Crusing south from San Juan

[Desert Cruizers]

I have been looking over cruises out of SJ for a Southern Caribbean and in checking air fares, arrival is pretty late into SJ. I love the itneraries and would love to sail on the Serenade. We have sailed on the BOS & ROS, beautiful ships.

[Aviator of the Seas]

Dominica - Must get out on the island. Do not stay in the port area. We used Bumpiing Tours for an island tour. We got Levi Baron himself as a guide. Great guy. Beautiful island.

 

http://www.bumpiingtours.com

[wolfcathorse]

Serenade is a beautiful ship - the decor kept my husband saying "Wow, this is beautiful", especially the Safari Club. The crew was great, very accomodating and friendly. Entertainment was so-so.

St Thomas - best shopping. Best views of the ship in port from Sky Tram ($21pp). Its close enough to walk to. There's a nature trail up there and a map telling you want islands you can see in the distance.

St Croix - Jan9 some people enjoyed the snorkeling on Buck Island (excursion through ship). Fredrickstead is just street vendors, nothing there as its very poor. Good walkway along waterfront for pictures of ship. We used this as our do-nothing day (I went to the spa on board)

St Kitts - my favorite for snorkeling. many take the train tour around the perimeter of the island. We did the 4X4 Safari tour to the other side, to Cockelshell Beach. Some nice views and we saw monkeys

Dominica - did the whale watching tour which was awsome, a sperm whale swam under our boat. Next time I'd do a private tour as mentioned in an earlier post to see the interior. Your kids will like seeing the spots where Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed.

Barbados - spend your day at The Boatyard (take a taxi there), beautiful white sand beach with activities (rope swing off pier, water trampoline, etc). We did a catamaran tour called Heatwave, out of The Boatyard. First snorkel stop we swam with greenback turtles (and lots of fish), second snorkel stop we saw a wreck and reef. Open bar. :D

[Desert Cruizers]

Emerald, the Radiance Class, which includes the Serenade are so beautiful. From your elevators, to all your public areas like the Schooner Bar, you have a fantastic view of the ocean. Hidden away, aft is the Sea view Cafe on the 12 Deck. The Heliport is easily accessed by walking all the way forward on the Promenade deck up a short flight of steps. Your 2 level dining is Deck 4 & 5. Walking thru he Schooner Bar if you haven't seen them, they have the self leveling pool tables which are fun to watch as they rock back and forth yet the balls never move.

[lablvr2]

Loved the Serenade from SJ. It was a wonderful run in November. Great people, too! Third cruise from PR and the best!

 

St Thomas - a must do is Air Force One tours. Papa Bear is a great tour guide, knows the island like the back of his hand and does alot of back roads. Very clean operation. I wouldn't hesitate to tour with him again. Tell him Susan sent you!

 

St Kitts - did the Captain Sunshine tour. Worth every penny! Saw monkeys running across the roads in the mountain areas. The shopping area just off the pier is very nice.

 

Dominica - we just did the downtown area. Next time we will take a tour for sure. Make sure you buy some Refresh soap in the local vendor area. It's a really nice product!

 

Enjoy your cruise, whatever you decide to do!

[Terre]

We have sailed from SJU several times and every time I say -- NEVER AGAIN!

I hate the airport there, but the ports are so great.

 

But to answer your question, my favorite ports on one of our southern itineraries were Antigua and St. Lucia...both are beautiful places. We toured with Cosol in St. Lucia and had the absolute best day ever. In Antigua we got a day pass at the Grand Pineapple Resort and had another great day.

 

Ports we've been to on southern itineraries have been:

Aruba -- rented a car and drove around...enjoyed this

Isla Margarita -- stayed right at the dock and shopped

St. Kitts -- did a catamaran snorkel...had a great time -- snorkeling is good here

Barbados -- both time we did a catamaran... 2nd time was Silver Moon catamaran...great time--snorkeling is good here, too

St. Lucia & Antigua -- see above

 

We have the Serenade booked in May on a Southern and it includes Curacao, which we've haven't been to before so tips on what to do there would be great.

[Redheada]

Best experience - it starts out warm and stays warm. :)

 

LOVE LOVE LOVE the Southern routes :) Serenade was one of my best cruises to date!

 

PS Hi JACK - Email me at redheada@hotmail.com

[Virginia Zees]

YUP! That's the one!

 

Thanks so much :D I know where we are having dinner on Saturday March 6th!!!

 

Robin,

Please let us know how the food is as we are also staying at the Marriot precruise and will be looking for a place to dine.

Thanks

[emeraldcity]

Serenade is a beautiful ship - the decor kept my husband saying "Wow, this is beautiful", especially the Safari Club. The crew was great, very accomodating and friendly. Entertainment was so-so.

 

St Kitts - my favorite for snorkeling. many take the train tour around the perimeter of the island. We did the 4X4 Safari tour to the other side, to Cockelshell Beach. Some nice views and we saw monkeys

 

I've been browsing through various web photos of the Serenade and she looks incredibly beautiful. I've been on 2 voyager class ships and I found that you had to take the decor in a compartmentalized state of mind. From Main Street to Rome to Egypt to Star Trek ... the transitions were rather jarring and you wondered if a committe decorated the ship, without benefit of a moderator to introduce some continuity. The Splendour, however, was all gilt and glass and elegance throughout ... I loved that ship. I have a feeling that the Serenade is going to be my kind of experience.

 

We're leaning toward a day at Cockleshell beach. I'm intrigued, though, by the picutres of Brimstone Hill Fortess and am considering working that into the day.

[Rancher Dave]

Are you teasing us? I'm hanging on every word. I just made final payment on our Easter week cruise on Serenade and I'm trying to learn everything I can about what I can expect.

 

Serenade is great...nice crew, clean, in decent shaps as of last June...Have a great Easter break cruise!!!

[DLKC]

We've done 2 cruises out of San Juan. The itineraries are actually my favorite; it's just the flight that makes them more difficult. The first was on Monarch and I don't think it's used that route anymore. The second time was on Adventure. Monarch is a little small; Adventure is a little big, but I'm happy on any cruise ship!

 

My favorite islands were Barbados (be sure to check out Cave Shepard for interesting shopping and balcony beer bar), St. Martin, Curacao, St. Thomas, and Antigua. My least favorite is Arruba just because of the wind! (Well, and Grand Cayman and Roatan also favorites, but I think they were from different ports, I don't have all those itineraries memorized!).

 

Have fun planning... and more fun on the cruise you select!

[sunshine66]

Still looking for tips on the ship (Serenade) and the islands (St. Kitts, St. Croix, Barbados, Dominica, St. Thomas)

 

Best snorkling?

 

Most intriguing shopping (Not interested in the places RC pushes)?

 

Best beach?

 

Sightseeing (besides Old San Juan ... cuz I've dug up a ton of info on that already)?

 

Best snorkeling by far is St John take the ferry to St John from st Thomas and snorkel there. We did that last year and it ws amazing, come back to St Thomas and do a bit of shopping.

Best Beach is St John where you will snorkel.

 

Barbados beaches can be filled with locals trying to seel you things and it can get overwhelming, book a tour you may like, go the ports of call here on cc and look what people recommend.

We go to St Croix this year I have never been and I was in Dominica over 10 years ago and do not remember it.

Have fun

[emeraldcity]

Best snorkeling by far is St John take the ferry to St John from st Thomas and snorkel there. We did that last year and it ws amazing, come back to St Thomas and do a bit of shopping.

Best Beach is St John where you will snorkel.

 

Have fun

 

DD has expressed an interest in going to Trunk Bay. Was this where the snorkling was good ... or are you recommending an excursion?

[vjm]

Still looking for tips on the ship (Serenade) and the islands (St. Kitts, St. Croix, Barbados, Dominica, St. Thomas)

 

Best snorkling?

 

Most intriguing shopping (Not interested in the places RC pushes)?

 

Best beach?

 

Sightseeing (besides Old San Juan ... cuz I've dug up a ton of info on that already)?

 

Hi,

 

I have sailed of San Juan 3 times and it is just that much warmer and the Islands are great. Best snorkelling so far for me is in Barbadoes - seen some great turtles and also Turks/Caicos - stingrays and fish.

 

Shopping is great in Old San Juan, lots of outlet shops along the streets - Coach, Tommy Hilfiger, LaCoste, Burberry, Ralph Lauren etc. There is also a mall in San Juan las plaza Americas.

 

If you are looking for Jewerlly, I have always had luck in St Thomas, don't go the big shops the smaller ones are the best and the best deals. The one I go to is Golden Star it is on a side street. Great people. There are outlet shops in St Thomas as well. Unsure about St. Kitts, did a tour here a few years back.

 

St. Thomas has beautiful beaches, never got to the beach in Barbadoes, but I imagine it is great. Are you going to St. Maarten, beautiful beaches as well. Shopping is great here.

 

Anyway enjoy! My sister and I are out of San Juan on the AOS in April, looking forward to R & R and shopping.

 

Cheers

 

VJM:)

[printingchick]

Have you been on a cruise out south from San Juan - what was the best experience with this route and what vessel did you cruise on ?

I've been on two cruises out of San Juan so far and the one on Adventure was my favorite. In less than six weeks, I'll be on Serenade, so my opinion may (or may not) change after that experience.

 

What was your best port experience and how did you plan out your cruise. Wow, this is tough to answer. I'm a tremendously obsessive planner, so I do a lot of research on all ports of call before visiting them. Perhaps my best port experience was taking the ferry over to St. John from St. Thomas. I did a lot of research, both on line and in guide books, to find a trail we could manage in the amount of time we had. We were joined on the trail by a donkey, who just walked along with us. I tried sharing my granola bar, but he wasn't quite THAT chummy. We found ourselves on a beach with only about 5 other people. We went snorkeling and discovered ourselves swimming with the sea turtles. We were close enough to touch them, but didn't want to spook them. It was the most incredible experience. It wasn't like swimming with the sting rays in Grand Cayman, because the turtles were not part of an excursion. It was just a chance and amazing encounter. I hope to repeat the experience when I return in March.

 

Where was the best shopping and where was the best beach place. I'm not a big shopper, so I can't really assist with this question. Best beach experience was at Playa Uvas in Cozumel.

 

What was your best ship experience and what is the hidden seacrets. On Carnival Valor, they had this truly great piano player in the piano bar. (Ron Pass) One of the songs he played was "Mandy". On Carnival, the piano rotates in the center of the circle of patrons. When Ron found out my name was Mandy, he invited me to sit on top of the piano for the song. It became my regular seat in the lounge. All the regulars came to know me and, like Norm or cheers, greeted me when they saw me. So much fun!!

 

Counting the days until my next cruise!!

[sunshine66]

DD has expressed an interest in going to Trunk Bay. Was this where the snorkling was good ... or are you recommending an excursion?

 

I believe we did a RCCL excursion because I was worried about the ferrys getting us back and it was very affordable. If the RCCL was trunk bay snorkeling then that would be the one and it was the best snorkeling I have ever done, it was really amazing.

You will not be disappointed.

[nunk]

In your previous post you said:

 

" Perhaps my best port experience was taking the ferry over to St. John from St. Thomas. I did a lot of research, both on line and in guide books, to find a trail we could manage in the amount of time we had. We were joined on the trail by a donkey, who just walked along with us. I tried sharing my granola bar, but he wasn't quite THAT chummy. We found ourselves on a beach with only about 5 other people. We went snorkeling and discovered ourselves swimming with the sea turtles. We were close enough to touch them, but didn't want to spook them. It was the most incredible experience. It wasn't like swimming with the sting rays in Grand Cayman, because the turtles were not part of an excursion. It was just a chance and amazing encounter. I hope to repeat the experience when I return in March."

 

Could you please give more specifics about this? We are on the Serenade to the Caribbean in June and this sounds like something I'd love to experience!

 

Thanks,

Nicole

[lovemylab]

We've done two cruises out of San Juan - one on the Serenade and one on the Adventure. Both are great ships although our preference was for the Serenade. Serenade has the thermal suite, both Chops and Portofino and we liked the covered Solarium.

 

We have found some decent shopping in many of the ports. It all depends what you are shopping for. St. Thomas is great for cameras, liquor, jewellry and watches. There is also a great belgian chocolate store there too. There wasn't much shopping to be done in Dominica but the liquor prices were the cheapest we've seen. They do not have a wide selection though. In Barbados we bought some vanilla and earthworks pottery. Both of these were found in the shops located next to where the cruise docks.

 

In Barbados, we did a catamaran tour on the Silvermoon. Highly recommended although it isn't cheap. In Dominica, we ended up taking a tour with a local taxi. We paid $20 each for a 2.5 hour tour so it made for an inexpensive day. We've been to St. Thomas twice - first time we went to Magen's Bay. The other two times we went to St. John on our own (went to Trunk Bay the first time and Cinnamon Bay the second). Check the ports of call boards for recommendations on excursions.

 

As for the best beach? I found Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay to be equally beautiful. If you do decide to go to Cinnamon Bay make arrangements with a taxi driver to pick you up at a specified time. At Trunk Bay this isn't an issue since cabs are plentiful.

[tobecool]

And also, as you can see by my signature, I have done most islands on these itineraries and I live in San Juan so if you have any specific questions, ask away.

 

 

Hi, Aviator,

 

i have some questions if you don't mind:

 

our AOS will arrive at SJ 7:00am, and our flight is about 2:30pm the same day.

 

when can we disembark the earliest and do we have enough time to visit old SJ city or the rainforest before our departure?

 

what is the best and effective way for us to visit in SJ in a very limited time?

 

where can we leave our luggages if we have the half day tour in SJ?

 

for barbados day, we really want snorkling and beach, do you have any detailed recommendation?

 

thanks for taking your time.

[Aviator of the Seas]

Hi, Aviator,

 

i have some questions if you don't mind:

 

our AOS will arrive at SJ 7:00am, and our flight is about 2:30pm the same day.

 

when can we disembark the earliest and do we have enough time to visit old SJ city or the rainforest before our departure?

 

what is the best and effective way for us to visit in SJ in a very limited time?

 

where can we leave our luggages if we have the half day tour in SJ?

 

for barbados day, we really want snorkling and beach, do you have any detailed recommendation?

 

thanks for taking your time.

 

I don't mind at all, Joanna:

 

1. For a 2:30 PM flight, you need to be at the airport not later than 12:30. That kind of rules out the Rainforest. The earliest disembarkation I've seen is 8:30 for those with early flights or with tours booked with RCI.

 

2. You will have time to visit Old San Juan. You could hire a tour independently with the guys that are standing by at the pier and leave your luggage there. But to me the most effective way is to hire a taxi to Barrachina's, store the luggage there, and then stroll around Old San Juan on your own, then get your luggage and a taxi back to the airport.

 

3. I've never flown out of San Juan after a cruise but I believe you could use the ship's luggage valet which would take care of checking your bags with the airline at the pier so you could forget about them until you get home. In the alternative, as I mentioned above, you could use Barrachina's facilities.

 

4. We didn't go to the beach in Barbados so I can't help you there. If I see something in the Barbados board I'll post it here.

[tobecool]

I don't mind at all, Joanna:

 

1. For a 2:30 PM flight, you need to be at the airport not later than 12:30. That kind of rules out the Rainforest. The earliest disembarkation I've seen is 8:30 for those with early flights or with tours booked with RCI.

 

2. You will have time to visit Old San Juan. You could hire a tour independently with the guys that are standing by at the pier and leave your luggage there. But to me the most effective way is to hire a taxi to Barrachina's, store the luggage there, and then stroll around Old San Juan on your own, then get your luggage and a taxi back to the airport.

 

3. I've never flown out of San Juan after a cruise but I believe you could use the ship's luggage valet which would take care of checking your bags with the airline at the pier so you could forget about them until you get home. In the alternative, as I mentioned above, you could use Barrachina's facilities.

 

4. We didn't go to the beach in Barbados so I can't help you there. If I see something in the Barbados board I'll post it here.

 

 

thanks, Aviator

[rpurkey]

Still looking for tips on the ship (Serenade) and the islands (St. Kitts, St. Croix, Barbados, Dominica, St. Thomas)

 

Best snorkling?

 

Most intriguing shopping (Not interested in the places RC pushes)?

 

Best beach?

 

Sightseeing (besides Old San Juan ... cuz I've dug up a ton of info on that already)?

 

We did the Southern Caribbean last Feb on the Serenade. However, out itinerary was different (St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Barbados, Antigua, St. Lucia).

 

Best beach was (by far) on St. John (highly recommend a day trip to St. John/Trunk Bay from St. Thomas)

 

Barbados - possibly our favorite excursion was a Catamaran trip with SilverMoons. Relatively expensive but worth it. There are several threads on this.

[goldiemom]

Just returned this past Saturday from a 2b2 cruise on the Serenade. She is still beautiful (we sailed her 2 years ago). Here is what we did for excursions:

 

St. Thomas: Walked around. We had been to St. John before. In hindsite, wish we had done it again. We were there on Sunday, and a lot of shops closed. Those that do open are open only in the morning. Walk to K-Mart is easy if you need to purchase water, soda or snacks for the cruise.

 

St. Croix: Buck Island snorkel excursion through the ship. Never again. Way too crowded. Snorkeling was OK, but it was rushed and they made you take their "guided snorkel tour". I'd rather snorkel on my own.

 

St. Kitts: "The Tour" with Thenford Grey. Good tour. Visited Brimestone Hill Fortress...very interesting. Also included Cockleshell beach.

 

Dominica: Tour with Levi Baron of Bumpiing Tours. It was one of our best days. We swam in gorges, soaked in hot springs at the base of a waterfall, and snorkeled at Champagne Reef. Highly recommend him.

 

Barbados: Silver Moon cat sail. It was fabulous. Swimming with the sea turtles was a blast. Lunch and service on the cat was top notch. Again, highly recommended. Worth every penny!

 

Tortola: Took ferry to Virgin Gorda and taxi to the Baths. Although it was raining, we still had a wonderful day. Found out later all the tours had cancelled their trip the Baths, saying it was closed. No wonder it was so uncrowed! Turns out that the Baths was closed to all boats coming in with snorkelers (currents were heavy, but not that bad). We lucked out doing it on our own.

 

St. Martin: We had a lot of onboard credit, so we took the ship's tour of the island. It was OK. At least we got to the French side. We had been here several years ago and had gone to Pinel Island to snorkel. That was fun. Some people were getting nice beach bags for $2 each if you bought several. Nice gifts.

 

Antigua: Eli's Eco Tour. It was a fun day. We saw a lot..climbed Hell's Gate, snorkeled and learned a lot about the area. Highly recommend.

 

St. Lucia: Cosol Tour. We had a private tour for 8, so we could stop when we wanted. Food was great on the tour. There is not enough time for all places they take you. We opted to go to all of them, but spent little time at each. The beach they take you too is very nice between the Pitons. Could have used more time here. The drive thru volcano is underwelming. We have seen it twice and that is two times too many.

 

The market with the red tile roof is very fun to walk through. It in the harbour area.

 

Grenada: Mandoo Tours. While the tour was very interesting, we had a hard time understanding the guide. It was OK, but if I went back, I'd probably use someone else.

 

 

Try to find the blue cows on the Serenade. Tip: Can be seen from an elevator!!

[BILL-WI]

Just like goldiemom, we did a B2B on Serenade this past January. I posted the links to a trip review video I made of the whole trip, in the video section of CC. For more information, go here...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1136575

 

BILL:D

[bplazo]

We love cruising out of San Juan, we have been on the Serenade and the Adventure. We are doing another cruise in May on the Sereande, our favorite ship.