I need Excursion Help-Opera

[TMom]

I have a family of 6 plus my parents. We are looking to do some snorkeling and diving. In addition we must get to a beach for the teenagers. How/where can I find info. On which Island should we shop and which should we beach it. Two hour snorkeling, which is offered by the ship, is not going to cut it with my kids. they love the water. Last year we rented a catamaran (just the 6 of us) that came with a chef and a captain and my kids lived in the water (unbelievable trip out of Tortolla). I don't mind paying for a private tour guide to take us snorkeling.....

 

I've never heard of Port Lucaya-any recommendations

Any recommendations on the San Juan activities or Martique?

 

 

This is my first time posting so if I didn't follow some post-it

etiquette, sorry

[wwwmarge]

Go back to the main page that listed all the boards down at the bottom is Ports of Calls. Loads of info. Are you on Opera 2nd? We get into San Juan at 8pm and leave next day at 2pm. Marge

 

 

I have a family of 6 plus my parents. We are looking to do some snorkeling and diving. In addition we must get to a beach for the teenagers. How/where can I find info. On which Island should we shop and which should we beach it. Two hour snorkeling, which is offered by the ship, is not going to cut it with my kids. they love the water. Last year we rented a catamaran (just the 6 of us) that came with a chef and a captain and my kids lived in the water (unbelievable trip out of Tortolla). I don't mind paying for a private tour guide to take us snorkeling.....

 

I've never heard of Port Lucaya-any recommendations

Any recommendations on the San Juan activities or Martique?

 

 

This is my first time posting so if I didn't follow some post-it

etiquette, sorry

[henri]

We are leaving San Juan on April 5 in the (very) early morning at 2AM (02:00).

At 7AM (07:00) April 5 we are in St. Thomas.

Henri.

[czechmate]

I am assuming that you are on Opera 2nd April.

 

St. Thomas - have a look at http://www.st-thomas.com. Also go to http://www.havefunwithus.com. if you contact Allen he will be pleased to try and arrange a great day for all the family providing just what you wish.

 

Antigua - Go to http://www.antiguanice.com for lots of ideas and suggestions. There are a couple of companies offering snorkeling and beach outings You might also want to follow the lead that Marge gave to Antigua under our Opera April 2nd Roll Call thread. Lots to see there.

 

Martinique - I posted some more info and addresses under the thread I started re "out tour".

 

Puerto Rico - this is only a night time 6 hour stop so there will be no beach/snorkeling opportunities.

 

Hope this is of some help to you.

 

Best wishes and have a great time with MSC Opera.

[TMom]

THanks Marge for the link to ports of call. I am new to this site. I checked it out and read much.

I am on the March 26th opera eastern carribean. I will be in St. Thomas on 29th tuesday. If anyone is interested, I found a bunch of sailboats and we are doing a private charter over to St. John to snorkl. I could pass you the links I found. Most seemed around $100-120 and gave a $10 discount if you use cash/travelers. I can tell you if you really want a great time and not to be hearded and crowded, this is the way to go. And it seems St. THomas has the best snorkeling, and the longest port. Geez after reading about the other stops, I'm really concerned about what to do. There were many posts about how bad St. Coix is-crime. Most said to stay on the ship, but I know my

kids, and me, will want to get off. We'll probably stick with an excursion.

[Diane&4girls]

Tmom,

 

We've done most of the sailboat tours in St Thomas. It's the absolute BEST! You guys will love it. We normally book with Capt Sharon on the Winifred. We've also used Jester's before but it was more of an adult atmosphere. My kids think St Thomas' snorkeling is "lame", I guess because they're divers, but they really enjoy swimming with the sea turtles off the coast of St Johns.

 

We've booked a horseback riding excursion in St Croix and the Bioluminesence (sp?) excursion in San Juan.

 

This time, we're just hanging out with Godfrey Renal in St Thomas.

[Rotterdam]

I just returned from the 26 Feb Opera Eastern Carib cruise.

 

Altho the MSC product was very nice(food, ship & staff) the excursions left a lot to be desired. I never took the ship tours(I have been to all the ports many times before) & all that did found them overpriced & some cancelled for lack of enough participants. MSC even distributed a notice to the cabins that they are not managing the tours, only hiring agents at the various ports to supply service to the passengers.

 

Most people hired drivers in the ports & were very happy with the services.

 

A word about St Croix...the ship docks in Fredrickstad...the main street is all torn up & under construction(you have to take a bus from the ship to the front street due to the work - they won't let you walk). Not much open as far as shops. Hire a driver - those that did said they enjoyed seeing the sugar cane plantation & other sites.

 

Stay away from the beach on the left of the pier - St Croix has had a problem with sewage & there is a drain right next to the beach. Whether or not that drain is still in use - I could smell the sewage!(AND CRTAINLY DON"T DRINK ANYTHING THAT IS NOT BOTTLED).

 

As far as crime - as far as I know evryone came back ok. I walked around Fredrickstad looking for a hotel I heard about - after a few blocks of totally closed up buildings for sale or rent I gave up & certainly did not feel completely at ease. As they say use commomn sense!(same goes for San Juan, St Thomas & Nassau).

[Diane&4girls]

Thanks for the heads up!

 

We normally don't buy the cruiseline's tours and I had heard the same things you mentioned about MSC's tours, so thanks for confirming that!

[Benitad]

St. Croix obviously is working very hard on its reputation; there were at least 6 police vehicles clustered around the city center. We took a taxi for $3 to Rainbow beach/bay, abut 3 miles, where a jimmy buffett type crooned at the bar on the beach and we got a great photo op of the Opera across the water. The beach is sandy but you really need some swim shoes to be comfortable in the water. I didn't do the St. Thomas beaches, but I understand they're far superior.

On the upside, the fact the Opera was the only ship in port n St. Croix made the situation far less frenetic than sharing the streets in St. Thomas with 5-6 other ships' pax.

[Spudd]

We had a GREAT time in St. Croix. Just off the boat, there's a dive shop in the plaza where the bus lets you off. It's called Cane Bay Dive Shop. They drove us to the north shore where we went scuba diving, but they also do snorkelling trips. The beach was gorgeous there and there was tons of sea life. Only thing is, if you want to go swimming, be careful because there were lots of sea urchins in the shallows (they sting). But as long as you wear water shoes you should be all right.