Caribbean Cunard shore excursions

[calikak]

Anyone have any recommendations for ship-organized shore excursions in the ports below? Bonus points to anyone who recommends excursions that work well with a 17-month-old child (I'm guessing beach excursions where he can eat lots of sand rather than shopping excursions where he can break lots of expensive things?).

 

Grenada

Curacao

Barbados

St. Lucia

St. Thomas

St. Kitts

 

I'm asking about Cunard-sponsored excursions because with a 17-month-old, missing the ship would be especially bad. Thanks in advance to anyone who has any suggestions!

[Wadadli1]

Anyone have any recommendations for ship-organized shore excursions in the ports below? Bonus points to anyone who recommends excursions that work well with a 17-month-old child (I'm guessing beach excursions where he can eat lots of sand rather than shopping excursions where he can break lots of expensive things?).

 

Grenada

Curacao

Barbados

St. Lucia

St. Thomas

St. Kitts

 

I'm asking about Cunard-sponsored excursions because with a 17-month-old, missing the ship would be especially bad. Thanks in advance to anyone who has any suggestions!

 

St. Kitts! The train. I have my notes on it at the office and I'm at home, but you could google St. Kitts Train and find it.

 

Also, the Cunard excursion is the same price as the island-based excursion, so why not?

[calikak]

St. Kitts! The train. I have my notes on it at the office and I'm at home, but you could google St. Kitts Train and find it.

 

Also, the Cunard excursion is the same price as the island-based excursion, so why not?

 

Good one--DH loves the train! Thanks!

[patwell]

Hi Beth....you might be a bit early on the excursions as you don't sail til next year and they could change. The Sugar train is about 3 hours if I remember reading, just so you'll be prepared. It's very popular. I can't help with much in the way of tours as we hired our own guide in Barbados...he was excellent and had us back in plenty of time after the full day. In St Thomas we just tooka a short tour of town and the view spots then back to shop....my friend was frothing at the mouth to hit the jewelry stores. Maybe an excursion to St John with some beach time when in St Thomas...you go by ferry which could be fun for a little one and it's not too long on the beach.

 

Cheers, Penny

Penny’s Affair to Remember QM2 Review

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=471053

 

November 10,2007...the “Affair” continues....

[smoothdancer]

National Geographic lists St Johns beach as one of the best beaches in the world, I agree!! It is absolutely beautiful.

[pnhmrk]

Curacao

 

If memory serves me correctly Curaçao has an aquarium where you gen get quite close to the fish. I've done it and wouldn't go back (because I'd rather see something different) but I think it would amuse a small child.:)

[jgsmuzzy]

St Thomas. Treat it as a sea day and stay on the ship. I am not getting off there again.

[Bramcruiser]

St. Kitts - The St. Kitts Scenic Railway (also known as The Sugar Train). Highly recommended for people of all ages and St. Kitts was the favourite of the three islands we stopped at during my previous QM2 cruise. I fell in love with the look of it from the ship as we approached and there is a lot of nice scenery along the rail route. If its a nice day sit on the upper level which has a canopy but is open. They also serve alcoholic and non-alcoholic punches complimentary throughout the trip. The only sales pitch is for some T-shirts at one point. Since we went in December there was a choir onboard singing calypso Christmas songs which were unique. Great fun.

 

David

[imacruizer]

Hi Beth,

 

Just wanted to get an update on our Cruise Critic baby Jim. How is he doing? How much does he weigh now? I'm sure he is getting cuter each day!

 

Beth -- the other one!

[calikak]

Hi other Beth! Jim's doing really well--he's over 5 lbs. now and has started to nurse a couple of times a day. He's 33 weeks gestational age (36 is considered long enough to be "full term"; 40 is considered the normal length of a pregnancy), and he started nursing last week, which is about 2 weeks ahead of schedule. By "nursing" I mean he sometimes eats a decent amount, and sometimes just hangs out and says "But I'm too tired to make the effort to eat, just put it in my tummy through the feeding tube!" :D By the time he goes home, he won't be able to get away with that anymore! The other thing we're working on now is getting him weaned off of the oxygen. Yesterday they turned it down to the lowest setting on the tank, and he seems to be tolerating it OK, so he may come off of the oxygen entirely in the not too distant future. I can't remember if I'd posted when he moved out of the incubator, but that happened a few weeks back...oh, and the really big thing is that he moved out of the NICU and into a less-intensive care facility last week. We're looking at roughly another 4 weeks or so before he comes home, which is going to be awesome for two reasons: first, he'll be home! Second, I won't have to go to work for 12 whole weeks. :D I will be working from home part-time, but still, it's better than going to the office!

 

Malcom, thanks for the tip about the aquarium, that actually sounds like something all three of us might enjoy.

 

Penny, good tip about the beach on St. John. St. Thomas is the only one of the ports we've been to, and it was my least favorite. We had considered not getting off the ship there at all, but a beach excursion to St. John might be a good choice. I know we've got a long time to plan for this cruise, but I figure it never hurts to gather some suggestions.

[patwell]

Beth...that's good news about little Jim. Sounds like he's gaining all the way around and that's just terrific. He'll be keeping you up nights before long now and won't that be fun!:D We'll keep sending good thoughts his way and look forward to you letting us know his progress. Beth and I hang out around this site more frequently so if you'd like to post updates there that's great. It's our old roll call...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=264770&page=108

 

Cheers, Penny

Penny’s Affair to Remember QM2 Review

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=471053

 

November 10,2007...the “Affair” continues....

[3rdGenCunarder]

Anyone have any recommendations for ship-organized shore excursions in the ports below? Bonus points to anyone who recommends excursions that work well with a 17-month-old child (I'm guessing beach excursions where he can eat lots of sand rather than shopping excursions where he can break lots of expensive things?).

 

Grenada

Curacao

Barbados

St. Lucia

St. Thomas

St. Kitts

 

I'm asking about Cunard-sponsored excursions because with a 17-month-old, missing the ship would be especially bad. Thanks in advance to anyone who has any suggestions!

 

I've been to all of these ports at various times, so some of what I say may be outdated.

 

Grenada--not much there, and a tender port. I took a sea kayak tour and it was badly organized (not the ship's fault, the tour organizer). Might be a good ship day for you.

 

Curacao I've been to on only quick stops, and we did a bus tour once and a walking tour downtown. Might be a good beach day. It's a pretty island.

 

Barbados is home to the green monkeys (although they didn't look all that green to me). On one cruise, we were able to take a tour to a monkey sanctuary and it was a lot of fun because you can watch the monkeys scampering around, but they don't come up and harass you for food or anything scary. It's a bit of a ride to get there, so if he's not a good passenger, maybe not a good choice for you. Didn't see that tour last time, so it may not be available any more.

 

St. Lucia is an island I didn't like. We took a tour that was supposed to give us some history and a trip to a 'quaint' village (quaint = dumpy). Not much history on the tour, but stops at far too many places where all you could do was buy the same old same old tourist junk. We were anchored near Castries. I'm told the other end of the island is prettier.

 

St. Thomas is my husband's least favorite island because he's not a shopper. I think the duty-free is over-rated. A good beach place (Magen's Bay is pretty and no waves to scare a little one) or stay on the ship. A ship day in port is lovely. Everyone else goes away, and you have the pool and the deck chairs and pretty much everything to yourself. I highly recommend this for at least one port.

 

St. Kitts--I agree with other posters. Take the sugar train, no question. It's a fun ride. I was on at Christmas a few years ago and we had the singers someone else mentioned. It was funny to ride by houses in this tropical setting and see those 'icicle' lights hanging from the eaves of the houses. The ride is expensive, but worth it because every car has two levels. The upper level is open to the air, and the lower level is air conditioned. Because they don't pack people in, you actually have two seats per person on each car--one up and one down. So you don't have to worry about staking out and defending your place. Very relaxing, although I don't think a 17-month-old should have the rum punch...

Enjoy!

Kathy

[imacruizer]

Hi other Beth! Jim's doing really well--he's over 5 lbs. now and has started to nurse a couple of times a day. He's 33 weeks gestational age (36 is considered long enough to be "full term"; 40 is considered the normal length of a pregnancy), and he started nursing last week, which is about 2 weeks ahead of schedule. By "nursing" I mean he sometimes eats a decent amount, and sometimes just hangs out and says "But I'm too tired to make the effort to eat, just put it in my tummy through the feeding tube!" :D By the time he goes home, he won't be able to get away with that anymore! The other thing we're working on now is getting him weaned off of the oxygen. Yesterday they turned it down to the lowest setting on the tank, and he seems to be tolerating it OK, so he may come off of the oxygen entirely in the not too distant future. I can't remember if I'd posted when he moved out of the incubator, but that happened a few weeks back...oh, and the really big thing is that he moved out of the NICU and into a less-intensive care facility last week. We're looking at roughly another 4 weeks or so before he comes home, which is going to be awesome for two reasons: first, he'll be home! Second, I won't have to go to work for 12 whole weeks. :D I will be working from home part-time, but still, it's better than going to the office!

 

Malcom, thanks for the tip about the aquarium, that actually sounds like something all three of us might enjoy.

 

Penny, good tip about the beach on St. John. St. Thomas is the only one of the ports we've been to, and it was my least favorite. We had considered not getting off the ship there at all, but a beach excursion to St. John might be a good choice. I know we've got a long time to plan for this cruise, but I figure it never hurts to gather some suggestions.

 

Thanks for the update, Beth. Little Jim is just doing so well. He is amazing. He will be home before you know it. I'm sure you cannot wait to have him home. Enjoy that time off from work. It will fly by. Do keep us posted on Jim.

 

Beth -- the other one!

[travel-to-go]

Beth,

Glad the baby is moving right along. I like the way you described his "attitude"' about nursing! (You'll long for that when he starts getting good strong gums with teeth trying to push through!)

 

St John. there is a ferry right in the downtown area, also one at Red Hook. plenty of taxis to get you either place if you do not want to walk. (Red hook, not walkable) Right where the downtown ferry leaves is a store called Captain's Corner. Nice quality tschotschkes cheap. fund stuff. I alsowas get a couple of foamy pens. These have ships and lobsters and sharks and fish on the head of the pen made out of foamies. Great little souvenirs cheap. Also they have the padded emery boards with barefoot prints in the sand or palm trees n them. Cute and useful. They also sell something you should get. A Map of the Caribbean. It's fun to track where you are going, where you have been on it. I have several. decent T-shirts, shorts, night shirts, cover-ups, There is alos an upstairs. They have some decent rums and such Cruzan is from St Croix and counts towards your made on teh islands rum. Get the Single Barrel Special dark rum. Or not! Marmalades, Also they sell a fan that folds out into a sun hat or folds up like a folded fan. Pretty neat for a couple of bucks Also sundries you might need, cheaper than on the ship. (There is also an A&P further towards Havensight, where most of the cruise ships dock) It is walkable. i have done it and I am handicapped. That should meet pretty much all of your shopping needs. Take the ferry to St john and get one of the jitney drivers to give you a tour. they stop at lookout points. the jitney buses are open, but with a canopy. They do a pretty good job of narrating and telling you about the area and the history. It's beautiful, and all you have to do is sit there. if it's a nice day it should be a very pleasant ride! Half of the island is a National Park. Protected. You can also snorkel from the beach there if you wish. I have done it. Beautiful snorkeling. Just across the street from where they ferry terminal is ais a saml two story building. One part is Sunny Caribbee spices (also loose teas, tea blends, and more little gift items.) there is also a neat little childrens' toys store there. I have not gone in as I don't have kids.

 

Curacao. Last time there we took the Ostrich farm and Aloe farm tour. They were fun. Ostrich farm you ride around in a wagon pulled by a tractor. So you don't have to walk. It's a bit of a bus ride out to the places, but you learn a lot about the people and sea the countryside.

If the swing bridge is working it is fun to stand on it while it is opened and closed. You can just go downtown on the waterfront and site and wath the boats! If you leave at night, you will see the burn-off fires from the refinery stacks. It's kind of pretty! here is an Olympic pool across from where the ship now docks. they built it for people to train. There is a small shopping area, some outdoor kiosks a short walk from the ship. wind chimes, embroidered gauzy dresses (they are NOT colorfast, wash them separate the first few times! Don't ask me how I know! <G>) parrots there again, small things some made locally, relatively inexpensive.

 

 

Hope this is some small help!

 

Karie,

who has been to St Thomas many times, including when it was deserted (imagine it!) and all of the shops were closed!

[imacruizer]

Just read Penny's post a bit more carefully. She has a great suggestion about your posting on "our" December 2 roll call. She and I are both regulars there. You can keep us up to date on Jim's progress without disrupting your thread.

 

Beth

[lexxity]

St Thomas. Treat it as a sea day and stay on the ship. I am not getting off there again.

 

I am sick of telling him this, but we are going across to St. Johns. Will otherwise give St. Thomas a miss.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I am sick of telling him this, but we are going across to St. Johns. Will otherwise give St. Thomas a miss.

 

That reminds me of a good tour. The ship might offer a nature walk on St John as one of the tour options for St. Thomas. I've done it twice, and the guide is a hoot. He knows every plant you'll see and can give you lots of medical uses of them. There's time for a brief swim, too.

 

The Virgin Island Ecotour kayak and snorkel on St. T is great, too. (anything that avoids the overcrowded shops)

Kathy

[travel-to-go]

Gee, I know someone who works at the NAPA Auto Parts store in St John. Maybe she could give a tour of the aisle cheap!

You could call it the Tropic Aisles tour!

 

Karie,

whose friend is the president of the VIP- Virgin Island Parrotheads

[lexxity]

Karie, that sounds just great! We are looking for somethin really low key as we will have Leo (DS) along. I think beach and swimming will be the thing! He is such a little fish! He swims right to the deep end of our local pool already (21 months, Mummy is so proud). I am looking for recommendations for eating though. Me want some rice and beans, yummy!

 

I have just bought the Frommers guide to Caribbean ports of call Beth, I'll let you know what it's like. I'm hoping it will help me out with decisions.

[travel-to-go]

Lexxity,

 

When you get of the ferry at St John, if you go up the steet and sort of left, there are rows of stalls with artists, street vendors, small eateries, most with outdoor tables. A good place to wander, and I am quite sure you can find rice and beans, that being a Caribbean staple.

When you get off the ferry grab a map at the ticket office and one of those little booklets with information about the area.

 

A friend at work just returned from St John, he was down for a wedding, but I suspect they didn't spend a lot of time by the ferry docks, more like half-way round the island where the expensive hotels are. If I think of it I will try to dig out the books and maps from our last time there.

 

For now. here is a shot of Marc at the Ferry terminal on St John, I am looking towards town with the ferry and the bay behind me (taking the picture). You can see Cabanas behind him where the small park is to the right of the picture is Sunny Caribbee and the toy store.

 

Karie,

who brings home stuff to share with others who have questions, then puts them in a box somewhere!

[lexxity]

Thanks Karie! I love helping others with their travel plans too! Unfortuantely there is very little money in travel/cruise agencies over here now! I always wanted to own my own, but doubt I could make a living at it anymore.:mad:

[calikak]

Thanks Karie! I love helping others with their travel plans too! Unfortuantely there is very little money in travel/cruise agencies over here now! I always wanted to own my own, but doubt I could make a living at it anymore.:mad:

 

I always wanted to own my own travel agency too, but I'm too risk-averse. I like my nice boring bureocratic job where the pay is stable. :D I also dream of opening a yarn and coffee shop called the Jittery Knitter. We'd offer a free cup of coffee or tea with your yarn purchase, so people could sit with their coffee or tea and knit or crochet and chat with the other customers about their projects. It's be a wonderful addition in my neighborhood--there's a new seniors' apartment building with retail space available right across the street from a park, talk about the ideal location! Oh, well, someday when we win the lottery.

 

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions! The ostrich farm might be a good idea, since kids love animals. Jim does seem to like the water already (he loves taking a bath, it calms him right down) and we plan to put him in swim lessons as soon as he's old enough, so beach excursions might be a good idea. Are there any beaches that are particularly kid-friendly or kid-unfriendly?

[lexxity]

Hey again, the Frommers book is good, get yourself a copy to help you decide what to do.

 

The knitting shop sounds great! I love it!

[calikak]

Hey again, the Frommers book is good, get yourself a copy to help you decide what to do.

 

Thanks, I'll be sure to pick up a copy of the book.

[OPSoccermom]

St Lucia is one of the most beautiful islands we've ever been to. Highly recommend doing it by sea, though, as the island is very hilly and roads winding (=carsickness). We chartered a boat and captain and cruised to the Pitons (breathtaking), Marigot Bay (gorgeous bay where they filmed Dr Doolittle), and anchored at a bay at the Anse Chastenet Resort (check out their website).

 

We had children with us as well, and thought that the van-type excursions wouldn't be much fun for them, so we chose to do something on our own. Our vendor was well-recommended from these boards, so our concern re: missing the ship was minimal.

 

In all honesty, there are some excellent excursions run by very dependable vendors. Check the Cruise Critic port-of-call boards for each port you will visit.