First time in St. Kitts-8AM-6PM......

[NCBeachBride]

......wondering if we should book an excursion or go on our own. We are looking to snorkel, grab a drink and a bite, do a little shopping as well! I've read that there is good snorkeling and plenty of shopping around Frigate Bay so we could do that on our own. But I'm also reading everyone's praise for Thenford Grey's tour. Decisions, decisions.........can anyone who has been there help me out please?! TIA!

[crisp1]

You should tour the island, it's beautifull. Snorkeling from the beach is so-so. S Frigate and S Friars having the best. We've used Ilva Wallace our last 2 times there- touring, beach and time to shop at the pier ( downtown isn't worth it).

[NCBeachBride]

Great! Thanks for the advice!

[crisp1]

There are alot of tour operators right at the pier, but I recommend hiring one beforehand- you'll love the island. You can see most of ti in one day and have an hour or so on the beach and an hour at the port shopping. Have fun

[Colorado Kat]

We just grabbed a cab to the ShipWreck Bar on South Friar's Beach. ($4 pp?) Nice beach - we rented chairs/shade when we got there. Nice beach, and one of my daughters went snorkeling.

[brickhousesm]

There are alot of tour operators right at the pier, but I recommend hiring one beforehand- you'll love the island. You can see most of ti in one day and have an hour or so on the beach and an hour at the port shopping. Have fun

 

Hi, can you tell me how much the tours are by the pier and if they are worth it. The tours I have looked at are around $45.00.

[Host Faith]

In places I've never been before on a cruise, I try to take an island tour if it seems like there's some variety in what I can see in one day. I would go with a tour in St. Kitts. It's a lush, beautiful island, and a tour gives you the options your looking for- a little sightseeing, a little food, some shopping, and some beach time.

 

We toured with Thenford Gray when we sailed the Serenade last year. You can see pics of the tour in my review. A link is in my signature (Serenade 2011-Aruba Route). Highly recommend.

[Ocean Boy]

I also like to get a good sense of an island the first time that we are there. We recently did a tour with Thenford Grey. I could not possibly speak any more highly of him. He provided a great over view of the island in a very comfortable bus for a price that I thought was well worth what we got in return.

[BeagleOne]

IMHO there is so much to do on St. Kitts that I wouldn't go to a beach there...there are plenty of other islands, like St. Lucia and St. Maarten, where the beaches are the main attractions. YMMV, of course.

 

If you want to do some shopping I would recommend Caribelle Batik at Romney Manor. The problem is that ship tours usually only allow for about 30 minutes there, and that is NOT enough time both to see the gardens, which are beautiful, and do the shop justice. I'd allow about an hour there if you can.

 

If you like glass, I would also recommend Glass Island Designz on the north side of Independence Square in Basseterre, about a five-minute walk from the pier. The guy there does beautiful glass dishes, earrings, frames, ornaments, etc., and it's very reasonably priced. They are planning to move closer to the airport for rent reasons but I was just there last week and they should be in the same place for a little while yet. They'll pack purchases in cardboard and bubble wrap for you. Definitely worth a visit.

 

If you're interested in history, Brimstone Hill fortress is fascinating, but again, the ship's tours only allow about 45 minutes there. For me, that was not enough.

 

I've also ridden the scenic railway, aka the sugar train, on both my visits to St. Kitts and loved it both times. That's a cruise shore excursion that is definitely worth doing. You can sit downstairs in the a/c or upstairs under a canopy in the open air. They usually have a small group of singers for entertainment, people come out of their houses to wave, drinks are included, and it's a great way to see the island. It's very creaky and the cars sway a lot, so if you don't like that, don't go. It takes 3- 3 1/2 hours overall so you would still have time to do other things.

 

As an aside the airport beach, Maho beach, on St. Maarten is a real hoot if you like airplanes. The big jets arrive from about 11:45 a.m. to about 3:30 p.m. But be sure to bring a hat and lots of sunscreen since the only shade on Maho is at the bars. It's no problem getting back to the ship; cab drivers are going by constantly in their vans, holding laminated signs saying "taxi back to ship".

 

Have a great trip!