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Which Southern Carribean Port To Avoid !

piinc

By piinc,
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Silvery Seas Cruiser

Silvery Seas Cruiser

Posted
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Perhaps because I have been to St Maarten so many times because it is on so many itineraries, I would skip St Maarten. That said, it is kind of fun to take the water taxi over to town and walk around a bit. You don't have to spend much time there. The water taxis run back and forth all day long, maybe every fifteen or twenty minutes.

 

The other thing I would say is perhaps you could stay on board half way through your cruise wherever that is.

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smoosh21

smoosh21

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Hi all!

 

We've just booked a southern carribean cruise through royal caribbean jewel of the sea in mid october, starting from:

 

San Juan, PR ->St. Croix, USVI -> Philipsburg St. Maarten -> St. John's Antigua -> Castries, St. Lucia -> Bridgetown, Barbados

 

Problem: This is a very active itinerary with only 1 day at sea. If you were to choose one island port to stay onboard and relax, which would you suggest and why?

 

Thank you for your input. :)

 

 

St Croix probably has the least amount of things to do

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sail7seas

sail7seas

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Hi all!

 

We've just booked a southern carribean cruise through royal caribbean jewel of the sea in mid october, starting from:

 

San Juan, PR ->St. Croix, USVI -> Philipsburg St. Maarten -> St. John's Antigua -> Castries, St. Lucia -> Bridgetown, Barbados

 

Problem: This is a very active itinerary with only 1 day at sea. If you were to choose one island port to stay onboard and relax, which would you suggest and why?

 

Thank you for your input. :)

 

 

 

St. Croix is not one of my favorite islands. It's okay but if you want to stay aboard for one on your itinerary, that is the one I would select.

 

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sail7seas

sail7seas

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Posted (edited)
We had a fantastic time with Consol in St Lucia!!! It is too hard to pick. The only island I wouldn't go back to is St Barths.

 

We've been to St. Bart's three times and really enjoyed every visit. We had a lovely private taxi/guide tour, enjoyed the beautiful island, great lunch, gorgeous marina, pricey but nice shopping ........

 

What was it you didn't like?

 

Edited by sail7seas
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chill6x6

chill6x6

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Why was St. Lucia the best time you had? I'm asking because my cruise goes there in November.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Well maybe it was partly who I was with but to ME St Lucia SCREAMS romance! The Pitons are awesome! If your ship approaches from the south be SURE to get up EARLY(6AM or maybe a little earlier) and have mimosas as you sail by the Pitons! That will really help set the tone for the rest of the day…. Had a GREAT tour with Spencer Ambrose….couldn't have been better…. We did the Jalousie Beach Break with the Soufriere add-on….at LEAST do the Beach Break… This would be the LAST port I would suggest skipping…..

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Ocean Boy

Ocean Boy

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Well maybe it was partly who I was with but to ME St Lucia SCREAMS romance! The Pitons are awesome! If your ship approaches from the south be SURE to get up EARLY(6AM or maybe a little earlier) and have mimosas as you sail by the Pitons! That will really help set the tone for the rest of the day…. Had a GREAT tour with Spencer Ambrose….couldn't have been better…. We did the Jalousie Beach Break with the Soufriere add-on….at LEAST do the Beach Break… This would be the LAST port I would suggest skipping…..

 

I am very surprised that people are listing St. Lucia. I think it is a beautiful island and always look froward to returning there.

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sail7seas

sail7seas

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I am very surprised that people are listing St. Lucia. I think it is a beautiful island and always look froward to returning there.

 

It depends what you do there.

If you tour the island, it is beautiful but if you remain around the area where the ships dock, it is not very attractive or appealing.

 

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Ocean Boy

Ocean Boy

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It depends what you do there.

If you tour the island, it is beautiful but if you remain around the area where the ships dock, it is not very attractive or appealing.

 

 

The same could be said for many places. Barbados and Antigua come to mind. We don't travel to go to the beach so we tend to explore any place that we go.

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ronandannette

ronandannette

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The only port we were not happy with was in St. Lucia, but if you haven't been there it is worth the visit ( we didn't feel very safe in St. Lucia) but we were there the day after the Celebrity Ship passengers were robbed. Have fun and enjoy your cruise.

 

I thought my opinion would be very out of step, but I see lots of others would agree that St. Lucia should be skipped. I've been in scores of Caribbean ports and have never once before felt so uncomfortable. We went to Reduit Beach on our own and while DH was out on a jet ski I was virtually circled by the most aggressive vendors/panhandlers I've ever encountered. :eek: I was offered drugs and lewd propositions; it was unbelievably bad. I am no "shrinking viotet" but I ended up abandoning the chairs & umbrella we'd paid for and retreating to a nearby hotel lobby.

 

If I was compelled by forces beyond my control :mad: to ever set foot on St. Lucia again I would only ever consider doing it on a large, ship-sponsored tour.

 

(Also my 2 cents on St. Maarten is that it had the BLUEST, most beautiful water we've ever seen. We loved it there and I would not recommend you miss that stop.)

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Floridiana

Floridiana

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We've been to all these islands several times except St. Croix. St. Lucia is beautiful. We have never encountered problems there and only one aggressive vendor, an old man near the cruise port. We walked into town, were greeted by people with good day and bargained in the market. We have also been to other areas, especially the Pitons. But by all means, take an organized excursion if you feel unsafe.

 

Sometimes, we take a morning stroll, return to the ship and hang out on our balcony if it does not face another ship.

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marco

marco

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Check out the ship's tours. Whether you take one (or similar on your own) is irrelevant, but you can see what there is to do/see on each island adn plan from there. No matter which island you're at, you don't have to spend the entire day on the island. I'd still get off and do a little bit of exploring based on what appeals to you after reading the excursion options.You might only want to spend a couple of hrs or so in a particular port then go back and enjoy the ship's amenities. Of all the ports you're visiting, I don't think there is one that I could say "don't even bother getting off the ship".

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Ocean Boy

Ocean Boy

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Posted (edited)
I'll add my vote for St. Lucia. It is a very scary place. Beautiful but scary.

 

I am curious. Are you talking Jamaica like scary? Worse than Jamaica like scary? I ask because many people knock Jamaica where I have never felt threatened and St. Lucia, to me, seems quite mild compared to Jamaica.

 

I'm trying to get a sense of where people are coming from on this issue as I have never encountered anything but pleasant and helpful folks on this island.:confused:

Edited by Ocean Boy
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Langley Cruisers

Langley Cruisers

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I am curious. Are you talking Jamaica like scary? Worse than Jamaica like scary? I ask because many people knock Jamaica where I have never felt threatened and St. Lucia, to me, seems quite mild compared to Jamaica.

 

I'm trying to get a sense of where people are coming from on this issue as I have never encountered anything but pleasant and helpful folks on this island.:confused:

 

Yep, agree with you. My DH grew up in St. Lucia as a matter of fact, and although times have changed, we have always felt safe returning there over the years for land vacations or port stops. I mean, in any port you should use common sense, not flash your money or jewelry around, and have your wits about you. That goes without saying. :)

 

By the way, I knew this thread would be subjective with so many people weighing in and giving their own choice and reason for said choice.

 

.

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iancal

iancal

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We have been to St Lucia a number of times. Have done the Cosol tour, a private boat tour, spent time on the beaches, and walked into town. Never an issue..to the point where we would like to spend a week on the island on an independent tour. The only island that we avoid is Jamaica.

 

My guess is that Miami is not very safe...but we go there in order to get on a cruise ship.

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