Chosen to stay on board during St Kitts port...mistake?!

you don't really have to take an excursion. just get off the ship and head to a beach. if there's none around walking distance, either take a bus (lots available) or taxi if you must.

Palm courts is lovely. Looks right down on the harbor and the food is good. You can actually walk there from the pier.

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We've always loved St. Kitts; it's one of our favorites. The first time we went was on a cruise, and we liked it so much we went back a couple years later on a land trip. We've also been back on a couple more cruises. Our kids were 7 & 10 the first time we went. We love the beach, so we typically just take a cab to a local beach. As others have mentioned, it's not known for its snorkeling, but a catamaran trip is always fun. You can probably book one independently before you go so you don't have to do the ship's excursion. We did one that went to Nevis while on a land trip; it was a lot of fun. Our girls loved it.

Great info here. I'll be sailing on Reflection with my adult daughter in April, and visiting St. Kitts for the first time. I was just on the Celebrity website looking at excursions because this will be a new port stop for us. This gives us some ideas, including possibly staying on the ship and enjoying the pool that day.

We LOVED Carambola Beach Club in St.Kitts. The beach was great, the people there were friendly and it was a wonderful day. There are other islands I would choose to miss but this wasn't one of them.

We LOVED Carambola Beach Club in St.Kitts. The beach was great, the people there were friendly and it was a wonderful day. There are other islands I would choose to miss but this wasn't one of them.

How far from port??

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We love St. Kitts. The first time we went there we didn't really like it all that much (no hate, just no love). Then we took a tour with Royston (http://www.roystontoursstkitts.com/) and now we love it. Royston's excursion is not listed with the ship, but he doesn't charge you until you take it so if it ends up not happening for whatever reason you don't end up paying.

 

The tour is different than most. He has a really old Toyota van with no windows. He goes to places others don't go. And, it's even a little scary at times because you wonder if he really knows where he's going.

 

But, we had a blast and it gave us a whole new perspective for the island. I highly recommend the tour. He's also a great person.

 

If nothing else, there's a good cruise bubble on St. Kitts where you could get off and just walk around and see a few monkeys and crafts and then go back on the ship. It would probably take around an hour or so.

 

Tom

Can you give any more details on what you did on your tour? Hearing about a van with no windows worries me somewhat (no windows because they're all broken? Or no windows because it's a cargo van and everyone sits on the floor in the back?)

Also what is a cruise bubble? I've never heard of that before.

We aways get off the ship at every port...problem....can't find an excursion we want to do that doesn't break the bank...we have 2 kids along too...wanted to do day trip to Nevis but heard boring for kids and it's expensive! !

 

Will we really be missing out a ton if we don't check out St Kitts?? Also heard it's not the safest.......

 

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Unless you've just done the cruise(like us!)I'd suggest doing the narrow gage railway. Or just do a beach day. Real nice beach at Cockleshell bay.

How far from port??

 

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I don't remember how far it was but I know we took a van for about $7-10 pp. They have a website with what they offer. We had food, drinks, chairs and an umbrella. There were changing rooms also I think.

Another plug for Thenford Grey. Great tour and Brimstone Hill was fascinating. My only question would be the age of your kids. If they are younger, they might be bored at times or at the things I loved.

Other nice thing about his grand tour is you can spend a few hours at a resort beach as he does include a beach stop.

We were on St. Kitts in October, 2016. Took a cab to South Frigate Bay, over the hill, paid $16 one way.

Enjoyed the beach, enjoyed the snorkeling.

You may see a video from this beach posted on beach addiction website beachaddictionstkittsnevis.com to get an idea about the place.

There a beach chairs and umbrellas available for rent, bar and restaurant.

I snorkeled around the pier on the right side of the beach, it's very nice, then alone the beach probably about 30 feet from the shore there are underwater reefs when you can see fish as well.

Another vote for going to the Beach. South Friars and Frigate are both great beaches. We grab a cab, spend a few hours and then come back to the ship early/mid afternoon.

Hanging around the ship is great but I'm getting away from the cold and snow and nothing feels better than sand between your toes and a great beach (IMHO) :D

We went to St Kitts once and we were just going to get off the ship and walk around the town, maybe a bit of shopping. We saw where they have a shuttle to the Marriott that will take you if you say you want to go to the casino. They have chairs and such that you can rent or pay for a day pass to use their towels, pools, showers, chairs at their beach location. We were promised that we didn't really even need to gamble but had to get our own cab back. Well, sounded like a great idea to us. So, while we were waiting, we went on a little walk and this woman was trying to fill her husband's tour ... I think they only needed two more people. It was only $20 pp and Sir Walter, the driver and tour guide, saw we were wavering and told us, if we didn't like the tour we didn't have to pay.

Well, my only question at the end of the tour is how much we had to pay if we absolutely loved it!! Best tour ever! And ... by the way, we did look down onto the beach and the Marriott where we were originally going to go and you couldn't go wrong with that either! What a gorgeous setting.

 

I have also read, I think it was on one of those stories that comes out in your email or on FB stating the most dangerous islands on a cruise. I thought placing St Kitts on the list was nonsense. A friend of mine is going to veterinary school down there and she just loves it ... has been there for nearly a year. I am sure there are safety issues but that goes for just about everywhere you go ... I can only say I am pretty leery and didn't feel unsafe there in the very least.

 

I am not trying to talk you into going out if that is not your choice ... but just wanted to mention that we didn't even have anything planned and loved our little open air tour bus with Sir Walter down on St Kitts. It made for many happy memories and glad we decided to go out that day. Even if you just wanted to do a day trip to the Marriott, maybe ahead of time, you can look into the St Kitts Marriott and see if they sell day passes. I am sure you can get a cab out there and back for not too much money.

He was a great guy I’m going back this year in September I hope to find him my wife didn’t get to go last time. He knew everyone had free drinks and took his time

We have been to St. Kitts several times, and have been all over the island ... we've taken the Thenford Grey tour, which was excellent. We've gone snorkeling. We've gone to Nevis (ship's tour). We've taken tours from the pier, where they fill up the vans and go, there are several itineraries from which to choose. We've taken a private taxi tour, just the two of us, to go only where we want to go. We've just gotten off and walked ... it's all good. Brimstone Fort is awesome. The beaches are beautiful. The people are friendly.

Staying on the ship in St. Kitts would be a major mistake. It's a very interesting and scenic port.

Basse-Terre, St. Kitts

We hired Thenford Grey himself for this "Island Tour". As of January 2015, the cost was $48 per person and ran from 8:00am until about 2:00 pm with beach time available at Cockleshell Beach at the end of the tour. Thenford first took us through the historic city of Basseterre which was founded in 1625 by French settlers. After the city highlights we stopped at the ruins of an old sugar cane processing factory and Romney Manor-Caribelle Batik which was once owned by Captain Samuel Jefferson, the great, great, great grandfather of Thomas Jefferson. The Plantation House which sits amidst 25 acres of lush tropical gardens, is now a batik factory and store. The gardens feature a large collection of exotic plants, palms and trees from all over the world. We saw numerous green tailed monkeys in the short drive between the ruin and the Manor. We then spent an hour at Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park which sets atop a volcanic cone that is 800 feet high and offers 360-degree panoramic views of the surrounding countryside and neighboring islands. Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park is a World Heritage Site. (The $8.00 entrance fee was included). The Fortress is indeed impressive. I could have easily spent 4 hours exploring this impressive site. A lot of monkeys make their home in the vegetation surrounding the fort. Thenford shared a lot of local history with us as we explored the island. We also saw a live cockfight (two roosters going at each other) in the middle of the street. Our last stop was Cockleshell Beach where we had an opportunity to swim, collect shells, and grab a beer. On the way, we saw wandering goats, cows, and more monkeys. Recommended!

On our second tip we wanted to spend a lot more time at the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park so we arranged with Thenford Grey to be dropped off early and then join his regular tour when they arrived at the fortress prior to continuing on to South Friar's Beach. We spent 3 hours exploring the fort and outlying structures. Hint: bring a flashlight to explore dark passages. Next to the fort is a tall grassy mound called Monkey Hill (aka Fort Charlotte). A worker had recently cut a 6-foot wide access path to the top of the hill which offers nice views. About 75% to the top is a side path that will take you to a recently rediscovered 15x20 foot (my estimate) stone out-building, with openings for 3 cannon, that was hidden under vegetation. It also offered views of the fort and the steep gorge behind it. After we left the fortress, we visited an overlook where you could see the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean on either side of a thin stretch of the island. The bodies of water could not have been separated by more than a quarter-mile. We the got dropped off at South Friar's Beach which offers an active bar and grill with lots of shade and picnic-style seating, restrooms, an outdoor shower, changing rooms, a nice beach with black and beige sands, a protected swim area and some snorkeling opportunities. We saw over a dozen different types of fish along the manmade reef and lots of sea urchins (some close to a foot in diameter).

More "Secrets of the Caribbean": http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/caribbean-secrets.htmlFirst-hand information on excursions we've taken in 26 Caribbean ports. With photos!

I dont know the last time I was in St Kitts my parents bought me a Rolex. So sure I want to get off the ship. I'm not sure if my parents would want too. As I have mentioned I need at 2nd Rolex. Blue face this time. Visa even called the cruise ship to talk to my mother. Just to make sure it was her shopping.

St. Kitts is a beautiful island so it would be a shame to pass it by.

The safety concern is probably generated by a tour bus that was held up by armed gunmen several years ago. Not that I take that lightly, but where in the world can you go where you don't occasionally encounter crime? St. Thomas has had a couple of shootings over the years. We were in Barbados a number of years ago when a tourist was shot in town. Antigua had a tourist murdered several years ago as well. I could go on and on.

I live in the city in Illinois known for having the most churches in the state. Typical middle to upper middle class town - overall very safe. The first year I was there, there was a murder on the street behind us (turns out it was a domestic incident). A few years after that there was a drug related murder in the apartments down the street. Crime can happen anywhere. Some islands (Jamaica, Dominican Republic are two examples) are places you need to be extra careful as crime is rampant in certain areas. They are the exception rather than the rule fortunately.

We aways get off the ship at every port...problem....can't find an excursion we want to do that doesn't break the bank...we have 2 kids along too...wanted to do day trip to Nevis but heard boring for kids and it's expensive! !

 

Will we really be missing out a ton if we don't check out St Kitts?? Also heard it's not the safest.......

 

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St. Kitts was our favorite stop. Beautiful and friendly people. Go to the top of Brimstone Hill if you can.

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Here is the link for the beach club, if you decide to go

I would prebook and download your tickets.

It can be a zoo if you don’t.

http://www.carambolabeachclub.com/

The Fort is a good call, depending on how old your kids are, so therefore depending on how old your kids are, I too would not dismiss just staying on the ship.

The pool area is great on sea days, they have soda and ice cream and it’s still the same sunshine.

It will also give you some great fun time with the kids and Mrs pier290 can maybe get a great port day spa deal.

I’m sure no matter what you decide you will have a great time

I don't know what your budget is, but one of the best tours we have ever done was with My Island Tours by Javin. It was a fantastic day, doing a variety of things, and going to places others do not. Also we have taken Poinciana tours they were very good also. check them both out on Tripadvisor, they both get excellent reviews.

I second the tour with Javin. We had a great tour with him. The one we took had several different activities; climbing on the lava formations by the sea (pretty tricky), visit to an old mill, rain forest walk, really good snacks--really a small meal with empanadas and various pastries and local drinks, snorkeling at a shipwreck and beach time. I don't think kids would be bored.

Last time we did an island tour with Thedford Gray; it was good too, if more conventional, and I wanted to see the fort, but I think we enjoyed all the active things on the Javin tour more.

If we are there again we might go over to Nevis.

We aways get off the ship at every port...problem....can't find an excursion we want to do that doesn't break the bank...we have 2 kids along too...wanted to do day trip to Nevis but heard boring for kids and it's expensive! !

 

Will we really be missing out a ton if we don't check out St Kitts?? Also heard it's not the safest.......

 

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The train ride tour is tremendous, lots of fun for whole family, get to tour entire island.

The train ride tour is tremendous, lots of fun for whole family, get to tour entire island.

Agree with the train tour. I believe ours was a train/catamaran combo booked through the ship. I would bet your kids would enjoy it.

Lots of good suggestions for things to see and do in St. Kitts. Just bear in mind that the tread is a year old, as some of the comments made since it was revived have been directed to the OP.

We aways get off the ship at every port...problem....can't find an excursion we want to do that doesn't break the bank...we have 2 kids along too...wanted to do day trip to Nevis but heard boring for kids and it's expensive! !

 

Will we really be missing out a ton if we don't check out St Kitts?? Also heard it's not the safest.......

 

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Here's my thinking....I paid a lot of money to sail to these places and take in the beauty of the Caribbean islands, experience the culture and just relax. Somehow, staying on the ship just nullifies why we journeyed to these placed to begin with.

But, to each their own, and some folks like an empty ship while everyone is in port.