Experienced Princess Cruiser going to Caribbean for first time

[Posaune]

All of our cruise experience has been in Europe and Alaska. We are booking Ruby Princess for a January Eastern Caribbean cruise for a much needed getaway. We can use some advice! We are not beach people or big shoppers. Two or three hours on the beach and we have had our fill for the year. The cruise includes Princess Cays, St. Maarten, St Thomas, & Grand Turk. I hope my Cruise Critic friends can give me advice!

[Toto2Kansas]

One thing about Princess Cays, it is more or less just a beach day. You might consider just enjoying the ship that day (as most will be at the beach). You will have the ship pretty much to yourselves if you do. ;)

Sorry, I can't help with the other ports, as we are beach/water types and that is why we love this itineary. Have a great cruise!

[BratDet]

is a port for the sake of stopping....the store you go thru as you exit takes your cruise card as payment...not cash r credit

 

of course you can book things like horseriding on the beach...but in our three visits- we walked off the ship...went to the right and kept walking past the point....and just enjoyed the color of the water...walking thru the water and the nice walk. Large conch shells are way out by the point.....before they used to be a lot closer...

 

People have posted Joes Crab Shack past Margarittaville to the left....is a great place to stop....for food and drink...

 

3 of the over 18's with us enjoyed spending the day at Margarittaville spending a lot of money on overpriced drinks....this July trip...bucket of beers was over 40$....

 

I recently read someone paid around 150$ for a beach cabana for the day...heck- I would use the money elsewhere in my trip..I say save your $$.....

 

bernadette

[Weluv2cruise2007]

You should go to the ports of call section for the Caribbean or peek in on the roll call for this cruise....those would be the best and quickest way to get plenty of info!

 

I've done this itinerary on the Ruby twice and it's a great itinerary and the Ruby is my favorite ship! (as you can see from my signature! Lol!)

[Andee]

We are not shoppers or beach people, either.

 

In St. Thomas, we have enjoyed: Coral World, a self-guided historical walking tour of Charlotte Amalie, taking the ferry to St. John for as island tour and to snorkel the underwater trail at Trunk Bay. The first time we stopped there, we took an island tour with the ship, whick was OK, but we have learned that we prefer touring on our own.

 

In St. Martin, we rented motorbikes and did a circle tour including a very good history museum in Marigot, a small museum in Phillipsburg, a little beach time, and a butterfly farm. If motorbikes aren't your thing (the roads were well amnrked and in good condition; we were in our 50s at the time), you could negtiate with a cabbie when you get off the ship to take you wherever.

[cindep]

Just did this trip in December. In St. Thomas, a trip up to Paradise Point is quite nice. The views are awesome and there is a nice restaurant up there as well. They also used to do a bird show which was free and interesting. Good place to get away from the hustle and bustle of St. Thomas.

 

In St. Maarten we took the ship's tour over to the French side of the island. It is very different from the side you dock at (Dutch) and gives you a good overall experience of ths island.

 

I'm one who stays on the ship in Princess Cays and Grand Turk. On our first visit to Grand Turk we did to a dune buggy excursion which was a lot of fun (but we also got VERY dirty). It gave us a chance to see a lot of the island and the lighthouse.

 

Those are my suggestions if you don't want to do beach or shopping things (although the tour in St. Maarten does allow time for shopping). The most interesting place we found on St. Maarten was a convenience store on the French side. Very interesting seeing what kinds of things they stocked, plus they had a type of coconut punch (alcoholic) that was only found there.

[luvtravel88]

Hi Posaune,

It is a really good suggestion to go to the Shore excursion section of the CC to see what people have to say about stuff to do on these islands. Also try tripadvisor dot com.

 

We have been to these islands and they are lovely. Princess Cays and Grand Turk are both beach days. There is a really nice complex to sit at in Grand Turk that is right off the ship. It would be a nice way to spend an afternoon with a book or people watch. There is some shopping there, quite overpriced.

When we were on Princess Cays I remember it being less built up. There were some open pavillions where you could sit and get food and drink. It was mainly picnic fare, such as hamburgers and hot dogs. There were plenty of beach chairs available.

St. Maarten is a very interesting island. Half French/half Dutch. We took a 3 hour tour that showed us a cross section of the island and gave us a taste of the history and culture. You can probably find more reasonably priced private tours through the Shore Excursion section or through trip advisor.

I've left St. Thomas for last. This is one of our favorite Caribbean islands and we have visited there 5 or 6 times. It is quite beautiful! You may want to take a guided tour since you've never been there before as it would show you a lot of the island. Charlotte Amalie, the capitol, is right off the pier and is very easy to walk around. It's small, but very hilly. The last time we were there, we took a 2 hour walking tour of just the downtown area which was very interesting.

St. Thomas also boasts the oldest existing Synogogue in the Western Hemisphere. Even if you aren't Jewish, it's very interesting to see. It is small and very open, with a sand floor. The tour of this facility was really nice and because it's small, it doesn't take very long.

 

Of course the shopping there is great. If you are looking to take any gifts back home, I would get them there.

I know you'll have a wonderful time with whatever you choose to do. Have fun planning!

[stoneharborlady]

Years before my first cruise, I used to drool over National Geographic pictures of St. Thomas. The harbor, especially, was gorgeous. It still is, but I was shocked at the poverty there, and the other islands too. In St. Thomas, it seemed that the police sirens were going almost every five minutes. It was a disappointment to me, especially the main shopping in Charlotte Amelie. So crowded, and not what I thought it would be.

 

Karen

[oncruisecontrol]

Years before my first cruise, I used to drool over National Geographic pictures of St. Thomas. The harbor, especially, was gorgeous. It still is, but I was shocked at the poverty there, and the other islands too. In St. Thomas, it seemed that the police sirens were going almost every five minutes. It was a disappointment to me, especially the main shopping in Charlotte Amelie. So crowded, and not what I thought it would be.

 

Karen

 

 

Magazines and tourists brochures will always show the most beautiful photos of the water and beaches (and will often "touch them up"), such that it never occurs to the (especially first-time) cruiser that these tropical islands are not paradises per se, but rather places where real people live and work just like we do at home. Unfortunately poverty is a fact of life on many of the islands. But if the OP can find a local tour guide who is truly passionate about his/her island, the experience will be very rewarding.

 

Note to the OP: Do a search on these boards for local tour guides who come highly recommended by your fellow CruiseCritic members. I especially recommend that you search the Carnival Boards for tour guides (in St. Thomas)as many posters on that board have extensive experience booking local guides.

[spunkie4]

We have cruised this several times with Princess. We are also not beach people

 

Princess Cays - you can take an excursion that covers the island, it's called Taste of Eluretha. Includes lunch. You can also sleep late and go to Princess Cays for lunch. Or, you can spend the day on the ship.

 

St. Thomas - take an excursion that covers the island. See Blackbeard's castle. Walk the 99 steps. Take the boat to St. Johns (U. S. Virgin Island Park).

 

St. Marteen - There is an excursion that includes a boat ride to the other side of the island and return by bus. Or, the town is within walking distance.

 

Grand Turk - there is an excursion that takes you to the lighthouse. Gives you a look at the island, but is not very long.

 

It's a good cruise and you should have a wonderful time.

 

Shirley