First time visiting Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Maarten

In May we will be on cruising to Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Maarten which will be our first time. Any suggestions on must see/do on any of the these islands? Thanks for any suggestions.

:)

Swim with the turtles! You can do this as a short excursion from one of the beach clubs on Carlisle Bay or on a catamaran cruise. :cool:

In May we will be on cruising to Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Maarten which will be our first time. Any suggestions on must see/do on any of the these islands? Thanks for any suggestions.

 

:)

Barbados a must is to swim with Turtles and snorkel, we just did Silver Moon, on the Moon Dance Catamaran. It was Great!!! If you don't like water, go with Harrison Caves another good tour.

St. Lucia for first time go with Cosol Tours and do the Land & Sea tour! Its a great tour. Another good one is with Spencer Ambrose

We just shop in St. Kitts & St. Maarten

Hi

In Barbados a catamaran lunch trip which includes swimming with turtles is a lovely way to spend the day. There are plenty of different companies, which suit different needs, so take a look at reviews.

If you enjoy gardens Huntes Gardens is magical. Even if you are not into gardens you will not fail to be impressed. Not sure where it is in relation to the port so taxi probably the best bet.

On our recent cruise visit we docked overnight in Barbados and on our last day we took a 4 hour tour with a taxi driver which was very good. We went all along the West coast, all the way up to North Point, back down to Bathesheba where we stopped off for a drink and then onto the airport. He stopped at various places on route to take photos etc.

Not really a must see but in St Kitts we went to Palm Court Gardens and Restaurant, which is about a 5 minute taxi from the cruise port. It is in lovely gardens, set around an infinity pool overlooking the ships in port.

We reserved beds in advance via their website. They were extremely efficient in replying and the staff were really friendly.

The food and drinks were very good and we spent a lovely day relaxing. There are some reviews where it has been very busy with ships crew but on the day we went there were just a handful of crew.

Have a great cruise

In St. Kitts check out Palms Court Gardens.

http://www.palmscourtgardens.com

You have to go to Maho Beach on St. Maarten to watch the planes land! There’s a great bar there and the beach is nice.

For something different in Barbados, consider touring the Concorde plane.

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Take a stroll through Bridgetown Barbados. It's quite a nice city and you can walk there from the cruise port.

https://cruiseports.ca/caribbean/

Here are tours we liked:

Barbados - Catamaran Cruise, Snorkeling and swimming with turtles with Silver Moon

St Lucia - Jalousie / Sugar Beach break with Spencer Ambrose

St Kitts - Standup Paddle Board / Beach Day (can’t recall the vendor)

St Maarten - Island tour that included Maho Beach, then rent chairs and an umbrella at the main beach near the cruise dock. (Not sure what is back up and running after the hurricanes)

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Than you all for taking time to make suggestions. They all sound great. Now to decide which one. :)

Hi

 

In Barbados a catamaran lunch trip which includes swimming with turtles is a lovely way to spend the day. There are plenty of different companies, which suit different needs, so take a look at reviews.

 

If you enjoy gardens Huntes Gardens is magical. Even if you are not into gardens you will not fail to be impressed. Not sure where it is in relation to the port so taxi probably the best bet.

 

On our recent cruise visit we docked overnight in Barbados and on our last day we took a 4 hour tour with a taxi driver which was very good. We went all along the West coast, all the way up to North Point, back down to Bathesheba where we stopped off for a drink and then onto the airport. He stopped at various places on route to take photos etc.

 

Not really a must see but in St Kitts we went to Palm Court Gardens and Restaurant, which is about a 5 minute taxi from the cruise port. It is in lovely gardens, set around an infinity pool overlooking the ships in port.

 

We reserved beds in advance via their website. They were extremely efficient in replying and the staff were really friendly.

 

The food and drinks were very good and we spent a lovely day relaxing. There are some reviews where it has been very busy with ships crew but on the day we went there were just a handful of crew.

 

Have a great cruise

How much was the taxi per hour?

Swim with the turtles! You can do this as a short excursion from one of the beach clubs on Carlisle Bay or on a catamaran cruise. :cool:

You can do this from the beach for a really cheap price. cab ride thru town is like 10 dollars

In May we will be on cruising to Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Maarten which will be our first time. Any suggestions on must see/do on any of the these islands? Thanks for any suggestions.

 

:)

We leave Saturday for our third time on this itinerary. You will love it! On Barbados, a catamaran tour with Calabaza or silver Moon can't be beat!! Definately worth the money as it is limited to no more than 12 people which means very personalized service! Workers are top notch on both companies! You get few, drinks are included and you get to swim with sea turtles as well as snorkel. Nothing for me beats lounging on the net of a catamaran! Espeically when your drink is empty, they are bringing you another! lol On St Lucia, the Land, Sea and Beach tour with Spencer Ambroise is amazing and gives you a little bit of everything....Mud Baths, waterfalls, sightseeing, snorkeling,, beach time. On St Maarten, it is easy enough to take a cab to Maho Beach to watch the planes land and take off. Orient beach is amazing as is Pinel Island if it is open (not sure if it has reopened since the hurricanes.) On St Kitts, we love Carambola Beach club, but have a tour with Javin that we are looking forward to that includes hiking, snorkeling, sightseeing and beach time. This is a great itinerary, one of the best!!

I've been to these islands three times and while in some I have done mostly the same thing, the experiences have always been different. If you're up to read a bit, you can check out my reviews in my signature. They are for the Southern Caribbean route sailing from San Juan, PR on Carnival ships (three times, three different ships). Not sure if this is the line you will be cruising with but the itinerary sound almost identical. My most recent review was precisely on the Fascination on Sept. 2016 and the link below will take you to the page were the post about Barbados and the other islands. Barbados starts at post #115.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2428818&page=6

St. Kitts - I would contact Liz Pereira, she has many tours going on. Find her on FB

St. Maarten - Jo Junie Tours is great. They take you everywhere. Very affordable.

From memory I think the tour was either $40 or $50 US per hour.

In St. Kitts check out Palms Court Gardens.

http://www.palmscourtgardens.com

Is it in walking distance? Thanks in advance.

I believe it is as whilst we were still there we saw the ships crew walking back along the road that runs along the coast line. Not sure how long it would take but it really is very cheap in a taxi.

Might be a good idea to get a taxi there so you know your location.

We will be sailing this itinerary plus Antigua soon. I don't some down time for our trip. I'm not worried about seeing every port to it's fullest. What is the best port to sacrifice and just stay of the boat for a lazy non crowded boat day?

In May we will be on cruising to Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Maarten which will be our first time. Any suggestions on must see/do on any of the these islands? Thanks for any suggestions.

 

:)

Please let us know your thoughts on what you do as we will be doing a very similar itinerary in October and looking for ideas in Barbados and St. Lucia.Thank you. Bon voyage and have a great trip.

We are also doing this itinerary plus Antigua on the Fascination at the end of June. Our first time cruising, and have never been to any of the ports. Any suggestions for a less crowded beach in Antigua?

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We are also doing this itinerary plus Antigua on the Fascination at the end of June. Our first time cruising, and have never been to any of the ports. Any suggestions for a less crowded beach in Antigua?

 

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Welcome to the boards! :D

Maybe ty posting your question on the Antigua board: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=122

I've bee to all these islands except Barbados and and st Lucia can't wait! Can't wait to swim with turtle in Barbados. Any idea how much the tour was per person? And how long it lasted?

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To swim with the turtles you can spend lots for an all day catamaran tour with lunch, drinks, etc. or take a short tour from one of the Carlisle Bay beach clubs for $20 or less. The Boatyard includes the snorkel tour/turtle swim in their cruise ship admission fee (chair rental, tour, free drink, & taxi back to the port). Your call. ;)

Is the Boatyard and Harbout Lights the same place?

You have to go to Maho Beach on St. Maarten to watch the planes land! There’s a great bar there and the beach is nice.

 

For something different in Barbados, consider touring the Concorde plane.

 

 

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While I'm glad I went to Maho I sure wouldn't do it again. The beach is terribly crowded, narrow, and steep. The surf was rough. The bar was so crowded the day we were there I never could get to it to buy a beer. There were a lot of people just sitting there or milling around in the shade taking up space while waiting for airplanes to land or take off. If you're under 35 (?) I wouldn't miss it. If you're older than that or don't like crowds just be aware that it may not be a great place to have to spend a few hours. All my opinion, of course.