Solstice 12/5

[getagrip]

Hi there,

My wife surprised me with the Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Solstice leaving 12/5 for my 50th birthday present. She booked us in Concierge Class. Can't wait! First cruise without the kids! Does anyone have recommendations for shore excursions in St. Thomas and St. Martin? Or recommendations for on-board, not-to-miss fun?

 

Thanks!!!

[Durban]

We are going on the St John guided shopping and leisure time (6 hrs) only $40 not bad, we usually do things on our own, but didn`t want to worry about making the ferry back and then still getting a taxi with all that traffic. I hear St John is really nice. Now you need to contemplate if you need the alcohol package.... we went back and forth and 3 of us are getting the Classic and 1 getting the Premium.

[Aruba76]

We were on the Solstice Halloween sailing, Aqua Class. It was our first cruise ever and we loved it and can't wait to go again. We are in our mid 50's and did an excursion with the ship to St. John. We wanted to go snorkeling and didn't want to chance it on our own (time-wise) since we had never done it before. Well, we did the half-day excursion (met at 1:00), took a boat from the pier where we were docked to St. John and then were met there by a taxi and taken to Trunk Bay. Do not do it! We thought we would be with only Solstice people, but we were on a very, very crowded ferry with people from 3 ships. Got to St. John and were literally stuffed into an open-air taxi (5 people on a seat made for 3). Arrived at Trunk Bay where our "snorkeling instruction" (I had never done it) was a 5 minute demo. One we got our gear, we had exactly 45 minutes to snorkel/swim/enjoy the beach before we had to do it all over again in reverse, getting back to the ship at 5:45 (sail time was 6:00). We weren't worried about the time because we were on a ship excursion so if we were late they would wait for us, but it was a lot of wasted time for 45 minutes of fun. Next time we will listen to everyone and do it on our own. In St. Maarten we shopped in the morning and then took a taxi to Orient Beach. That was easy and fun. We had the taxi driver drop us off at Bikini Beach (at the far end of Orient Beach) because we were told the facilities were better. We rented chairs for $7 each and had a great afternoon until the clouds rolled in. Then we got in a taxi and asked him to give us a tour of the island, so we took about 1 1/2 hours to get back to the ship (plenty of time) and paid him $15 - well worth it.

 

Have a wonderful time!! You will love the ship!

[NH Cruiser]

Getagrip . . . come over to the thread for this cruise (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1126201). There are some people looking for others to join private excursions with them and there is also a sail-away party. Make sure you sign up for the Connections Party. Informationon the above thread.