Itinerary Question- Southern Caribbean

[Wmp7]

We will be on Summit for the Southern Caribbean cruise on Nov 7 going to:

 

Tortola (most likely will go to Virgin Gorda Baths)

St. Georges Grenada

Castries St. Lucia

Bassterre St. Kitts

Char. Amalie St. Thomas (most likely will go to St. John)

 

While there is one sea day, we are planning on taking another day to stay onboard and relax. I'd like advice from some of you that have been to these ports as to which you were least impressed by. So far, we've identified Grenada as the port we may skip, but if we are making a mistake, I'm sure you all will let us know :)

[chamima]

Grenada or St. Kitts unless you've been to St. Thomas a million times.

 

The only reason I would choose St. Kitts over Grenada is that it's more towards the end of the cruise (if you've posted your ports in correct order) and we've found that's when we're the most ready to stay on board.

[cruisestitch]

Without knowing something about what you like, it's hard to answer this. Do you like hiking? Snorkeling? Shopping? History? Botany? Butterflies? My favorite island may be your least favorite.

[ClaudiaB]

Depends on what you've done. We've done the comprehensive tours of all the islands so we know what they're all about. We've done the snorkel and sail tours, and the food tours. So for us it's St. Kitts hands down. However, there *are* some nice resorts you can go to for the day in St. Kitts.

Grenada has the spices, so I like that. Different in that way from the other islands.

I'd never skip St. Thomas. There is a non-tourist, local jewelry store that has done work for me and I must always make a stop. I also really like the buzz about the city, and there are great beaches a short cab away, as well as St. John. However, many don't like it. I just happen to.

 

We're on the Eclipse Nov. 16 cruise and are looking to spend at least one of our port days on board. We generally don't do it but this time we are.

[Wmp7]

Great point Cruisestitch… Shopping and beach time. We will already be doing some snorkeling at Virgin Gorda.

Edited April 19, 2015 by Wmp7

[Wmp7]

Depends on what you've done. We've done the comprehensive tours of all the islands so we know what they're all about. We've done the snorkel and sail tours, and the food tours. So for us it's St. Kitts hands down. However, there *are* some nice resorts you can go to for the day in St. Kitts.

Grenada has the spices, so I like that. Different in that way from the other islands.

I'd never skip St. Thomas. There is a non-tourist, local jewelry store that has done work for me and I must always make a stop. I also really like the buzz about the city, and there are great beaches a short cab away, as well as St. John. However, many don't like it. I just happen to.

 

We're on the Eclipse Nov. 16 cruise and are looking to spend at least one of our port days on board. We generally don't do it but this time we are.

 

This would be our first time to all of the ports. Thanks for the info!

[chamima]

This would be our first time to all of the ports. Thanks for the info!

 

 

We've been to all of those ports many, many times!

 

Then if it's in the budget book a private sailboat to snorkel in St. Thomas.

If you go to the Ports of Call boards there are lots of recommendations.

We've gone with Kathleen on High Pockets three times and it's a wonderful (but pricey) day.

 

St. Georges Grenada - been there multiple times (and there is a beach that you can easily get to) but have never found anything we liked

Castries St. Lucia - do a tour with Cosol. we've also done that several times. Beach time at the end!

Bassterre St. Kitts - book something with Thenford Grey. He has several tours on his website and you can choose what suits you.

[tbmrt]

We didn't care for the beach there at all (Shipwreck Bar I believe)

 

I believe there is some good ziplining, but think (not sure) you must book through ship (expensive)

 

Without knowing something about what you like, it's hard to answer this. Do you like hiking? Snorkeling? Shopping? History? Botany? Butterflies? My favorite island may be your least favorite.

[yorky]

We will be on Summit for the Southern Caribbean cruise on Nov 7 going to:

 

Tortola (most likely will go to Virgin Gorda Baths)

St. Georges Grenada

Castries St. Lucia

Bassterre St. Kitts

Char. Amalie St. Thomas (most likely will go to St. John)

 

While there is one sea day, we are planning on taking another day to stay onboard and relax. I'd like advice from some of you that have been to these ports as to which you were least impressed by. So far, we've identified Grenada as the port we may skip, but if we are making a mistake, I'm sure you all will let us know :)

 

Probably Granada, not our favourite Island next to the others you mention, can't say I'm a big fan of Virgin Gorda Baths by the way, very overated in our view.

[macaroni]

Unless I was going to see Nevis, I would stay on the ship in st. Kitts..more options in Grenada. Virgin Gorda is great. And St. John is a good option from st. Thomas, otherwise I would have said st. Thomas unless you are a shopper.

[A Sixth?]

This will sound dumb, but stay aboard when you wake-up AND:

 

a) Your head feels like it's full of cement

b) It's raining

c) you're still in a bar stool

Edited April 19, 2015 by A Sixth?

[TLCOhio]

We will be on Summit for the Southern Caribbean cruise on Nov 7 going to:

St. Georges Grenada

I'd like advice from some of you that have been to these ports as to which you were least impressed by. So far, we've identified Grenada as the port we may skip, but if we are making a mistake, I'm sure you all will let us know

 

Much depends on what you seek, love and desire when visiting the varied and various Caribbean islands. As detailed below in my live/blog, we visited Grenada and really enjoyed doing the circuit around the island. This included a number of stops tied to their various spices, rum production, etc. There is lots of interesting and scenic sights to enjoy when circling this island, learning about its history, their people, etc. Some are not interested in those aspects this location that is know as the "Spice Island". For us, it was a good learning experience.

 

Below are a few of the visuals that we experienced on Grenada. We are glad we got to explore and see these varied sites and sights.

 

On Grenada, we did a ship tour called "Around The Isle of Spice" that was seven hours and departed a little early at 8:00 am. When we landed at their capital of St. Georges, there were 19 of us from our ship doing a circling of the "Isle of Spice". Fortunately, I had the front seat, next to the driver who was expert with these curving, hilly roads. It was somewhat of a long journey with lots of bus riding, but it gave us an excellent sampling of the splendid beauty, vistas and historic estates here on this island. Our excursion explored the Dougaldston Estate, Gouyave Nutmeg Factory, 'Carib Leap', the 18th-century River Antoine Rum Distillery and Grand Etang, a volcanic lake.

 

From Frommers, they summarize well on this charming island: "The southernmost nation of the Windward Islands, Grenada (Gre-nay-dah) is one of the lushest islands in the Caribbean. With its gentle climate and extravagantly fertile volcanic soil, it's one of the largest producers of spices in the Western Hemisphere. There's a lot of very appealing local color on Grenada, particularly since the political troubles of the 1980s seem, at least for the moment, to have ended. There are beautiful white-sand beaches, and the populace (a mixture of English expatriates and islanders of African descent) is friendly. Once a British Crown Colony but now independent. Grenada's capital, St. George's, is one of the most charming towns in the Caribbean. "

 

From the Cruise Critic website, they offer this sampling of its history/background: "To the uninitiated, the Southern Caribbean island of Grenada is better known for its political history -- U.S. troops intervened in a coup during President Reagan's administration, at the time a controversial volley in the Cold War -- than it is for being a vacation paradise. But, for the tourists pouring in through the island's increasing cruise business (on a recent day, five ships were docked at the capital of St. George's) to explore its numerous beaches or hike its mountainous rain forests, such associations belong in the past. So, too, does Hurricane Ivan, which damaged 90 percent of Grenada's buildings, destroyed 85 percent of its nutmeg trees and left more than half the population homeless in September 2004. While you'll still see some lingering effects as you tour around the island -- churches without roofs, homes still being rebuilt -- St. George's is as colorful and charming as ever, and most restaurants, tourist attractions and hotels are back in business -- in many cases refurbished and looking even better than they did before."

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 21,811 views for these postings.

 

 

Here is a sampling for some of the initial sites as we traveled north from the port/capital. Notice the lush, green views? Second is a sample of the shore fishing action as people from the village there pull in the nets. Next, our excellent guide, Bertrand Antoine, who had the perfect island voice/style, plus lots of details, personality and sharing skills, took us to an old estate. He gave us background for the various spices and items from this island. He passed around samples so that we could smell and feel these unique items. He also told us about the flag for Grenada, its color and design, etc.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From visiting a three-story nutmeg processing operation, we got to see of the hand-sorting that is required, then the drying racks and even an examples for some of the finished product uses.:

 

 

 

 

 

From the rum distilling operations, this plant dates back to 1785 and still uses that same type of water wheel set-up to power the crushing of the sugar cane. We saw where the cane is crushed to produce the juice and then the area where the liquid is heated, etc. They produce a product that comes out at 75% alcohol or 150 proof. Yes, we sampled and it was really burning in going down. Their rum with a fruit version went down much easier!! Very educational and interesting stop.:

 

[CanadaDeb]

Of all the ports we've done, Grenada is our least favorite. We found the people aggressive. This is, of course, just our experience. Enjoy your cruise!

[ozark74]

This would be our first time to all of the ports. Thanks for the info!

 

Since this is your first time for all the islands you should not stay on the ship at any port. You need to just walk around the town. Go to the open air markets, find a bar and have a local beer. They all take US dollars. You can spend a few hours and get a feel of the island then go back to the ship.