What was your favourite/best Caribbean Excursion with Royal Caribbean?

[Airbear232]

My DW, 12 year old nephew and I are taking the holiday cruise in December. We're trying to decide which excursions to take and could use your help in trying to find the best excusions!

 

Please let us know the best Caribbean excursions that you've been on with Royal Caribbean (also, any to avoid!).

 

Our itinery is:

San Juan Dec 23

St Thomas Dec 24

Barbados Dec 26

Dominica Dec 27

Antigua Dec 28

St Maarten Dec 29

St Kitts Dec 30

 

 

Cheers,

Aaron

:)

[cb at sea]

Before you start booking excursions, do some research on your ports....there are things that are quite easy to do on your own, without paying those prices, especially for shorter "jaunts"....

Get a guidebook on your ports....it's the best investment you'll make! Then, when you've found out what each port has to offer, you can make your decision!

[asil621]

In St. Thomas I had the best time at the Sea Turtle Sail and Snorkel. The snorkeling among the sea turtles and along the reef nearby were among the best I have seen, but sailing to and from the snorkeling point were also highlights. The crew was wonderful, and plentiful (strong!) rum punch was served by the crew on the way back- they kept every cup filled to the brim!

[Atty]

Loterie Farms Zip Line Adventure in St. Maarten hands down. Done it twice and plan on doing the extreme course next year.

[BroncosFan2010]

Ziplining in Barbados booked through RCCL was great. The people were super friendly and we had a great time.

[Sail n Ski]

We've have done the catamaran snorkel & beach tour in both St. Maarten and St. Thomas and had very good experiences. We loved it. In St. Thomas, we had our two boys (ages 2 & 6 at the time) with us and the crew was great with them.

[Gracie115]

For fun: The BOB excursion on St Thomas

 

For fun/knowledge/history: The Mayan Ruins in Tulum....a hassle to get there but well worth it.

[Bobal]

We never book cruise excursions as they're so expensive and we prefer to do things by ourselves. However, on researching Dominica the thing that really appealed to us was snorkelling in Champagne reef. It seemed that the easiest (and quickest) way to get there was using RCCL's champagne reef catamaran excursion - and so it proved to be.

 

This is only a half day excursion and reasonably priced compared to some of their other trips. The Cat picked us up right alongside the ship and we were at the reef before anyone else. We stopped at 2 different locations and were split into groups (according to ability) and led by very knowledgeable and really friendly guides.

 

On the way back we enjoyed a few rum punches and danced on deck. A great excursion and one I'd highly recommend.

[Seatravelers]

Barbados - Tiami catamaran cruise, still the best one we have been on to date!

[Rick-n-Lisa]

I will 2nd the Loterie Tree Top in St. Maarten. We did it in July and I loved it!!!! It was a combo of zip lines and "obstacle course in the air" type like rope brigdes, etc. I would do again in a heartbeat and I'm in my late 40's. This was booked through RCCL.

 

We also loved the snuba we did on St. Thomas a couple years back with VI snuba. Frank & Tammy were awesome! Booked this oursleves.

 

The other thing to do in my book in St. Thomas is make the trip over to St. John, Trunk Bay. Snorkeling was fantastic and it was absolutely beautiful. Do this yourself also as from what I understand the cruiseline only gives you and hour and a half or so at Trunk Bay.

 

Have a great time. Please come back and tell us what you ended up doing on each island and how you liked it!

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Three favorites in no particular order:

 

1. The ferry ride along the entire Panama Canal. This was a hot, exhausting, long tour, but I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

 

2. The train trip along the Panama Canal. This was a long, hot, exhausting tour too, but again I would not trade the experience for anything.

 

3. The island tour of St Johns, Antiqua. The views were incredible and reminded me so much of "Pirates of the Caribbean."

[akcruz]

The 3 places on your itinerary I can help with. We went when my son was 13 and he loved them as well as we did. They are:

 

San Juan - do the Segway tour, it was fantastic. I think you need to book this through the cruise line. Used to be able to do on your own (we did then), but they now have a contract with RCL.

 

St. Thomas - I concur on the snuba with VI snuba. My son had an absolute blast. Me, been there done that now. Glad I did it, but not sure it is for me. Coral World is right there as well as Coki Beach so more to do afterwards as well. You do need to book this independently, as long as you do an early time you will not have any issues getting back to the ship on time.

 

St. Maarten - America's Cup racing. Again here you need to book this through RCL, but well worth it. My son was the timekeeper then helped out as grinder. Quite an experience.

 

Whatever you choose that itinerary looks wonderful, enjoy!

[lv2bcruzin]

Barbados - The Jolly Roger Pirate Cruise.

 

If you like drinking, dancing and walking the plank this is the one to do. :p

 

We had a great time with the Rum Runners flowing and jumping into the 85 degree water of Barbados. They park the ship a ways of shore and let you walk the plank, use the rope swing or just jump in and swim. They also have a smaller boat come out and get you to take you to the beach if you prefer.

[sandytoes03]

WOW, hard to choose the best b/c there have been such amazing trips. Catamaran sail and snorkle with a beach break in Antigua was WONDERFUL. Our day at Magen's Beach I will always remember. Horseback riding in Barbados was soooooo nice. I could go on and on . . .:rolleyes:

[critterchick]

In St. Maarten, we've done the America's Cup race twice. I was a winch wench once and a primary grinder the other time; DH was a grinder both times. It's a lot of work, but really exhilarating. As akcruz said, you have to book that one through the ship, but it's well worth it IMO.

 

In St. Thomas, we took a private excursion on the Rumbaba (Google it to find the website), and that remains my favorite Caribbean excursion to date. We sailed to St. John on a sailboat that only holds 6 (the max for that kind of license), and there were only 4 of us, so there was plenty of room. Captain Bobby gave us a narrated tour as we munched on banana bread, then we snorkelled while he grilled our lunch onboard. After we stuffed ourselves with drinks, a shrimp appetizer, fresh tuna and mahi mahi (you can also get chicken or steak), salad, rolls and dessert, we sailed to another snorkelling spot where we wallowed in the water. On the way back he made us some deadly rum punch. It was FABULOUS.

 

In Antigua we booked through Lawrence of Antigua. He's very good, a little less chatty than ideal, but better than being a yammerer, and we saw all of the major sights. His van was clean & comfortable. At the end of the tour, some stayed on the beach (I forget which one) and others of us headed back to the pier area. He went back to pick up the beach-goers.

[grand isle joe]

In St. Thomas I had the best time at the Sea Turtle Sail and Snorkel. The snorkeling among the sea turtles and along the reef nearby were among the best I have seen, but sailing to and from the snorkeling point were also highlights. The crew was wonderful, and plentiful (strong!) rum punch was served by the crew on the way back- they kept every cup filled to the brim!

 

Second that. The "pirate ship" was great as well as the music and B.B. Q. on the beach. A great family event and fun was had by all.

[dodgersmom]

Loterie Farms Zip Line Adventure in St. Maarten hands down. Done it twice and plan on doing the extreme course next year.

 

X 1,000,000

 

Will be doing it again when we sail the Serenade on 1/30

 

Are you going to do the Extreme on your own? Thinking of doint that one too?

[JandBR_PHX]

The 6 hour tour, cocoa plantation and waterfall on St. Lucia. Don't know if it's even offered any more.

[Mark_K]

Orient Beach would be very educational for a 12 year old boy. ;)

[temple1]

Haven't been to San Juan on a cruise, but we did the rainforest tour and I would love to do it again with more time to spend in the area. It is absolutely amazing.

 

For cruise tours - we did the ship sponsored cooking class at Playa Mia and had a blast. Not something to do with kids, but with the wife.

[Let'sGo!]

Another vote for the America's Cup Regatta in St. Maarten. My husband is a non-swimmer but he said that was the most exhilarating thing he's ever done. We had a 9-year old our yacht and he was the "look-out" - which meant he was put in a safe spot. Once he got a feel for what was going on, he helped with time-keeping. We typically opt for non-ship excursions, but we won't hesitate to do this again when we are there.

 

We also enjoy snorkeling in St. Thomas. I don't think you can go wrong with any snorkeling excursion there, especially if you can find one that takes you to St. John.

 

As far as San Juan - we departed for our cruise from there and we really enjoyed staying there. We saw lots of people doing a little tour on Segways. It looked like fun. They went to the Fort and around Old San Juan. Frankly, I would do it just to ride the Segways :D, but I'm sure its a great way to get around all those hills there!

 

Have a great cruise!

[juniorsmom]

DH and DS did the catamaran snorkel tour in St. Thomas. DS said that was one of the best excursions he ever took.

[candhmama]

One of my favorites was on St. Kitts and it was called catamaran Fan-Ta-Sea or something like that. It was a great snorkeling trip and then we stopped on Nevis and had a BBQ lunch and had some time to hang out on the beach. The trip back was fun with lots to drink and dancing. It was a great time

[Mark_K]

For fun: The BOB excursion on St Thomas

 

For fun/knowledge/history: The Mayan Ruins in Tulum....a hassle to get there but well worth it.

I really liked the BOB too, but it's not called BOB anymore. It's now the BOSS.

[Grandma Dazzles]

It would have to be the Americas Cup Race in St. Maarten.