Which one or two ports would you skip and why

Hello-

We are going on a very port heavy 7 night southern caribbean cruise next March out of San Juan. We are stopping at

Philipsburg, St Maarten

Basseterre, St Kitts Nevis

St Johns, Antigua

Castries, St Lucia

Bridgetown, Barbados

We will have a 7 year old and a 16 year old and doubt that we will do an excursion at each port due to budget and also because we do enjoy both the boat and the destinations and do want to have a day or two to relax. That said, which one or two ports would you consider skipping and why? Or conversely which do you consider a must see? thanks so much in advance!

Hello-

We are going on a very port heavy 7 night southern caribbean cruise next March out of San Juan. We are stopping at

Philipsburg, St Maarten

Basseterre, St Kitts Nevis

St Johns, Antigua

Castries, St Lucia

Bridgetown, Barbados

We will have a 7 year old and a 16 year old and doubt that we will do an excursion at each port due to budget and also because we do enjoy both the boat and the destinations and do want to have a day or two to relax. That said, which one or two ports would you consider skipping and why? Or conversely which do you consider a must see? thanks so much in advance!

I wouldn't skip any of them. Places like Antigua, Barbados and St. Kitts aren't often on cruise itineraries, so this may be your only opportunity to visit there. Instead, I would find inexpensive things to do. For example, in St. Maarten, you can walk to town (or take the water taxi) where there is a nice beach and the main shopping district. Go to the ports of call board for each place and ask for advice on inexpensive things you can do, things around the port area, etc, and make a plan from there.

Speaking of inexpensive excursions, in St. Maarten you can take a bus to Maho Beach (where the airplanes are landing right over the beach) for $4pp, round-trip.

We have been to St. Johns twice. Most recently in February. That would be my choice to skip. In February we just walked from ship into port for a few hours but first trip we did excursion, which by the way, we enjoyed.

I would recommend you thoroughly checl out the ports area of CC and make your own decision. Check to see what excursions are offered by ship, join roll call for your cruise and get suggestions there or maybe join others. St. Maarten is where many people shop for jewelry or just shop. You may not want to pay for an excursion. Also, there are private (non ship) excursions I have read about on CC that you may want to check.

Enjoy your cruise.

It costs nothing to walk around the ports. I wouldn't skip any of them either.....and you can always do research for free beaches.

I would most definitely NOT skip any of them.

If I had to, it would be St. Maarten simple because I've been there many times. Not sure why anyone would book a cruise from San Juan to skip a port or two.

You do NOT have to do "excursions" at ANY port! Get a guidebook...see what is in each place (libraries have guidebooks...costs you nothing!)..and make plans to do things on your own! There is no need for guides...English is spoken, and the US Dollar is accepted. With a bit of research, you can have plenty of fun, see new things, and do it on the cheap!!!

You don't have to stay ashore ALL day, if you do want some ship time without crowds, but I would get off at ALL of those ports! Now, Nassau, I've been know to stay on the ship!

I have been to all of those and I wouldn't skip any of them. We really enjoyed each of them! :cool:

We are doing this itinerary in August with our kids, 11 and 13. We tried last summer, but we had weather related itinerary changes and only got to St. Maarten before heading down to Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao instead. We booked onboard to try again this summer. We don't do ship excursions in general, but always have a plan before we come off the ship, even if the plan is just bargaining with taxi drivers. Anyway, here are our current plans. My DH and I have previously visited all of these ports except St. Lucia. St. Kitts and Barbados will also be new for my children.

St. Maarten - since we were there last year and did an all day tour (Bernard's - http://www.bernardstours.com/) hitting the popular spots, we will probably just ferry over to Phillipsburg and walk around for a few hours.

St. Kitts - we will walk to Palms Court Gardens and spend the morning lounging at the pool.(http://www.palmscourtgardens.com/)

Antigua - we will take a taxi to a beach, probably Valley Church.

St. Lucia - we have booked Spencer Ambrose's Land, Sea & Beach Adventure (http://spencerambrose.com/island-tours/spencers-land-and-sea-adventure1/)

Barbados - we have booked Calypso catamaran (http://barbadoscatamaran.com/)

Agree with other posters. If you sign up for this itinerary you know you will be doing a lot. Pick a different itinerary if you don't want to enjoy the ports. The Aruba route is a bit more relaxing, but you are flying to San Juan specifically because of the port-intensive routes.

All of these ports have good places to walk around, although vendors a bit aggressive in Antigua. Some of the beach break excursions are pretty inexpensive. Look at all the possible excursions, pick the ones you might be interested in, and have family help select. Then prioritize and decide what you can afford and where you want to just walk into town.

Our first trip on this itinerary we tried to do snorkeling in four ports - not a great idea. Alternate easy (or none) and harder excursions. We did have some kids on 4x4 Land Rover excursions that got pretty bored with the scenery but loved the beach part. This was Island Safari 4x4 Off Road in Antigua. I would highly recommend the Ultimate Beach and Snorkel tour in St Maarten, but it has an 8 year old limit. Inflatable boat does 50 or so, great snorkeling, great beach and short stop to watch the planes. Did get to snorkel with turtles in Barbados, but was a zoo with three boats there and only a few turtles. In contrast, 4x4 in Barbados was very back road and great beach stop.

If you haven't picked a hotel, we vastly prefer the Isla Verde area near the airport - reef protects the miles long beach, unlike the Condado area. More kid-friendly fast food as well. Large Pueblo grocery near Embassy. Around $23 cab to ship, and ship to airport (zoned taxis, so fixed rate for various trips). Keep checking hotel prices, since they vary all over the place.

Agricultural inspection of all luggage before you check in at airport going home. And airlines don't like taking luggage more than 4 hours before flight. Had to pay $20/bag to store them. In American terminal only one small coffee bar outside security and no seating.

If you have a National Parks pass, it is good at the forts. And a flashlight isn't a bad idea in some of the tunnels.

In St. Maarten, Antigua, and Barbados it's easy and take a taxi for a day at the beach. :)

If I HAD to pick one, it would be Barbados - but only bc I thought the excursions were limited. Maybe I just didn't pick a good one last time.

You could def save some money in some ports by just taking a taxi and making it a beach day. I agree with others about checking out the Ports of Call Boards on here. You can find beaches close-by and only have to pay a few bucks for chairs and umbrellas and a taxi.

Of your port stops our two daughter never enjoyed St. Lucia as much as they did the others.

Their absolute favorites were Antigua, St. Maarten, and Barbados. :)

I agree with the other comments; I would not choose this itinerary and then stay on the ship. Taxis on these islands are relatively inexpensive - buses are easy in Antigua and St Maarten - and the beaches are public and free if you are willing to just sit on your towels under a tree. The island I would definitely plan an excursion is St Lucia, with St Kitts a close second. The beaches on the remaining three are beautiful so they can all be an inexpensive day. Like others have said, research the islands on the ports of call forum for great options and activities.

No matter what you decide, you will have a great time with your family and wonderful memories. This is a fantastic itinerary and your children are very fortunate to get the opportunity to visit these islands with you.

St. Kitts for sure. Have been there twice and didn't like it at all.

St. Kitts for sure. Have been there twice and didn't like it at all.

For a counterpoint, I loved St. Kitts when we went. We did a taxi tour of the island (with awesome views and picture opportunities) and we stopped at an awesome little restaurant right on the beach that was way off the beaten path. Probably not the safest thing to do looking back on it, but it is one of our favorite memories of islands in the Caribbean.

Thank you for all the input, I really appreciate it. For those of your wondering why we chose this, yes we were aware it was port heavy, but there is a larger group of us and it is what accommodates the group best from a destination, budget, and boat perspective and bc we love going to new places, everyone is excited about San Juan. We probably will get off the boat all days but just wanted to get a feel for the must do's I guess. Also, since our kiddos are 9 years apart we are looking for things that will appeal to both. I have been getting great ideas from the port boards. We cruised Alaska a few years ago and loved it for the scenery but port excursions (even booked privately, we never book through the boat) were very expensive and the ports themselves we felt were all very similar and generically touristy for the most part. So I guess I was trying to get a feel as to what really stands out, or stood out for you and your families. Thanks again!

Hello-

We are going on a very port heavy 7 night southern caribbean cruise next March out of San Juan. We are stopping at

Philipsburg, St Maarten

Basseterre, St Kitts Nevis

St Johns, Antigua

Castries, St Lucia

Bridgetown, Barbados

We will have a 7 year old and a 16 year old and doubt that we will do an excursion at each port due to budget and also because we do enjoy both the boat and the destinations and do want to have a day or two to relax. That said, which one or two ports would you consider skipping and why? Or conversely which do you consider a must see? thanks so much in advance!

I don't see any ports on that itinerary to skip. There is no reason to do excursions, just go to the beach, especially in St. Martin, and St. John/

Go to your StL. library as said here. Get out Frommers ,Fodors and Lonely Planet Caribbean Ports books. LP good for public transportation. Fodors has excellent maps and Frommers good all around.You will find cheap public buses on almost all of these ports.To me St. Kitts of least interest.

I'm not a beach person, so I'd skip Antigua and St Martin. We prefer to visit historical landmarks or natural wonders. St kitts had the brimstone fortress and was am absolute must for me. I can't get enough of Barbados, it is absolutely beautiful.

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

Hello-

We are going on a very port heavy 7 night southern caribbean cruise next March out of San Juan. We are stopping at

Philipsburg, St Maarten

Basseterre, St Kitts Nevis

St Johns, Antigua

Castries, St Lucia

Bridgetown, Barbados

We will have a 7 year old and a 16 year old and doubt that we will do an excursion at each port due to budget and also because we do enjoy both the boat and the destinations and do want to have a day or two to relax. That said, which one or two ports would you consider skipping and why? Or conversely which do you consider a must see? thanks so much in advance!

Just did these ports and it would be a toss up between Antigua & St Lucia...

However really consider when in Barbados to book a tour with Glory Tours directly with them on their website...your boys will love the tours they offer !!

Do the four of you have to stay together? One parent could stay on board while the others go ashore. It may also be possible to leave a kid or two with whatever children's program your line offers.

Hello-

We are going on a very port heavy 7 night southern caribbean cruise next March out of San Juan. We are stopping at

Philipsburg, St Maarten

Basseterre, St Kitts Nevis

St Johns, Antigua

Castries, St Lucia

Bridgetown, Barbados

We will have a 7 year old and a 16 year old and doubt that we will do an excursion at each port due to budget and also because we do enjoy both the boat and the destinations and do want to have a day or two to relax. That said, which one or two ports would you consider skipping and why? Or conversely which do you consider a must see? thanks so much in advance!

In answer to what you asked, if I were to skip 2 of the ports it would be Antigua and St. Kitts.

I selected Antigua because when asking for directions and getting them I was then asked for $5 or $10 by the Antiguan who helped me. Considering the exchange rate, he wanted US dollars, I thought it was brazen to ask. I did give him money for his "help". I was at Nelsons Dockyard and paid $3.50 for a Coke, the next person who bought a Coke, I was standing there drinking mine, was only charged $2.50.

Is it me???:)

St.Kitts because, despite enjoying my 3 visits there, I was not taken with that island to the extent that I have been with the other ports you are visiting. If you are a beach person, St. Kitts is not know for its beaches.

We have been to all those ports many times. We are no longer beach people.

Whether you take a tour or not, I would definitely get off the ship in all the ports and at least walk around a little.

Do the four of you have to stay together? One parent could stay on board while the others go ashore. It may also be possible to leave a kid or two with whatever children's program your line offers.

Or each parent could take one child a do their own excursion based on that child's interest. One on one time is priceless, and doing seperate activities gives you more to talk about at dinner.