"crown" Excursions

[loving2cruise]

Hello,

Regarding the "Classic Southern" cruise Itinerary out of San Juan for the "Crown" ship"

 

After reading the info about the islands of:

 

BARBADOS

ST.LUCIA

ANTIQUA

ST MAARTEN

ST. THOMAS

 

It sounds as if the ship docks right at "Town" for each of these islands. Is it even worth booking excursions or should we go it on our own?? After reading the "Princess" book, the description of the excursions sounds as if most excursions are just a "Short Drive" away. Yet some of the excursions say it is UP TO US to get back to the ship. My only worry is the time it takes in getting back to the ship on time before it leaves for the next island. I hear traffic could be horrendous. We need to make a decision quickly since our cruise is right around the corner. I would really appreciate feedback on this.

Thanks SO much!!:)

[willysgrandma]

Hello,

Regarding the "Classic Southern" cruise Itinerary out of San Juan for the "Crown" ship"

 

After reading the info about the islands of:

 

BARBADOS

ST.LUCIA

ANTIQUA

ST MAARTEN

ST. THOMAS

 

It sounds as if the ship docks right at "Town" for each of these islands. Is it even worth booking excursions or should we go it on our own??

 

 

After reading the "Princess" book, the description of the excursions sounds as if most excursions are just a "Short Drive" away. Yet some of the excursions say it is UP TO US to get back to the ship. My only worry is the time it takes in getting back to the ship on time before it leaves for the next island. I hear traffic could be horrendous. We need to make a decision quickly since our cruise is right around the corner. I would really appreciate feedback on this.

Thanks SO much!!:)

 

St. Maarten was the place with the worst traffic issues. If you want to go to the French side, it is pretty far away and there can be traffic jams that might cause you to return late to the ship.

 

We did a catamaran cruise to the Pitons in St. Lucia, which is a bit away from where the ship docks - we actually did a land and sea and it almost an hour and a half for the bus to get us back to the ship from the volcano.

 

We also wanted to go to St. John's in St. Thomas and did a beach snorkel with the ship, which was great because a boat picked us all up right at the dock in Crown Bay, which saved us from having to get into town (the town is the furthest away from the Crown Bay pier than any of the other islands). And it was also good, because the excursion got back so late that the ship was waiting for us when we got back. Had we done this on our own, we would have missed the ship.

 

In reality, you can do excursions at all these islands on your own and many people did. The only island I would tell you to watch your time is St. Maarten depending on where you want to go. If you don't choose to go far, you can take a ferry to Phillipsburg right from the ship and there is a beach right there you can rent chairs and umbrellas at. It's 5 minutes away. If you want to go to the French side, watch your time.

[1bigsexy]

I would suggest you find out how many ships will be in port on your date. This way you'll have a better idea of how big the crows will be.

 

You can certainly do stuff on your own (which we did). However some of the excursions through the ship did seem a bit unique and would be hard to find on your own. Don't get me wrong, if you did your research on the internet you could probably find someone or a company that would do the same... but the prices would be similar and not worth all the research etc.

 

We did Barbados and Antigua on our own. Got off, got a cab (bargin) and did our thing. On St Lucia we did the Pirates Extra.(blast for our girls and us). St Mar we did a tour in the am (whole island) and went on our own in the pm. St Thomas..on our own, my only gripe is the $$ they ask for their taxis and the terrible way they drive. As someone we met said "this beats riding on a roller coaster".

[loving2cruise]

St. Maarten was the place with the worst traffic issues. If you want to go to the French side, it is pretty far away and there can be traffic jams that might cause you to return late to the ship.

 

We did a catamaran cruise to the Pitons in St. Lucia, which is a bit away from where the ship docks - we actually did a land and sea and it almost an hour and a half for the bus to get us back to the ship from the volcano.

 

We also wanted to go to St. John's in St. Thomas and did a beach snorkel with the ship, which was great because a boat picked us all up right at the dock in Crown Bay, which saved us from having to get into town (the town is the furthest away from the Crown Bay pier than any of the other islands). And it was also good, because the excursion got back so late that the ship was waiting for us when we got back. Had we done this on our own, we would have missed the ship.

 

In reality, you can do excursions at all these islands on your own and many people did. The only island I would tell you to watch your time is St. Maarten depending on where you want to go. If you don't choose to go far, you can take a ferry to Phillipsburg right from the ship and there is a beach right there you can rent chairs and umbrellas at. It's 5 minutes away. If you want to go to the French side, watch your time.

 

 

Thanks for your response. I decided to go through "Princess" excursions for St. Maarten because of the traffic conditions. I hear the French side is a MUST SEE..... but at least a 30 minute drive with no traffic.

 

After reading your response, I will book through "Princess" for St. Thomas as well. Thank you!!:)

[loving2cruise]

I would suggest you find out how many ships will be in port on your date. This way you'll have a better idea of how big the crows will be.

 

You can certainly do stuff on your own (which we did). However some of the excursions through the ship did seem a bit unique and would be hard to find on your own. Don't get me wrong, if you did your research on the internet you could probably find someone or a company that would do the same... but the prices would be similar and not worth all the research etc.

 

We did Barbados and Antigua on our own. Got off, got a cab (bargin) and did our thing. On St Lucia we did the Pirates Extra.(blast for our girls and us). St Mar we did a tour in the am (whole island) and went on our own in the pm. St Thomas..on our own, my only gripe is the $$ they ask for their taxis and the terrible way they drive. As someone we met said "this beats riding on a roller coaster".

 

 

 

 

Thanks for your response. I heard the taxi's can get pricy and they tend to take advantage of the "cruisers" sometimes.

 

St. Lucia..pirates extra...was that the "Jolly Roger boat?" Thought about that but wasn't quite sure if I wanted to do that one. We do love the beach, Island music and fun when we go to the islands (shopping too).:)

[MomGo]

Thanks for your response. I decided to go through "Princess" excursions for St. Maarten because of the traffic conditions. I hear the French side is a MUST SEE..... but at least a 30 minute drive with no traffic.

 

After reading your response, I will book through "Princess" for St. Thomas as well. Thank you!!:)

 

If you do enough research, you can find many private tour companies that a great number of people have had great success with. Try Beau with No Rush Tours on St. Maarten and Henry Christopher with Triple E Tours on St. Thomas. We have both of them booked for our cruise in June. If you go to the specific Island sites, and in your search thread enter "No Rush Tours" or "Henry Christopher", you can read about people who have used them, without any trouble whatsoever. They both have websites. Both islands have many private tour companies. Just read the Threads if you have time for each island and you'll find out alot. They do book up early though. Joyce in St. Maarten is also suppose to be good.

 

We hardly ever book directly from the Ship, except in Alaska. There are 4 of us in our family and it can get quite costly. We have never ever had a problem with a private tour company, but I've always done my research (hours upon hours).

 

Hope this helps.

[Host CJSKIDS]

We did the ship's excursion in Barbados which was the 4X4 excursion followed by the Catamaran/Turtle Swim with lunch. It was fantastic and all 4 of us really enjoyed it.

 

In St. Marteen we rented a jeep at the pier. We didn't have any problems and knew to deal with the traffic as my parents always go there on land based vacations. There were only 2 other ships in port so if there were more I would not do it. We drove to Marigot and walked around, stopped in the fishing village for lunch, and spent time in Orient Beach. Headed back towards town, taking a bit of a different route to avoid traffic and parked outside of town to shop for a bit. Made it back with plenty of time to spare. We actually ended up watching the sunset at the pier having a nice cold local beer.

 

 

In St. Lucia we set up a private tour with Herod and had absolutely the best day ever. It was an incredible tour and he was fantastic.

 

In Antigua, we did the day pass at the Pineapple Beach Resort. Grabbed

a taxi with our friends and made arrangements for the same guy to pick us up at the end of the day.

 

We had a jeep rented for St. Thomas but cancelled it as we were all just too tired. In the late morning we took a cab, (walked outside the gated area and grabbed our own private cab) and went to town to shop. Had a great lunch at Glady's cafe and took a cab back to enjoy the rest of the afternoon around the adult pool sipping on mojitos.

 

It was a great cruise, have lots of fun and enjoy the planning.

[loving2cruise]

We did the ship's excursion in Barbados which was the 4X4 excursion followed by the Catamaran/Turtle Swim with lunch. It was fantastic and all 4 of us really enjoyed it.

 

In St. Marteen we rented a jeep at the pier. We didn't have any problems and knew to deal with the traffic as my parents always go there on land based vacations. There were only 2 other ships in port so if there were more I would not do it. We drove to Marigot and walked around, stopped in the fishing village for lunch, and spent time in Orient Beach. Headed back towards town, taking a bit of a different route to avoid traffic and parked outside of town to shop for a bit. Made it back with plenty of time to spare. We actually ended up watching the sunset at the pier having a nice cold local beer.

 

 

In St. Lucia we set up a private tour with Herod and had absolutely the best day ever. It was an incredible tour and he was fantastic.

 

In Antigua, we did the day pass at the Pineapple Beach Resort. Grabbed

a taxi with our friends and made arrangements for the same guy to pick us up at the end of the day.

 

We had a jeep rented for St. Thomas but cancelled it as we were all just too tired. In the late morning we took a cab, (walked outside the gated area and grabbed our own private cab) and went to town to shop. Had a great lunch at Glady's cafe and took a cab back to enjoy the rest of the afternoon around the adult pool sipping on mojitos.

 

It was a great cruise, have lots of fun and enjoy the planning.

 

 

 

Thank you for the information. I heard Pinapple beach was great. Is is a far from the pier? :)

[loving2cruise]

We did the ship's excursion in Barbados which was the 4X4 excursion followed by the Catamaran/Turtle Swim with lunch. It was fantastic and all 4 of us really enjoyed it.

 

In St. Marteen we rented a jeep at the pier. We didn't have any problems and knew to deal with the traffic as my parents always go there on land based vacations. There were only 2 other ships in port so if there were more I would not do it. We drove to Marigot and walked around, stopped in the fishing village for lunch, and spent time in Orient Beach. Headed back towards town, taking a bit of a different route to avoid traffic and parked outside of town to shop for a bit. Made it back with plenty of time to spare. We actually ended up watching the sunset at the pier having a nice cold local beer.

 

 

In St. Lucia we set up a private tour with Herod and had absolutely the best day ever. It was an incredible tour and he was fantastic.

 

In Antigua, we did the day pass at the Pineapple Beach Resort. Grabbed

a taxi with our friends and made arrangements for the same guy to pick us up at the end of the day.

 

We had a jeep rented for St. Thomas but cancelled it as we were all just too tired. In the late morning we took a cab, (walked outside the gated area and grabbed our own private cab) and went to town to shop. Had a great lunch at Glady's cafe and took a cab back to enjoy the rest of the afternoon around the adult pool sipping on mojitos.

 

It was a great cruise, have lots of fun and enjoy the planning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I called Pinapple Beach Resort. The representative told me the drive to and from the pier is approx. 30 minutes and traffic is never a problem getting back to the ship.....but the taxi's charge approimately $50.00 Per person round trip from the ship to the resort. How much did you pay for a taxi? I thought that price was alot of money. Is that the going rate?

 

I don't mind paying the $50 pp for the resorts day pass though. It comes with alot of amenities.

 

Thanks