Bahamas, St Thomas, St Kitts - need excursion advice

[Travelin_papa]

My wife and I are cruising to Nassau, St Thomas, and St Kitts. We are wondering which excursions are recommended. Also, for shopping, credit cards or cash? Which is recommended?

[Clarea]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

We like the Reggae Beach Bar area of Cockleshell Beach. Nice view of Nevis.

[57redbird]

On St. Kitts, Thenford Grey's tour was great Check out his reviews on Trip Advisor. USD are fine.

[lenquixote66]

We never use credit cards in ports . Some people prefer Traveler's checks.

 

 

As far as tours ,we have been to St.Thomas about 10 times .Nearly all of the tours seem to include shopping .

The only thing I ever enjoyed about a tour was once when our tour guide was a professional basketball player from London who spent his off season as a St.Thomas Tour Guide .

I played 2 seasons of semi-pro basketball in NYC and we had interesting conversations.

[mom says]

I can't really recommend excursions, since I have no idea what activities interest you. However there is a forum on CC which deals with all of the Ports of Call. The Caribbean Forum has subforums for each of the islands, with great info on beaches, private tours, private excursions, etc. Here is a link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587

 

We only use our credit card for large purchases in ports. For most things (in the Caribbean ports) we use cash in USD. You could try Travellers cheques, but they're pretty much passe , and vendors may not accept them. Try to have some cash in small denominations, since vendors usually give change in local currency.

[SuiteTraveler]

The best place to go from St. Thomas is to go over to St. John which remains unspoiled and has one of the most beautiful beaches in the world - Trunk Bay.

 

Nassau - typically people do one of these things:

Aquaventure at Atlantis Hotel (expensive)

Blue Lagoon (much less expensive)

Walk to Junkanoo Beach (free)

Shopping (walk from port)

 

St. Kitts - I would do a sailboat snorkel tour.

[cb at sea]

The best place to go from St. Thomas is to go over to St. John which remains unspoiled and has one of the most beautiful beaches in the world - Trunk Bay.

 

Nassau - typically people do one of these things:

Aquaventure at Atlantis Hotel (expensive)

Blue Lagoon (much less expensive)

Walk to Junkanoo Beach (free)

Shopping (walk from port)

 

St. Kitts - I would do a sailboat snorkel tour.

 

Agree with St. John....so GORGEOUS!

[teknoge3k]

In Nassau we just hung out at Atlantis all day, didn't like the port..

In St. Kitts coming up, we have a tour booked with Pereira Tours to do a full island tour. I am excited to see their island and lifestyle. Then after the tour we'll relax on the beach the rest of the day.

[John Bull]

St Kitts is quite small and limited, so SuiteTraveller's sailboat/snorkel is worth considering.

Or a circulat van tour of the island - available from vendors at the port. Don't choose the cheapest, it covers very little of the island. Instead a two to three hour tour in a shared van will cost around 15USD & finishes with some beach time - so take your beach stuff.

Best-known excursion is the sugar train (google it) but this can only be done as a ship's excursion, the cruise lines block-book the train. Only part of the tour is by train, the rest is by van, and the total route is much the same as a van tour hired at the port since the road and rail run alongside each other. The sugar train excursion is expensive, same as most ships's tours and you won't see any more of the island, but those who've done it rate it for the fun atmosphere on the train.

St Kitts has pretty good tourist shops at the pier, not elsewhere on the island. St Thomas is probably best for shopping.

 

JB :)

[Beachdude]

We like the day sails in St. Thomas, they typically visit St. john as well as a couple other spots to snorkel and provide pretty good lunches. We also like visiting ST. Johns because it is probably one of the prettiest islands in the Caribbean. If you like to shop for jewelry, St. Thomas is the best. It has a nice open bar where members of the party (husbands and boy friends) can relax while the others shop.

 

We enjoyed the island tour at St. Kitts. However, I don't recommend the Zipline tour. We have done many Ziplines on our cruises, so we know what to expect. The Zip-line equipment in St. Kitts is top-notch and very safe, but the staff is unprofessional and in my opinion dangerous.

 

Burt

Edited January 17, 2017 by Beachdude

[Luvfuninthesun]

I live in St Kitts and I would recommend Shipwreck beach. Carambola beach is another option.

 

 

 

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[cruiseapril]

In Nassau, Bahamas we like to go to the British Colonial Hilton in town or

The Melia on Cable Beach. Both offer day passes.

 

In St. Thomas we like Magen's Bay Beach which can be crowded- but we have enjoyed it with and without crowds. One can just take a taxi there.

 

There are several good beaches on St. T. and of course on St. John- so the forum will give lots of info.

[trish1c]

My wife and I are cruising to Nassau, St Thomas, and St Kitts. We are wondering which excursions are recommended. Also, for shopping, credit cards or cash? Which is recommended?

 

St. Thomas for shopping. I almost never do anything else.

 

In St. Kitts book a trip to the fort. The botanical gardens are nice too. Ideal if you can get one excursion that takes you to both.

 

I like the protections of a cc for foreign shopping. Do not use the same card you tied to your sign & sail account. I never carry more than $50, usually less, with me in port.

[Cruising_Crazies]

My family is also traveling to bahamas, st kitts and st thomas. If we were picking one place to do a shore excursion, where and what would it be ?