lorimay
Strolling along...
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2008
When I was doing research for our Southern Caribbean cruise in April/May, I couldn't find many excursion reviews, so I thought I would share here with everyone here what we did on ours.
We did a B2B for the first time, April 30th-May 7th and the May 7th- May 13th, so 13 nights total. This was a very port intensive cruise, only 2 sea days total. So it was a go go cruise.
We are a couple in our early 50's and heres what we did:
1. Barbados- Harrisons Cave and Scenic Drive. We really enjoyed this tour, going into the caves was awesome and we had a great tour guide inside the cave. The excursion was about 3 hours total. Its really something to see those caves, its amazing to see nature like this.
2. St. Lucia- Land and Sea to Soufriere- This was a fun 7 hour tour. It starts with a scenic drive through the Island and the first stop is Mud Baths by a volcano. We did not go into the mud bath. The sulphur smell was way too strong for me and I didn't want to emerse myself in that and smell yucky the rest of the day. They had a clean off pool for when you come out, but yuck it looked the same color as the mud bath. Then we went on to Morne Couharil Estate. We were given a tour guide and she walked us through the property and the she took us to see how the cocoa plant is made into chocolate, pretty interesting and enjoyable. We were then taken to a buffet lunch. Chicken fish rice and a salad I believe. It was fine. After that we were taken to a catamaran for a sail to a small Island to swim and snorkel. Loved this, the ocean was beautiful and relaxing. I highly recommend this if you like spend time in the ocean.
3. Martinique- We took a boat ride to a mangrove for kayaking, this was fun. The water where you kayak is very dark not the beautiful ocean water, so you couldn't see much. The guide said he saw a barracuda, that freaked me out a bit, but I put it out of my mind and told my husband not to tip me over lol. We liked this one,but my husband being a tall husky man had a hard time on the kayak. The back rest wasn't comfortable for him like it was for me, but he made the best of it. It bothered his hip after a while. He said he never needed to kayak again!
4. Antigua- See Antigua by Sea. This one was so nice, we did it twice! Yes, we liked it so much we did it at both stops we made to this Island. You board an 82 foot catamaran for a ride all the way around the Island, with 2 stops at 2 different beaches. It was 6.5 hours total. There is a BBQ lunch served and an open bar with soda, juice, water, beer and 2 different rum punches. They were very generous passing out drinks all day. The lunch was good, one of the crew BBQed at the first Island while we swam in the ocean or snorkeled. What I loved is that they had one of the crew walking the beach (he was a certified life guard) and then to snorkel they had guides and a man in a motorized boat following in case anyone needed help while snorkling. The only issue was when your sailing in the beginning and when you leave the first Island, you are on the Eastern part of the Island and the seas are rough, I mean rough. They should have put this on the excursion explanation IMO. If I wasn't on Bonine for the cruise, I would have had a problem I am sure of it. The second visit on the second cruise was worse because it was a cloudy windy day, so the seas were higher. In spite of that, like I said it was great. This is one of the best excursions we have ever done on DCL!
5. St. Kitts- Scenes of St. Kitt. This is a covered open vehicle through the town of St. Kitt. It was so bumpy throughout the excursion, not good if you have a back issue. We stopped at Fairview House and Botanical Garden and were given a short tour, it was a hot day for sure. Then we went to Frigate Bay, where The Atlantic meets the Caribbean Sea, Beautiful to see, the colors of the water and seeing the water hit the big rocks was so nice. Then we drove past the resort area and then back to the pier. It was Ok, but I wished we would have tried something else.
6. This was the start of the second cruise, so our first stop was St. Kitts again, we decided to relax enjoy the ship and Quiet Cove for the day. Good decision for sure!
7. Tortola- Tour to Virgin Gorda (the Baths). I was so excited to see The Baths and they didn't disappoint! We took a boat ride to Virgin Gorda, it was rainy on our way over but thankfully cleared up nicely. There was a lot of people from the ship doing this excursion, we were only docked till 2pm. So when we got off the boat and headed to the open taxi's it was a bit chaotic to keep up with our tour guide. Once we got to the baths, she gave us the name "tigers" to listen for, which was helpful, but as most have read, The Baths get crowded. We went to the first stop Devil's Bay. It was a long walk and it was hot, but the reward when the trek was over was well worth it. We swam there for about 35 minutes. Next for those that wanted to see The Baths, there is a sort of obstacle course through rock and ladders you must do to get there. Some people chose not to do it, but thats why I was there and we went. It wasn't too bad, there were some tight places where you had to bend low and a steep ladder or 2, but I was glad we did it. Well worth it. It was really crowded there and we kept our eye out for the guide to be sure we didn't miss the taxi and boat back to ship, since we were only docked till 2pm. I feel like this is a must do the first time you go to Tortola. Nature's beauty for sure.
8. Castaway Cay- We were lucky enough to score a cabana on SB, it was an awesome day of swimming and relaxing. A great way to end our 30th anniversary vacation! This was the first time we were in CC in summer. We have only ever been in Winter months. Serenity Bay was the most crowded we have ever seen. Everyone soaking up the sun and fun of CC.
For us, this was the only way to see these Southern Islands, we would probably never fly to each Island individually. So this was a great Itinerary choice for us.
If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer, I have the excursion books from both cruises, so If you want or need more info on another excursion let me know.
We did a B2B for the first time, April 30th-May 7th and the May 7th- May 13th, so 13 nights total. This was a very port intensive cruise, only 2 sea days total. So it was a go go cruise.
We are a couple in our early 50's and heres what we did:
1. Barbados- Harrisons Cave and Scenic Drive. We really enjoyed this tour, going into the caves was awesome and we had a great tour guide inside the cave. The excursion was about 3 hours total. Its really something to see those caves, its amazing to see nature like this.
2. St. Lucia- Land and Sea to Soufriere- This was a fun 7 hour tour. It starts with a scenic drive through the Island and the first stop is Mud Baths by a volcano. We did not go into the mud bath. The sulphur smell was way too strong for me and I didn't want to emerse myself in that and smell yucky the rest of the day. They had a clean off pool for when you come out, but yuck it looked the same color as the mud bath. Then we went on to Morne Couharil Estate. We were given a tour guide and she walked us through the property and the she took us to see how the cocoa plant is made into chocolate, pretty interesting and enjoyable. We were then taken to a buffet lunch. Chicken fish rice and a salad I believe. It was fine. After that we were taken to a catamaran for a sail to a small Island to swim and snorkel. Loved this, the ocean was beautiful and relaxing. I highly recommend this if you like spend time in the ocean.
3. Martinique- We took a boat ride to a mangrove for kayaking, this was fun. The water where you kayak is very dark not the beautiful ocean water, so you couldn't see much. The guide said he saw a barracuda, that freaked me out a bit, but I put it out of my mind and told my husband not to tip me over lol. We liked this one,but my husband being a tall husky man had a hard time on the kayak. The back rest wasn't comfortable for him like it was for me, but he made the best of it. It bothered his hip after a while. He said he never needed to kayak again!
4. Antigua- See Antigua by Sea. This one was so nice, we did it twice! Yes, we liked it so much we did it at both stops we made to this Island. You board an 82 foot catamaran for a ride all the way around the Island, with 2 stops at 2 different beaches. It was 6.5 hours total. There is a BBQ lunch served and an open bar with soda, juice, water, beer and 2 different rum punches. They were very generous passing out drinks all day. The lunch was good, one of the crew BBQed at the first Island while we swam in the ocean or snorkeled. What I loved is that they had one of the crew walking the beach (he was a certified life guard) and then to snorkel they had guides and a man in a motorized boat following in case anyone needed help while snorkling. The only issue was when your sailing in the beginning and when you leave the first Island, you are on the Eastern part of the Island and the seas are rough, I mean rough. They should have put this on the excursion explanation IMO. If I wasn't on Bonine for the cruise, I would have had a problem I am sure of it. The second visit on the second cruise was worse because it was a cloudy windy day, so the seas were higher. In spite of that, like I said it was great. This is one of the best excursions we have ever done on DCL!
5. St. Kitts- Scenes of St. Kitt. This is a covered open vehicle through the town of St. Kitt. It was so bumpy throughout the excursion, not good if you have a back issue. We stopped at Fairview House and Botanical Garden and were given a short tour, it was a hot day for sure. Then we went to Frigate Bay, where The Atlantic meets the Caribbean Sea, Beautiful to see, the colors of the water and seeing the water hit the big rocks was so nice. Then we drove past the resort area and then back to the pier. It was Ok, but I wished we would have tried something else.
6. This was the start of the second cruise, so our first stop was St. Kitts again, we decided to relax enjoy the ship and Quiet Cove for the day. Good decision for sure!
7. Tortola- Tour to Virgin Gorda (the Baths). I was so excited to see The Baths and they didn't disappoint! We took a boat ride to Virgin Gorda, it was rainy on our way over but thankfully cleared up nicely. There was a lot of people from the ship doing this excursion, we were only docked till 2pm. So when we got off the boat and headed to the open taxi's it was a bit chaotic to keep up with our tour guide. Once we got to the baths, she gave us the name "tigers" to listen for, which was helpful, but as most have read, The Baths get crowded. We went to the first stop Devil's Bay. It was a long walk and it was hot, but the reward when the trek was over was well worth it. We swam there for about 35 minutes. Next for those that wanted to see The Baths, there is a sort of obstacle course through rock and ladders you must do to get there. Some people chose not to do it, but thats why I was there and we went. It wasn't too bad, there were some tight places where you had to bend low and a steep ladder or 2, but I was glad we did it. Well worth it. It was really crowded there and we kept our eye out for the guide to be sure we didn't miss the taxi and boat back to ship, since we were only docked till 2pm. I feel like this is a must do the first time you go to Tortola. Nature's beauty for sure.
8. Castaway Cay- We were lucky enough to score a cabana on SB, it was an awesome day of swimming and relaxing. A great way to end our 30th anniversary vacation! This was the first time we were in CC in summer. We have only ever been in Winter months. Serenity Bay was the most crowded we have ever seen. Everyone soaking up the sun and fun of CC.
For us, this was the only way to see these Southern Islands, we would probably never fly to each Island individually. So this was a great Itinerary choice for us.
If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer, I have the excursion books from both cruises, so If you want or need more info on another excursion let me know.
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