Guadalupe - What to do there? Is it worth it?

I currently have a RCCL southern caribbean cruise booked that stops in Guadalupe. I am wondering what this port is like and what there is to do there? Is it even developed really?

I am thinking of changing to a different itinerary that would stop in St. Lucia and St. Croix instead.

Guadeloupe used to be on Carnival and other southern Carib. itineraries when I was a TA back in the '90s but it was dropped by most. It remains popular with the French-based cruiselines and I believe some of the UK ships stop there but I never got positive feedback from my clients.. If you can switch itins I would think about it.. just my opinion..St. Croix isn't my favorite port but it's nice; St Lucia is lovely

We have been there several times and aside from shopping in the very near to where the ship docks area, we don't roam far. We don't think it the most safe port but that is only our experience. Be careful and use common sense.

IMO

Thank you everyone for your advice! I will be switching to the Adventure of the Seas which has stops in St. Lucia and St. Croix instead. I have heard wonderful things about St. Lucia from everyone I talk to.

:) We've been going to St. Lucia for years and enjoy it very much more. :)

Thank you everyone for your advice! I will be switching to the Adventure of the Seas which has stops in St. Lucia and St. Croix instead. I have heard wonderful things about St. Lucia from everyone I talk to.

If you are switching because of safety don't switch to St Croix it has long been an island with a lot of crime. That being said I have not problenm with either Island.

Has anyone been lately and if so what have you done.

We are going to Gaudeloupe next Spring, so interested in hearing more about it.

We did the Adventure w/St. Croix and St. Lucia this Spring.

St. Croix wasn't really much. We walked to the beach at a nearby resort. Didn't feel overly comfortable with the walk and it was pretty run down.

On the other hand, St. Lucia is absolutely beautiful. We did the treetop adventure park there and had a blast.

Has anyone played golf in Guadeloupe? If so, how was the course? How far is it from the pier?

Gaudeloupe is one of the very very few Caribbean ports of call we really did not like a bit! It's not so much that we felt unsafe ... just extremely unwelcomed as cruisers. :(

Ships stopped calling at St. Croix for some years because of the high crime, I was told.

They are returning and have been for a few years. Be careful and use common sense.

I realize that Guadalupe has a history of crime which took itself off the cruise itineraries in the past. The Pacific Princess is scheduled to stop there Dec. 26th and we are wondering if we decided to take a tour of the island would we be safe with one of the taxi drivers at the dock or should we use the ship's tour?

I realize that Guadalupe has a history of crime which took itself off the cruise itineraries in the past. The Pacific Princess is scheduled to stop there Dec. 26th and we are wondering if we decided to take a tour of the island would we be safe with one of the taxi drivers at the dock or should we use the ship's tour?

Make sure you have Euros as they are not fond of US$. Also, if you have the taxi drop you off somewhere do NOT pay him until he picks you back up! We had friends who almost missed the ship as their taxi driver did not return. We are fond of "independent" excursions but I would feel more comfortable on this one island doing a ship's excursion.

Make sure you have Euros as they are not fond of US$. Also, if you have the taxi drop you off somewhere do NOT pay him until he picks you back up! We had friends who almost missed the ship as their taxi driver did not return. We are fond of "independent" excursions but I would feel more comfortable on this one island doing a ship's excursion.

Thanks. This is the type of information we were looking for. This island has a past history and, even though they are trying to develop their tourism, I can't help but feel more comfortable using the ship's tour here. Also glad we have a few Euros left from our last voyage.

I realize that Guadalupe has a history of crime which took itself off the cruise itineraries in the past. The Pacific Princess is scheduled to stop there Dec. 26th and we are wondering if we decided to take a tour of the island would we be safe with one of the taxi drivers at the dock or should we use the ship's tour?

I was in Guadalupe 2 weeks ago on a HAL cruise. I cannot understand why any Cruise would go Guadalupe. It was the most filthiest port we have ever been to. Uneven sidewalks, rebar sticking out of the sidewalks and garbage on the streets everywhere. No-one speaks English, even the Tourist center people speak little English-they cannot understand the questions and give wrong answers. The booths around the cruise docks were empty.

We liked Guadeloupe. We rented a car and went to Saint Fransois and further to the headland. It is an amazing place.

We were there on our first cruise in 1996 and are going back in December.  We enjoyed it and are looking forward to returning. We are getting tired of the same old itineraries. 

I went in Feb 2019 on a Journeys cruise and I enjoyed Guadeloupe. We went on a tour with English speaking guides, and they were good. We were in Land Rovers and we went to see a nice waterfall, we saw a volcano in the distance, we went to a banana plantation and rum distillery and a local restaurant where we sampled some new foods and the really strong ti-punch. I never felt unsafe at all. I really enjoyed that day and I'd be happy to go back.

I don't visit other countries expecting them to speak English to me everywhere I go, though. I enjoy exploring other cultures. Hiring a guide who can translate is definitely helpful, though. 

Guadeloupe is one of the most beautiful islands we have visited and we have cruised almost every port destination in the Caribbean.  We were there on a New Years cruise 2023 and along with others from our roll call we experienced an amazing day on a boat excursion up the Rivière Salée and explored the gorgeous sandbar islands like Ilet Caret and had a great BBQ lunch on a private part of an island Ile des Sables (in the Ste Rose area).

We were picked up at the port in Pointe a Pitre and walked through the neighborhood at the port area appointed with small businesses, pretty flower landscapes and bougainviglia, and superb local artwork decorating buildings.  Even a P-A-P sign for instagram-worthy pictures. Our family of 4 (including 2 ocean-loving kids 7, 10) loved it and are going back later this year!

To anyone who would question whether this port is worthy to consider a guided tour or DIY visit, I would definitely say Hell ya.  Do some research beforehand and ignore the neysayers who obviously have not done theirs.

Check out this short video that could give you an idea the beauty and culture this island has to offer - on an extended stay or day visit:

https://www.iles.com/fr/guadeloupe.html

On 6/3/2023 at 10:57 AM, Maverick! said:

Guadeloupe is one of the most beautiful islands we have visited and we have cruised almost every port destination in the Caribbean.  We were there on a New Years cruise 2023 and along with others from our roll call we experienced an amazing day on a boat excursion up the Rivière Salée and explored the gorgeous sandbar islands like Ilet Caret and had a great BBQ lunch on a private part of an island Ile des Sables (in the Ste Rose area).

We were picked up at the port in Pointe a Pitre and walked through the neighborhood at the port area appointed with small businesses, pretty flower landscapes and bougainviglia, and superb local artwork decorating buildings.  Even a P-A-P sign for instagram-worthy pictures. Our family of 4 (including 2 ocean-loving kids 7, 10) loved it and are going back later this year!

 

To anyone who would question whether this port is worthy to consider a guided tour or DIY visit, I would definitely say Hell ya.  Do some research beforehand and ignore the neysayers who obviously have not done theirs.

Check out this short video that could give you an idea the beauty and culture this island has to offer - on an extended stay or day visit:

https://www.iles.com/fr/guadeloupe.html

Who did you book this excursion with?  We are going in November and have something booked already but we're doing a B2B so we'll be back in December.  Maybe I can get the roll call interested.  Thanks for any info.

We booked with Patou Excursions , we had fantastic skipper Fabien - Patricia (Patou :)) was great to propose how we'd organize the day, working with our schedule. We happened to dock 30 mins later than when the public group tour was going out so we ended up doing a private charter just for our group.

11 hours ago, Maverick! said:

We booked with Patou Excursions , we had fantastic skipper Fabien - Patricia (Patou :)) was great to propose how we'd organize the day, working with our schedule. We happened to dock 30 mins later than when the public group tour was going out so we ended up doing a private charter just for our group.

Thank so much!  I'll look into it.

2 minutes ago, MissiCruzs said:

Thank so much!  I'll look into it.

Website won't work for me.  😞

2 hours ago, MissiCruzs said:

Website won't work for me.  😞

Found him on trip advisor and Facebook.  Did they pick you up at the cruise dock?

9 minutes ago, MissiCruzs said:

Found him on trip advisor and Facebook.  Did they pick you up at the cruise dock?

 

“Her” - Patricia (or nickname Patou) would be the booking contact who’s great to provide suggestions and itinerary. Fabien, our capt for the day, picked us up at cruiseport, docked at a small slip 5 min walk over from the gangway.

I have her WhatsApp contact if need to contact.