Port reccomendations wanted :)

[Taiters91]

Hello!

 

Would appreciate any reccomended places to visit, things to do, good excursions and why for the following ports please...

 

Aruba

Bonaire

Grenada

Barbados

St Lucia

Antigua

 

Thank you so much x

[garnetpalmetto]

You should probably post this in the individual port of call forums for these ports. You're likely to get much better information and have a wider audience to draw from. After all, if somebody cruised on Carnival to one of those ports and had an awesome suggestion, they wouldn't necessarily respond here. Besides that, this forum is more for discussion of Royal Caribbean issues (cruiseline operations, the ships, etc) - not as much the ports of call which have their own dedicated forums.

 

Aruba

Bonaire

Grenada

Barbados

St. Lucia

Antigua

Edited November 7, 2015 by garnetpalmetto

[DonnaK]

St Lucia: We loved Cosol tours! Google them and check them out on TripAdvisor.

 

Antigua: We had a good experience touring with Lawrence of Antigua.

 

Barbados: WE did not enjoy the ship's excursion to Harrison Caves. Boring, and not a good value for the money. I recommend avoiding this one.

[cb at sea]

A guidebook will be the most helpful research you can do. Libraries have them, or buy one!

[dacsmom]

St. Lucia - Spencer Ambrose Land, Sea and Beach tour. You do not spend all day on a bus and get to see a lot more sights.

 

Barbados - Sail Calabaza. Gina is wonderful and only takes 12 people at a time.

[OCruisers]

What type of shore excursions do you like?

[Keith1010]

I too would visit the ports of call boards to get information on each island.

 

Cruise Critic also has writeup.

 

And use on line information from Frommers, Fodors and other internet sites.

 

Keith

[capriccio]

Hello!

 

Would appreciate any reccomended places to visit, things to do, good excursions and why for the following ports please...

 

Aruba

Bonaire

Grenada

Barbados

St Lucia

Antigua

 

Thank you so much x

 

I concur with the recommendation to check out the Caribbean Ports of Call section but we just returned from a 20 day B2B on the Royal Princess that went to all these ports. These are my recommendations:

 

 

• Aruba - we had already visited once on a cruise and did sightseeing and the submarine via a ship's excursion. This time we did a private excursion with Aruba Trikes (3 wheeled motorcycles - check out their website for pictures). It was a fantastic excursion.
  
• Bonaire - if you snorkel or just want to try, go with Woodwind. We have snorkeled all over and I've never been so impressed with an organization (first rate equipment including prescription lenses; they break you down into groups of 7 or so with a guide; serve drinks and a meal) and the snorkeling (it's absolutely beautiful and almost stress free since it is drift snorkeling where the ship lets you off and then the current does most of the work and the ship meets you a certain amount of time later).
  
• Grenada - we did a ship's excursion that wasn't very good but we were impressed with one of the stops: a spice garden. If you are a gardener, enjoy cooking, and/or have an interest in homeopathic remedies you will enjoy it.
  
• Barbados - our first time there we went on a snorkeling excursion with Calabaza. They were great - it was our favorite snorkeling excursion until we went with Woodwind in Bonaire on this last trip. This time we went with Glory Tours on a sightseeing excursion of the island. There were only 4 passengers and we had a very nice and informative guide. If you are interested in gardens, don't miss Hunte's Gardens.
  
• St. Lucia - our third excursion with Serenity Tours. They are an absolutely first rate organization. The first time we did a private tour to the Pitons and then a boat ride (and snorkel stop) back to the harbor. The second time we (along with another couple from our roll call) went zip lining, visited a farm and waterfall in the rainforest for lunch, and toured a part of the island we had never seen before. This trip a group of 8 (6 from our ship;2 from another in port that day) did a tour and visited a run distillery where we had a tour and taste testing (unlimited :eek:) of their 17 rums.
  
• Antigua - first time we stopped there we went to Bird Island and snorkeled. The snorkeling is not very good. This time we went on a tour with Segway Antigua - it was our first time on Segways and was great fun. The instructor/guides were very, very good.
  

[cruiseapril]

Hi- As others have said- lots of info on the port forums.

 

Aruba- We enjoyed a morning tour of the island which included the highlights of the island and good commentary by the driver. In a few hours we saw most of this small island.

In the afternoon, we took a taxi to Palm Beach which is beautiful.

 

Bonaire- One of the best places for snorkeling. Also, an interesting island to tour.

 

Barbados- We like spending a day at Carlisle Bay Beach. There are several resorts where one can get a day pass and use of facilities.

We also have toured the island, but one should read about the tour destinations as there are so many in Barbados.

 

St. Lucia- Very important to have an organized tour, with good driver and guide. We took a 4 hour tour which was just right. Some tours in St. Lucia are quite long.

 

Check the port forums for more specific info.

[Taiters91]

Thanks everyone... Will look into it all!

[Extra Kim]

I have spent a 2 weeks long land vacation and one cruise stop on Aruba.

 

Aruba are a small iland and I have seen most of it, if you ask me there's not that much to see on Aruba except WONDERFUL beaches.

I would recommend that you take the local bus (the bus-station is on the other side of the road when you get out from the port area and easy to find).

 

Take the bus to Druif, Eagle or Palm beach. Baby beach is nice but overrated, we got engaged on Baby beach but we wouldn't (and didn't) go back there during a cruise stop.

Edited November 11, 2015 by Extra Kim