Carnival Fascination Caribbean July - need input

I am taking my mom who is turning 75 (very able bodied) and my sister on the Carnival cruise from San Juan. St. Thomas, Charlotte Amalie, Fun Day At Sea, Bridgetown, Barbados, Marigot Bay, Basseterre, St. Kitts, Philipsburg, St. Maarten

Looking for shore excursions for hire as well as self guided recommendations. Best snorkeling spots anyone can access. Where do you HAVE to go back? What was the best value? What do you recommend? What experience was forgettable?

Also, on the cruise we have a balcony cabin and thinking of upgrading to a Grand Suite. 3 of us.....one of us will have the couch. Has anyone slept on the couch? Does housekeeping have egg crates or mattress toppers to add softness to the couch? Spa access rooms? Are they worth it? Are there any traditional events on board like a White Party where we should plan ahead with costumes/accessories? Thanks :D

Welcome to Cruise Critic. There is a forum dedicated to each cruise line on the main forum page. Your question about cabins and suites, and ship activities, would get more responses on the Carnival forum.

As for shore excursions, I would suggest a few places for more info. First would be on the Ports of Call forum. You'll find subforums, under Caribbean, for each of your ports of call. They should have plenty of info for recommended independent tours or DIY possibilities.

If you go to the Roll Call for your sailing, you may find others who are organizing private outings that you may want to join.

And finally, TripAdvisor is a good source of info on independent tour companies as well as other island info.

Welcome to Cruise Critic. There is a forum dedicated to each cruise line on the main forum page. Your question about cabins and suites, and ship activities, would get more responses on the Carnival forum.

 

As for shore excursions, I would suggest a few places for more info. First would be on the Ports of Call forum. You'll find subforums, under Caribbean, for each of your ports of call. They should have plenty of info for recommended independent tours or DIY possibilities.

 

If you go to the Roll Call for your sailing, you may find others who are organizing private outings that you may want to join.

 

And finally, TripAdvisor is a good source of info on independent tour companies as well as other island info.

The Carnival board is here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=215

The Ports boards are here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587

Your Roll Call is here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=342

I also agree with all of the thread that have been provided to you.

For tours that you do want to do on your own I also use the ports of call board that CruisrBruce mentioned in conjunction with the trip advisor site that mom says mentioned. I like to read the reviews on trip advisor and it often gives me a wide range of companies to consider.

Keith

Carnival no longer provides egg crate mattress toppers. EM