Excursions in Southern Carribean

[Extraordinaire]

Hello: We are visiting 5 ports of call in March - Antigua, Tortolla, St. Lucia, St. Thomas and Barbados. We would like suggestions as to where is the best Rum Distillery, where are the best beaches, and where is the best snorkelling/scuba for either beginners and/or people who haven't dove in 18 years? Any and all advice would be most appreciated.

 

Thanks,:)

[jamga02]

Hello, my wife and I went on a similar cruise this past November. I recommend St. Lucia for diving, and Tortola and the Rhone if you are fairly comfortable with deeper diving with the possibility of current. Barbados was okay, but better than St. Thomas for diving. Antigua has decent diving, but our cruise line didn't offer a dive, and finding one that I trusted was a concern. Hope this helps. John

[Extraordinaire]

Thanks so much. Any info we can get at this point is very helpful. It seems lots of people think St. Lucia is the place for snorkel/scuba. We can't do any deep dives however, as we will be going with a friend's untrained daughter.

[Extraordinaire]

Oh I forgot to ask, I guess you didn't do any excursions outside the cruise line. We did one on a cruise last year and it was just wonderful, and a lot less expensive for our group. However, we don't want to go with just anyone, so need to have some referrals.

[GSDsky]

St Lucia - Hacksaw - did it twice and lovely trip to see whales, Pitons, swim and lunch at Marigot bay (sp)

 

barbados - sorry only have done boatyard 3x & silver moon 2x

 

Antigua - we did dickenson Beach

 

Tortola = cane garden beach

 

St Thomas - megans, coki and most recent Emerald beach

 

Ask away and i will try to assist as it was last week.

 

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb4nbKCDswc

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=908583

[Extraordinaire]

Thanks so much - I watched your utube video. Did you do this tour with the cruise line or book privately. If privately, do you know the name of the company and would you recommend them?:o

[GSDsky]

Hacksaws....

Did it twice as Marc tipped me off. Private and search for contact or look for marc's posts and he has the e-mail address.

People we suggested it to last year went with us and the roll call could not thank us enough.

 

Here is a link to his posts and I would post on his rollcall and say John sent you looking for hacksaw contact info.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/search.php?searchid=12195029

[GSDsky]

http://www.hackshaws.com/

[Luv the Sun]

Hello: We are visiting 5 ports of call in March - Antigua, Tortolla, St. Lucia, St. Thomas and Barbados. We would like suggestions as to where is the best Rum Distillery, where are the best beaches, and where is the best snorkelling/scuba for either beginners and/or people who haven't dove in 18 years? Any and all advice would be most appreciated.

 

Thanks,:)

 

Hello Extraordinaire: We just did a South Caribbean Cruise on Cannival's Victory. Here are some excursion ideas based on what we've done:

St. Thomas: Megan's Bay is gorgious! As we'd been there before, we decided to taxi and ferry over to St. John (on our own) to see Trunk Bay and snorkeled there. Either are gorgious beaches and worth visiting. Barbados: We booked the 5 Star Catamaran and Turtle Encounter through Carnival. We snorkeled with dozens of turtles (I took tons of great underwater pictures!!!) and then visited a beautiful soft sandy beach. $99 (+ tips) per person for 5 1/2 hours. You may be able to book the same tour through your ship...or something similar. St. Lucia: I booked an island excursion through COSOL TOURS. This was a very informative tour with lots of fun stops along the way. Tour includes breakfast of yummy freshly baked local food, home-made bread and cheese for lunch and drinks along the way (including several local rum concoctions near the end of the tour). We water taxied to Jalouise Beach (a gorgious secluded beach between the two Pitons) visited a banana plantation, local towns, botanical gardens, sulphur springs, drive-up volcano, soaked in a pool below the Toraille Waterfall. This tour gave us a flavor of the island from every possible angle and was SO worth the $65 per person we were charged (remember, this includes food, beverages, water taxi and park fees). Cosol was born and raised on St. Lucia and is very knowledgable. He takes pride in his tour company and it shows. WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND COSOL TOURS!! If you're interested in booking with Cosol, his website is www.cosol-tours.com/tours.html. Make sure to bring him an apple, they don't grow in St. Lucia and he loves them!

Antigua: We booked the Stingray Sensation through Carnival. We bussed to an area where they had stingrays partially fenced in and interacted with 50 or 60 stingrays in about 4' of water. This was a very fun excursion (the stingrays can't hurt you and are not scary at all) and we took many underwater pictures as well as several of us holding and petting the stingrays. They take your picture and you may purchase them if you'd like, or you can take your own. (We did both.) $71 per person for three hours. You can probably book something similar on your cruise line...ours was at "Stingray City." We didn't go to Tortolla, but to St. Kitts and Dominica instead, so I don't have any recommendations for there.

 

Have a wonderful cruise! Hope you love the South Caribbean as much as we did.

[lovetocruise99]

You'll get many more replies by posting your question on each port board. For beginner snorkelers the best place is Coki Beach in St Thomas. The water is crystal clear so you can see the fish in a foot of water. Here are some photos of Coki Beach. Just take a cab to get there and then ride the tram back.

 

http://familytravelfun.com/cokibeachphoto.html

 

We've gone on the Thriller Tour twice in Barbados to snorkel and more importantly swim with the sea turtles. Stephen does a great job and I highly recommend him. Here is a full review of our tour with him and photos:

 

http://familytravelfun.com/thrillertourbarbados.html

http://familytravelfun.com/swimwithturtlesbarbados.html

 

In St Lucia we've gone twice with Peter the Great which is a land and sea tour to the Pitons, waterfall, volcano and snorkeling at a beach. He is in the process of getting a new boat so I'm not sure if he taking reservations right now. you get on the boat right at the ship and go up to the Pitons. Then you go by van to see the other things. St Lucia's roads are very curvy so we liked not being in a van the entire time.

 

Here's more info about Peter the Great's tour:

http://familytravelfun.com/stluciatours.html

 

And photos of what you'll see along the way:

http://familytravelfun.com/stluciapictures.html

 

We also did the Stingray tour in Antigua. This was tons of fun. Here are photos of Stingray city Antigua. The area for the stingrays is much bigger than I imagined.

http://familytravelfun.com/stingray-city-antigua.html

[Extraordinaire]

Thanks for all your replies!! Lovetocruise99 i guess you'd recommend Thriller Tours as you've gone with them 2 X. Was he reliable, on time etc..? The stingray thing sounds good, did you do that privately, or through the cruiseline? Have you done any zip lining? My kids and I tried it last year in Roathan, but now my husband wants to give it a try.

 

Luvthesun, thanks for your input. Cosol's had a lot of good reviews, we will look into him.

 

Thanks, again everyone!

[lovetocruise99]

Thanks for all your replies!! Lovetocruise99 i guess you'd recommend Thriller Tours as you've gone with them 2 X. Was he reliable, on time etc..? The stingray thing sounds good, did you do that privately, or through the cruiseline? Have you done any zip lining? My kids and I tried it last year in Roathan, but now my husband wants to give it a try.

 

Luvthesun, thanks for your input. Cosol's had a lot of good reviews, we will look into him.

 

Thanks, again everyone!

 

Stephen with Thriller Tours is 100% reliable and on time. We booked the Stingray Antigua through the ship. I haven't done the zip line but I've heard the Loterie Farm in St Maarten is fun if you're stopping there.

[jms2362]

You'll get many more replies by posting your question on each port board. For beginner snorkelers the best place is Coki Beach in St Thomas. The water is crystal clear so you can see the fish in a foot of water. Here are some photos of Coki Beach. Just take a cab to get there and then ride the tram back.

 

http://familytravelfun.com/cokibeachphoto.html

 

We've gone on the Thriller Tour twice in Barbados to snorkel and more importantly swim with the sea turtles. Stephen does a great job and I highly recommend him. Here is a full review of our tour with him and photos:

 

http://familytravelfun.com/thrillertourbarbados.html

http://familytravelfun.com/swimwithturtlesbarbados.html

 

In St Lucia we've gone twice with Peter the Great which is a land and sea tour to the Pitons, waterfall, volcano and snorkeling at a beach. He is in the process of getting a new boat so I'm not sure if he taking reservations right now. you get on the boat right at the ship and go up to the Pitons. Then you go by van to see the other things. St Lucia's roads are very curvy so we liked not being in a van the entire time.

 

Here's more info about Peter the Great's tour:

http://familytravelfun.com/stluciatours.html

 

And photos of what you'll see along the way:

http://familytravelfun.com/stluciapictures.html

 

We also did the Stingray tour in Antigua. This was tons of fun. Here are photos of Stingray city Antigua. The area for the stingrays is much bigger than I imagined.

http://familytravelfun.com/stingray-city-antigua.html

Did you go to Dominica, if so what did you do there?

[GSDsky]

1st time we did the falls through an independent and was great. Wear good shoes and a bathing as walk down to pool is fine but remember you have to walk up. Swam in the pool under the falls.

 

2nd time whale watching through princess. GREAT!!!!!!

[lovetocruise99]

Did you go to Dominica, if so what did you do there?

 

I haven't been to Dominica yet, we'll be there the first week in March. I'm trying to decide between river tubing or snorkeling at Champagne Reef.

[GSDsky]

can't help but i am sure others will

[Toto2Kansas]

I haven't been to Dominica yet, we'll be there the first week in March. I'm trying to decide between river tubing or snorkeling at Champagne Reef.

 

We have done both of these excursions in the past (different cruises of coarse), and really enjoyed them equally. Tough decision! But honestly, either one is great so whichever you decide, you will have a great time.

[Luv the Sun]

Did you go to Dominica, if so what did you do there?

 

For Dominica we booked a tour through the internet with COLT'S TAXI SERVICE. We were treated to Trafalgar Falls, Emerald Pool, Sulpher Springs and a black sandy beach (plus lots of photo stops). This was about a 4 to 5 hour tour and cost us $25 each (+ tip)! Contact www.coltstaxiservice.com/about.html if you're interested. Donald was our tour guide. The more people on the van, the more sites you'll be treated to for the same $25...or at least, that's the way it worked for us! :)

[lovetocruise99]

We have done both of these excursions in the past (different cruises of coarse), and really enjoyed them equally. Tough decision! But honestly, either one is great so whichever you decide, you will have a great time.

 

We've decided to go with snorkeling at Champagne Reef in Dominica. We're doing the river tubing in Grenada. Any special I should know about Champagne Reef?

[Toto2Kansas]

We've decided to go with snorkeling at Champagne Reef in Dominica. We're doing the river tubing in Grenada. Any special I should know about Champagne Reef?

 

If your tour guide dives down with a snorkel to gather some of the water coming from the vent, careful when you touch it, it was hotter than we ever thought it would be. :)

 

Have a great time!

[jms2362]

If your tour guide dives down with a snorkel to gather some of the water coming from the vent, careful when you touch it, it was hotter than we ever thought it would be. :)

 

Have a great time!

WE are also going to the Champagne Reef beach and snorkel. We are taking a taxi to the area and snorkeling offshore with 2 of our daughters, might see you there. Mary and Jim

[Extraordinaire]

1st time we did the falls through an independent and was great. Wear good shoes and a bathing as walk down to pool is fine but remember you have to walk up. Swam in the pool under the falls.

 

2nd time whale watching through princess. GREAT!!!!!!

 

Was this the Toraille Falls you are referring to on St. lucia? What time of year did you swim there because I just read a complaint about there only being about 30 cm of water in the pool and I was looking forward to that.

[davidnsteph]

Hello: We are visiting 5 ports of call in March - Antigua, Tortolla, St. Lucia, St. Thomas and Barbados. We would like suggestions as to where is the best Rum Distillery, where are the best beaches, and where is the best snorkelling/scuba for either beginners and/or people who haven't dove in 18 years? Any and all advice would be most appreciated.

 

Thanks,:)

 

We have a recommendation for a good rum distillery. During a stop on Barbados last year on the Emerald Princess, we took the Sugar Trail tour. We visited St. Nicholas Abbey, an old sugar cane plantation, with a Dutch gabled-roof great house. There is also a rum distillery on the estate, with bottles of rum for sale. On the day we were there, sugar cane was being harvested and crushed into cane juice. We saw the huge antique diesel-powered cane press in action, saw the rum-making process and sampled the aged rum. We also toured the last cane press powered by a windmill that remains on the island. On the way back to the ship, we stopped at the picturesque Bathsheba coast.

 

We enjoyed this unique tour. It was both a rum tour and a historical tour.

 

DavidnSteph

[swartz]

Im trying to book a tour with COSOL TOURS in St. lucia. I have called them twice and sent 2 emails with no reply

[jms2362]

Im trying to book a tour with COSOL TOURS in St. lucia. I have called them twice and sent 2 emails with no reply

 

Same thing happened to me. He finally responded at 10:40 PM Fri night. We were leaving at 6 am the next am. He said he had to have all of our credit card info or he would not hold it. Said must scan card and sign , then fax it to him. We had no way of doing that. There was no business center at hotel we were at. We took up a dif. tour for less money and they did not need a cc to hold it tour. We did Spencer tour and it was very good, he will cater to you for what you want to see.