suggestions for ships tours antigua

All suggestions re ship tours on Antigua are appreciated

Ship tours will vary by cruise line, cruise ship, port times and date.

The tours for your specific sailing will be available on your cruise lines website usually 6-8 months before your cruise although it could be sooner or later.

Check with your travel agent on how to find the tours being offered for your cruise. Then come back here with questions about any of your available tours that you're considering.

In Antigua we always enjoy taking one of the catamaran sails with a beach stop offered by the ship for our sailing. :)

LuLu

Any off ship vendors you can reccomend for the Cat tour?

We booked a sightseeing/ beach tour right off the pier. Very easy and reasonable.

We've been happy with the ones we've booked through the cruise line. :)

LuLu

We visited Antigua in January while on a Costa ship. When you get off, there seems like 100 taxi drivers trying to sell you a taxi ride. Several were in orange uniforms and extremely aggressive. Everyone wanted $20pp. We hired Christopher John who told us his tour was $20 and $8, which included admission to their park and the Nelson area.

We were extremely pleased with Mr John. Most of the other drivers fail to let you see a presentation at one of the stops because they rush their tours I order to get an additional fare. He does one a day, is very Informative and even stopped and bought us a container if fresh fruit to try. He owns his cab and can be reached at chrisolejohn@live.com. The way he worked it with us was agreeing to leave at a specified time after he had 6 passengers. If you email him beforehand with a group, that would be better yet. He wanted to please.

We visited Antigua in January while on a Costa ship. When you get off, there seems like 100 taxi drivers trying to sell you a taxi ride. Several were in orange uniforms and extremely aggressive. Everyone wanted $20pp. We hired Christopher John who told us his tour was $20 and $8, which included admission to their park and the Nelson area.

 

We were extremely pleased with Mr John. Most of the other drivers fail to let you see a presentation at one of the stops because they rush their tours I order to get an additional fare. He does one a day, is very Informative and even stopped and bought us a container if fresh fruit to try. He owns his cab and can be reached at chrisolejohn@live.com. The way he worked it with us was agreeing to leave at a specified time after he had 6 passengers. If you email him beforehand with a group, that would be better yet. He wanted to please.

Did any of the taxis have Vans or SUVs? It's kind of difficult getting more than 3 people plus the driver comfortably into a 4 door Toyota.

Yes, our driver had a van. We had 6 passengers with plenty of room. He commented that some try to squeeze 8 people in vans. Best to specify a limit of 6 people. Hope you are able to contact Christopher John,

The taxis in Antigua are all minivans with very few exceptions.

Excellent. :)

We visited Antigua in January while on a Costa ship. When you get off, there seems like 100 taxi drivers trying to sell you a taxi ride. Several were in orange uniforms and extremely aggressive. Everyone wanted $20pp. We hired Christopher John who told us his tour was $20 and $8, which included admission to their park and the Nelson area.

 

We were extremely pleased with Mr John. Most of the other drivers fail to let you see a presentation at one of the stops because they rush their tours I order to get an additional fare. He does one a day, is very Informative and even stopped and bought us a container if fresh fruit to try. He owns his cab and can be reached at chrisolejohn@live.com. The way he worked it with us was agreeing to leave at a specified time after he had 6 passengers. If you email him beforehand with a group, that would be better yet. He wanted to please.

Hi Very Seasoned- Mr John sounds great- what did you do with him? Where did you go and what did you see? Thank you! :)

He took us to the major sights on the Island. We paid an additional $8 to go in their park system. At first it was an overlook area, then a fortification overlook area with a little show depicting the island's history and then Nelson's Yard. That was an historic area with colonial buildings, restaurants, etc. So many Caribbean Islands have little to offer, but this was worth doing. He also took us to his personal church.

He took us to the major sights on the Island. We paid an additional $8 to go in their park system. At first it was an overlook area, then a fortification overlook area with a little show depicting the island's history and then Nelson's Yard. That was an historic area with colonial buildings, restaurants, etc. So many Caribbean Islands have little to offer, but this was worth doing. He also took us to his personal church.

This is our first trip to Caribbean and we're doing Southern Caribbean including Antigua. We're group of 4 adults and would like to go to Nelson's Dockyard. Will 2-3 hours be enough time? And what would he charge? (ballpark)...we'll be on Celebrity Eclipse....ship tours seem to offer one or the other and lean towards beaches. We want to be able to see Nelson's and still have time to explore St. John's on our own. Is that realistic?

We're just off the Adventure and booked the Kayak & snorkel tour thru RCI. They are also called Antigua Paddles.

THE BEST excursion of our cruise!!!

Quick description...narrated bus trip to the other side of the island, beautiful gardens when you arrive. Hop on a speed boat and away you go!!! Tandem kayaking thru mangroves, got to hold a star fish & sea cucumber, then speedboat to a tiny island for a 5 minute hike for some amazing views, then back on the speedboat to the snorkeling site, back on the speedboat one last time.

Arrived back to cool towels, warm banana bread, rum (or not) punch, bathrooms & free wifi!

Back on the bus for a ride back to port. Approx 4-5 hours.

Amazing!

I highly recommend this excursion in Antigua.

http://www.antiguapaddles.com

$60/pp

This is our first trip to Caribbean and we're doing Southern Caribbean including Antigua. We're group of 4 adults and would like to go to Nelson's Dockyard. Will 2-3 hours be enough time? And what would he charge? (ballpark)...we'll be on Celebrity Eclipse....ship tours seem to offer one or the other and lean towards beaches. We want to be able to see Nelson's and still have time to explore St. John's on our own. Is that realistic?

Sorry I am late in replying. We were in the Far East for 6 weeks.

We felt we had enough time at Nelson's Dockyard. Mr. John will cater to you. He didn't rush us at any point. He charged $20pp and $8 for the entrance fees. We have cruised over 500 days and usually do excursions on our own. You are off to a good start by using CC. Bon Voyage.

I've read your review of your tour with Mr. John in Antigua. I couldn't read all of it as it was cut off. How do we contact him? Does he have a web site? We are cruising on Nov.28 for 11 days on Sunshine.

We're just off the Adventure and booked the Kayak & snorkel tour thru RCI. They are also called Antigua Paddles.

 

THE BEST excursion of our cruise!!!

 

Quick description...narrated bus trip to the other side of the island, beautiful gardens when you arrive. Hop on a speed boat and away you go!!! Tandem kayaking thru mangroves, got to hold a star fish & sea cucumber, then speedboat to a tiny island for a 5 minute hike for some amazing views, then back on the speedboat to the snorkeling site, back on the speedboat one last time.

 

Arrived back to cool towels, warm banana bread, rum (or not) punch, bathrooms & free wifi!

 

Back on the bus for a ride back to port. Approx 4-5 hours.

 

Amazing!

This sounds like the excursion we are going to take on Celebrity Summit in November. How was the snorkeling? We aren't very experienced. We have never kayaked either, but wanted to try something different. I can't wait, you made this excursion sound like so much fun!

Hi Fellow Cruisers; We are on The Serenade of the Seas on a 10 day , nov. 13th. We live in Florida , so have plenty of Beach, but just want to do and island tour, including Dockyard, Shirley Heights, etc. with no beach stops. Want to do early morning so not to be concerned with return time.

Any info you can give would be appreciated. Bob & Nancy The Villages Florida

Hi Bob & Nancy,

We highly recommend a private (or shared) island tour with Lawrence of Antigua. Very personable and nice gentleman and an excellent guide. We enjoyed seeing the amazing views from Shirley Heights, Nelson's Dockyard, the rainforest, and stopped at Pigeon Beach for a great jerk chicken lunch at the shack there. An excellent way to experience Antigua!

For a great catamaran day we really enjoyed out day on the Excellence, a two-tiered cat that's beautiful. It's offered through the cruise lines as the See Antigua by Sea excursion.

You hit Green Island for snorkeling then cruise the coast of Antigua with some time motoring through English Harbor. Great crew and lunch too. She docks right near the ship and you have time after to shop St John's.