Southern Carribean regulars help

Hello,

We are on the jewel out of P.R. in March. It has 5 ports in the week and we would like some input on the islands excursions and beaches.

Which islands you liked for excursions / hanging on the beach for the day/ worth a island tour.

We do not want to hang on the beach all day except for maybe 2 of the stops if they are incredible.

Don't want to burn ourselves out running for 5 days either [ getting old ]

Pleaese help out.

Islands are

St. Thomas

St. Croix

St. Johns Antigua

St. Lucia

St. George

Thanks,B.K.:)

Some research on the Ports boards, here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587

would be beneficial.

Go to your library and pick up a guidebook on the Caribbean...so much info, and it will really help you decide which islands have anything of interest to see...or not! And, you will probably find that whatever you want to do (for the most part) will require NO excursion at all!

Antigua - worth taking a taxi or van tour, there'll be plenty plus sharers on the pier. To Shirley Heights, at the other end of the island, then down to Nelson's dockyard (good pub there for lunch). Then back via Fig Tree Drive (they're bananas, don't ask :D) and west coast beaches. Take your beach gear for a stop at one of them, driver might wait for you or return at a prearranged time to take you back to the ship.

As always, agree a price & timescale before you board, pay in USD cash when you get back, its the norm. As on other islands, drivers at the port are friendly & trustworthy, known to the authorities & to each-other. They know their island & they know the importance of back-on-board time. Be much more wary of offers further from the port - they may not even be legit licensed drivers.

St Lucia. Same routine, but a longer trip. Out via Morne Rouge, photostop at Marigot Bay, past the Pitons & fishing village to the Drive-in Volcano at Soufriere (its not up to much, but quite interesting bubbling mud and smell of rotten eggs), small waterfall, then back.

Driver can drop you at the ship, or you can ask him to drop you at a beach. Main choices are:

Choc beach. Ten minutes past the ship, palm-fringed crescent beach, safe swimming. Usually very quiet, mebbe a few locals and tourists. Just one comfortable bar, no toys. You might want to ask the driver to pull in so you can check it out. If quiet & idyllic isn't your scene he can carry on a further 10 - 15 mins to Reduit beach at Rodney Bay - main tourist beach, lots of bars, toys, amenities.

Whichever you choose, arrange a time for the driver to return for you.

The main town, Castries, is pretty grubby & unsavoury, but the rest of the island is fine.

St George??

Do you mean on the spice island of Grenada?

Similar routine. Drive up into the rain-forest, spice stop (little demo by locals, opportunity to buy but not pestered), waterfall, back to the fort overlooking the town & ship. Most folk will want to be dropped at Grand Anse beach - lots of loungers etc to rent, drinks service all along the beach, safe swimming, inflatables & such. Then take the water-taxi (about $6) back to the ship.

Or you could walk into town to the spice market (but needs to be first-thing) then take that water taxi from near the ship to Grand Anse beach.

So all three (and many other islands), a morning tour ending at a beach or shops or back at the ship.

All cheap & easy & laid-back.

St Thomas is likely to be your best bet for shopping.

JB :)

For St Lucia...try COSOL tours. Can read about it in the "Ports" boards. Whatever you decide...enjoy that cruise! [emoji572]️[emoji572]️[emoji1]

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Some research on the Ports boards, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587

 

would be beneficial.

While you'll get some suggestions here, you would get SO MANY MORE by going to the Ports of Call board (per above) and checking under each of your port stops.

Great itinerary! Look forward to having a wonderful cruise! :D

LuLu

Thanks all for replies.

I did check out the ports board. I did also buy a book. I am looking for some input , or basically ranking what islands are worth just hanging out at or touring, I'm sure some people here must have been to most or all of the islands.

B.K.

Hello,

We are on the jewel out of P.R. in March. It has 5 ports in the week and we would like some input on the islands excursions and beaches.

Which islands you liked for excursions / hanging on the beach for the day/ worth a island tour.

We do not want to hang on the beach all day except for maybe 2 of the stops if they are incredible.

Don't want to burn ourselves out running for 5 days either [ getting old ]

Pleaese help out.

Islands are

St. Thomas

St. Croix

St. Johns Antigua

St. Lucia

St. George

Thanks,B.K.:)

St. Thomas. You can shop, shopping is great there. Or, take a ferry over to St. John and either find a nice beach, or take an island tour. I did the island tour. I just took the ship's excursion over to the island and then found a taxi driver for the tour. There were only three of us on the tour, so I had a whole row in the taxi to myself. The views were amazing.

St. Croix. I've only been there once and took a ship's excursion to Christiansted. It was interesting enough, but I found myself wishing I'd gone snorkeling instead because people who went snorkeling to Buck Island said it was fantastic.

Antigua has really nice beaches. All I've ever done there is sail/snorkel, and hang out at a beach. The most recent time, we went to the Coconut Beach Club which was an all inclusive beach day. Simply fantastic.

St. Lucia. I've done the land & sea excursion twice, and I'd do it again. Seeing the Pitons up close is worth it. A sail along the coast to the Pitons would be fun. I've heard great things about Cosol, but haven't done a tour with them personaly. This past January, for my fifth time there, I opted for another resort beach day. We went to the TiKaye resort - they pick you up near the ship and take you out there by boat. The snorkeling off their beach was terrific. I've also done a ship's excursion that was on a pirate ship and sailed over to a beach with a fortress you could hike up to (I forget the name of the beach). I've never had a bad day in St. Lucia.

. I am looking for some input , or basically ranking what islands are worth just hanging out at or touring,

B.K.

I don't know St Croix.

But for the others - and most Caribbean islands - they're all worth exploring to different degrees.

So can I suggest that instead of dividing between those to tour & those to hang-out you start each day by taking a tour, then mosey around or chill-out in the afternoon.

I don't see you burning yourselves out on any of those islands.;)

As per my post, in the Caribbean you can do this cheaply and easily on-the-fly, and at the end of a tour your driver can drop you at shops, beach, wherever.

Folk have mentioned Cosul Tours in St Lucia. No personal experience, but I too have only heard good things about him. His tours are much the same itinerary as those available at the pier - you'll find him more expensive than them, but with a guarantee of quality rather than the pot-luck of hiring on-the-fly. Pre-book a tour, or fix one at the pier? - your money, your choice.

But for a simple road tour you certainly don't need an over-priced ship's excursion, which is normally inflexible and often has an unavoidable degree of cattle-herding. The only times you need to consider a ship's excursion are if you want to take part in an activity, such as zip-lining or river-tubing, or if it involves specialised transport like 4x4 or a catamaran - the "land and sea" excursion on St Lucia (basically van tour to Soufriere, then sail back past the Pitons) is an example.

JB :)

Cosol Tours are the best for St. Lucia. You get a nice balance of sightseeing via bus and via ferry, and beach time. Snacks and beverages (including beer and rum punch) are included.

WE enjoyed touring Antigua with Lawrence of Antigua. Again, it was a nice balance of sightseeing and beach time.

We did a bicycle excursion on St Croix that we really enjoyed.