Is St Lucia a must-see port?

Hi

after finding a perfect (for me) itinerary for april 2016, 10 days eastern voyager on royal princess, im looking for an alternative purely because im not happy with the age groups on princess kids clubs. mine will be 6 and 8, so I think RCI will be better so they can be together. Please note I didn't originally consider them because I was not fussed about ice skating and water slides, etc, my kids will be happy with a regular pool.

BUT we are coming all that way, so maybe we should just make the most of it!

Trouble is, im really stuck on giving up on st lucia, as not other itineraries include it that suit.

So im considering 7 night east + 7 night west on freedom (or similar ports on allure/oasis, but I feel the ship is just far too big)

or 8 night eastern on navigator

im just really stuck because I didn't really have an interest in western, and just wanted to see more of the east than just st Thomas and st marten.

there doesn't really seem to be any other that sees as many islands eastern as the princess :(

I feel flying to san juan will be too much for us (4 flights!) and same with the anthem from new York (not to mention price)

plus I would also like to see at least one Bahama island.

so out of the princess ports of

st Thomas

Antigua

Barbados

st lucia

st kitts

which ones are really a must see?

TIA :)

Personally I really like all of them, and would love an itinerary that includes all of them. The Eastern and Southern Caribbean itineraries and ports are much nicer than the Western.

JMHO

The Bahamas are nothing to write home about, IMO. What is it that you want to see in the Bahamas? Could care less if I never went to Nassau or Freeport again. Would much prefer the Princess itineary you listed.

Roz

St Lucia is one of the best ports because it has:

Worlds' only drive through volcano, La Soufriere

Pitons (viewing and rock climbing)

world class snorkeling

Botanical garden

great shopping

about 30 outstanding beaches

Banana catsup and banana plantations

Tet Paul Nature Trail

Mome Coubaril Estate

St Lucia Rainforest (hiking)

and so much more!

The Bahamas are nothing to write home about, IMO. What is it that you want to see in the Bahamas? Could care less if I never went to Nassau or Freeport again. Would much prefer the Princess itineary you listed.

 

Roz

I was mainly thinking of the private islands each line has

Well that is quite different. Half Moon Cay is paradise.

Roz

I like all of those ports; St. Lucia is beautiful, but not so wonderful that it is a must-see to me. May favorite ports are S. Caribbean followed by Eastern, then Western.

The Bahamas are ok, but if I was skipping anything, it would be them, even on a cruise line private island. I actually like the RCI private stop at Labadee better.

Remember that with kids, at least most kids, sightseeing, scenery and tours are a lot less important than to adults. They like something active, especially beach time. Most are bored by seeing the sights.

There are plenty of 14 day cruises that hit a wide variety of islands. However, I have not researched the ages in the kid's clubs and there will be fewer kids total on longer cruises.

Hi

after finding a perfect (for me) itinerary for april 2016, 10 days eastern voyager on royal princess, im looking for an alternative purely because im not happy with the age groups on princess kids clubs. mine will be 6 and 8, so I think RCI will be better so they can be together. Please note I didn't originally consider them because I was not fussed about ice skating and water slides, etc, my kids will be happy with a regular pool.

BUT we are coming all that way, so maybe we should just make the most of it!

 

Trouble is, im really stuck on giving up on st lucia, as not other itineraries include it that suit.

So im considering 7 night east + 7 night west on freedom (or similar ports on allure/oasis, but I feel the ship is just far too big)

or 8 night eastern on navigator

im just really stuck because I didn't really have an interest in western, and just wanted to see more of the east than just st Thomas and st marten.

there doesn't really seem to be any other that sees as many islands eastern as the princess :(

I feel flying to san juan will be too much for us (4 flights!) and same with the anthem from new York (not to mention price)

plus I would also like to see at least one Bahama island.

 

so out of the princess ports of

st Thomas

Antigua

Barbados

st lucia

st kitts

which ones are really a must see?

TIA :)

My favorite port from your selection would be St. Thomas only because you can visit the island of St. John's which is absolutely beautiful and has one of the world's top ten beaches, Truck Bay. Two thirds of this island is a state park, this island is a must see.

IMO, not crazy about the Bahamas or Western Caribbean and we don't book any sailings going there.

St. Lucia is a port where we take an organized tour, as the roads are narrow and winding. A 3 hour ship's tour is just right for us.

I would say Antigua if you like history; English Harbour is really interesting. Barbados is beautiful and has an interesting history and some cool historic sites. I LOVE St. Kitts. Brimstone Hill fortress is fascinating, Caribelle Batik has some wonderful items, and the sugar train tour is a great way to see the island.

St. Thomas is a meh for me, over-crowded and over-priced, although entering and leaving the harbor is spectacular. St. John is much more beautiful, and only a short ferry ride away, if you DO end up going there.

I wasn't thrilled with St. Lucia. The pitons look just as good from the ship as it sails by as they do up close, and the beach by the pitons wasn't all that great. IDK about the other beaches, though. The volcano was really interesting.

St Kitts and Barbados are my two favorites. Barbados is a must have port for me. The island is beautiful and there is a wide variety of activities available.

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You're going to get such a range of opinions here...personally I really liked Nassau (because the activities we did there were super-fun) and hated St. Lucia (because of a very bad experience with aggressive & dishonest beach vendors). None of that means that your experiences would be similar.

It's too bad that you don't think you could tolerate the kids club structure on Princess; their itinerary on the 10 day is very nice. You won't find anything near as good on an RCCL cruise. They have trended towards the ship being the destination for a number of years now and I'd argue have the weakest itineraries of any of the mainstream lines.

I would say Antigua if you like history; English Harbour is really interesting. Barbados is beautiful and has an interesting history and some cool historic sites. I LOVE St. Kitts. Brimstone Hill fortress is fascinating, Caribelle Batik has some wonderful items, and the sugar train tour is a great way to see the island.

St. Thomas is a meh for me, over-crowded and over-priced, although entering and leaving the harbor is spectacular. St. John is much more beautiful, and only a short ferry ride away, if you DO end up going there.

 

I wasn't thrilled with St. Lucia. The pitons look just as good from the ship as it sails by as they do up close, and the beach by the pitons wasn't all that great. IDK about the other beaches, though. The volcano was really interesting.

Agree 100% - what a great port day that was. We loved the warm hospitality of the people and the Sugar Trail excursion was an absolute delight!

Hi

So out of the princess ports of

st Thomas

Antigua

Barbados

st lucia

st kitts

which ones are really a must see?

TIA :)

St. Thomas

Barbados

Antigua

If I were going to skip one port, Nassau would be the one on that list.

We very much like St. Lucia. And Grenada.

Not interested in St. Thomas any more. Not a shopper and it is overrun. They have a growing crime problem that the locals and the cruise lines are desperately trying to keep out of the news. Lots of dollars invested here.

Personally I would cruise for the itinerary I wanted and not for whether the kids can be in the same group at Kids' Club. If your kids are with you in ports, how much time in Kids' Club? Besides, if they are in same group, you are not encouraging them to make friends. If you sign them up the very first night they will be able to mingle better. Just something to think about.

Thanks everyone, this helps, but my decision is no easier!

I have a soft spot for princess due to an awesome honeymoon, one thing that bothers me with the royal though is it seems there is less pool than grand class, a main one and just the little plunge pool (we probably won't use the adults only), where as grand has the 2 big ones, the aft plus the adults.

I've also been looking at shore excursions and RC seem to offer ALOT more and also more for younger ages, like horse riding and a tube river ride for minimum of 6 year olds!! My kids would love that!

So am maybe thinking would have to fly a bit extra. If we left from San Juan, we could do a 7+7 and that gives us heaps of ports so we don't have to pick!! But would the adventure OTS be satisfying enough for us after originally planning on going on a newer ship? the layout seems ok

It's difficult to give an answer without knowing more about what you like. So here's my input, for what it's worth.

St Thomas

This is a very popular port and you can expect there to be several other ships there at the same time. If you like resort beaches and great shopping, you'll like St. Thomas. Personally, I prefer less developed ports, however that still puts St. Thomas high on my list of "must see" ports because I can easily ferry over to St. John. This sister island is 75% protected park land, so much less developed. Trunk Bay is amazing, but you can venture a little further from the ferry dock and find endless beautiful beaches, many with almost no one there! There are historic ruins, amazing vistas and - if you travel just a little way from the dock - virtually no crowds.

Antigua

I've only visited once and did an excursion that involved a tour by water, kayaking in the marshes and a visit to Great Bird Island. (GORGEOUS) I believe there are also some great beaches and shopping in Antigua. I'm afraid my experience with this port is somewhat limited, although I will be visiting again in 2016.

Barbados

This is where I would part company with many other cruisers. If I had to skip a port, this would be my skip. Many people love this island for it's resort beaches and modern amenities. It's a wealthy island. While I have enjoyed snorkeling with the turtles and visiting Harrison Caves on previous visits, I find the beaches to be crawling with very pushy vendors. As I said, I prefer less developed ports of call where the scenery and culture is very different to what I experience back home.

St Lucia

This port will be new to us on our next cruise, but based on my research, it's the port of call I'm MOST excited about. It has those amazing Pitons. It includes some well-known resort beaches, but also has rain forests and an active volcano. It sounds like there is a lot to see here and I can't wait to go!

St Kitts

When I visited for the first time in 2010, this was a port I expected to feel pretty luke-warm about. I was wrong. St. Kitts is an incredibly beautiful island. I've visited on two cruises and both times found that the photos I took there were absolutely amazing. It really is that beautiful. I'd put this in the "must see" class, but if you're more of a shopping/beach resort traveler, you might disagree.

I posted my last response as you were posting your update.

I think you would LOVE Adventure. I cruised on her before her recent dry-dock and she didn't seem "older" at all to me. I'm sure she's even more pristine now.

It has lots of stuff your kids would enjoy. It's a big ship, without being a MEGA ship. If you can find reasonable flights to get to San Juan, I think this would be a GREAT choice.

Thank you, I do like shopping, but also love palm tree lined beaches and the less developed type (the only example I can give I've been to Pago Pago American Samoa, and that was the highlight of all the ports, it was just beautiful)

I was trying to find more info on the refurb, I see that more feature were added, but wasn't clear if it was classified as a 'total' refurb

The only downfall is there is only 1 sea day on each 7 day itinerary, doesn't leave much time to explore and relax on the ship :(

St. Thomas

Barbados

Antigua

This would also be my vote^^

My favorite port from your selection would be St. Thomas only because you can visit the island of St. John's which is absolutely beautiful and has one of the world's top ten beaches, Truck Bay. Two thirds of this island is a state park, this island is a must see.

 

IMO, not crazy about the Bahamas or Western Caribbean and we don't book any sailings going there.

Just for anyone doing any research, it's TRUNK Bay. Probably just an honest typo, but for anyone researching beaches, etc., just wanted them to have the correct info.

Just for anyone doing any research, it's TRUNK Bay. Probably just an honest typo, but for anyone researching beaches, etc., just wanted them to have the correct info.

Yes, it was a typo, thank you for the catch :)

Thanks everyone. We have decided on the 10 day royal princess. Seems the best coverage of the east from ft lauderdale :)