Deciding between St. Kitts, St. Johns, and Tortola...

[spankymagoo]

I need some help from the veteran cruisers!!

We are going on our first cruise in May and I am looking for some information about the ports. We really want to stay on the ship for one of the ports but we arent sure which one we should skip. We are going to St. Kitts, St. Johns, and Tortola. We have a 3 and a 5 year old with us so we cant do any of the excursions, so that doesnt factor into things.

Are any of those ports not as nice as the others? Any of them harder to get around?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you!

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

St. Kitts is not a common port for DCL. I would recommend getting off there.

 

[mama2mickeyfans]

If your kids' ages are the sole limiting factor for not doing excursions, you might consider booking something with an independent company.
We will be sailing with Aristocat charters in Tortola, and they accommodate kids of all ages. (and is within walking distance of the pier so no worries about carseats etc...) I read about them here on the boards.

 

[ldo]

assuming St johns is st Thomas, there are many nice beaches that you can take a cab to. in st kitts, you can cab to Carambola beach club and pay a nominal fee to get chairs.
it gets crowded and the beach is so-so.
We have also gotten a day pass to the St. Kitts Marriott online for about $60PP (kids free, I think),

and spent the day there using nice loungers either poolside or at the beach, and the very nice pool. The water is rough, so beach swimming would be out for young kids. Water is very calm at Carambola. We did Carambola 1st thing in the AM (they open at 10ish) and then went back to the ship by 1pm. With cab to/from, it was well under $100. Never been to tortola, but I would also cab to beach 1st thing in AM and stay for 3 hours and head back to the ship for lunch.
we take our own blow up rafts or rings from the dollar store and then toss at the end of the cruise. At your ages, I also took my own life jackets (from target) for beach outings--even if they were just wading--they had to be completely on the sand to ditch them.

 

[Shanti]

I need some help from the veteran cruisers!!

We are going on our first cruise in May and I am looking for some information about the ports. We really want to stay on the ship for one of the ports but we arent sure which one we should skip. We are going to St. Kitts, St. Johns, and Tortola. We have a 3 and a 5 year old with us so we cant do any of the excursions, so that doesnt factor into things.

Are any of those ports not as nice as the others? Any of them harder to get around?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you!

Unless you plan on visiting the Baths at Virgin Gorda (this is an active excursion that requires a ferry transfer), I'd skip Tortola. Unimpressive island, & no amazing beaches.

 

[atlfan4]

We have a 3 and a 5 year old with us so we cant do any of the excursions, so that doesnt factor into things.

I don't really understand this statement. There are multiple excursions in each port that allow any age child. There are probably folks around that have done some of them with young children and could answer with recommendations on which are most child friendly.