8 Day Eastern out of Lauderdale on the Freedom

[WillCruz4Food]

Wow, it seems like forever that I have posted to these forums. Because it has been a while since I have planned a vacation! My next one is Apr 24th of 2010 on the Freedom and I'm going to all new places (to me). I'm looking for some suggestions on shore excursions, or what to do if we decide not to do any excursions.

 

Our ports are

San Juan

St Thomas

Antigua

Tortola

Nassau

 

In that order. We have not been to any of these ports, nor have we been on the Freedom so we are super excited. What would you guys recommend for activities / excursions?

[CruiseLover824]

If you like to shop for jewelry, then St. Thomas is the place to do that--they have like 300 jewelry stores!! When I was there, we did the beach and shopping excursion. They gave us a few hours to shop, then a few hours at Sapphire Beach. The beach was okay, but when I go back to St. Thomas, I am going to try Magen's Bay this time.

 

As for San Juan, a tour that takes you to some of the forts & historical sites would be pretty cool if you like the historical stuff. There is a Segway tour that is offered from a private company for about $84 that takes you around the city. The private tour lasts 2 hours.

[Paisan]

We are on this cruise also. We are excited about this one as well, we have never sailed Carnival before, but the ports look great. Been to St. Thomas and I loved it there. We booked a balcony on the Lido deck, kind of high up, but the views look spectacular!

[amistad]

I've been watching this cruise hoping the prices will go down, I have been to all of these ports and it is a great iten. San Juan is fun to walk around see the historic sights, shop, gamble. St Thomas has great beaches, Coral World were you can swim with the sea lions, shark encounters ect. and shopping. Antigua has powdery soft sand, clear water and Nelson's Dockyard. Tortola has the Virgin Gorda Baths. Nassau has the Atlantis and nice golf courses. I know you will love all of your stops.

[WishIwasOutThereNOW]

if you want to go off the script, try booking a tour from antigua w/ caribbean helicopters for a fly over of the volcano and destroyed town of plymouth on montserrat. kind of expensive and takes 4 to make the trip, but IMHO, worth the money. one of the most extrordinary things i've ever seen. a modern day pompeii.

[Brentonsmom]

We were on this cruise June of this year. In San Juan we just walked around and ate dinner at a restaurant in San Juan for my son's 13th birthday. We had been there before and went to one of the forts which was alot of fun and very interesting. In St. Thomas we did Godfrey's tour which I highly recomend. It was horseback riding in Antigua, on our own, not thru the ship. If you are interested in that I can tell you how to go about it. In Nassau and Tortola we just wandered around some. We had a great time. The ship is great and the ports are so pretty.

 

By the way, I am from Brandon but live in north Fl now. Parents still live in Valrico.

 

Tina

[BlueJacketsFan1]

My wife and I did the same cruise two years ago on the Liberty. All of the islands were wonderful. We have a great time and so much fun in all of them. We wouldn't mind doing that cruise again in the near future. There are some wonderful excursions in the islands. You will have a great time.

[WillCruz4Food]

I'm looking forward to it for sure. I'm thinking I may go the "just wander around and explore route", maybe book a last miniute excursion on the ship.

 

I have not actually booked yet, I'm coordinating a bunch of friends so I'm hoping we can all book at the same time.

[Mrs.C05]

I am doing the same itinerary but different dates. I have found that for San Juan, it will slim pickings on excursions since you're only there from 5pm to 11:59 (but back on board by 11-11:30). I think my husband and I will be just going to Senor Frogs.

[djhsolara]

Wow, it seems like forever that I have posted to these forums. Because it has been a while since I have planned a vacation! My next one is Apr 24th of 2010 on the Freedom and I'm going to all new places (to me). I'm looking for some suggestions on shore excursions, or what to do if we decide not to do any excursions.

 

Our ports are

San Juan

St Thomas

Antigua

Tortola

Nassau

 

In that order. We have not been to any of these ports, nor have we been on the Freedom so we are super excited. What would you guys recommend for activities / excursions?

 

 

I'm not sure what is offered on Carnival, but we did the following on HAL and enjoyed them:

 

San Juan: Bacardi Distillery tour and tour of Old San Juan

 

St Thomas: Shop Shop Shop (we always stock up on colognes there)

 

Tortola: Do a tour of the island. There is really NOTHING at the cruise terminal...so if you only get off and walk around there, there is really nothing to see there (we only did this the first time and did not like Tortola at all, but the next time we did the island tour and saw a very beautiful island).

[MarysMom]

We did this cruise last year and LOVED it.

 

In San Juan we just walked around and went to the forts and Senor Frogs. St. Thomas was Maegans Bay and shopping. In Antiqua we felt very unsafe (just our personal feelings and not meant as a judgement of the island) so we got back on the ship pretty quickly. We went to Cane Garden Bay in Tortola and it was a perfect day! The only excursion we book was swimming with the stingrays in the Bahamas. It was okay, I could take it or leave it.

 

Enjoy, Im jealous!

[jessemon]

I didn't look up the port times but, I think this ship took over the Liberty's schedule. Did this cruise a year and a half ago.

SJ was at nght and had been there many tmes previous. The forts are cool and the capitol building also. Some folks with our group did the night time kayak thingy where the water is phosphoresant (SP). They absolutely loved it.

In Antigua did a tour with Lawrance of Antigua. He was great and so was his tour. His free rum punch and local beer during the tour wasn't bad either.

Tortola was Cane Garden Bay and a walk around the small shopping area downtown. many local crafts that were nice.

St Thomas is Magen's Bay. Or another thing I really like is Paradise point tram ride to the top of the mountian right outside the port. On of the prettiest views in the Caribbean.

Nassau is Nassau. I can take it or leave it.

[ATLCruiseJunkie]

Took this cruise a little over a year ago on the Triumph. Since this was a port-intensive cruise, we decided to try to do more things on our own or take less expensive tours to save money on excursions.

In San Juan we did our own walking tour (you can find links to guides if you Google or go to the San Juan port of call boards here on CC), went back to the ship to eat dinner, then did the Juan Carlos Flamenco show excursion that night. St. Thomas - we'd been here twice before, so we just did the Skyride on our own, walked around the shops, and chose that day to take advantage of the in port specials at the spa.

Antigua - We did a ship's city tour that went all over the island and to a beach for a while (can't remember which one).

Tortola - just got a tour as we got off the ship for an island tour that gave us time at Cane Garden Bay at the the end.

Nassau - we've been here lots of times, so we walked around to find a place to eat, then got back on the ship. If it's your first time in Nassau, I would suggest doing a city tour or take a water taxi over to Paradise Island.

Overall, great itinerary. I love sailing into the Eastern Caribbean islands with all the hills and rainforests. Gorgeous views!

[jessemon]

I didn't look up the port times but, I think this ship took over the Liberty's schedule. Did this cruise a year and a half ago.

SJ was at nght and had been there many tmes previous. The forts are cool and the capitol building also. Some folks with our group did the night time kayak thingy where the water is phosphoresant (SP). They absolutely loved it.

In Antigua did a tour with Lawrance of Antigua. He was great and so was his tour. His free rum punch and local beer during the tour wasn't bad either.

Tortola was Cane Garden Bay and a walk around the small shopping area downtown. many local crafts that were nice.

St Thomas is Magen's Bay. Or another thing I really like is Paradise point tram ride to the top of the mountian right outside the port. On of the prettiest views in the Caribbean.

Nassau is Nassau. I can take it or leave it.

Oh yes...forgot to mention doing a nine night on the "Dream" in December. The first cruise leaving from Florida. Friends I am cruising with highly recommended the See Antigua By Sea excursion (with Carnival) on a catameran. Last 6 hours with very good food and drinks. Snorkeling and all that kind of stuff.

Also going to go to Jost Van Dyke on the ferry from Tortola to get away from the masses. Heard it is beautiful so we are going over there.

[golfadj]

We did this on Freedom in May and loved it.

 

Suggest you look at port of call page but a few comments.

 

Tortola we took the ferry to the baths and was awesome experience.

 

San Juan why do the ships get in so late. IMHO makes this a waste of time

 

Nassau do not care if we ever go back

 

St Thomas Megans Bay is probably prettiest beach we have ever gone to.

 

We will be going back on Freedom next year for Panama and sorry we will miss John Heald as CD.

[Ellanora]

I'm hoping to do this cruise one day specifically for Antigua and Tortola.

 

In Tortola, I would really like to visit the Baths in Virgin Gorda. It looks like the cruiselines have excursions there, but also you could take a ferry privately.

 

In Antigua, there is a Lobster Lunch tour that has been highly recommended on the Antigua forum here on Cruise Critic. I absolutely want to give it a try: http://www.creolecruisesantigua.com/tours.html

 

In St. Thomas, we really enjoyed the Ultimate Island Tour offered through Carnival, but you can get the same tour cheaper through locals. We visited Magen's Bay Beach (very quiet and pretty with a little bar and restaurant), and Blackbeard's Hill, which has pools and pirate statues, as well as some other scenic stops.

 

In San Juan we walked to the fort, and did some shopping, but we were in port during the day, and I do not know how late the fort stays open. However, I seem to remember someone posting pictures here from visiting the fort at night, so maybe?

 

Have a great time! :)

[falconfan]

Just came back from this cruise.

 

San Juan - Depending on the age and activity level in your group I suggest the Bioluminescent Bay Tour. Purchase this through the ship It is a long drive and a physical excursion. You have to paddle a kayak up a narrow Mangrove lined channel but when you reach the bay it is something that you will never forget. We tried to take pictures but it is too dark to see the creatures. If you do go bring strong bug repellent.

 

St. Thomas - Recommend going to Trunk Bay, or just taking the cable car to the top of Paradise Point. We did this since San Juan was such a late night.

 

Antigua - We took the Adventure Antigua eco-tour (http://www.adventureantigua.com/tour.html). This came recommended by the cruise critic boards for Antigua. We had a blast! There were 15 of us and 3 crew from left to right Tony, Alex, & Chris (the boys are not part of the crew):

 

aboard a 52' diesel catamaran:

 

 

We were well take care of and very comfortable. The trip included a BBQ chicken lunch with pasta salad, tossed salad, fried plantains (sp?), and home made banana bread for dessert. They also provided passion fruit jusce and rum punch after snorkeling. We were not crowded, by comparison here is a picture of the excursion offered through the ship:

 

Tortola - If you do not SCUBA dive take the ferry over to the baths, if you SCUBA then dive the HMS Rhone. If you take the ferry through the ship they pick you up and drop you off right at the pier. If you do it on your own you have to go about .5 mile to the ferry terminal. If you go on your own make sure to use Speedy's, it is much nicer and cleaner then the others.

 

Nassau - If you have the money and have never been, go to Atlantis. I know many people recommend going on your own but many fellow travellers learned the hard way what happens when you go on your own. While we were there in July there was a bad lightning storm that caused all the pools at Atlantis to be closed. When we got back to the ship we were told that we would be reimbursed by the ship for the excursion. There were many that were out the cost of the hotel room they rented to get into Atlantis and they expected Carnival to fix this. The difference in cost between getting the tix through the ship or on your own was $7 per person. Not worth it to me.

 

I have completed a review available here: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=56885

 

Have fun!