Post your Eastern Caribbean Excursions here!!!

[luckyman_apd]

What was the name of that other beach?

I'm not sure but it was along what they call the boardwalk. Lots of bars/restaurants along it. We sat staring at the cruise ships on the other side of the harbor.

 

[tinkerbell60]

We went on Godfreys tour in St Thomas and it was great!

What did you see on that tour? I am debating what to do on St Thomas

 

[lizzyb]

What did you see on that tour? I am debating what to do on St Thomas

We went shopping you got to choose how long, tour of the island with some great phoo ops and the to the beach, ot to choose between coki or Magen's. we relly enjoyed it and it was only $30/pp which I think was a steal.

 

[scootch]

We did the full day snorkle to Bucks Island and Honeymoon Beach, loved every minute of it. My girls(age 13 and 10) also loved it.

 

[sgtbob1]

I am told that when you go to St. Thomas, you must take a tour of St. Johns. They say it's beautiful.

 

[MrsBoyer428]

DH and I did not book any excursions ahead of time, but here is what we did on our 7 night, EC Fantasy cruise. We just got back last Saturday.

St. Thomas:
-We started the day by going to Paradise Point. I had heard that if you don't get there right away, the line gets long, so we went pretty much as soon as we could get off the ship. I don't know that it's something we would do again since we've done it now. Once you got up there, the view was pretty spectacular, but it depended on where you were. If you climbed the stairs to the tippy tippy top, the cables and big poles that hold the cables obstructed how amazing the view probably would have been. The view is actually better if you go down the steps from the landing to where the stores are, and then go down the steps to where the restrooms and the bar is. It's down lower, but your view (particularly for pictures) will be unobstructed.
-After that, we walked "to town" and went to Magic Ice http://www.magicice.vi/ which was really neat. Halfway through your walk through is a bar where you get a shot of rum (in an ice shot glass is you ask) and you also get a shot glass to take home with you. Then you continue walking through and go down the ice slide and then you're pretty much done. We liked it, but as it was with Paradise Point, I don't know that we'd go back since it is now something we've already done.
-On the way back to the ship we stopped and did a little shopping. If you are able, and not constrained by time, walk "to town" instead of hopping on one of those pick-up trucks turned "cabs" It was nice to walk hand in hand with DH along the waterfront, and we got some neat pictures.

San Juan:
-We started the day off walking towards Castillo San Felipe del Morro. We did make a stop at La Santa Cathedral San Juan, which was pretty to look at. We spent a good chunk of time walking around del Morro. They had a map as soon as you walked in which told you the major places to go. It was really neat to see and to learn about the history of San Juan. We then walked from del Morro to San Cristobal and walked around that fortress as well. (If you have to pick between the two, go to del Morro)
-Once we got done with the two fortresses, we walked back through Old San Juan and did a little shopping. We stopped at Don Q for a drink, and then went in search of the restaurant Mojito's so we could eat Mofongo. Mofongo is mashed plantains that create a "home" for whatever you choose to have it stuffed with, chicken, beef, shrimp, codfish, etc. It was something we had seen on Food Network, and it was really yummy. Our intention after that was to go to the Bacardi factory, but the ferry was running slow, and I was really afraid of not making it back in time to board the ship. In our opinion, we'll go back to San Juan some day, so we can hit the Bacardi Factory then.

Castaway Cay:
-We started off the day by doing the Castaway Cay 5K. I walked most of it, DH ran more than I walked. Yes, we got the bibs and we also got medals. DH finished before me and got the medal, mine was sent to our stateroom.
-We went back to the ship to change and then went snorkeling. We didn't reserve this ahead of time, but had no problem getting equipment on the island. We then snorkeled for the rest of the morning, stopped for lunch, and snorkeled for the afternoon. We were able to find Mickey, Minnie, a submarine, and a shipwreck. Had we reserved in advance, we may have known that you find these items at the buoys, but we figured it out eventually. Once we found everything (along with lots of fish and sting rays) we dried off, returned our equipment, and did some shopping before getting back onto the ship.

We really enjoyed everything we did on our trip, and we saved a ton of money doing things on our own instead of paying a ton of money on excursions. On our next cruise (Fall, 2015 sometime) our excursion priorities will change, as more than likely we'll have a little one with us. But if you're thinking "I wonder if we can get away with doing excursions on our own" go for it. We walked alot, but the walking was definitely worth the money savings. Next time, I may look in to doing excursions through shoretrips.com or something, but more likely than not, I'll continue to not book through Disney.

 

[MrsB919]

Love this thread! I just spent the past hour or so making notes from all your reviews. I am planning for our Sept. cruise. Can't wait! I thought I had down my ideas for excursions, but now I have new ones. LoL. I'm torn. I love the beach but DH's not a big fan. I'm trying to find a happy compromise, maybe one beach day or just a half beach. I was thinking of the Afternoon Beach Bash tour. With this tour would it give us an opportunity to do another site seeing one or go shopping? I'm a little apprehensive to venture out on our own. Don't want to get lost or scammed. And as for St. Thomas I was sold on the Sky Ride tour by Srisons' pics. OMG they were beautiful! Same question for this one. Is it possible to do another excursion after this or before it? Thanks in advance!

 

[MrsBoyer428]

Love this thread! I just spent the past hour or so making notes from all your reviews. I am planning for our Sept. cruise. Can't wait! I thought I had down my ideas for excursions, but now I have new ones. LoL. I'm torn. I love the beach but DH's not a big fan. I'm trying to find a happy compromise, maybe one beach day or just a half beach. I was thinking of the Afternoon Beach Bash tour. With this tour would it give us an opportunity to do another site seeing one or go shopping? I'm a little apprehensive to venture out on our own. Don't want to get lost or scammed. And as for St. Thomas I was sold on the Sky Ride tour by Srisons' pics. OMG they were beautiful! Same question for this one. Is it possible to do another excursion after this or before it? Thanks in advance!

For the Skyride, I would get there first thing in the morning as soon as you get off the ship. It's a quick walk, and there is never a point where you can get lost so long as you keep walking towards the skyride itself, or towards the ship, both of which you can see if you look in the direction they are. Since we did it first thing in the morning, there was a ton of time to go and do other things on St. Thomas.

 

[MrsB919]

For the Skyride, I would get there first thing in the morning as soon as you get off the ship. It's a quick walk, and there is never a point where you can get lost so long as you keep walking towards the skyride itself, or towards the ship, both of which you can see if you look in the direction they are. Since we did it first thing in the morning, there was a ton of time to go and do other things on St. Thomas.

If we were to do this first thing does anyone know if we could do the St. John's Island tour as well or Magen's Beach Break. I know it sounds crazy but I want to try and get the most out of our time. Thanks!

 

[Doingitagain]

We are going in July 2014 with a group of nine adults, four of whom will be in their 80s. No wheelchairs or scooters yet, but slow walking. Cannot do small boats or ferries because of seasickness, so we are thinking we may stay on the ship. Any one have any thoughts?

 

[smeecanada]

And as for St. Thomas I was sold on the Sky Ride tour by Srisons' pics. OMG they were beautiful! Same question for this one. Is it possible to do another excursion after this or before it? Thanks in advance!

When we went in 2009 we did St. Thomas on our own with no problems. We took a taxi to Coki Beach and when we returned we did the Sky Ride (we purchased the passes thru DCL). Plenty of time to do both.

 

[kalel29]

I haven't been able to figure out what that even means...

So basically if a thread has not been posted to in a while, newer threads will push it down until it eventually gets moved to the next page until someone posts in the thread again. To me, if it goes beyond the first five pages, at that point the thread can be lost because people (like myself) rarely go beyond the first few pages unless they have the time. Making a thread a "sticky", keeps the thread on the first page regardless of the last post.

 

[MDennis28]

So, what is the difference between a thread and a sticky please?

 

[Zeppelin]

So, what is the difference between a thread and a sticky please?

a sticky is a thread and a thread can be stuck....

 

[Debbie]

A sticky is one of the threads at the top of the first page. They never move and are "stuck" there. Hence the term "sticky". All other threads move back pages with the posting of new threads.

 

[MDennis28]

Ah. So they are threads with valuable info and/or commonly asked questions and answers then? Cool.

 

[pbwhite]

Curious if anyone has done parasailing in St. Maarten with SXM - they are at the beach in Philipsburg, and it seems like a better option for a tandem ride than Castaway Cay, as you sit next to each other instead of front to back.

 

[sgtbob1]

Just wondering, What happens if you book an excursion, and when you go on the cruise, the weather is so bad you want to cancel your excursion. Can you get a refund?

 

[JennandJaryd]

DH and I did not book any excursions ahead of time, but here is what we did on our 7 night, EC Fantasy cruise. We just got back last Saturday.

St. Thomas:
-We started the day by going to Paradise Point. I had heard that if you don't get there right away, the line gets long, so we went pretty much as soon as we could get off the ship. I don't know that it's something we would do again since we've done it now. Once you got up there, the view was pretty spectacular, but it depended on where you were. If you climbed the stairs to the tippy tippy top, the cables and big poles that hold the cables obstructed how amazing the view probably would have been. The view is actually better if you go down the steps from the landing to where the stores are, and then go down the steps to where the restrooms and the bar is. It's down lower, but your view (particularly for pictures) will be unobstructed.
-After that, we walked "to town" and went to Magic Ice http://www.magicice.vi/ which was really neat. Halfway through your walk through is a bar where you get a shot of rum (in an ice shot glass is you ask) and you also get a shot glass to take home with you. Then you continue walking through and go down the ice slide and then you're pretty much done. We liked it, but as it was with Paradise Point, I don't know that we'd go back since it is now something we've already done.
-On the way back to the ship we stopped and did a little shopping. If you are able, and not constrained by time, walk "to town" instead of hopping on one of those pick-up trucks turned "cabs" It was nice to walk hand in hand with DH along the waterfront, and we got some neat pictures.

San Juan:
-We started the day off walking towards Castillo San Felipe del Morro. We did make a stop at La Santa Cathedral San Juan, which was pretty to look at. We spent a good chunk of time walking around del Morro. They had a map as soon as you walked in which told you the major places to go. It was really neat to see and to learn about the history of San Juan. We then walked from del Morro to San Cristobal and walked around that fortress as well. (If you have to pick between the two, go to del Morro)
-Once we got done with the two fortresses, we walked back through Old San Juan and did a little shopping. We stopped at Don Q for a drink, and then went in search of the restaurant Mojito's so we could eat Mofongo. Mofongo is mashed plantains that create a "home" for whatever you choose to have it stuffed with, chicken, beef, shrimp, codfish, etc. It was something we had seen on Food Network, and it was really yummy. Our intention after that was to go to the Bacardi factory, but the ferry was running slow, and I was really afraid of not making it back in time to board the ship. In our opinion, we'll go back to San Juan some day, so we can hit the Bacardi Factory then.

Castaway Cay:
-We started off the day by doing the Castaway Cay 5K. I walked most of it, DH ran more than I walked. Yes, we got the bibs and we also got medals. DH finished before me and got the medal, mine was sent to our stateroom.
-We went back to the ship to change and then went snorkeling. We didn't reserve this ahead of time, but had no problem getting equipment on the island. We then snorkeled for the rest of the morning, stopped for lunch, and snorkeled for the afternoon. We were able to find Mickey, Minnie, a submarine, and a shipwreck. Had we reserved in advance, we may have known that you find these items at the buoys, but we figured it out eventually. Once we found everything (along with lots of fish and sting rays) we dried off, returned our equipment, and did some shopping before getting back onto the ship.

We really enjoyed everything we did on our trip, and we saved a ton of money doing things on our own instead of paying a ton of money on excursions. On our next cruise (Fall, 2015 sometime) our excursion priorities will change, as more than likely we'll have a little one with us. But if you're thinking "I wonder if we can get away with doing excursions on our own" go for it. We walked alot, but the walking was definitely worth the money savings. Next time, I may look in to doing excursions through shoretrips.com or something, but more likely than not, I'll continue to not book through Disney.

Awesome input, thanks!

 

[disneynme]

Just wondering, What happens if you book an excursion, and when you go on the cruise, the weather is so bad you want to cancel your excursion. Can you get a refund?

We just got off the Fantasy Western and our Costa Maya day was very rainy. We had the ruins tour booked and we got a text message on our Wave phone from the Port Adventure team the night before. They gave us the option to cancel and have our money refunded because of the weather and all the mud. I don't think the beach excursions got the option to cancel since they were getting wet anyway.