Struggling with selecting Southern Caribbean excursions!

[aururab]

We are 6 adults, 4 kids between 6 and 10 sail on Feb 19 Voyager of the seas southern Caribbean cruise. 
 

There is so much to do on each island, and then fun to be had on the ship that we struggling to find a balance. Can some who has been on this route help me out?

 

SUN, FEB 19    San Juan, Puerto Rico        
MON, FEB 20    St. Thomas, USV

* private snorkel full day? (Is there a better island for this?
TUE, FEB 21    St. Croix, USVI    

* snorkel and SCUBA Buck island half day
WED, FEB 22    Philipsburg, St. Maarten

* free day, window shop and beach 
THU, FEB 23    St. Lucia    
* zip lines
FRI, FEB 24    Barbados

* no idea…. But would like to experience a bit of the island…
SAT, FEB 25    St. Kitts, Kitts and Nevis    
* no idea….
SUN, FEB 26    San Juan, Puerto Rico   
 

thanks so much!

[mets123]

Check out Bernard s tour in San Maarten. Sight seeing, shopping, and beach at a very reasonable price. Check planes at Mayo Beach on YouTube. That's on of his stops.

[kimberlym322]

2 hours ago, aururab said:

We are 6 adults, 4 kids between 6 and 10 sail on Feb 19 Voyager of the seas southern Caribbean cruise. 
 

There is so much to do on each island, and then fun to be had on the ship that we struggling to find a balance. Can some who has been on this route help me out?

 

SUN, FEB 19    San Juan, Puerto Rico        
MON, FEB 20    St. Thomas, USV- We did not like St. Thomas so that would be a choice for the day

* private snorkel full day? (Is there a better island for this?
TUE, FEB 21    St. Croix, USVI-Love this is land.  You can go to the other side of the island and enjoy the day exploring there, they have a national park on the other side of the island, you can go to Cruising Rum tour, or just take a easy beach day on the beach right there at the dock.  There use to be a taco stand on the beach 1/4 mile away from the dock, if they have rebuilt from the hurricane a few years ago.  IF you go to the other side of the island there is some amazing food over there also.  There is a place at the end of the pier that you can book tours with companies.

* snorkel and SCUBA Buck island half day
WED, FEB 22    Philipsburg, St. Maarten-good choice, again another island we did not like.  I would suggest going over to Maho Beach to watch the plans take off and land.  To me that was the best thing we did on the island.

* free day, window shop and beach 
THU, FEB 23    St. Lucia-I would suggest doing a tour with Colaso Tours.  Really good tour company.  you get to try local food, swim in a waterfall, mud bath and so much more.    
* zip lines
FRI, FEB 24    Barbados-I suggest Glory Tours.  We booked a privet tour with this company so it was just 2 of us.  we went all over the island,  tour George Washingtons house, went to the green monkey refugee, a pottery store/studio, ate local food.

* no idea…. But would like to experience a bit of the island…
SAT, FEB 25    St. Kitts, Kitts and Nevis-I would call Thenford Grey Tours.  I love this tour company.  The first time we used this company we did a general tour with them, after that we did a privet tour with them of things we wanted to see and do on the island.  They are very nice and well worth the money.  I have even met Mr Grey, because there was like 4 ships in port the same day and we had to dock in the industrial park because of it, so his driver was not there to meet us when we got off the ship, he made it his mission that day to check in on us a few times throughout the day to make sure we were enjoying ourselves and getting to do what we wanted to do even with the mix-up and delay we had.  With this tour when we did privet, we got to see a lot, go to the beach, and even eat local food that was amazing!      
* no idea….
SUN, FEB 26    San Juan, Puerto Rico   
 

thanks so much!

 

My suggestions are in red above.  This is based on what we like to do and our opinion of the island.  With the size of your group I would check into privet tours.  When we go to the islands we try to find things we can't do on a vacation close to home.  We have had some great times on most of the islands you are going to.  Because we do privet tours we have been told we see and do more on the islands then most others on "group" tours.  You get so much more out of the privet tours....we have had some great food, seen some amazing sights, found some amazing fabric to make clothes, hobo bags, and crafts with, and met some great friends along the way.

 

The most important thing is whatever you do have fun and enjoy yourself!

 

[aururab]

Thanks for the very detailed suggestions!!

 

St Croix is a hard one, as I am torn between seeing the actually island and going out to Buck Island!

Definitely with 10 people private is the way to go!

 

Do you have any favorite companies around San Juan?

[Sea Dog]

We enjoyed in St. Kitts, through Royal excursions Greg's Tours. I think it was Rainforest 4x4 and beach. You can book this tour without going through Royal. It's fantastic a great way to see the island.

https://www.gregsafaris.com/tours

[2chiefs]

We took the island tour on St Kitts a few years ago. It was a bus/train ride all around the island. The train ride was on a narrow-gauge track. Very scenic. Double decker train with nice clean bathrooms. They included some drinks on the train as well as some local singers. We would do it again if it is still available.

 

The bus portion of the trip was short and was only to provide transportation to the train. It was OK but the train ride was the highlight.

[aururab]

Oh interesting options on St. Kitts! 

[LeeW]

The Buck Island snorkeling was maybe the best we have seen in the Caribbean area.  However it was between coral extending almost to the surface.  With waves you need good control to stay away.  Not for everyone. 

 

Last trip with seven people we often split into two different excursions. 

[kimberlym322]

16 hours ago, aururab said:

Thanks for the very detailed suggestions!!

 

St Croix is a hard one, as I am torn between seeing the actually island and going out to Buck Island!

Definitely with 10 people private is the way to go!

 

Do you have any favorite companies around San Juan?

 

 

I, myself have never been to San Juan.  Its on my bucket list to do one year.

 

With each Island offering so much to see and do, my suggestion would be the following.  Take what everyone says on here and do some research about each Island on your own.  Put all the information into a binder for each family that is going, and let everyone have input on what to do.  And remember you all can split up....on St Kitts you may all be together because ya want to do the same thing but on St Thomas some of you may want to do this and the rest want to do that.  Because you are going during the school year I would also suggest that children's parents speak to their teacher's about work they would miss....when we took my nephews out of school for trips they teachers would have them keep a journal of what they did each day and present it to the class when they got back.  If this is something that your children's teachers have them do I would get "local" money from each island, post cards, brochures, lots of photos, and maybe even figure out something cheap from each island to take back for their class....candy is good for this (if you do privet tours the driver should be more then happy to stop at a store for you.)  

 

The most important thing with the family vacation is have fun and enjoy this special time together.

[aururab]

20 hours ago, LeeW said:

The Buck Island snorkeling was maybe the best we have seen in the Caribbean area.  However it was between coral extending almost to the surface.  With waves you need good control to stay away.  Not for everyone. 

 

Last trip with seven people we often split into two different excursions. 

Thanks!

 

My kids did the drift snorkel in Tahaa (French Polynesia) last year and it was just about their favorite thing ever so that is probably right uo their ally, but possibly not everyone else’s!

 

They were definitely spoiled by the snorkeling in that trip and I was aiming at finding a couple stops that would be comparable! 

My 10 year old is also getting SCUBA certified this fall, but it sounds like this is a better place to snorkel than dive! 🙂

 

Edited August 29, 2022 by aururab

[aururab]

7 hours ago, kimberlym322 said:

 

 

I, myself have never been to San Juan.  Its on my bucket list to do one year.

 

With each Island offering so much to see and do, my suggestion would be the following.  Take what everyone says on here and do some research about each Island on your own.  Put all the information into a binder for each family that is going, and let everyone have input on what to do.  And remember you all can split up....on St Kitts you may all be together because ya want to do the same thing but on St Thomas some of you may want to do this and the rest want to do that.  Because you are going during the school year I would also suggest that children's parents speak to their teacher's about work they would miss....when we took my nephews out of school for trips they teachers would have them keep a journal of what they did each day and present it to the class when they got back.  If this is something that your children's teachers have them do I would get "local" money from each island, post cards, brochures, lots of photos, and maybe even figure out something cheap from each island to take back for their class....candy is good for this (if you do privet tours the driver should be more then happy to stop at a store for you.)  

 

The most important thing with the family vacation is have fun and enjoy this special time together.

Thanks! My first attempt at narrowing it down was included, but sometimes hearing peoples direct experiences here is so much more informative! 
 

It is over winter break and with many many schools out that week I am trying to get a jump on the planning!

 

We take the kids out for a week at a time quite regularly, the school gives us a whole independent study packet for them to complete, but this time they are only missing 2 days of school 🙂

[Moltar]

Doing the same exact itinerary for New Year’s Eve at a San Juan.
 

So far for St. Thomas we booked Secret Sands beach.

 

For Saint Kitts we’re doing the Carambola Beach club,

 

St Lucia  west coast catamaran cruise. 
 

other three are still undecided

Edited August 29, 2022 by Moltar

[aururab]

So many things! Good options for both St Thomas and St Kitts!
 

St. Lucia is especially hard as I am torn between the jungle and the sea! 🙂

[2chiefs]

9 hours ago, kimberlym322 said:

 

 

I, myself have never been to San Juan.  Its on my bucket list to do one year.

<<<SNIP>>>

Have you considered a cruise out of San Juan and flying in a day or two early?

The advantage of a San Juan cruise is that it's almost always a nice Southern Caribbean cruise as opposed to a Western or Eastern itinerary which can get monotonous. Also, most of the cruises out of there have only one or two SEA days max! Very port intensive if that interests you.

 

We've taken a couple cruises out of there and really enjoy them. Avoid cruises during school breaks and holidays however if you don't want to cruise with a bunch of kids.

 

Additionally, the cruises from San Jaun seem to be a little less expensive which helps offset the price of flying there. We usually do a B2B out of there to save on transportation costs.

Edited August 29, 2022 by 2chiefs

[SimplyAlbert]

In Barbados we always book a catamaran/snorkel trip with Silver Moon.  Never had a bad trip with them.

 

For St. Kitts, we really enjoyed the train trip around the island.  A lot of great scenery and information about the island.

 

In St. Thomas we did a catamaran/snorkel trip to St. John with Champagne Cats that was a lot of fun.

[SG65CB]

1 hour ago, aururab said:

St. Lucia is especially hard as I am torn between the jungle and the sea!

 

Take a look at Cosol tours, you get both plus more.

 

I am on the same itinerary a few weeks after you. This will be my first time with a port on every day and no sea days. I don't think this is ideal. You mentioned being able to enjoy some ship time, I think a sea day on the ship is better than staying on the ship on a port day. It seems different in my mind. 

[jeh10641]

On 8/27/2022 at 10:29 PM, aururab said:

We are 6 adults, 4 kids between 6 and 10 sail on Feb 19 Voyager of the seas southern Caribbean cruise. 
 

There is so much to do on each island, and then fun to be had on the ship that we struggling to find a balance. Can some who has been on this route help me out?

 

SUN, FEB 19    San Juan, Puerto Rico        
MON, FEB 20    St. Thomas, USV

* private snorkel full day? (Is there a better island for this?
TUE, FEB 21    St. Croix, USVI    

* snorkel and SCUBA Buck island half day
WED, FEB 22    Philipsburg, St. Maarten

* free day, window shop and beach 
THU, FEB 23    St. Lucia    
* zip lines
FRI, FEB 24    Barbados

* no idea…. But would like to experience a bit of the island…
SAT, FEB 25    St. Kitts, Kitts and Nevis    
* no idea….
SUN, FEB 26    San Juan, Puerto Rico   
 

thanks so much!

Hi, aururab,

I visited Barbados, St. Lucia and St Thomas in Dec. 2021 on Rotterdam (HAL). Here is what we booked (Two private, one HAL).

Barbados - chatbarbados tours offered private tours of the island. Deborah was an awesome guide. $50 for two hours for two people including tip.

St.  Lucia - HAL cruise entitled Scenic By Ways

St. Thomas - paradise Taxi tours. Ask for driver Big Moe. Customized tour for 10 people about $25/person plus tip.

 

Jim

[aururab]

14 minutes ago, SG65CB said:

 

Take a look at Cosol tours, you get both plus more.

Sweet! That is exactly what I need for St. Lucia. I actually debated between this cruise and a week on St Lucia and had so many ideas on what to do there for an entire week! 🙂 ha

As for no sea days, that was a request of some of the others in our group 🙂 I'm good with that as well, it is just that the kids will want to get in some water slide, flow rider and laser tag, and some shows and things in the evenings so we can't be off the ship from 9-5 every day! 🙂

Edited August 29, 2022 by aururab

[aururab]

On 8/28/2022 at 2:02 AM, kimberlym322 said:

-Love this is land.  You can go to the other side of the island and enjoy the day exploring there, they have a national park on the other side of the island,

 

 

By other side of the island - do you mean Cane Bay or somewhere else? 🙂

[cruisequeen4ever]

St. Lucia and St. Kitts have really fun zip lines. You and your kids can enjoy a day of fun at Carlyle Bay Beach with a water playground, great swimming, and a free snorkeling trip to snorkel with the sea turtles. 

[TwinMamainMN]

I would first consider what the people in the group want to do. A bus/train ride might be great for my 70-something mother, but my kids (ages 14, 14, and 10) would be bored after 10 minutes. With a group that large, maybe it's easier to have a city/island tour option (if people are interested in them) and a more active option like snorkel/Scuba/zipline/catamaran/sailing.

 

I've read San Juan is super easy to do as DIY. Walk to Old Town, see some sights/eat/drink, walk to the fort and watch people fly kites and explore. That's we will do in March with the kids. In St. Maarten, we will take the kids to Maho Beach to see the planes land/take off. Hubby and I have seen them there before and enjoyed it. Such a rush. Nothing like it in a similar atmosphere anywhere.

[Sea Dog]

6 hours ago, Moltar said:

Doing the same exact itinerary for New Year’s Eve at a San Juan.
 

So far for St. Thomas we booked Secret Sands beach.

 

For Saint Kitts we’re doing the Carambola Beach club,

 

St Lucia  west coast catamaran cruise. 
 

other three are still undecided

 

We did all three of those. Secret Sands is amazing. If doing it through Royal the host makes a incredible rum punch.

 

Carambola Beach Club is also very nice. Great bar make sure you get a "Dirty Monkey".

 

St. Lucia Catamaran cruise was very enjoyable.

[aururab]

48 minutes ago, TwinMamainMN said:

I would first consider what the people in the group want to do. A bus/train ride might be great for my 70-something mother, but my kids (ages 14, 14, and 10) would be bored after 10 minutes. With a group that large, maybe it's easier to have a city/island tour option (if people are interested in them) and a more active option like snorkel/Scuba/zipline/catamaran/sailing.

 

I've read San Juan is super easy to do as DIY. Walk to Old Town, see some sights/eat/drink, walk to the fort and watch people fly kites and explore. That's we will do in March with the kids. In St. Maarten, we will take the kids to Maho Beach to see the planes land/take off. Hubby and I have seen them there before and enjoyed it. Such a rush. Nothing like it in a similar atmosphere anywhere.

 

For the most part everyone wants to stay together for excursions, but what I am struggling with the most is what days to not plan anything more specific than a beach day... Definitely in St Maarten and I can't decided where else! 🙂
 

And yes, the train is definitely a bad idea for this group 🙂

 

We have 2 full days in San Juan before the cruise departs (plus departure day) and then we are spending on night there before returning home (unless the airfare miraculously falls!) Our plan there is 

San Juan
- Thursday: Dinner at hotel 
- Friday: Explore Old San Juan
- Saturday: Maybe zip lines here so we can do other things on excursions 

- Sunday Cruise departs 

Return - Just relax at the hotel. We are staying at Fairmont El San Juan on both ends. 

 

 

[aururab]

SUN, FEB 19    San Juan, Puerto Rico        

MON, FEB 20    St. Thomas, USV

* private snorkel full day boat tour confirmed

TUE, FEB 21    St. Croix, USVI    

* snorkel Buck island half day
or
* Beach day on ??? not sure which beach! ha Maybe Cane Bay where some people can SCUBA from the beach

WED, FEB 22    Philipsburg, St. Maarten

* free day, window shop and beach 
* A few people might go on a one tank dive who are not interested in shopping! 🙂

THU, FEB 23    St. Lucia    
* Probably a land/sea combo tour... Still having a hard time on this one

FRI, FEB 24    Barbados

* Still torn... The adults ALL want to go rum tasting, and the Boatyard looks amazing for the kids! 

SAT, FEB 25    St. Kitts, Kitts and Nevis    
* 4x4 - Maybe Gregg's tours
or

* Beach Day at ??? 

SUN, FEB 26    San Juan, Puerto Rico   

[kimberlym322]

13 hours ago, aururab said:

By other side of the island - do you mean Cane Bay or somewhere else? 🙂

In St Croix you dock in Frederiksted.  Other side I mean Christiansted.