Disappointing P&O shore excursions in the Caribbean... any advice?

[CaptainPedantic]

After having such a brilliant time on Britannia last November, we've booked again for this winter and last night spent some time looking through the ship's excursions. We were quite disappointed with the available options, partly since we booked fairly late, and so I'm hoping for some recommendations on what to do!

We have plans already for Curacao, Bonaire, St Vincent and Barbados - but nothing for Grenada, St Lucia, St Kitts, Antigua and St Maarten - any suggestions? Many thanks!

[Megabear2]

21 minutes ago, CaptainPedantic said:

After having such a brilliant time on Britannia last November, we've booked again for this winter and last night spent some time looking through the ship's excursions. We were quite disappointed with the available options, partly since we booked fairly late, and so I'm hoping for some recommendations on what to do!

We have plans already for Curacao, Bonaire, St Vincent and Barbados - but nothing for Grenada, St Lucia, St Kitts, Antigua and St Maarten - any suggestions? Many thanks!

What sort of thing do you enjoy? 

 

St Kitts - how about going across to Nevis or doing the interior forest walks?

Grenada - if you don't fancy the beach the gardens are beautiful and also the chocolate making

St Lucia - the by land and sea is excellent if you've not done it, or how about the aerial tramway.  There's a new option of the mud baths as well - I've never done the full day there but z short taster was fun.

Antigua - Nelson's Dockyard is a nice half day.  If it's available, possibly not as it's so popular the catamaran. There's also the magnificent beaches as a fall back option.

St Maarten - walk to the beach nearby.  Best tours includd the Admirals Cup yacht and the beach at the airport.  I notice more opened up for the French side, presumably because the rebuilding and roads are now complete after the hurricane damage in 2017.

 

The Caribbean is what it is, mainly water based sun and beaches or the tropical areas inland.  The offerings therefore remain much the same year in year out.  Great for R&R rather than activities!

[CCFC]

The sugar train in St Kitts is one of my all time favourite trips

[elmsliebev]

Cosol tours in St Lucia were brilliant a few years ago. Full day tour, with food and drinks. We saw the mud pools (take old clothes - it stains!), waterfall, banana plantation, the Pitons, a boat ride and snorkelling. Small air-conditioned mini buses were used. 

[jeanlyon]

12 minutes ago, elmsliebev said:

Cosol tours in St Lucia were brilliant a few years ago. Full day tour, with food and drinks. We saw the mud pools (take old clothes - it stains!), waterfall, banana plantation, the Pitons, a boat ride and snorkelling. Small air-conditioned mini buses were used. 

Did Cosol tour years ago.  Absolutely excellent.  We never do P&O excursions.  

Edited September 5, 2023 by jeanlyon

[LondonLad60]

My daughter thoroughly recommends Papa Boat Tours on St Lucia. However, last time we were in St Lucia (autumn 2019) there were two separate berths - the Papa tours only operate out of one, and of course, we were berthed in the other. The aptly named Rum Therapy bar is also worth a visit - when we were there most cocktails were two for the price of one.

[CaptainPedantic]

2 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

What sort of thing do you enjoy? 

Thank you for the suggestions! We do like activities such as snorkelling, swimming, river tubing, and catamaran trips but nothing too extreme or too energetic (no hiking or ziplining!!!) And of course we're spoilt for choice for beaches, but if there are any standouts we shouldn't miss, that would be great!

[CaptainPedantic]

1 hour ago, jeanlyon said:

Did Cosol tour years ago.  Absolutely excellent.  We never do P&O excursions.  

Thank you! We rarely do ship-organised excursions, although we do find P&O to be pretty good value compared to others like Princess, and we had a couple of bad experiences DIY in the Caribbean previously... Will definitely look into Cosol!

[Junction2]

I was just about to mention the zip wires in Antigua but see you’re not keen. I was early 60’s when I tried them and honestly, they were great fun. Very safety conscious too. 
I’ve only been to Antigua but probably like most of the islands the sea and beaches are the main attraction. Taxis are plentiful in St. John’s- my favourite beaches are Church Valley and Turners, both with beach catering. 

[CaptainPedantic]

5 minutes ago, Junction2 said:

I was just about to mention the zip wires in Antigua but see you’re not keen. 

Actually we did the zip wires in Belize last time we came to the Caribbean, I really enjoyed it but my wife wasn't so keen given her fear of heights 😉 she got her revenge with a horse riding tour later in that cruise... Thanks for the suggestions though!

[gsmt47471015]

4 hours ago, CCFC said:

The sugar train in St Kitts is one of my all time favourite trips

Totally agree 😀😀

[July morning]

Sugar train gets our vote as well, we've been on it a few times 😁

[dbjhughes]

P&O's excursion 'St Kitts railway and cruise' was the most enjoyable excursion I have ever done on any cruise. A catamaran takes you (at a very leisurely pace, and with plenty of alcoholic sustenance to hand!) along the beautiful west coast from Basseterre to near the base of Brimstone Hill Fortress (distant view only, but its huge scale is apparent). You are then transferred to the famous St Kitts scenic railway, which is unforgettable, before being transferred back to the port. An idyllic combination, if P&O are offering it on your cruise. Basseterre is also really charming. (You may have guessed that St Kitts is my favourite Caribbean island!)

[CCFC]

1 hour ago, July morning said:

Sugar train gets our vote as well, we've been on it a few times 😁

Im going on it again in December 😁

[janieb1962]

Check out Caribbean Island tours on Facebook. We have used them in the past .. lovely lady  Owena Perrin organises them from uk …pay a small deposit … the rest on the day to the tour provider.

[Harryjacobs]

REF Antigua.... when alighting the ship and walking down Heritage key you will see many tour operators advitising trips.  I highly advise the Nelsons Dockyard and then catch a few hours on Jolly Beach.

[Denarius]

3 hours ago, Harryjacobs said:

REF Antigua.... when alighting the ship and walking down Heritage key you will see many tour operators advitising trips.  I highly advise the Nelsons Dockyard and then catch a few hours on Jolly Beach.

Just one word of "warning" on Nelson's Dockyard. Whilst it has been beautifully restored it is not a museum or a recreation of a working dockyard as it would have been in Nelson's day. Apart from one small exhibition the buildings now house apartments, restaurants and a few shops. Go understanding this you will enjoy your visit. But don't expect history.

[doog442]

12 hours ago, Denarius said:

Just one word of "warning" on Nelson's Dockyard. Whilst it has been beautifully restored it is not a museum or a recreation of a working dockyard as it would have been in Nelson's day. Apart from one small exhibition the buildings now house apartments, restaurants and a few shops. Go understanding this you will enjoy your visit. But don't expect history.

 

As far as Antigua goes its still a main attraction for such a small island and in a lovely setting. As you suggest don't take 'dockyard' literally. We felt the exhibition gave us enough information as necessary .If you combine it with Shirley heights, the old forts and the stunning views you'll get more than enough history about the place and have a great day out. 

[Harryjacobs]

I spent 2 weeks on Antigua and loved the Island.  The locals are really friendly and you get no trouble.  we used the local buses to get around apart from 2 days when we hired a car to get to the more remote places.  We topped the trip off with a suprise dinner our hotel arranged with Viv richards and Andy Roberts.  Best trip I ever had.

[crimson moon]

On 9/5/2023 at 11:06 PM, janieb1962 said:

Check out Caribbean Island tours on Facebook. We have used them in the past .. lovely lady  Owena Perrin organises them from uk …pay a small deposit … the rest on the day to the tour provider.

We used Caribbean Islands Tours for Arvia's transatlantic in January and had fantastic service both from Owena here in the UK and the companies on the Islands. We did 3 trips, an Island Tour in Grenada and one in St Maarten (which took in Sunset Beach) and an evening trip to Oistens in Bardados. All were cheaper than P&O

[Presto2]

We've been told on here about Bonaire and hiring  golf buggy to DIY. The service booking this has been faultless and looks amazing. Many thanks to our CC buddies for helping with this

[CaptainPedantic]

These are all brilliant suggestions... THANK YOU everyone!

[slug33ukuk]

On 9/5/2023 at 11:31 AM, CaptainPedantic said:

After having such a brilliant time on Britannia last November, we've booked again for this winter and last night spent some time looking through the ship's excursions. We were quite disappointed with the available options, partly since we booked fairly late, and so I'm hoping for some recommendations on what to do!

We have plans already for Curacao, Bonaire, St Vincent and Barbados - but nothing for Grenada, St Lucia, St Kitts, Antigua and St Maarten - any suggestions? Many thanks!

I would advise NOT booking cruise excursions,,its a lot cheaper if you negotiate a taxi / minibus at ANY of the ports visit.  THEY WILL DROP YOU OFF WHEREVER YOU WANT and you dont pay until they pick you up......and will get you back in plenty of time we have visited the caribbean many many times. As a instance, we got off the ship in Barbados...bus station across the road....cost us 1 us dollar to get the local beach...ship would have charged 45

[CaptainPedantic]

Agree mostly @slug33ukuk (especially with the Barbados bus!) but we have had a couple or three unsavoury experiences with DIY in the Caribbean in the past. 2 of those in St Lucia with what feels like a high-pressure sell as soon as you get past security and funnelled through the "dispatch" area, and one more recently when trying to get back to the ship in Curacao. St Lucia is the main concern, and following the advice above, Cosol and Caribbean Island Tours mean we have some good options there. Thanks though for the advice!

[Megabear2]

On 9/7/2023 at 6:44 PM, crimson moon said:

We used Caribbean Islands Tours for Arvia's transatlantic in January and had fantastic service both from Owena here in the UK and the companies on the Islands. We did 3 trips, an Island Tour in Grenada and one in St Maarten (which took in Sunset Beach) and an evening trip to Oistens in Bardados. All were cheaper than P&O

Are Caribbean Islands Tours only available by Facebook?  They don't come up with a website when searching Google and as a non Facebook user I wonder if they are available to contact any other way.  Thanks.