Caribbean Port Excursions

[Danyell502]

Hey Everybody,

This is my first cruise and I've been researching shore excursions. I'm going on a ten day Caribbean cruise with my sister to Philipsburg St. Maarten, Basseterre St. Kitts, San Juan Puerto Rico, and Labadee Haiti. We're mostly interested in the beach and water related activities. I like the security that the ship excursions offer, but we are also trying to save money where we possibly can. How easy/safe is it to explore these ports on our own vs. using one of the ships activities? Will we be able to find things to do on our own? Does anybody have suggestions or links to how I might plan something on my own for any of these ports? Since it's my first cruise, should I just reserve ship excursions?

Thanks in advance for any advice:)

[WisconsinFan]

First, we have found it pretty easy to do things on our own. We have booked ship's excursions when we have either been worried it would fill (the Deadliest Catch in Ketchican) or when we wanted to make sure we would be back in time (first cruise, to Mayan ruins some way off from the port). Most times we pick up some good travel books from the library and plan what we want to do.

 

You may want to head on over to the Ports of Call pages http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5 to look at the ports you will be calling on. Often lots of good advice and helpful information.

[Koohiichan]

I definitely echo the suggestions to check out the Ports of Call board. If you do a search or just read the old posts, you will learn a lot. Your roll call board might also be of help.

 

Regarding Labadee, this is RCI's private island so if you are just interested in hanging out on the beach, just get off the ship, no need to book an excursion.

 

St. Martin is easy and safe to get around. Most ports, incl. St. Martin have taxi vans or busses that will take you around the island for a lower fee. Many head over to Orient beach, but Maho beach is close by and you can see the planes go right overhead. There is really no need to do a ship sponsored tour, but sometimes the peace of mind transportation-wise is worth it. The fort at St. Kitts is well worth it, although there is transportation time and money involved. We booked Beulahs' tour and can recommend it. You can always do a beach stop at the end.

 

I don't have experience with beaches in San Juan, although I love the port. I don't know what your time-frame is in San Juan, but if you are only there in the afternoon and evening, I would suggest touring, shopping and dinner.

 

Doing excursions on your own takes some time for research and planning, but that is part of the fun for me.

 

Cheers and have a great cruise!

 

Koohiichan

[cleob]

In St Kitts I would recommend Thenford Greys tour, he is a wonderful man and so professional. In St Martin the water taxi is a great bargain if you want a little shopping time. You can see it as soon as you exit the ship. I only use ship excursions when I absolutely need to as there usually higher priced and overcrowded. I've gotten great ideas over the years from the ports of call forum.

[lauren0309]

I'm doing the same route as you in a few weeks. In St. Kitts we're doing a private tour with Thenford Grey. I have read so many good reviews about him. The tour is much cheaper than a ship tour and he gets you back in plenty of time. Just look up his website to book the tour. In St. Martin since I've already been to Orient Beach, this time we're taking a taxi to Maho Beach to watch the airplanes, in Puerto Rico which I've also been to, and we're not in port too long, we'll just walk around town, maybe have lunch and in Labadee we plan to just relax on the beach. Have their BBQ lunch and have some labadoozles which I've heard so much about!

Edited November 5, 2013 by lauren0309

[Upandadam]

Hey Everybody,

This is my first cruise and I've been researching shore excursions. I'm going on a ten day Caribbean cruise with my sister to Philipsburg St. Maarten, Basseterre St. Kitts, San Juan Puerto Rico, and Labadee Haiti. We're mostly interested in the beach and water related activities. I like the security that the ship excursions offer, but we are also trying to save money where we possibly can. How easy/safe is it to explore these ports on our own vs. using one of the ships activities? Will we be able to find things to do on our own? Does anybody have suggestions or links to how I might plan something on my own for any of these ports? Since it's my first cruise, should I just reserve ship excursions?

Thanks in advance for any advice:)

 

In St Maarten we take a cab to Orient beach. In St Kitts, you can poke around town but we hired a private guide to take us around. We ended up at Cockelshell Beach. In San Juan you can explore the town and old fort but probably need a guide or excursion if you want a beach. Labadee is easy if you want the beach. Just walk off the ship and you're there.

 

The ports of call forum is great for finding private tours and learning from the research and/or mistakes of others.

 

Have fun!!

[bythehex]

In St. Martin we always walk into Phillipsburg to go to the beach, it's only about a six minute walk. Labadee is, of course, a beach day.

 

San Juan has great forts nearby, El Morro and Ft. San Cristobal...both easy to get to by either walking, or riding on the free trolleys. Or, you can just walk throughout Old San Juan, it's really nice and scenic. Depends on what time of day you're there, I wouldn't walk by yourself at night.

[DonnaK]

We did Thenford Grey's tour in St. Kitts and it was wonderful! You get to see the highlights of the island, and then have some beach time.

 

If this is your first time to St. Maarten, I recommend Bernard's tour. It's a perfect mix of seeing the island, and time at both Orient beach and Maho Beach. Or, you can walk or take the water taxi into Phillipsburg for some shopping and time on the beach there (we do this often, as it is a very low budget way to spend a nice day)

 

On Labadee, no excursion is necessary. Just walk off the ship and find a lounger in the shade or sun (you may want to tip the guy who sets up the chairs a couple of dollars). For nice sand and calm water, go to Nellie's Beach or Columbus Cove (the side of the peninsula that faces the ship). A picnic lunch (free) will be provided by the ship.

 

In Old San Juan, you can just walk around on your own. It is very easy to do.

Edited November 5, 2013 by DonnaK

[villauk]

We did Thenford Grey's tour in St. Kitts and it was wonderful! You get to see the highlights of the island, and then have some beach time.

 

If this is your first time to St. Maarten, I recommend Bernard's tour. It's a perfect mix of seeing the island, and time at both Orient beach and Maho Beach. Or, you can walk or take the water taxi into Phillipsburg for some shopping and time on the beach there (we do this often, as it is a very low budget way to spend a nice day)

 

On Labadee, no excursion is necessary. Just walk off the ship and find a lounger in the shade or sun (you may want to tip the guy who sets up the chairs a couple of dollars). For nice sand and calm water, go to Nellie's Beach or Columbus Cove (the side of the peninsula that faces the ship). A picnic lunch (free) will be provided by the ship.

 

In Old San Juan, you can just walk around on your own. It is very easy to do.

 

Donna,

 

When we sailed on Oasis in the summer, a friendly US gentleman said that Grand Cayman was the best place for snorkelling. As we've since booked a cruise on Independence that includes this port, do we need to take a tour to snorkel or is it possible to walk to a beach near the port? We didn't go into detail and are now wondering what's the best option for our family? It appears that Stingray City is very popular :confused:; is this where we should be heading?

 

Thanks.

[DonnaK]

Donna,

 

When we sailed on Oasis in the summer, a friendly US gentleman said that Grand Cayman was the best place for snorkelling. As we've since booked a cruise on Independence that includes this port, do we need to take a tour to snorkel or is it possible to walk to a beach near the port? We didn't go into detail and are now wondering what's the best option for our family? It appears that Stingray City is very popular :confused:; is this where we should be heading?

 

Thanks.

 

I don't have specific recommendations for Grand Cayman. A good option for a family would be to find a reputable private tour guide for a snorkeling and Sting Ray city tour. If you ask over on the Cayman Islands port of call board here on Cruise Critic, you'll find lots of recommendations. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=147

 

This is a tender port, meaning that the ship anchors offshore, and then you ride small boats to get back and forth between the ship and the pier. Once you exit the tender boat area, there will be people selling tours, but I recommend that you research and reserve one ahead of time so that you can be sure that you chose someone reliable and reputable. There are lots of shops in the area. I don't think that you can walk to the beach, but the famous 7 mile beach is a short taxi ride away.

Edited November 5, 2013 by DonnaK

[Upandadam]

Donna,

 

When we sailed on Oasis in the summer, a friendly US gentleman said that Grand Cayman was the best place for snorkelling. As we've since booked a cruise on Independence that includes this port, do we need to take a tour to snorkel or is it possible to walk to a beach near the port? We didn't go into detail and are now wondering what's the best option for our family? It appears that Stingray City is very popular :confused:; is this where we should be heading?

 

Thanks.

 

I wouldn't call Stingray City snorkeling. It's cool, but not snorkeling. Try the port of call forum to hire a private excursion or find a ship sponsored one.

Edited November 6, 2013 by Upandadam

[mein18]

I wouldn't call Stingray City snorkeling. It's cool, but not snorkeling. Try the port of call forum to hire a private excursion or find a ship sponsored one.

 

San Juan, if you are fortunate enough to be there in the evening when the city shines, we highly recommend to take the walking dinner tour of OSJ. Not sure if can post the website here but they will give you a fantastic tour of the city with narration and hit all the must see spots and along the way you get to enjoy a progressive dinner stopping at at least 4 different restaurants/eateries along the way. We did it last year and was one of the most enjoyable times we have experienced in any port. Great guides, information, location and food. If you are interested, I can get you the site to read up more.

 

They also have a lunch tour if you want to in the early afternoon however we enjoy OSJ tours at night..

[OCruisers]

All of the places you are going are safe enough and rather easy to do on you own.

In St. Kitts you might want to look at the excursions offered by your ship to see if there is anything you would enjoy.

 

Have fun planning! :)

 

LuLu

~~~~

[Danyell502]

Thanks everybody!! Still learning how to navigate CC, the link to the other forum was really helpful.

[ace1zoe2]

I just posted this for someone else in another thread so thought I'd copy & past here to give you some ideas of private excursion you can do:

 

 

Here are the private tours we have done in the Southern Caribbean. We had a fantastic time on all of them. Some we did with our family only and a few we did with other CC roll call members.

 

Puerto Rico - East Island Excursions (Bio Bay) 787-721-6525 or eastwindcats.com

 

St. Lucia - Cosol Tours (fantastic tour!) 758-719-6697 or cosol-tours.com

 

St. Marteen - Joyce Prince Tours 011-599-526-5252 or joyceprince.com

 

Antigua - Adventure Tours 268=726-6455 or adventureantigua.com

 

Barbados - We took a taxi to Accra Beach & the guys played golf nearby at the Rockley Golf Course

 

St. Kitts - Thenford Gray Tour (he is such a nice guy) thenfordgrey.com

 

Aruba - Bully Tour - sorry could't find his contact info but bet if you search the port pages you can locate it, maybe thru aruba-lisa

 

Curacoa - Leo Platte - also couldn't find his info in my notes.

 

All of these are pretty much island tours with some great stops and they will let you pick where/what you want to do. In St. Lucia we toured the island then took a boat near the Pitons and snorkeled, in Antigua we took the Eco-Tour which was a speed boat, got off at an island climbed to the top, had lunch then to Hell's Gate to snorkel.

 

Hope this gives you some starting points in your research. We also got the Marriott Stellaris both times bidding thru price lines for "resorts" for $125/night plus resort fee (now charged, we didn't pay on either of our trips).

 

It's also easy to rent a car in San Juan and do the Rain Forest on your own. It's beautiful and there are some great waterfalls there too.