bup1224

We did the half day with Big Beard's to Buck Island on January 19. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. The ride over was beautiful. There was not much to see on Turtle Beach, but it was beautiful and we practiced our snorkeling - I had a new dry snorkel that I wanted to try out. We saw some baby turtle tracks from a turtle that had hatched the previous night. We could have left sooner in my opinion, but we did have new snorkelers that needed the practice so I just enjoyed hanging out on the beautiful beach for a while.

 

We then went to the reef. Yes, some of the coral is dead, but we saw a great variety of fish including a nurse shark. The visibility was great. I didn't find the waves rough. There was a current but you just needed to stay aware of where you were in relation to the boat. I did have to swim to get back to the boat because of the current, but it was no big deal, and I wouldn't consider myself a strong swimmer although I'm in decent shape.

 

There is not a trail like at Trunk Bay. The coral just grows up near the surface in some places, so you have to be careful how you navigate through it. The guide led us through, pointed out things to us, then left us to do our own thing for a while. I could have spent a little more time there, it was so great. I was glad we did it.

carolslc - I see you were in St. Croix on a Sunday - was your excursion a full day? If not- were shops, etc. open at the pier?

Thank you for the info!

We did the Coastal Cruise to the Pitons excursion. It was a lot of fun and we loved being out on the catamaran. It's only 4 hours long and would leave you some time to see other things. We're doing it again in April.

spkinva - I am so glad to read your comment - we are going in September and are leaning towards the Coastal Cruise to the Pitons. I like having time to shop in and around the port. Which beach did this one take you to?

Thank you for your quick response - it seems that there is little on here about St. Croix and I appreciate your information. The rum factory sounds like fun.

Hello! We were there recently as a stop on Jewel of the Seas. We grabbed a taxi and toured around and had a good time. Whim plantation was closed as it was 3 Kings Day so instead we went to Cruzan Rum for a tour and a few tastings, on to Christiansted for the fort which was interesting - our teens enjoyed it. Went to Rainbow Beach for a short visit but the restaurant was not serving food so we went on back to the port area for some shopping and then boarded about 3. Our day wasn't amazing but it was an enjoyable day. Rainbow beach was nice but really crowded.

Geauxgirlgeaux - did the taxi driver wait to for you at each stop? If you don't mind - can you share the price of the taxi? Thanks!

We booked an island tour with Pereira Tours and it was fabulous - Liz the owner was great (before and after our trip) and our guide Rose was amazing. We saw Brimstone, Caribe Batik, Dieppe Bay (where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean Sea), Black Rocks. Amazing views from Brimstone - I would highly recommend this tour - very reasonably priced as well.

We used Pereira Tours in September and had Rose as our guide. Went to Caribe Batik, Brimstone, and a few other places. The tour was about 3 hours and much more reasonable than other tours we researched. We loved Rose and everything she showed us.

We were on the Jewel with an 8 PM muster in Sept. 2013. We went to MTD at 6:30 pm - we were rushed through dinner and no dessert for us as we had to go to the muster.

We stopped there in September 2013 - yes still 5 cartons per family, $129 or so - honestly I don't remember where in Downtown Charlotte Amalie we bought them but they were the same price in all the stores in Downtown Charlotte Amalie

We did do this. On our tour we did the shopping first as is was on a Sunday and the stores close early on Sunday in the town. Megan's Bay was nice and Mountaintop was worth going to (for the view) - we didn't buy a thing at Mountaintop. In my opinion, if you haven't been to St. Thomas, it is a nice and reasonably priced way to see a bit of the island. Overall, probably our least favorite tour of our cruise - not that it was bad but just not our favorite.

Also, folks on my RC are wondering who the CD was and how long they have been there? (any mentions of " next week I'm on vacation for 3 months" , or "I just got onboard last week!")

I was on the Sept. 14th sailing - Carly B. is the cruise director - not sure how long she has been there - but we thought she and her staff were great!

I have a May Cruise Compass from Jewel S Caribbean out of SJ and the muster drill is listed twice 5:30 PM guest muster drill and 8 PM guest muster drill only for guest who arrived after 5:30 PM. ( the 8 PM is held in the Coral theater, whereas the earlier one I believe you go to your stations! )

We sailed the Jewel on Sept. 14 and there was no escargot. Muster drill was at 8 pm for us - only 1 muster drill on our sailing.

BTW - stateroom 9014 was great!

We booked through a different tour operator but had Rose as our tour guide last week - we loved her! We felt like a part of her family on the tour!

So glad I saw this post and Isa65's reply - just booked a ship excursion to the beach - looking forward to meeting you Captain Ronn!

I would not say that the beaches in Aruba are better - more commercialized that Curacao. The West End beaches in Curacao were the best I have been to in the Caribbean - the water was so clear in Curacao that we did not need snorkling equip. to see fish, etc.

We have chosen this excursion for our cruise this September - I would be happy to let you know after we are back.

Beach Express is a cruise ship excursion - I called RC yesterday to see if they could/would tell me which beach it goes to and they couldn't find that information. Cruiseapril was nice enought to answer me on another post here.

I am loving your review - on the Jewel in Sept. St. Kitt's is one of our ports and I am glad to see your pictures and the review of your tour.

Anyone have any thoughts on Jewel of the Seas Cabin 9014???

We are in the 1st one in September 2013 for our anniversary - can' wait! We love Aruba and Curacao - the other 2 islands are new for me!

I can't wait to follow along with you. We sail her in September out of San Juan for my first cruise!