isn't allowing me to go there.)

@JaneAustenCruiser if you're interested in teaming up for a private tour (if we can) let me know! 

If you are looking for the Bumping Tours I couldn't access their website either just now, but here are two email addresses he included in an email. I hope they are still in business!

 

levibaron@bumpiingtours.com or tours@bumpiingtours.com

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