Which southern caribbean itinerary?

#1 St Thomas, St Kitts, Aruba, Curacao

#2 St Croix, St Maarten, Antigua, St Lucia, Barbados

#3 St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Antigua, St Lucia, Barbados

We don't like shopping or laying on the beach and are looking for a more adventurous excursions. Which ports are better?

#1 St Thomas, St Kitts, Aruba, Curacao

 

#2 St Croix, St Maarten, Antigua, St Lucia, Barbados

 

#3 St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Antigua, St Lucia, Barbados

 

We don't like shopping or laying on the beach and are looking for a more adventurous excursions. Which ports are better?

I would choose #2. Been to St Thomas a few time and I didn't care for St Kitts.

I want to go back to St Lucia to hike the Piton.

What ship is #2 on? I might wanna book it LOL

All three are on Adventure of the Seas.

I would look at all the excursions (ship or private) for each of those ports and then make a decision based on what your preference would be for each port.

I love Curacao and Aruba. St Thomas is always nice with plenty to do.

Curacao is just one of those pretty islands that is amazingly clean with friendly people. The Dutch influence is very obvious. While I wouldn't drink Heineken at home, when you're at Curacao, it is an entirely different, very European beer.

Aruba has the most amazing beaches. We took a five dollar bus ride that took us to all the beaches. It's kind of funny seeing Dutch windmills in the Caribbean!

St. Thomas has it all. Even better, it's part of the United States so your cell phones work there and you can mail postcards at U.S. postage rates. Sounds hoakie, but we enjoyed taking a tour at Blackbeard's castle. Great view of the island, nice tours of historical homes and free rum samples!

I haven't been to St. Kitts, so I can't comment on that.

I have been to Barbados and really don't want to go back. The people were amazingly rude and I had a sense of overall dirtiness. The only thing I can say is that they were very honest in their dislike of Americans.

Well, that's my two cents! I think you'll have a great cruise no matter which itinerary you take!

1 love Aruba

#1

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I'd do number one ... as a matter of fact, that's the one we're looking to do in 2016 ... just waiting for itineraries to be released. It all depends on what you like to do, but we did the zip line in St. Kitts last December ... it was so much fun. And I second the recommendation for Aruba as a beach day. The bus is easy to use and you actually get a few coins in local currency for change when you hand over a $5 (instant souvenir). Lots of available water sports if you want to kick it up a notch at the beach (which we did).

I was also singularly unimpressed with Barbados. I even took a highly rated excursion and it was a disappointment. Now the addition of St. Lucia is tempting. I really want to fit that one in at some point, but if that's the only port that really has an strong appeal for me, it's hard to lean in that direction.

The other thing I like about number one is that you have 2 ports ... then a sea day (to relax and recharge). Then 2 more ports and another sea day. The opposite side of the coin is 5 ports in a row, followed by that last sea day ... by which time you're at the point of collapse.

I would also do Aruba and Curacao. More interesting to me.

We did #2 backin 2010 on Serenade and enjoyed all except St Croix. If you are Adventurous there is an awesome zip line excursion in Antigua where you zip line Down a mountain via a series of 13 zip line of various lengths. As I said it was awesome! We are booked for #1 in 2015!

I'll take one of each please! :)

St Kitts also has awesome zip lining. St Maarten has America's Cup,

Barbados has snorkeling with the giant sea turtles., we went mountain biking in St Lucia. We beached it in St Croix and Antiqua, went parasailing in Aruba. Every island has it's charm.

Have fun choosing!

I picked number 3 for my Southern Caribbean for next year. I would have liked to go the ARbua one that leaves it for next time :D

If the cruise is at Christmas time stay away from Aruba. Aruba has bad weather every Christmas.

I would go with # 1...

I would take 1. LOVE Curacao and Aruba.

1 or 3. I really enjoyed St. Kitts. I have not been to Curacao.

I had this choice too...and chose your option #1...So excited since I'm sailing on the Jewel in less than 2 weeks :D

Every island offers something besides shopping and beaches. Spend some time at each section here for those islands and decide what seems best for you. That will be a lot more informative and helpful in making your decision. I will say, snorkeling with the turtles on the Silver Moon catamaran on Barbados is awesome:) Also, for a Southern cruise I'd recommend going with 5 ports instead of 4. If you're looking for adventure go to St. Lucia and hike the Pitons.

For those of you that enjoyed Curacao and Aruba what excursions did you do?

I love Curacao and Aruba. St Thomas is always nice with plenty to do.

 

Curacao is just one of those pretty islands that is amazingly clean with friendly people. The Dutch influence is very obvious. While I wouldn't drink Heineken at home, when you're at Curacao, it is an entirely different, very European beer.

 

Aruba has the most amazing beaches. We took a five dollar bus ride that took us to all the beaches. It's kind of funny seeing Dutch windmills in the Caribbean!

 

St. Thomas has it all. Even better, it's part of the United States so your cell phones work there and you can mail postcards at U.S. postage rates. Sounds hoakie, but we enjoyed taking a tour at Blackbeard's castle. Great view of the island, nice tours of historical homes and free rum samples!

 

!

Sometimes I wonder if people actually read questions before responding. The OP specifically stated they weren't interested in beaches and were looking for adventure. Maybe there's something adventurous in Curacao, but it isn't the cleanliness or friendly people.......

As for Barbados - we've been there three times and loved it. All the people we met were friendly, and we didn't notice an "overall dirtiness", whatever that is:rolleyes:

For those of you that enjoyed Curacao and Aruba what excursions did you do?

Eagle Beach in Aruba and Seaquarium Beach in Curacao. Nice snorkeling in Curacao.

I chose all 3 this year. :D I don't think you can go wrong with any of them,

Research the ports and see which fit your criteria.

Hi- In answer to your question about excursions:

In Curacao there are many options for historic and scenic excursions.

We went on a tour which included the Curacao Museum, Jan Thiel, and the Curacao Liqueur Factory and ended with a walking tour of Willemstad.

We saw a good portion of the island.

There is plenty to do on this interesting island. There are many adventurous excursions. Check the Curacao forum for more ideas.

In Aruba, we went on a tour which included stops at the Aloe Factory, Casabiri Rocks, and the new Natural Bridge. We passed many other points

of interest which our guide explained. We saw almost 2/3 of the island.

Again- check the Aruba forum.

I chose all 3 this year. :D I don't think you can go wrong with any of them,

YOU ARE BACK! Lurk way more than I post but I noticed awhile back you had not posted in a long time. I asked about you but didn't get any responses. Glad to see you posting!