Recent Southern Caribbean Cruisers: Please share must do's/don'ts

[jenny_nichole]

We did the Bio Bay - pretty freaking AMAZING!!! And we also did the Walking Food Tour - was AWESOME!!!

Stayed at Sheraton OSJ too. Great base of operations for the few days we had before the cruise!!

Thanks! We'll definitely look into these!

 

[jenny_nichole]

Antigua Paddles was great - Boat, Hike, Snorkel, Beach, Boat, Kayak. DCL booked their entire capacity - so we had to go through DCL - don't remember the name of the tour.

We did one of the Turtle Snorkel trips in Barbados - took a "rocket" boat out around the Magic and snorkeled off of it in 2 locations and then had some beach time - lots of fun!!

River Tubing in Grenada - was a long "bus" ride (crowded) there and back again. The time in the river was not long enough - but again, it was a lot of FUN! The guides were great.

St. Kitts we did a city tour and went to Romney Estates - the Batik artwork was awesome and the grounds were very nice.

Wow, thanks so much for the thorough & helpful reviews...it will help a lot with our planning.

 

[MAJPLO]

Following..... Any recommendations for excursions with little ones?

How little? Ours were 6 and 8 and loved the Calabaza snorkeling tour in Barbados. The Calabaza staff was AMAZING with the kids.

They liked the chocolate tour part of Rum & Chocolate in Grenada but that was a long day with a lot of bus time for them. They also very much enjoyed the beach time at Valley Church Beach in Antigua.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

buy rum!! if you like rum. Got several great rums.

I kind of enjoyed the bus tour of Grenada - saw pretty much the whole island. and we got enough beaches on other islands.

 

[gdulaney]

We did three DCL excursions --

Grenada - Rum and Chocolate.... I would not recommend this tour. The rum (aka strongest proof rum in the world) was good, but the chocolate portion was almost non-existent. Luckily we had a great tour guide and he did a good job on the bus portion.

St. Kitts - Essential St.Kitts With Fairview -- This was a good tour. I really wanted to see Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park. I wasn't disappointed. I met one of the Park Guides, who told me a little more about the park. I would say that the walk UP to the park is very steep. Most folks took it slow and were fine. Romney Manor was cool.... great opportunity to buy small gifts.

Barbados --- Discover Barbados. I really wanted to visit St. Nicholas Abbey and I knew my husband would not be a player for Tea At St. Nicholas Abbey. St. Nicholas Abbey is not a church, but a plantation house. Bought my most expensive bottle of rum.... it was so good!!!

We had friends who did these two tours, both in Barbados, and they spoke highly of both:
-Concorde And Island Drive
-Hilton Resort Barbados Beach Break

Hope this helps!
Ginny

 

[littleaussie]

My kids were 12 & 9 when we went in September:

Antigua - We booked day passes at Coconut Beach Club in Yepton Estates. The beach club was on a private stretch of beach so there were no vendors and the resort and infinity pool were gorgeous. Open bar, I may have gotten a wee bit tipsy. Lunch was included, they opened at 10. They don't allow children under (14, maybe? I can't remember) but they allowed our kids. Definitely would recommend this if you want a quiet beach day. No motorized sports or anything but just a lovely resort to relax at. And plenty of friendly vacationers to chat with.

St. Lucia - we booked a water-based tour but I guess you won't be going there. . .

Grenada - We booked Stan at JNJ Tours. It was a good way to see the island and learn about spices. The sites we visited got crowded as the day went on. We spent about an hour at the Grande Anse beach, which was gorgeous but had a ton of vendors and beggers. Too bad, as we really liked the scenery.

Barbados - I would second Calabazza Sail! Except we didn't get to go on them because of my stupid booking mixup for a different date so they booked us on Silver Moon, which was the same. Swimming with the sea turtles was the highlight of our trip. We stopped for a gorgeous lunch at a beach stretch and on shore, we saw a baby sea turtle making it's way to the ocean - priceless! Open bar, great staff, fun snorkeling, absolutely beautiful catamaran!

St. Kitts - we did the ziplining thru Disney (can't book the zipline independently). It was ok, only 4 lines. Would be great for someone who has never done ziplining but we've done it in New Zealand and it just can't compare. I would have rather done an island tour but my family said no.

 

[jenny_nichole]

gdulaney and littleaussie: thanks so much for your detailed reviews...very helpful for future planning!

 

[jenny_nichole]

Thanks everyone for all of your input. I thought I'd update with some of the ideas that I've compiled based on reviews here and other reviews(trip advisor, prior disboard posts, etc.) Please comment or add other suggestions/reviews.

Here are some possibilities we're considering:

San Juan: fly in 2-4 days early. Rent a car. Take Bio Bay tour, Taste of San Juan food tour, possibly El Yunque rainforest, and El Morro. (We're going on our first Eastern Caribbean trip in 1/2015, so we have plans to see both forts on our San Juan day.)

Barbados:
Calabazza Sailing/Snorkeling (or Silver Moon Charters)

Grenada:
hike/swim Seven Sister Falls
possibly hire a recommended tour guide: Mandoo's Tours, Sunsation Tours, or AJ Meddy

Martinique:
this is a tough one, since most websites and trip advisor reviews are in French.
possibly rent a car and snorkel a black sand beach(Anse Couleuvre)
or
visit a floral gardens Jardin de Balata (possibly take public bus that runs there)

Antigua:
Valley Church Beach - free, chairs $5, umbrella $15, cab $50 r/t
or
Antigua Paddles - Boat, Hike, Snorkel, Beach, Boat, Kayak (DCL excursion)

St. Kitts:
Royston Tours: 4 hr. tour w/lunch & drinks $45/pp
or
Day Pass to Marriott: $35/adult(kids free) or $125/family with room
$30 cab r/t

Of course this is just preliminary, since we're over a year away...but it was great fun to start the daydreaming!

Jennifer

 

[scrapycruiser]

I have an iguana "phobia". Are there any areas I should avoid ?

 

[Pixie Naseweis]

I have an iguana "phobia". Are there any areas I should avoid ?

Old San Juan - we have seen some pretty large ones there. Right on the sidewalk.

 

[MAJPLO]

I have an iguana "phobia". Are there any areas I should avoid ?

I didn't see any in Old San Juan or anywhere else we went.

 

[jrabbit]

I have an iguana "phobia". Are there any areas I should avoid ?

I saw some iguanas in San Juan

They were on the sidewalk that runs at the base of El Moro - on the outside of the walls , near the water (its a mile walk).

The next day we saw one up at the top of El Moro when we were touring the fort.

The fort is worth the visit. Very interesting, good views from up there. Don't worry about them, they really don't want anything to do with people. A few approached the iguana up at the fort and it took off the other way (down over the side of the outside walls).

 

[Castaway April]

So since all aboard time is 930pm, is there a time you have to check in by?Trying to decide if we will fly down 2 days early or just the day before. If we don't have to check in until late afternoon or evening, this would give me more confidence on my flight coming from the Midwest in January

 

[thossink]

Any recommendations for a hotel in San Juan? we are planning an early arrival.

 

[jedijill]

I stayed at the Sheraton in OSJ. Very nice and close to the action in OSJ.

Jill in CO

 

[1Winston]

Following along

 

[braysmommy]

Thanks for all the great advice! Following along.

 

[jrabbit]

I stayed at Sheraton OSJ also for 3 nights before the cruise ... I was great. I loved being on Old San Juan. We took several day trips out of OSJ and I would not would have wanted to be at those other hotels so far from OSJ (Hilton, Embasy Suites, other large chain). I know that these had some amenities onsite that we did not have but I was there for Puerto Rico ... Not the hotel.

I will stay at the Sheraton OSJ when I return to Puerto Rico some day.

 

[dismom75]

We are booked on a 2016 Southern Caribbean. It will be my 60 something parents, 4 y/o DD, 8 y/o DS, husband and me. We want to book the Disney excursion Lobster lunch and catamaran in Antigua. But, I've been on several of these type excursions through Sandals, other cruise lines, etc. and people can get pretty drunk. Have any of you done the one booked straight through Disney? I'm wondering if it tends to be a more mild crowd with more families? Or, is it not going to be just Disney cruisers? I'm not big on taking my kids on an excursion where people are going to get out of control (and, none of us are huge drinkers either....but will have 1 or 2 to get at least SOME of our money's worth ). Anyone ever done this excursion through Disney?

 

[bumbershoot]

We are booked on a 2016 Southern Caribbean. It will be my 60 something parents, 4 y/o DD, 8 y/o DS, husband and me. We want to book the Disney excursion Lobster lunch and catamaran in Antigua. But, I've been on several of these type excursions through Sandals, other cruise lines, etc. and people can get pretty drunk. Have any of you done the one booked straight through Disney? I'm wondering if it tends to be a more mild crowd with more families? Or, is it not going to be just Disney cruisers? I'm not big on taking my kids on an excursion where people are going to get out of control (and, none of us are huge drinkers either....but will have 1 or 2 to get at least SOME of our money's worth ). Anyone ever done this excursion through Disney?

A Disney excursion (sorry, "Port Adventure") should only be Disney cruisers. Doesn't guarantee that they will be tamer, though.


re: older posts....

Barbados: it is against the law for anyone regardless if male or female or age to wear any type of camouflage. You can be arrested.

YES. Possibly other islands as well. I think our tourguide in Grand Cayman mentioned it...in his own unique way, he explained that because in these small island nations seeing people in camouflage often means..."a quick and violent change in regime"...they don't let non-military people wear it. Not shorts, not shirts, not bathing suits, not shoes, not socks, not headbands...NO camo.