First time cruiser with questions about excursions in Eastern Carribean

[bellasdesk]

Hello! I am a first time cruiser, headed for the Eastern Carribean next month on the Carnival Freedom. I am wondering if some seasoned cruisers can give me some advice about excursions in Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Tortola, Antigua, and Nassau. Do you advise signing up for the ship's excursions before the cruise? As far as where Carnival pulls into port....will we be in walking distance to any beaches, shopping, etc? We will be in San Juan Puerto Rico in the evening, so I am not sure what to do there. I am trying to be as frugal as possible, and would like to do as much "on our own" as possible, while still having fun. Any advice would be so very appreciated!

[steffaroonie]

Hi there. You might try looking on the boards for the specific ports for more ideas, but here is what I did on this cruise a couple of years ago when I was on the Liberty.

 

Puerto Rico.....Was going to do the Bacardi Rum factory tour, but it was closed because they were filming a commercial. So....went to dinner at the restaurant that is the birth place of the Pina Colada. Some of the best food I have ever had and the drink was to die for. They do not use Bacardi Rum but a different kind. Liked it so much, bought a bottle of the rum to bring home. (hmmm need to go back to Puerto Rico and get more)

 

St. Thomas....did the Blackbeard tour - wouldn't recommend it unless you like being yelled at by a old retired Vermont school teacher for talking. Not much about pirates, more about the Dutch Settlers. Ditched the tour and went shopping, had more fun.

 

Antigua....went on the 4wheel drive excursion through Carnival. Most fun I have ever had. Had a great driver, gave a great tour of the island, laughed so hard I about wet my pants. Got to spend some time on a beach too, and still had plenty of time to shop.

 

Tortola....didn't get to do the excursion we had planned due to rough water in the bay we were supposed to go to. Jumped in a cab and for 20 bucks got a great tour of the island. Took us to the highest peak on Tortola where we had great 360 degree views. There is a restaurant up there that has the best frozen drink. Amaretto, pinapple juice, coconut juice, rum, and something pink with cinnamon sprinkled on top. I would die for that recipe again. Once again, back in time to do some shopping.

 

Didn't go to the Bahamas, so can't help you there.

 

Any questions, feel free to ask me. I loved this trip, thinking about doing a similar one again next year.

 

Kristin

[firefly333]

If you scroll down, there are specific boards for each port that the cruises will go to with lots of private excursions. Almost any pier has some shopping, some have a town maybe 3 miles away that you can take a cab to, some are at a town, depends on the port.

 

St. Thomas we did a excursion thru the ship because I was cruising with a friend and easier to pay for it that way ahead of time, but you can walk into the town and have a local lunch, or go to the flea market, there is a tram ride (for about $20) within walking distance, lots of stuff to do there.

 

Nassau I wasnt so impressed with, but you can shop there too.

 

St. Thomas was one of my favorite ports. We took a cab in the afternoon to a local beach called Koki, about $11 per person for the cab ride, and it was $10 for snorkeling equipment and dog bisquits and we sat out until we had to rush back to the ship.

 

We play most ports by ear when we arrive, because Im usually travelling with someone with medical issues and its hard to plan ahead. So, yes you can and you can always get back on the ship and eat lunch to save money if you dont want to eat in the port. You can get on and off the ship as many times as you want.

[bellasdesk]

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond to my questions! It really helps to hear from people who have seen the ports first hand.

[Molly BPOE]

The BEST Carnival excursion I have ever taken was in Puerto Rico, it was the Bio-Bay. It is an evening tour and it was the most amazing thing!

 

St. Thomas- you can rent a car for about $70.00 or grab a cab and hit Coki Beach, great snorkeling. Last time we were there we did the Sunny Liston Tour, it was alright but next time we will stick to Coki Beach on our own. We also hit the out door market everytime we go, you can find some cool stuff there and I love to haggle so lots of fun for me :)

 

I have not been to your other ports of call so not much help there.

[CeleBrat]

We are on the same cruise, but in August. Our plans are as follows:

 

Tortola--visit the Baths on our own by taking Speedy's ferry

Antigua--a private tour with either Lawrence or Gordon (see Antigua board)

St. Thomas-visit St. John on our own by taking city bus to ferry dock, then taking ferry over and back. Head to Trunk Bay Beach.

Nassau--TBD..possibly booking room at Comfort Suites for Atlantis usage

San Juan--nothing! May see what sort of tours are being offered by independent vendors off the ship.

 

As you can see, we usually don't take the ship's excursions, and will research via the Ports-of-Call boards to see what the other options are at each location.

 

No matter what you do, you're sure to have fun!

 

CeleBrat

[BlueJacketsFan1]

We booked all our excursion with Carnival and had a great time on all of them. Puerto Rico we did the walking tour around Old San Juan and then ended up at Senor Frog's, always a great spot. St. Thomas this time we went over to St. John's island and snorkeled at Trunk Bay which was very beautiful with the under water trail to follow. Antiqua we toured one of the old forts and Nelson's dock yard. Tortola has some great snorkeling, we did the one on at Norris Island and swam into some old sea caves. Nassau again we tried for the Tiki Hut snorkel and treasure hunt. We tried on our first visit to Nassau, but it was canceled do to high seas. This time we had beautiful weather and a great time on the excursion. Anything you do you will have a great time.

[dserban]

We are on the same cruise on June 20th:

San Juan: Bio bay through Carnival maybe dinner afterwords

St. Thomas: A tour with Sunny Liston with a 2h stop at the beach

Antigua: Tour with Gordon including Zipline

Tortola: Swimming with dolphins

Bahamas: Fish Fry for lunch and a walk around.

[falconfan]

Hello! I am a first time cruiser, headed for the Eastern Carribean next month on the Carnival Freedom. I am wondering if some seasoned cruisers can give me some advice about excursions in Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Tortola, Antigua, and Nassau. Do you advise signing up for the ship's excursions before the cruise? As far as where Carnival pulls into port....will we be in walking distance to any beaches, shopping, etc? We will be in San Juan Puerto Rico in the evening, so I am not sure what to do there. I am trying to be as frugal as possible, and would like to do as much "on our own" as possible, while still having fun. Any advice would be so very appreciated!

 

When are you going? We are doing the same cruise July 18. Many people have taken a self-guided walking tour of the forts in San Juan ahen they arrived in San Juan. I have not been to Antigua or Tortola but the other ports all have shopping right outside the port.

[Warm Breezes]

 

Antigua....went on the 4wheel drive excursion through Carnival. Most fun I have ever had. Had a great driver, gave a great tour of the island, laughed so hard I about wet my pants. Got to spend some time on a beach too, and still had plenty of time to shop.

 

 

Kristin

 

We are doing this cruise next month too. And are planning the following:

 

San Juan: Either walking tour or horse-drawn carriage. We will decide when we get there.

 

Antigua: We are doing the 4 wheel drive excursion too. Kristin can you give us more info on that...Do you do a lot of four wheeling? Go through mountains or rainforests? I haven't been able to find too much info on this.

 

Tortola: We are taking a taxi to Brewers Bay then DD & I are doing the Dolphin Discovery Swim.

 

St. Thomas: We are going Helmut Diving.

 

Nassau: Again either a walking tour or horse-drawn carriage. We will decide when we get there.

 

Hopefully we will have great weather for all of this.

[steffaroonie]

Hi there, its the Island Safari 4X4 Adventure. Not too much mountain, but you do go through some rain forest. Really pretty. Our driver drove us out in a lemongrass field too....man I want to plant that for my grass. We also stopped at a roadside stand and got to try bananas right off the tree, and fresh picked pineapple. I bought some soursop jelly too, it was wonderful. We had the best driver, really interactive - sure wish I could remember his name. Very young guy. Our trucks name was Miss Piggy.

 

I know you will love this excursion, its one of my fondest memories of Antigua.

 

Let me know if you have more questions and I'll try to answer them.

 

Kristin

[steffaroonie]

Opps forgot, yes we did do a fair amount of 4 wheeling - it was a lot of fun. I remember going through a couple of really large mud puddles and spinning out. Our driver was excellent though - I actually manage to film almost the entire thing without flying out of the back of the truck. We did get to see just about most of the island. Its such a beautiful place.

 

Kristin

[jinxnb]

Hi, Bella! Congrats on your first cruise; I'm sure you'll have a blast!

 

My neighbor is from PR, and he will actually be in town when my husband and I are in port. We're meeting this weekend to hear all the insider-y things. I will post afterward.

 

Like previous posters, I suggest researching this site and others. While we may take an excursion in St. Thomas, I don't think we will in Grand Turk. I plan on paying for a taxi to the lighthouse and the museum, and asking if he/she knows of a local bar/restaurant that we could go.

[bellasdesk]

If you scroll down, there are specific boards for each port that the cruises will go to with lots of private excursions. Almost any pier has some shopping, some have a town maybe 3 miles away that you can take a cab to, some are at a town, depends on the port.

 

St. Thomas we did a excursion thru the ship because I was cruising with a friend and easier to pay for it that way ahead of time, but you can walk into the town and have a local lunch, or go to the flea market, there is a tram ride (for about $20) within walking distance, lots of stuff to do there.

 

Nassau I wasnt so impressed with, but you can shop there too.

 

St. Thomas was one of my favorite ports. We took a cab in the afternoon to a local beach called Koki, about $11 per person for the cab ride, and it was $10 for snorkeling equipment and dog bisquits and we sat out until we had to rush back to the ship.

 

We play most ports by ear when we arrive, because Im usually travelling with someone with medical issues and its hard to plan ahead. So, yes you can and you can always get back on the ship and eat lunch to save money if you dont want to eat in the port. You can get on and off the ship as many times as you want.

Hi...Just wondering about Koki beach and snorkeling...probably a really dumb question...we have never snorkeled before...do they give some explanation when you rent the equipment to snorkel? I keep hearing nice things about Koki beach...may be worth a look! Thanks again for the info!

[bellasdesk]

Hi...can't wait to read your post after you get the "inside scoop"! Thanks for your reply!

[Warm Breezes]

Opps forgot, yes we did do a fair amount of 4 wheeling - it was a lot of fun. I remember going through a couple of really large mud puddles and spinning out. Our driver was excellent though - I actually manage to film almost the entire thing without flying out of the back of the truck. We did get to see just about most of the island. Its such a beautiful place.

 

Kristin

 

Thanks for the info. It sounds like I picked a good excursion to go on.

[theos on the go]

We did the same itinerary on the Liberty we did the following:

 

San Juan - on our own it was raining hard so we went to the Sheraton visited the casino

 

St Thomas - Godfrey tour we went to Secret Cove beach it was really just a really nice and uncrowded beach no activities so to speak (i.e. parasailing or wave runners)

 

Antigua - the best Carnival excursion See Antigua by Sea on the Excellence

 

Tortola - Carnival excursion Tour Tortola and Cane Garden Bay - in hindsight we could have just taken a taxi over to Cane Garden Bay - but our first time in Tortola we wanted to get a little info about the island.

 

Nassau - we walked around town and took pictures and shopped

 

Of course this was a few years back but I still hear good things about Godfrey and the See Antigua by Sea on the port boards

 

Enjoy!

[bellasdesk]

When are you going? We are doing the same cruise July 18. Many people have taken a self-guided walking tour of the forts in San Juan ahen they arrived in San Juan. I have not been to Antigua or Tortola but the other ports all have shopping right outside the port.

Looks like we are on the same cruise! Can hardly wait! I love the countdown clock on your message!

[bellasdesk]

We did the same itinerary on the Liberty we did the following:

 

San Juan - on our own it was raining hard so we went to the Sheraton visited the casino

 

St Thomas - Godfrey tour we went to Secret Cove beach it was really just a really nice and uncrowded beach no activities so to speak (i.e. parasailing or wave runners)

 

Antigua - the best Carnival excursion See Antigua by Sea on the Excellence

 

Tortola - Carnival excursion Tour Tortola and Cane Garden Bay - in hindsight we could have just taken a taxi over to Cane Garden Bay - but our first time in Tortola we wanted to get a little info about the island.

 

Nassau - we walked around town and took pictures and shopped

 

Of course this was a few years back but I still hear good things about Godfrey and the See Antigua by Sea on the port boards

 

Enjoy!

Thank you for the info! Was the Godfrey tour expensive? Did you do anything else besides the secret cove beach? Is this a beach that we could just take a cab to? Have a great day!