Celebrity Summit - Dominica vs Grenada?

[STL2006]

My wife and I will be cruising on the Summit for the 7 day Southern Caribbean cruise in January 2009. We have already decided that we will be staying on the ship either the day in Dominica or the day in Grenada. It's a very port intensive itinerary, and we want to give ourselves another day to relax.

 

My question is: what port would you exclude, Dominica or Grenada? We definitely want to do St. Maarten, Bonaire, and Aruba, so our choice is to cut out Dominica or Grenada. We're in our late 20s, and are looking more for great sightseeing, history, and a relaxing day to take in the scenery, vs snorkeling/swimming (we're doing that on Bonaire). I'd love to hear any advice/suggestions on which port (and why) you would exclude. Thanks!

[chessbriar]

Neither, They are both beautiful islands. We did tours with drivers found on these boards and had great days. The people in Grenada seem to love the Americans, it made it easy to spend my money there. Dominica is just so lush and green, the water falls were beautiful. I would be more inclined to stay on board in Aruba or St Maarten myself.

[DAMIFIKNOW]

I would get off at both of them, being a cruiser for over 30 yrs, staying on board, is for us old people,both islands are beautiful and not to be missed.,.You can relax when you get back in the states.Have a good time.

[DAMIFIKNOW]

We just did that cruise in January and it was great, and there wherer no ports to miss belive me.

[cruzmaven]

I'm with the OP on this. A day on the ship when mostly everyone else is out running around on land is very special. Take advantage of the spa specials, get the lounge of your choice without having people all around you, order room service lunch and spend some quality "couple" time in the cabin (just keep the curtains drawn as they sometimes like to clean windows on port days):eek: . Missing one island out of 5 or 6 isn't that big of a deal.

 

Between these two ports I think Granada is the one I would skip if I was going to choose one to skip. Had a few anxious moments walking around the streets there. Certainly didn't get the warm fuzzy feeling about the locals one of the previous posters described. But maybe that's all me. Dominica has the rain forest and some interesting excursions and IMO, was the more interesting of the two.

[woodofpine]

I'd stay on board on Aruba... it's a flat sandbox, nothing there otherwise. There's some nice horseback riding and beaches, but it's not one of my favorites. St. Maarten/Phillipburg is a nice shopping place, more charming in that regard than St. Thomas. But it is small and non-descript as an island. The fact its split between French and Dutch is inconsequential to a visiter.

 

If you're looking to rest on board, I'd do it in Aruba. On St. Maarten I'd maybe spend an hour or two ashore in Phillipsburg - walk the main street, have a drink on the beach-waterfront then be back on the ship by lunch. Phillipsburg is a nice harbor to look out onto.

 

Dominica's Titou Gorge is unique, not to be missed. Champagne reef is pretty cool too. I've not been to Grenada, but I had a friend from there once and I'd probably get out and about there too based on what he told me.

[flag fan]

Of the two, I would recommend Grenada because of the interesting history. I took a ship's tour and the tour guide and bus driver talked about what it was like during the rebellion there and we saw the spot where the prime minister and his cabinet were executed (including a pregnant woman who was Minister of Education). The United States sent troops there eventually. (One of the passengers was born in Grenada and added a little to the tour guide's talk--apparently there was an ethnic divide that was the root cause of the dissatisfaction. In any event, Grenada has a unique history in terms of a recent U.S. intervention, so if you are interested in history, its a good place to go. The tour also included a couple of hours on a very small, very isolated beach, which was great. So I recommend Grenada if your interested in history.

[Lsimon]

You need not make it a long hectic day in either place. Both lend themselves to short days ashore with an early return to the ship.

 

Do a nice sightseeing tour in Dominica - either whale watching through the ship (half day in the AM) or a short excursion (ship or taxi) to one of the nicer sights such as the Emerald Pool in the rain forest. Then head back to the ship for lunch and lounging around all afternoon.

 

In Grenada I'd head out mid morning to a nice relaxing scenic beach. We highly recommend hanging out at magazine beach in front of the Aquarium restaurant (basically an open air beach bar & restaurant). You can rent chairs on this quiet beach, take a stroll down the sand, then have a relaxing lunch and a nice drink at the restaurant before heading back early for another afternoon of shipboard bliss.

 

That's what I'd do in any event.

[tnr]

We did this cruise last January, and did a private tour on both Dominica and Grenada that were fantastic. We learned so much about the islands and the people that I would not have missed it for anything. I will agree with other posters that Aruba was my least favorite port. It just didn't have the character of the others.

[STL2006]

I really appreciate all the great advice from everyone. We are leaning towards staying on the ship the day at Grenada, mainly because we've heard several stories about local vendors really being a hassle. It's just going to be my wife and I, and we really don't feel like being accosted by people trying to sell us stuff, when we're trying to relax at a beach or for a few drinks.

 

I've read a lot about people going to Grand Anse and not being able to relax at all because of constantly being hassled by (aggressive) locals. Is this different at Magazine Beach? Having drinks and relaxing with a great view does sound nice, but we definitely don't want to have to deal with aggressive vendors. That's just not our idea of a fun day.

[hcat]

Not having been to either of the two I would check them out on a first visit....something new & different

 

.my choice of ports to skip would be Aruba--not much going on there unless you want to shop, some of the hotels are aging...not very scenic--if you are a beach person maybe Palm Beach area is nice--

 

St Maarten also evokes the been there done that response.. We have toured, been to grand Case, marigot & Phillipsburg, shopped, snorkeled--not much to see underwater either... We are not beach folks so not sure what we'll do on our next visit..

 

Hope you have a nice relaxing time..& report back!.

[cruzmaven]

As far as beaches go, St. Marteen has Orient Beach. Beautiful beach with occasionally very nice sceanery.

[Mr. Boston]

We were on the same cruise this past February. We did private tours in both Dominica and Grenada. IMHO I would skip Grenada. Although it was beautiful the vendors everywhere were relentless. Additionally, our private guide seemed to always steer us toward them . I got the impression that we were being tolerated only because we might buy things and got no warm fuzzies from anyone. We had the opposite experience in Dominica where the folks that we met could not have been nicer.

[Lsimon]

...Is this different at Magazine Beach? Having drinks and relaxing with a great view does sound nice, but we definitely don't want to have to deal with aggressive vendors. That's just not our idea of a fun day.

 

First time there we had two vendors solicit sales, the second time three, during the course of a day on the beach. Both times one of the people was the guy who also rented chairs, who came around later in the day with some necklaces. A slight bother, but not much. No one trying to sell drinks since it was right in front of the Aquarium restaurant with easy access to a bar and tables. Also had some very nice and clean bathrooms there. I really don't like vendors who solicit business when you're sitting there enjoying yourself, so I was bothered a little, but it wasn't too bad and nothing that would keep me from returning in the future.

 

Water there had some OK snorkeling despite incoming surf, but not good enough to draw one there for the snorkeling alone. If you want to just take a dip in the ocean you might want to bring along some water shoes - while the beach is very sandy it was a bit rocky some spots in the water.