Southern Caribbean Cruise Ports - Adventure of the Seas - excursions or on your own?

[cruisepro19]

Hi everyone,

 

We are heading out on the RCL Adventure of the Seas at the end of February 2014. We are hoping to do some excursions in some of the cruise ports and try to walk around/cab it on our own in a few other ports and are seeking recommendations. Below are the ports we will be visiting:

 

- St.Croix

- St.Maarten

- Antigua

- St. Lucia

- Barbados

 

We are docked in most of the ports from approx. 8am - 5pm. None of us in our family have been to any of the ports listed. We are a family with 2 adults in their 30's and 1 teen who is 19. We drawn more towards water activities, hiking, walking, etc. and not as much into the bus tours. We want to be able to see as much as we can and have a lot of wonderful experiences without breaking the bank. We are certainly open to "a day at the beach" where we can walk or take a cab. Any suggestions and experiences of other cruiser would be very much appreciated.

 

Thank you all in advance!

[cleob]

In St Maarten, I would take the water taxi and go shopping

In St. Croix, we've taken shuttles to two different beaches right near the pier.

In St Lucia, no tour could be better then Cosol's tours, you see all the highlights, have some beach time between the pitons and food and drink is included and is plentiful.

In Barbados, I know it sounds cheesy but we did a snorkel and pirate cruise. The pirate wedding on the return trip was fun and the rum punch was flowing.

In Antigua we took a ships tour which frankly was dull. We go there again in March and we're getting a taxi and going to the coconut beach club and getting a day pass which includes your lunch, all drinks and beach chair.

[VillaHappy]

We did this route on the Adventure last February!

 

Our first stop was St. Croix, we made it a beach day and you have lots to choose from here! We considered snorkeling at Buck Island, but it seemed so far away from port and many posts on travel websites said that the snorkeling was not that fantastic.

 

In St Maarten, it's a great idea to just take the water taxi and go shopping. The taxi is $7 pp round trip. They give you a wrist band when you board, so they know you paid and will return you to the cruise terminal.

 

In St Lucia, we went with Cosol's tours, because we wanted to see all the highlights, ending the day with some beach time at the pitons. We had our 12 and 8 year old with us. One negative to factor in - by the end of the day, we got a little car sick being in the van to get from point to point, along St Lucia's winding roads up and down the mountains.

 

In Antigua, we did Stingray City through the ship. Had a blast! You can put bait in your mouth, go under water and a sting ray will suck the bait right out of it! We did not try that, only watched. :D

 

Being your last stop, you may be out of energy by the time you get to Barbados. Whatever you choose, make it a low key day.

Edited December 4, 2013 by VillaHappy

[DonnaK]

St Maarten: We usually take the water taxi into town for shopping and the beach there. However, Bernard's tour is one of the best, and an excellent value! www.bernardstours.com

 

St. Lucia: As others have mentioned, Cosol tours is highly recommended.

 

Antigua: We toured with Lawrence of Antigua, and he was a great tour guide.

[kaybeeeeeee]

In St. Lucia we had the best excursion we've ever taken with Herod Stanislas. He insisted on a minimum of 10 (we were 6 and recruited the others from our roll call. The personalized service was awesome. Lunch was home cooked by his mother and served on her veranda in the shadows of the pitons.

 

Haven't done any research on St. Lucia recently but when we went in 2010 Herod's email address was hstanislas@hotmail.com.

 

Good luck & enjoy!

[cruisepro19]

Hi Kaybeeeeeee, VillaHappy, cleob, and DonnaK,

 

Thank you all so much for your advice. We are looking forward to our cruise. We have researched and emailed a few of your suggested tours and we will see if there is space available and what we would like to see on each of the islands we are sailing to.

 

Happy cruising!

[GoCards73]

We did the same itinerary this past February. I recommend mixing in a beach day or two along the way. With 5 ports in 5 days you'll come home worn out if you try to do too much.

In St Croix we toured Cruzan Rum in the morning- the cab ride was only about 10 minutes and the tour was only a few dollars with a few free drinks. We were back at the pier by lunch time. We spent the afternoon at a beach bar a short walk up the beach called Coconuts. Decent food, free chairs/ umbrellas and live music.

St Maarten can easily be done on your own or via a tour. Taxis are plentiful and reasonable. We spent the day plane spotting at Maho Beach.

Antigua was a beach day.

I agree with everyone about Cosol in St Lucia.

In Barbados we snorkeled with the sea turtles (RC excursion) but everyone back on the ship raved about a beach spot called the Boatyard.

[soccermom123]

We did this itinerary last year with two very active teens..

 

In st. Maarten we did the Americas cup regatta. Total blast

 

In Antigua we did a ship tour with Antigua paddles. And in Barbados we did a catamaran tour with cool runnings. All tours my teens loved

[skiiergirl]

Hi everyone,

 

We are heading out on the RCL Adventure of the Seas at the end of February 2014. We are hoping to do some excursions in some of the cruise ports and try to walk around/cab it on our own in a few other ports and are seeking recommendations. Below are the ports we will be visiting:

 

- St.Croix

- St.Maarten

- Antigua

- St. Lucia

- Barbados

 

We are docked in most of the ports from approx. 8am - 5pm. None of us in our family have been to any of the ports listed. We are a family with 2 adults in their 30's and 1 teen who is 19. We drawn more towards water activities, hiking, walking, etc. and not as much into the bus tours. We want to be able to see as much as we can and have a lot of wonderful experiences without breaking the bank. We are certainly open to "a day at the beach" where we can walk or take a cab. Any suggestions and experiences of other cruiser would be very much appreciated.

 

Thank you all in advance!

 

Barbados: Silvermoon

Antigua: day pass to Coconuts at Yepton Estates

St Naarten: water taxi to town for shopping, lunch at Greenhouse or Kangaroo Court, ride Segway OB boardwalk and/or take taxi over to Maho Beach to watch planes land

St Lucia: some friends just did Mystic Man sail yesterday and said it was awesome

[OTownNick]

St Maarten-Captain Alan's was the best tour we have done. Highly recommend this. Check his reviews on Trip Advisor and also visit his website.

 

St Lucia-Cosols was the best land tour we ever took. You must do his tour

 

Antigua- Lawrence of Antigua is another must do.

 

In St Croix we did the full day Buck Island snorkeling tour with Bug Beards. The island and reef are beautiful. The catamaran was a little crowded was my only complaint, but whether through him or another tour I highly recommend a trip out to Buck Island

[dadroy]

All the posts have given you some fantastic recommendations. I would suggest you go to http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587 here on cruise critic and you can ask about individual tour companies and get a lot of research on each post.

 

I used it before our last Caribbean cruise and found some options I would never have heard of.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Lots of good suggestions above, but I would add Maho Beach in St. Martin. Watching the planes come in low over the beach is a treat for any age.

 

 

Also, visit the Ports of Call Forum on this board for many other great ideas on each island you are visiting.