Royal Caribbean Excursions Advice

Hi all,

First, please note I did post the following questions in the individual port forums here, but the response has been next to nil. I have a strong hunch that many more people visit this forum than those specialized ones, and so I'm hoping I might get some excursion opinions by posting here as well.

Next May, we'll be on the Oasis for both Western and Eastern itineraries. It's our 25th anniversary and my wife's birthday, as well as our first visit to the Caribbean.

We've got our excursions for the Western itinerary pretty much locked down, but for the eastern....well, nothing seems to be jumping out at us. Being our first visits to these islands, we would like a good overview while avoiding anything in-water activities (I do not swim) or anything too expensive.

For the sake of this discussion, let's assume we are definitely going to take an excursion offered by RCI. (We are not locked to this, but I'd like to avoid the "you've gotta try this tour operator!" digressions, just for this thread. Rest assured, we are considering other options...)

So here are the three excursions we have identified as most appealing. I would love to get the honest opinion of any who have actually gone on these specific tours to see if they are worth the time and money. Here's the list:

Nassau, Bahamas - NS50: Forts & Pirates

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas - ST01: 5 Star Island Tour

Philipsburg, St. Maarten - SMD2: The Ultimate Island Tour: Explorer Cruise & Island Tour

Any and all opinions and advice would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks in advance!

First...get a guidebook on those ports and see EVERYTHING that each place has! THEN, you can decide if those excursions fit into what interests you. You may find things that don't require ANY excursion at all! Whether you pay a guide or DIY, getting to know something about your destinations will enhance your time ashore greatly.

First...get a guidebook on those ports and see EVERYTHING that each place has! THEN, you can decide if those excursions fit into what interests you. You may find things that don't require ANY excursion at all! Whether you pay a guide or DIY, getting to know something about your destinations will enhance your time ashore greatly.

The above is the best advice! So, ditto.

Hi all,................

 

................... Here's the list:

 

Nassau, Bahamas - NS50: Forts & Pirates

 

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas - ST01: 5 Star Island Tour

 

Philipsburg, St. Maarten - SMD2: The Ultimate Island Tour: Explorer Cruise & Island Tour

 

Any and all opinions and advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

Many thanks in advance!

You have choosen well. Our plan for the first visits is uaually an overview excursion. Something like "the best of......" or "introduction to...." or "historic sites in ........". I'm sure you get the picture. That way you will know more about what you want to see next time. :)

FYI: All RCI excursions require you to wear a life vest while on the water. To stand in 3 feet of water to kiss a dolphin you have to have a life vest on. So, swim or not, you can enjoy the security and the fun of the water excursions. :cool:

IMO (and this is MY opinion) - I have never enjoyed the island tours. If you have a role call, see if anyone is getting a group together. To me, sitting on a bus, stopping at shopping places, etc. is not fun.

St. Thomas - I'd go to Trunk Bay, St. John if you want to see one of the most beautiful beaches. Or go to town and walk around or head to Megan's beach or something.

St. Maarten - Orient Beach or anything like that. French side is so interesting.

Nassau - I've never done forts and pirates, but I think Atlantis is the place to go.

Good luck planning - it really depends on YOUR tastes and preferences.

So here are the three excursions we have identified as most appealing. I would love to get the honest opinion of any who have actually gone on these specific tours to see if they are worth the time and money. Here's the list:

 

Nassau, Bahamas - NS50: Forts & Pirates

 

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas - ST01: 5 Star Island Tour

 

Philipsburg, St. Maarten - SMD2: The Ultimate Island Tour: Explorer Cruise & Island Tour

 

Any and all opinions and advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

Many thanks in advance!

Unfortunately I haven't been on any of those specific tours you mentioned but we have taken ships tours at each place and can offer opinions on those...

St Maarten - our first trip there we did the Americas Cup Sailing Regatta - this is still one of my favorite excursions, it was a lot of fun and you can be as active as you want on the yacht during the race, my wife was a "winch wench".

Our next visit there we did the Loterie Farm Treetop Adventure - Ziplines and the like. That was our first zip line experience and we have done several since then and this is one of the best if not THE best we have had.

St Thomas - Water Island bike tour...you take a short boat trip to the nearby island and then they take you to the highest part of the island and you bike around the island ending up on the beach to swim and relax.

Then we did the Carib. Sail to Christmas and Honeymoon Cove. They serve drinks the whole way, provide snorkel equipment and you can snorkel on your own at Christmas cove, then they bring you to Honeymoon Beach and you can either swim to the shore or they will transport you by small motor boat and you get lunch.

Nassau we just did Atlantis.

If you have any questions about those particular tours we did please ask.

We also like Island tours when we first go to a port. If nothing jumps out maybe you could just "wing it". There will be cabs at most of the ports and they can offer excursions and tours. We've been very lucky. If you are interested in other operators, let us know. Most of the people I've talked to on here don't pay the crazy prices for tours offered through the cruise line.

I'm going to Nassau in Oct. not a fan of excursions because they charge too much and limit your time. I went on Trip Advisors and put in Nassau. All your choices come up with people's reviews. You can walk or take a cab or bus really cheap. I've read that if you take a cab make sure it's licensed with that country and then you shouldn't have any trouble. We're going to Fort Charlotte ($5), Ardastra Gardens ($16) - make sure you go on their website and find out when the flamingo march is and when you can feed the parrots apples, Balcony House (free), Straw market and hang out on Junkanoo beach which you can walk to from the cruise.

Since I'm not going to the other ports I don't know, but go on Trip Advisor and just put those cities in

Thank you all for your advice and opinions. We have a lot to think about... Please keep them coming! :)

I'm trying to get enough people from our roll call to do the "Bites of Nassau" Tour. Is not an RCI tour and looks very interesting and would fit into our short stop in Nassau :)

...

Our next visit there we did the Loterie Farm Treetop Adventure - Ziplines and the like. That was our first zip line experience and we have done several since then and this is one of the best if not THE best we have had.

Hi KreiderCarter - could you go into a bit more detail on this particular excursion? We were going to do the zipline at Labadee the week before, but (considering the price for 2 people for a 90 second "zip") have opted to a pay a few bucks more and reserved a Cabana instead. That leaves us with just the zip line on board and we LOVE zip lines. Did one up in Vancouver when visiting on the Mariner and it was fantastic!

Thanks!

Hi KreiderCarter - could you go into a bit more detail on this particular excursion? We were going to do the zipline at Labadee the week before, but (considering the price for 2 people for a 90 second "zip") have opted to a pay a few bucks more and reserved a Cabana instead. That leaves us with just the zip line on board and we LOVE zip lines. Did one up in Vancouver when visiting on the Mariner and it was fantastic!

 

Thanks!

No problem.

It's been a few years so bear with me, we took a bus to the other side of the island maybe 40-45 minute ride or so. Once there you do an orientation and a safety brief and try the first line which is really close to the ground.

The course includes, zip lines, walking suspended lines, swinging from tree to tree...it is fairly long course and finishes with a long fast zip line where they take your picture (which is available for a fee of course). It isn't the highest course (altitude wise) but it was probably the longest course timewise and it had more variety--it wasn't just one zip line to the next.