Princess Shore Excursions for Royal

[mcordry]

I need advice... My sister and I are going to be on the Royal in April 2016. We are deciding on shore excursions and because it is a 20 day cruise there are a lot of decisions to make. We want to use our money wisely, but also we don't want to miss out on anything. I would like anyone's opinion on the value of the tours (if you have done them). And any opinions on anything about the tours. I am also going to post this in the port of call forum for each island to get even more feedback. We are avid cruisers and we are open to any opinion. Here are the island and tours most are ship tours through Princess but 2 are independent tours I will notate which one they are.

Antigua-ship tour-Catamaran & Lobster Lunch Scenic Cruise and Swim

Barbados-ship tour-Five Star Sail, Turtle Encounter & Lunch

St. Lucia-independent tour-Spencer Ambrose Tours Land , Sea, & Beach Adventure (we have done Cosol before and loved it just wanted to try something different)

St. Kitts-ship tour-Scenic Railway Ride and Coastal Cruise

Dominica-ship tour-River tubing & Rain forest scenic dr.

Grenada-ship tour-Panoramic Coastal & Country Drive

Bonaire-independent tour- Woodwind Snorkeling and Sailing

Aruba-ship tour-Semi Submarine, shipwreck & Island Drive.

If there is an island that we should not get off and see let us know that too. We have bee so some of these islands and wanted to go back again. Sorry about the long post but thanks for your time in reading in and responding.

[-Lew-]

It doesn't appear you've joined the roll call for your cruise. You'll find others who are likely planning private tours or can offer advice because they've done the itineraries in the past. Click here to find your roll call.

 

Enjoy your cruise...

 

Lew

[TwoCruisers]

I need advice... My sister and I are going to be on the Royal in April 2016. We are deciding on shore excursions and because it is a 20 day cruise there are a lot of decisions to make. We want to use our money wisely, but also we don't want to miss out on anything. I would like anyone's opinion on the value of the tours (if you have done them). And any opinions on anything about the tours. I am also going to post this in the port of call forum for each island to get even more feedback. We are avid cruisers and we are open to any opinion. Here are the island and tours most are ship tours through Princess but 2 are independent tours I will notate which one they are.

Antigua-ship tour-Catamaran & Lobster Lunch Scenic Cruise and Swim

Barbados-ship tour-Five Star Sail, Turtle Encounter & Lunch

St. Lucia-independent tour-Spencer Ambrose Tours Land , Sea, & Beach Adventure (we have done Cosol before and loved it just wanted to try something different)

St. Kitts-ship tour-Scenic Railway Ride and Coastal CruiseDominica-ship tour-River tubing & Rain forest scenic dr.

Grenada-ship tour-Panoramic Coastal & Country Drive

Bonaire-independent tour- Woodwind Snorkeling and Sailing

Aruba-ship tour-Semi Submarine, shipwreck & Island Drive.

If there is an island that we should not get off and see let us know that too. We have bee so some of these islands and wanted to go back again. Sorry about the long post but thanks for your time in reading in and responding.

 

I personally would stay clear of the St. Kitts Scenic Railway Tour. I know of two occasions where it broke down and stranded the passengers for hours, in the heat, before being rescued and brought back to the ship by bus. If you want an excellent island tour I suggest Thenford Grey’s “Grand Tour of St. Kitts”. This tour is more comprehensive and costs much less than the ship’s tours. His web site is thenfordgreytours dot com.

[nukesubsailor]

I need advice... My sister and I are going to be on the Royal in April 2016. We are deciding on shore excursions and because it is a 20 day cruise there are a lot of decisions to make. We want to use our money wisely, but also we don't want to miss out on anything. I would like anyone's opinion on the value of the tours (if you have done them). And any opinions on anything about the tours. I am also going to post this in the port of call forum for each island to get even more feedback. We are avid cruisers and we are open to any opinion. Here are the island and tours most are ship tours through Princess but 2 are independent tours I will notate which one they are.

Antigua-ship tour-Catamaran & Lobster Lunch Scenic Cruise and Swim

Barbados-ship tour-Five Star Sail, Turtle Encounter & Lunch

St. Lucia-independent tour-Spencer Ambrose Tours Land , Sea, & Beach Adventure (we have done Cosol before and loved it just wanted to try something different)

St. Kitts-ship tour-Scenic Railway Ride and Coastal Cruise

Dominica-ship tour-River tubing & Rain forest scenic dr.

Grenada-ship tour-Panoramic Coastal & Country Drive

Bonaire-independent tour- Woodwind Snorkeling and Sailing

Aruba-ship tour-Semi Submarine, shipwreck & Island Drive.

If there is an island that we should not get off and see let us know that too. We have bee so some of these islands and wanted to go back again. Sorry about the long post but thanks for your time in reading in and responding.

 

We have done the tours you list in Antigua and Barbados and can't wait to do them again. I have no experience with the others you list so cannot comment on them.

[mcordry]

thanks I will look into Thenford Grey's tours

[fishywood]

Since you seem to enjoy active excursions I will also say don't bother with the St Kitts railway. There is a 45 minute bus ride between the pier and the rail head which could be either before or after the train portion. And the word "scenic" is used quite loosely. As I prefer the more laid-back excursions it was OK for me but I sense you would be bored silly (unless you are specifically looking for a change of pace excursion in one port where you can just kick back with a few rum punches).

[caribill]

Aruba-ship tour-Semi Submarine, shipwreck & Island Drive.

 

If you have never been to Aruba, I suggest instead you take a taxi tour (arranged in advance) of the island. It is a fixed hourly rate and you might find two others on your roll call would would join you and share the cost.

 

When we did it we used Amador Lacle (Bully) bullytaxi79@hotmail.com for a four hour tour.

[Steelers36]

I need advice... My sister and I are going to be on the Royal in April 2016. We are deciding on shore excursions and because it is a 20 day cruise there are a lot of decisions to make. We want to use our money wisely, but also we don't want to miss out on anything. I would like anyone's opinion on the value of the tours (if you have done them). And any opinions on anything about the tours. I am also going to post this in the port of call forum for each island to get even more feedback. We are avid cruisers and we are open to any opinion. Here are the island and tours most are ship tours through Princess but 2 are independent tours I will notate which one they are.

Antigua-ship tour-Catamaran & Lobster Lunch Scenic Cruise and Swim

Barbados-ship tour-Five Star Sail, Turtle Encounter & Lunch

St. Lucia-independent tour-Spencer Ambrose Tours Land , Sea, & Beach Adventure (we have done Cosol before and loved it just wanted to try something different)

St. Kitts-ship tour-Scenic Railway Ride and Coastal Cruise

Dominica-ship tour-River tubing & Rain forest scenic dr.

Grenada-ship tour-Panoramic Coastal & Country Drive

Bonaire-independent tour- Woodwind Snorkeling and Sailing

Aruba-ship tour-Semi Submarine, shipwreck & Island Drive.

If there is an island that we should not get off and see let us know that too. We have bee so some of these islands and wanted to go back again. Sorry about the long post but thanks for your time in reading in and responding.

 

Have you looked at the "home page" for the CC Boards? There are island destination threads and people post lots of info on how they liked or did not like certain tours, plus contact info for private tour operators.

 

Obviously you have done some research to find Woodwind.

On Dominica, I would go with a private tours. I think it's Bumping (I'd have to go back and look it up, but you can find him).

 

Looks like you may not care for beaching it, but I would recommend just head to a resort beach on west side of Aruba. There are convenient island buses to take you there. Eagle and Palm. Palm is north of Eagle and is populated with the larger resorts. Eagle is to the south and has smaller resorts and less crowds. Check with resorts ahead of time for guest fees. Some will just charge for chairs and umbrella if you are eating/drinking there.

[Older Sister]

Bonaire: Woodwind is WONDERFUL! Book it as soon as you can . . . they're so good, they fill up quickly.

 

Allyn