Not a beach person

We're thinking of cruising to the Caribbean in 2017, where we've never been. We're looking for natural beauty (all of the islands probably), interesting excursions, decent port towns and no overwhelming poverty.

We like looking at beautiful beaches but we would not lie on the beach or swim in the ocean. We're both seniors and aren't interested in activities involving lots of physical exertion.

We've been to Bermuda and like it a lot (we're going back in May).

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

We're thinking of cruising to the Caribbean in 2017, where we've never been. We're looking for natural beauty (all of the islands probably), interesting excursions, decent port towns and no overwhelming poverty.

 

We like looking at beautiful beaches but we would not lie on the beach or swim in the ocean. We're both seniors and aren't interested in activities involving lots of physical exertion.

 

We've been to Bermuda and like it a lot (we're going back in May).

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

You'll see poverty on all the islands from the North American prospective. .

The island in the Eastern Caribbean have a lot to see that aren't beaches.

In Grenada you can take a tour that shows how Cocoa is harvested and processed. Bonaire has a flamingo persevere . Most islands have places other than beaches.

Myself and DW are in our early to mid 60's . We also don't care for beaches.

Have you considered a cruise along the California coast or even Hawaii from California.

Thanks for the information.

We know that the standard of living is lower in the Caribbean but we don't want to be in a situation where there is dire poverty everywhere you look, like Haiti.

Also, we'd like a port city where we feel comfortable. We were in Nassau a few months ago and it was not a pleasant place.

I've heard some good things about San Juan PR, Barbados, Curacao, St. Martin and St. Thomas. I've also seen quite a few posts warning about Jamaica.

We too love Bermuda.

We are not beach people.

I like the Southern Caribbean and enjoy walking around many of the ports.

Keith

We have similar interests except that we also love the beaches of the Caribbean.

The eastern and southern Carib would suit you better than the western IOHO. The eastern typically includes St Thomas and St Maarten which are favorite ports for duty free shopping but you can escape that by taking an excursion. ON SXM we like a day sail on the Golden Eagle, fabulous day and excellent crew. Even if you don't care to snorkel a very nice day.

www.sailingsxm.com

On STT there are also some nice monohull sailings if interested, or you could go on your own to STJ and see the island and hit some nice shops.

The southern itinerary adds several beautiful and less busy islands and the beaches are spectacular and the main reason for being on many of the islands.

Have you considered a Panama Canal cruise, either roundtrip from FLL or betwen FLL and LA? With the latter you hit many of the beautiful ports in Costa Rica and along the Mexican Riviera...

We have been to the Southern Caribbean several times and enjoy the ABC islands Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. Aruba and Curacao have many excursion tours where one can see much of the island during a port stop.

Willemstad, Curacao is a World Heritage Site which is a walking city.

There are good walking maps of Curacao online.

Also, Barbados has many good tours.

I have been to Ste-Lucia in 2011 and it's a real beauty. We did the catamarran ride and saw the Pitons, Marigot Bay, etc. I strongly suggest this island. By the way, I am going back there in 2 months.:)

Belize was, by far, our favorite port on our cruise. It's full of natural wonders - plants, animals, and even a unique organic scent in the air that reminded me of my time in Hawaii. I liked Belize more than Hawaii, to be honest. I didn't want to leave.

We're looking at an Eastern Caribbean cruise in 2017 - our daughter's first. We, too, aren't looking to spend hours upon hours on the beach. Unfortunately, that's what most cruise lines cater to, so we're probably going to do non-cruise line excursions. I found a couple of culinary tours that seem interesting.

St Kitts is beautiful. I'd recommend a guided island tour there.

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

We're thinking of cruising to the Caribbean in 2017, where we've never been. We're looking for natural beauty (all of the islands probably), interesting excursions, decent port towns and no overwhelming poverty. We like looking at beautiful beaches but we would not lie on the beach or swim in the ocean. We're both seniors and aren't interested in activities involving lots of physical exertion. We've been to Bermuda and like it a lot (we're going back in May). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Like noted by this Virginia traveler, we had not done much in the Caribbean and are not that big of beach folks. Until a year ago!! As detailed below on my live/blog, we did ten different islands in the Caribbean. We enjoyed some locations better than others. My pictures and visuals show and document a wide range of the options. Four of the best and most interesting were Dominica, Grenada, Barbados and San Juan.

Among the key "loves" for us with these top four were enjoying the "natural", varied landscapes, rainforests, etc. Plus, some of these locations had some great history, interesting architecture, etc. Happy to answer any added questions. Just post on my live/blog and I will be happy to provide added info, respond to your interests, etc.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 37,418 views for these postings.

We are not beach people and enjoy cruising in the Caribbean. There is a variety of activities and shore excursions available, many of which do not require a lot of physical exertion.

You might be interested in viewing my wife's website at the links below. She takes pictures on all of our cruises and makes slideshows for her website. Viewing pictures might help you decide which itinerary you might enjoy.

We have cruised the Caribbean and visited quite a number of the islands. We don't sit on the beaches, but enjoy the scenery. All the islands are different and have their own particular charm.

The two islands we haven't enjoyed as much as others are Aruba and St Maarten as they seem much more commercialised than some of the others.

We have really liked Grenada, St Lucia, Domenica and Antigua. We would also love to do a Panama Canal cruise with full transit.

The ship will normally offer several shore excursions in all ports of call geared toward those who aren't "beach people". :)

Some of our most enjoyable port visits have been those where we went ashore and just walked around the shopping areas near the ship. We did some shopping, bought some souvenirs, my wife took pictures as we went along, then we returned to the ship.

Many port areas are safe, but others are not. Do research before deciding where to take a walk about the pier.

Happy cruising!

The ports with heavy shopping are definitely St Thomas and St Maarten, and Aruba is very touristy and "Americanized" as well. We've stayed on STT several times and on SXM once and we're returning later this year for a week. Both are great islands to stay on or visit for a day as you can see nearby islands as well like STJ and Anguilla. Aruba doesn't interest us in the least however. Nice beaches full of condos and resorts but little else.

But even if you come to enjoy the Caribbean and don't care for laying on the beaches or for any of the water sports, the island tours on STT or SXM are a nice way to get a flavor of the island's history and get away from the congested shopping areas. Day sails are also a great experience on any of the islands.

I would never dream of doing an overpriced ship excursion in the Caribbean, just not necessary. Although we don't go to the beaches we love to see the islands.

JimAOK1945

Thank you for posting the photos of your cruises. WOW! I really enjoyed "researching" the places I would like to visit via your post. Thank You!

Tammy

I'm glad you had the opportunity to view the pictures. I will let my wife know you enjoyed them. When we first started cruising, we did a lot of research looking at pictures to help with making our choices. Since it helped us, I thought posting links to my wife's website would help others make decisions. We haven't cruised as much as some of the more knowledgeable veterans here on Cruise Critic, but I like to help whenever I can. Have a great cruise!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Forums mobile app

We LOVED San Juan, Puerto Rico! We did a historical walk excursion (via Carnival) which took us all over SAN Juan and the famous fort. The tour ended in town where we had lunch at a restaurant in town (not included in the excursion). The history and architecture are amazing! To me, SJ is a blend of Europe, Africa and Latin America. I would love to just actually plan a vacation there some day or go on a cruise leaving from there and extend my stay. I've only been in one cruise, but that was my favorite port.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We're not beach people either. But just back, off of the Fascination a week or so ago and spent 3 extra days in San Juan and loved it. Saw the Forts and Old San Juan but our highlight was El Yunque Rainforest. Had a great time there.

St Lucia was another favorite as far as where the ship went. Loved seeing the Pitons.

For historical interest I would do the Southern Caribbean, especially on cruises starting in San Juan - Old San Juan is fascinating, we took a tour with an historical architect that was amazing. Lunch on the patio at Convento hotel is great as well, stay a few days extra. We enjoyed Barbados, St Kitts etc. I am not a beach person and do not like to shop, don't want more stuff! We really enjoyed our time.