Suggestions for Southern excursions on Summit

[Single_dreamer]

I am in the process of picking my final shore excursions for my southern Carribean cruise. I am fairly active, but will not do any strenuous activities, like zip line, etc. I noticed that there have been several incidents with tourists being robbed on some islands, so I guess it would be best to book excursions on each island of the itinerary.

 

1. What was your best excursing booked through Celebrity and why?

2. What is the best St. Marteen tour that includes both French and Dutch sides.

3. Which island is shopping not to be missed? Just to pick up a few holiday gifts.

4. Which beach day is not to be missed?

 

Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, St. Marteen, St. Thomas

 

Thank you for your help!

[dd4iu]

I don't usually book through cruise lines. James Tours was great for St Lucia. Showed us the whole island, stop at the beach for lunch and very personable. We had a great beach day at on St Thomas. Can't recall name of beach, but it was a public beach in a gorgeous cove with a restaurant. Cheap taxi drive. We liked shopping in St. Martins.

[Texed]

Try adventureantigua.com for Antigua. :)

[BubMunkeyBles]

I like Bernard's tour in St Marten, I remember doing the French and Dutch side with shopping time in Marigot plus going to Maho beach to see the planes.

[fleckle]

I am in the process of picking my final shore excursions for my southern Carribean cruise. I am fairly active, but will not do any strenuous activities, like zip line, etc. I noticed that there have been several incidents with tourists being robbed on some islands, so I guess it would be best to book excursions on each island of the itinerary.

 

1. What was your best excursing booked through Celebrity and why?

2. What is the best St. Marteen tour that includes both French and Dutch sides.

3. Which island is shopping not to be missed? Just to pick up a few holiday gifts.

4. Which beach day is not to be missed?

 

Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, St. Marteen, St. Thomas

 

Thank you for your help!

For good suggestions, take a look at the ports of call forums for each of these ports.

Here are links to them:

 

Barbados

 

St. Lucia

 

Antigua

 

St. Maarten

 

St. Thomas/St. John

 

 

 

[vplsh]

I like Bernard's tour in St Marten, I remember doing the French and Dutch side with shopping time in Marigot plus going to Maho beach to see the planes.

 

I agree about Bernard's tour in St Martin. Excellent! You get to see the best of both sides of the island.

 

In both Antigua and Barbados we did Segway tours. We liked the one in Barbados better, as it was just the two of us and did a lot of off road riding.

[4774Papa]

I am in the process of picking my final shore excursions for my southern Carribean cruise. I am fairly active, but will not do any strenuous activities, like zip line, etc. I noticed that there have been several incidents with tourists being robbed on some islands, so I guess it would be best to book excursions on each island of the itinerary.

 

1. What was your best excursing booked through Celebrity and why?

2. What is the best St. Marteen tour that includes both French and Dutch sides.

3. Which island is shopping not to be missed? Just to pick up a few holiday gifts.

4. Which beach day is not to be missed?

 

Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, St. Marteen, St. Thomas

 

Thank you for your help!

Here is the portion of my review of our 2012 cruise:

 

Aruba

Aruba is the A of the ABC islands just off the coast of Venezuela. They are Dutch, largely because the Spanish thought them of little value when discovered. The island is rather arid and semi-desert, so largely unsuitable for agriculture. Aruba seems to thrive on tourism and the island has several luxury hotels. The people, as in Curacao are friendly, as we found on every island we visited. The ethnicity of the people is a mix of European, Amerindians and African. There is more of an Indian influence here since the Spanish did not take over the islands and ship the Indians to work as slaves. Therefore the African influence is less dominant in the culture than the six islands that we visited on the Eastern side of the Caribbean.

We took an excursion that was described:

Aruba's Sights, History and Culture - ARA6 - Oranjestad, Aruba

Experience Aruba at its finest on these unique sights, history and culture tour. Drive through charming Oranjestad and observe the Dutch colonial architecture with its antique buildings and houses merging with the modern architecture. Walk through Aruba's past at the Archeological and History Museum and visit the most complete art collection of the island. Aruba's greatest asset is their welcoming people who are always ready to share their island and its unique culture and history.

 

The tour was not expensive and we saw quite a lot of the island, including the beautiful North shore where we saw the Alta Vista Chapel. The arid terrain has its own beauty, not unlike Arizona without the Saguaro. We saw the famous California lighthouse (not inside, it was closed) and saw many hotels and casinos. My sense is that Aruba is a great place for beautiful beach vacations with casinos and plenty of restaurants, but there is not much history to see on the island.

Curacao

Curacao’s Willemstad was filled with attractive Dutch and Caribbean architecture. There was more to see there, than Aruba. Curacao was much more developed and had a distinctive European flair, while still Caribbean. The Constellation was docked in Willemstad across the port from the main part of the city, and a movable pontoon bridge was moved a few times to let ships in or out of the port. This island seemed to have some wealth and it showed.

We did our favorite excursion here, the Dolphin Encounter, which Celebrity described:

Dolphin Encounter - CU66 - Willemstad, Curacao

Touch, hug and kiss a dolphin while learning all about them. You will stand in waist deep water as the dolphin allows you to gently pet him or her.

Our swim with the dolphins was the number one highlight of the cruise. We found Romeo the dolphin very friendly and receptive to our affections. A dolphin show was included and while the price was not cheap, it was worth the cost.

Grenada

We had another sea day on our way to the Eastern islands, which the first was Grenada. Grenada was a former British colony that became independent in 1974. This was the first of six islands where road traffic drives on the left. English is the official language on most of these islands and on the others widely spoken. Some of the natives speak a creole language that is a mix of Spanish, French and Portuguese. Grenada was not as wealthy as Curacao, but it was beautiful and more mountainous. The roads were not always the greatest, but we enjoyed seeing the parts of the island that we visited. Grenada was more authentically Caribbean, as we found St. Lucia. The lush green landscapes provide for the people. Spices are a major industry there and our excursion visited an Estate as well as a spice cooperative where spices are collected, sorted and dried. The Celebrity excursion was described:

 

Spice and Waterfalls - GD43 - St. George‘s, Grenada

Grenada's west coast hosts a number of features specific to the island: spices, cocoa, nutmeg and waterfalls. Go North along the Caribbean Sea to Gouyave, a small town that has a surprising feature: the nutmeg cooperative plant. Travel about one century back in time. There are no conveyor belts and machines. The processing of this spice starts and ends in ladies' hands and fingers. Next stop is Dougaldston Estate. Founded in 1700, this cocoa plantation displays spices and aromas of the island.

 

The spice plant and plantation were interesting. We were allowed to sniff them all. After a while, I wondered if we would have to go into rehab. The Concord falls was beautiful, even though the more massive falls were upstream and would have required an hour long hike with a guide. The tour allowed us to see several villages and much lush terrain. There were several “sleeping policemen” on the roads also known as speed bumps. We were shown where the Marines landed during the intervention of the 80s. A regime supported by Cuba had taken over government and assassinated the PM Maurice Bishop and several others including children. After the excursion, we walked up the hill to the castle overlooking the city (I think that is where Clint Eastwood and the Marines were) and the guide showed us the bullet holes in the flagpole and wall where the people were lined up and shot.

 

Our guide showed us some very nice homes on the side of the hills from time to time (we saw many) and explained that these homes were built by people that had left Grenada, made their fortunes in the UK, Canada or the USA and then come back to live in their homeland. We found the people very friendly and helpful. Ginny was looking for a cookbook for the local cuisine and the first bookstore only had Betty Crocker, but one of the attendants walked with us to another bookstore about three blocks away (not to find what Ginny wanted), then another four blocks to another bookstore, where Ginny found the books she wanted. I can’t wait for the Caribbean cooking.

 

Barbados

Barbados was the most established and British of the islands. It has been independent since 1966 (with local autonomy for 300 years) and could be the largest nation that we visited. I think the population is a bit less than 300,000 people while most of the other islands have less than 100,000. Barbados had a thriving molasses industry from cane (not called sugar cane as we were told). It still has a lot of cane fields, but seems to have more today. Tourism is thriving, since the people are highly educated and there is little crime. We did see modest dwellings on the island, but the island seemed relatively prosperous. We understand that the unemployment rate there is about 10%, while some of the other Caribbean islands have 20% unemployment. Barbados had pretty good roads, especially in Bridgetown. Our excursion took us to the Eastern side of the island to see a church and stop at Orchid World on the way back. The excursion was described:

 

Best of Barbados - BB07 - Bridgetown, Barbados

Travel through the center of the island to Orchid World, home to an array of orchids and other fauna. Drive through Barbadian countryside to famous St.John's Church. Look for the tomb of Ferdinando Paleologus, last descendant of the last Christian Emperor of Constantinople. Arriving at the Tyrol Cot, you will experience a superb example of a Barbadian Sugar Estate Great House. Over 300 yrs. old, this well maintained Plantation House is filled with antiques/memorabilia of a bygone era.

 

At Tyrol Cot, we learned about the first PM of Barbados, Errol Barrow, who owned the house. Barrow was the early distinguished leader of the country. The house was interesting as well as the “village” on site that was a collection of historical homes from slavery until today. Barbados is something of a key country in the Eastern Caribbean. The Concorde once flew there from Europe. I know that many Barbadians provided valuable labor for the building of the Panama Canal. It was interesting to see that the heir to the throne of the Byzantine Empire was buried at St. John’s Church on the island. That is a connection with history.

 

The Orchid World proved to be another highlight to our cruise. We saw hundreds of astounding beautiful orchids. I strongly recommend a visit there by anyone porting in Barbados.

 

St. Lucia

 

St. Lucia was the most beautiful of all the islands. It was mountainous and the twin peaked Pitons were awesome. We had a great excursion there that visited the volcano, where sulfurous vapors bubble up constantly. The island is just beautiful with many natural views. The Celebrity excursion is described:

 

 

La Soufriere Volcano - SLC6 - Castries, St. Lucia

Your scenic drive will take you through Castries and up to Morne Fortune viewpoint to capture some lovely panoramic views. Afterwards, continue to Marigot Bay view point for photos of the secluded bay, before wending your way to the town of Soufriere. As you descend into Soufriere, marvel at the spectacular twin peaks of the Pitons. You will visit the world's only drive in volcano and then enjoy a leisurely guided walk through the Maranatha Garden or Prayer Park. You'll then head to the Beacon hilltop viewpoint and restaurant to enjoy a drink and splendid views of the Pitons and Soufriere Valley before returning to Castries harbor.

 

 

Beautiful plant life is apparent at every turn. St. Lucia is high on our list of islands. The tour was excellent, one of the best of our cruise.

 

Antigua

Antigua was something of a mix, it had some interesting history, being Admiral Nelson’s Dockyard. Apparently, Nelson was worried about the insects, so he lived on is ship.

 

Best of Antigua - AN01 - St. Johns, Antigua

The tour begins with a drive through the capital city of St. John's, and stops at Antigua's National Park, Nelson's Dockyard to see the Admiral's House, Sail Maker's Loft, Old Bakery and the Officer's Quarters before enjoying a beverage in an 18th-century inn. A short drive brings you to the Blockhouse Ruins before continuing to Shirley Heights to see the guardhouse, built in 1791, which sits upon a rugged cliff top offering the most spectacular view of Antigua.

 

Nelson’s Dockyard was the high point on the tour, but we enjoyed the beautiful vistas from the top of Shirley Heights. The island is more arid than Grenada, Barbados and St. Lucia, but does some a mix of flat and somewhat mountainous terrain. It is worth a visit as the people are friendly there. The tour was good.

 

 

St. Maarten/Martin

St. Maarten is the Dutch side of the island, where we docked. St. Martin is the French side. The island is a playground for celebrities with multi-million dollar homes. The infrastructure was good for this rather small island, but is less authentically Caribbean. Tourism is the island and while its attractive beaches and hotels are great, I don’t think you get as much a taste of the Caribbean here. Our tour took us over both sides of the island, but the main highlight of the tour was shopping. There was little to see of historical interest. Again, the beaches we saw were beautiful and I am sure snorkeling was good there.

 

St. Maarten Island Tour - SM04 - Philipsburg, St. Maarten

- Overview: Travel in comfort on a guided tour through the beautiful countryside of this two-nation island. You'll have time to explore in both the French capital of Marigot and the Dutch capital of Philipsburg. A great way to get an overview of this unique island. - Highlights: Enjoy a narrated, scenic ride through both the Dutch and French sides of the island. Explore and shop in the French capital of Marigot (approx. 45 minutes) and the Dutch capital of Philipsburg (at the conclusion of the tour). - Notes: Most shops in Marigot will be closed on Sundays and holidays

 

Our tour was ok and not expensive, we did get to see the island, but more than half the time on the tour was devoted to shopping.

 

St. Thomas

It was great to look out of our balcony and see old glory on the flagpole at the port. St. Thomas was the most American of the islands. Guess what, it is in the Virgin Islands and US territory. We purchased it from Denmark in 1917. St. Thomas is a beautiful island, with great vistas from its high points on the middle of the island. It is greener than Antigua and St. Maarten and the infrastructure is very good. For some reason, drivers use the left instead of the right side of the roads. St. Thomas seemed to have a lot for all. A ferry goes to St. John where the snorkeling and beaches are awesome by report. We enjoyed our sightseeing there and the excursion that we took, which was described:

Blackbeard's Castle 5 Star Island Tour - STH3 - Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

-Overview: Enjoy a tour of St. Thomas that includes two premier island destinations - St. Peter Great House and Blackbeard's Castle. This tour uses headsets to ensure you hear all guide commentary and is great for the whole family. -Highlights: Take a narrated live headset walking tour. Visit St. Peter Great House and Blackbeard's Castle. Time for shopping in downtown Charlotte Amalie.

 

The visit to the St. Peter Great House at the top of the island included great vistas and a nice garden. Blackbeard’s Castle was well worth the trip despite the commercialism involved in walking down from the castle to the city. The walk was a part of the tour and we enjoyed the walk, but it seemed we were constantly going through a shop for rum or jewelry or something to buy. Still, it was a good tour and I recommend it for others. Once you reach the bottom of the walk, at street level, you are 2.5 miles from the ship, which we didn’t have a problem. Some people did not want to walk, but taxis were not expensive.

[cruzeluver]

A very enthusiastic second vote for Adventure Antigua! They are a great company who provides a wonderful experience. Check them out!

[wvufan]

We never take ship excursions.

 

Bernard's is good, but the best excursion of that type we ever had was with Joyce Prince. If you are not intent on touring both sides, you can take the local bus to Maho and watch the planes. Great food at the little restaurant there.

 

Shasa swimming with turtles was great.

 

Cosol super.

 

Antiguapremiere tours was good. Also, the Segway there is great. Easy to take bus to Nelson's, beach etc.

 

Great snorkeling at Coki in St. Thomas, but go early.

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

 

 

Can't advise about shopping. Rule number 1: it is always cheaper to take her on an excursion than to turn her loose with a credit card.

[akowilm]

We did Captain Bob's in St Maarten and loved it! Fast boat, blue water, great lunch, snorkeling and swimming, and ending by anchoring off shore at Maho! Perfect Day!!

[Single_dreamer]

These are all fabulous suggestions! Looks like I have some decisions to make to the next few weeks. Thank you everyone!

[lcmslady]

I've been to all these ports but can only remember what I did at St. Lucia & Antigua - guess that says how exciting the others were :confused:

 

I've been to St. Lucia twice and toured with Spencer Ambrose both times. He is amazing and you will feel well taken care of the entire time. If you go with him, he collects school supplies for the children on the island - if you can pack a few things, he will be very appreciative.

 

Antigua - used Creole Cruises. Fantastic day of snorkeling, hike on Bird Island, lobster lunch on a beach. Need I say more?

[lkj1301]

If you like sailing and snorkeling, I'd suggest a day excursion with Captain Kathleen on "Highpockets." We booked with her 2x now, last Feb when we were on the Ruby Princess and the time b4 was in Feb 2006. Wonderful time. She takes no more than 6 people. She'll work with you if your ship arrives/departs at slightly diff times than her normal booking time. Food was excellent.

[wvufan]

If you like sailing and snorkeling, I'd suggest a day excursion with Captain Kathleen on "Highpockets." We booked with her 2x now, last Feb when we were on the Ruby Princess and the time b4 was in Feb 2006. Wonderful time. She takes no more than 6 people. She'll work with you if your ship arrives/departs at slightly diff times than her normal booking time. Food was excellent.

 

Another vote for Highpockets. What a wonderful gal and a great day of sailing, snorkeling, and fantastic food.

 

Last time in St. Lucia, we did the zip line with Tree Tops and loved it.

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

[mardon]

St. Thomas - Godfrey tours, very accommodating and affordable. Took us sighseeing and then left us at the beach for about l l/2 hrs and then picked us up and THEN we paid him. - nice straw market right there at the pier

St. Maarten - beautiful public beach right by the pier and shopping

St. Lucia - Cosol tours - best tour of all our 30 cruises and make sure you drink some of Cosol's rum

[karena1]

I am in the process of picking my final shore excursions for my southern Carribean cruise. I am fairly active, but will not do any strenuous activities, like zip line, etc. I noticed that there have been several incidents with tourists being robbed on some islands, so I guess it would be best to book excursions on each island of the itinerary.

 

1. What was your best excursing booked through Celebrity and why?

2. What is the best St. Marteen tour that includes both French and Dutch sides.

3. Which island is shopping not to be missed? Just to pick up a few holiday gifts.

4. Which beach day is not to be missed?

 

Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, St. Marteen, St. Thomas

 

Thank you for your help!

 

 

What beaches not to miss - non of them!! you are on our favorite itin. My favorite is Antigua, love the beaches there. We go to Tony's beach bar in Dickenson Bay. In Barbados, Accra beach at "the tiki bar". St Lucia, Reduit Bay, St Marteen -of course -ORIET, best people watching, and STT, so many beautiful beaches, but Sapphire is my favorite. Magens is a close second.

[Host Jazzbeau]

On most of these islands, you are better off with a third-party vendor: you can see much more in the same amount of time, usually for less money.

 

But the one exception, IMHO, is St. Thomas. If you haven't been before, you should take a ship's excursion over to St. John.

 

St. John is the most unique island you will visit. The vast majority of the entire island is a US National Park. The beaches are gorgeous, the snorkeling is very easy, and there are absolutely no pushy vendors offering foot massages etc.

 

But it is a little complicated to get there and back. You can do it, and you can probably experience more of the island by doing it on your own - but my experience would be dampened by a constant worry about getting back to the ship in time. So this is one of the few places where I would take a ship tour, and just enjoy the experience they offer.

 

Just one word of warning: we took such a ship's tour on our very first cruise, and loved St. John so much that we came back the next year for a wonderful two-week stay at Cinnamon Bay campground. [You have been warned ;)]

[Momofcandk]

I am in the process of picking my final shore excursions for my southern Carribean cruise. I am fairly active, but will not do any strenuous activities, like zip line, etc. I noticed that there have been several incidents with tourists being robbed on some islands, so I guess it would be best to book excursions on each island of the itinerary.

 

1. What was your best excursing booked through Celebrity and why?

2. What is the best St. Marteen tour that includes both French and Dutch sides.

3. Which island is shopping not to be missed? Just to pick up a few holiday gifts.

4. Which beach day is not to be missed?

 

Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, St. Marteen, St. Thomas

 

Thank you for your help!

 

Must contact Carla at coconut reef for amazing personalized small group excursions on st Maarten. Tell her Maria from nj sent u

[Sinppu]

I can recommend Cosol Tours on St Lucia.

 

We went swimming with stingrays on Antigua.

 

To Maho Beach on St Maarten.

 

Sea lion swimming on St Thomas.

 

All are recommended very much :)

[foxjim1]

If you like sailing and snorkeling, I'd suggest a day excursion with Captain Kathleen on "Highpockets." We booked with her 2x now, last Feb when we were on the Ruby Princess and the time b4 was in Feb 2006. Wonderful time. She takes no more than 6 people. She'll work with you if your ship arrives/departs at slightly diff times than her normal booking time. Food was excellent.

 

We did high pockets in 2008 grat time excellent lunch great sail

[CaribbeanBound]

This website of our journeys we set up might prove helpful to you. It's full of detailed information on our excursions in over 20 Caribbean ports including the ones you are specifically asking about. "Secrets of the Caribbean": http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/caribbean-secrets.html

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

[Casanova02]

I am in the process of picking my final shore excursions for my southern Carribean cruise. I am fairly active, but will not do any strenuous activities, like zip line, etc. I noticed that there have been several incidents with tourists being robbed on some islands, so I guess it would be best to book excursions on each island of the itinerary.

 

1. What was your best excursing booked through Celebrity and why?

2. What is the best St. Marteen tour that includes both French and Dutch sides.

3. Which island is shopping not to be missed? Just to pick up a few holiday gifts.

4. Which beach day is not to be missed?

 

Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, St. Marteen, St. Thomas

 

Thank you for your help!

 

 

Hi

 

We are book on the same cruise on december.... You should join the group (not very active for now but it will be soon...) for the roll call and maybe make some groups for excursions (maybe have a discount...)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1768785&page=11

 

 

My personnal suggestion for now is at St-Thomas ... go to Sapphire beach (here's the link for the beach http://www.sapphireinthesun.com/ ) by cab then rent chairs... Snorkeling is super... we were there last april and we will go back for sure...

 

Thanks all for your suggestion... since there's a lot of things to do and see at each ports, well, we decide to book the same cruise next year...