Paradise islands/seven shores

Is anyone doing these back to back trips? My husband and I are going in March 2017 to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary later that year. We have never done a cruise before. We have looked at the Thomson excursions for this cruise and wanted to know if anyone has done alternatives and how to go about looking at these? I'm not really a swimmer, so water excursions aren't really for me but we would like to see something of each island we visit. We would like to try horseback riding and maybe hire some bikes.

There's so much to do and so little time. Any advice or experiences shared would be great, thanks.

Is anyone doing these back to back trips? My husband and I are going in March 2017 to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary later that year. We have never done a cruise before. We have looked at the Thomson excursions for this cruise and wanted to know if anyone has done alternatives and how to go about looking at these? I'm not really a swimmer, so water excursions aren't really for me but we would like to see something of each island we visit. We would like to try horseback riding and maybe hire some bikes.

There's so much to do and so little time. Any advice or experiences shared would be great, thanks.

I'm not the best one to advise since we do like the beaches in the Caribbean so that tends to be our focus, but would say that on most islands there are lots of local taxi/tour firms/mini bus tours dockside who offer just about everything you'd see on the shore excursion guide - at cheaper prices. Local buses on such as Antigua, Barbados and St Lucia are cheap and good for getting around. If you can come to some decisions about what you think you would most like to do on each island, then I'm sure there will be plenty of ideas about how to best go about it.

One tour I and many others on here would recommend though is Cosol on St Lucia - fab day experiencing the food, culture and fun associated with these tours. Typically there will be 10-12 of you in a mini bus (with the mini bar of beer and rum punch) with food stops - you can see his website and see what you think. You book ahead - he makes up the group and you pay at the end.

http://www.cosol-tours.com/

Another interesting trip if you're not into beaches is the train on St Kitts but it's not cheap. I've read varying reviews but we did enjoy it but would say that is one best booked with Thomson as it's a bit of a cartel with the cruise companies who book the tours up and if you do manage to DiY using a local taxi, according to someone on our cruise, it didn't work out cheaper.

Although there are interesting trips at St Maarten to see more of the island, perhaps this is one island you might like to just relax and enjoy the beach - wide expanse, very calm sea so good to just paddle or immerse yourself (quite a relief sometimes in the heat!) - there are plenty of beach bars to sample the local food and cocktails etc and excellent shopping with a really pretty town to wander around. This is the place for best bargains too.

The Caribbean islands are fab - so warm, colourful and varied. I hope you enjoy your first cruise - we're addicted! :)

 

The Caribbean islands are fab - so warm, colourful and varied. I hope you enjoy your first cruise - we're addicted! :)

;) We did 4 cruises last year and thought we would stick to hotels this year, but as you know I just had to book one cruise:o

TrueBlueAngel - As Kruzseeka says, the Caribbean is wonderful and is a wonderful choice for a first cruise. I bet it won't be your last one though. You will join all of us other cruisaholics :D

There are always lots of taxis at the dock and they fill up with about 12 people and off you go! You always pay at the end.

Hi and welcome, they do run organised bike excursions off the ship which appear to be well used. If it is your first time to the Caribbean please don't expect the typical Caribbean beach at every port, you do get a few and you can just walk off the ship to find a great beach but in most instances you will have to travel. As everyone says it is a fab place to go and you will most probably require a holiday when you return. Have a great time:)

Is anyone doing these back to back trips? My husband and I are going in March 2017 to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary later that year. We have never done a cruise before. We have looked at the Thomson excursions for this cruise and wanted to know if anyone has done alternatives and how to go about looking at these? I'm not really a swimmer, so water excursions aren't really for me but we would like to see something of each island we visit. We would like to try horseback riding and maybe hire some bikes.

There's so much to do and so little time. Any advice or experiences shared would be great, thanks.

As you sound to be quite fit and active the one excursion I would recommend is River Tubing. I think we did this in Tortola but there are several places which offer it. It really is great fun and something a little bit different.

Definitely agree with Kruzseeka about Cosol tours, it's a great trip.

Local buses are a great way to get around on many Islands, just make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get back. We normally get out as soon as the ship is docked and aim to head back around 1-2pm depending on departure time. Back in time for afternoon tea ;)

If you are fit then Brimstone Hill Fortress is a good trip at St Kitts on the local bus. They will drop you at the bottom of the hill, and you flag the bus down on the way back. If you don't fancy the climb up the hill then you could share a taxi with others and they will take you all the way there, then wait for you.

The big open sided buses are a great way to see Tortola, there will be loads of them waiting at the dock, they just leave when they are full.

We are also doing this cruise and looking forward to it!

We went on tropical delights/paradise islands in January and this was our first Caribbean cruise. As pensioncruiser says each port is not the tropical oasis I was expecting - the ports are often the main town and as such they can be incredibly busy/noisy/chaotic! You do sometimes need to travel to get to the best bits of each island.

We like to be fairly independent and used lots of public buses which I looked into before we went and got as much info as possible before we went. we tended to go exploring in the morning so we knew that we would get back in time.

Again I would recommend Cosol tours who were excellent on St Lucia. We did the St Kitts railway with the ship and thoroughly enjoyed it.

In Antigua, St Maartan, Barbados, St Vincent, Aruba, Curacao, Grenada we used local buses and had no problems.

Thanks for all the advice and tips for our trip. Hubby and I have looked at Thomson's now available excursion list to get an idea what we would like to do.

Typically, most of them are island tours but by showing you what we are interested in, some of you may be able to advise whether to stick with Thomson or if there is another way of doing these excursions.

There are a couple of islands where we are undecided about what we want to do, so if anyone has any ideas or experiences, we would love to know.

Caribbean cruise excursions

St Vincent - Bequia.

Scenic tour. Cycling?

Antigua - St. John's

History tour and horseback trekking?, 4x4?, cycling?

St Maarten - Philipsburg

Island tour

St Kitts - Basseterre

Railway

Open air safari

BVI - Road Town

Historical tour

Barbados - Bridgetown

Beach hop island tour

Martinique - fort de France

St pierre and rum distillery

Bambou full day

Dominica - Roseau

Undecided

Guadeloupe - pointe a pitre

Bike tour

St Vincent - Kingstown

Undecided

Grenada - St George's

Discover Grenada

The spice island

St Lucia - Castries

Cosol tours

What do you think??

Here are my suggestions for the islands I have been to-

St Lucia - Definitely Cosol tours.

St Kitts - The railway - I'm sure this is only bookable through the cruise line.

Barbados - we did the farewell tour on our last day which we really enjoyed and could recommend as we weren't hanging around the ship.

- beaches - do it yourself - the beaches are within walking distance or a short taxi ride or use the public buses.

- everything is shut in Barbados on Sundays apart from places to eat/drink and some tourist shops near the beaches.

Antigua - I would recommend going to Nelson's Dockyard/ShirleyHeights/English Harbour - there are local tours available just outside the cruise dock. We intend on using public buses for this when we go!

St Vincent - we were only here for half a day but went to Fort Charlotte by local bus which even I have to admit was not so easy! We walked back down though and really enjoyed the views that we saw doing this. We walked back via the Botanical Gardens.

I know that there were lots of tour companies and local taxi firms that lots of other people from the cruise ships use and they all seem to offer fairer prices than the excursions offered on board ship. One of the things that struck me was that we left time to look around the town where we had docked on each island and sometimes there really wasn't much to see or do and the towns were fairly small in general.

hope this helps

Our first cruise was a back to back in the Caribbean in January 2013, and we made the mistake of thinking this was a one off cruising holiday, so booked ship tours on every island which I must admit we really enjoyed. We came home and booked up for January 2014.

Now quite a number of cruises later, we don't book so many ship tours as we like to find a beach and do our own thing a little more, usually leaving in the mornings so we don't get back late for sail away, but believe me, whatever your decision, I am sure like us and many more on here, you will love the islands and have a fantastic cruise.

This is a great tour for first-time visitors to St. Maarten.

http://www.toursxm.com/Double_Decker_Party_Boat.html

You will also have time to browse the many duty-free shops, casinos and brothels in Philipsburg before rejoining your ship.

Just bumping this up to see if anyone has more recommendations. I've been recommended Bernard's tours on St Maarten so I'm looking into that.

We love the Indian River Trip on Dominica. Have done this one three times. Also the Land and Sea on Tortola is great. Both booked with Thomsons. Have a wonderful time.

Bumping this up for mtt. Some good ideas on here.

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We will be on this itinery but the other way round joining the ship on 26th March.

This will be our 3rd Caribbean Cruise and have visited quite a few of the islands before.

However this time we are coming with my elderly parents (80 & 85) whole do have some walking difficulties.

I am now racking my brain to think of what excursions would be suitable for them?

I remember we picked up a taxi/mini bus at the port in Antigua and went to Shirley Heights/Nelsons Dockyard/Beach etc.

But I can't remember if the walking was difficult on any part of this trip.

Can anyone suggest suitable excursions please. My mum wouldn't mind being in a wheelchair for some parts, but which excursions are wheelchair friendly.

Many Thanks

Lorraine

Think you may be better booking with Thomson as you can discuss the itenery with them to find out if it's suitable and they will sort a wheelchair out for you, also you are able to cancel if mom or dad are not up to it at the last moment. We have done the Nelson's trip and its not very hilly and well worth it if they are OK just be aware of the rum punch😜

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We will be on this itinery but the other way round joining the ship on 26th March.

This will be our 3rd Caribbean Cruise and have visited quite a few of the islands before.

However this time we are coming with my elderly parents (80 & 85) whole do have some walking difficulties.

I am now racking my brain to think of what excursions would be suitable for them?

I remember we picked up a taxi/mini bus at the port in Antigua and went to Shirley Heights/Nelsons Dockyard/Beach etc.

But I can't remember if the walking was difficult on any part of this trip.

Can anyone suggest suitable excursions please. My mum wouldn't mind being in a wheelchair for some parts, but which excursions are wheelchair friendly.

Many Thanks

Lorraine

Hi Lorraine

We are also on that itinerary, and celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary on board.

While we've been to the Caribbean quite a few times this time we've looked at the excursions in depth on the Thomson shore excursion website. It does give a range of trips for each port and, if you click on 'more details' on the right hand side it tells you things like 'easy walking' or 'not for wheelchairs' etc.

They should give you an idea. You will likely be able to book some of them independently e.g North Shore and Pussers Landing on Tortola which is a nice trip. We did that locally a few years ago.

I hope that helps you.

Peter