Southern Caribbean out of San Juan

[sngl4good]

Our cruise is March 31-April 7, 2019. By any chance will mattpro or Russ Lomas be on the same sailing?

 

 

Hello, I will actually be on that same cruise with my mom , her cousin and her friend in a JS as well.

[RobinCruiser]

Just wanted to add the link (& correct spelling) for the excursion in Barbados: Sail Calabaza

 

I was going to add this one myself. Best tour ever!! I can't snorkel because of claustrophia issues and DH has a hole in his ear drum so can't submerge his head but in spite of this, we still had the most amazing time swimming around in the crystal waters with the turtles and eating/drinking an amazing feast with a small group of new friends. Just be sure you have lots of high power sunscreen - we did this tour in March 2016 and got burnt to a crisp!

[bitofun]

Hello, I will actually be on that same cruise with my mom , her cousin and her friend in a JS as well.

 

Awesome! We'll have to plan to meet up :D

 

 

Pat

[Russ Lomas]

Our cruise is March 31-April 7, 2019. By any chance will mattpro or Russ Lomas be on the same sailing?

Sorry, we will miss you that time around. We sail a few weeks before you on March 10th. I know by the time we get back on the 16th, it will be close to your cruise, but I can tell you what our experiences were like on the islands if you like and what we thought of the tours we did. I may help you lean towards one idea or steer away from it based on our experiences.

[Russ Lomas]

Yes, I sail the Freedom from mid-Jan. thru mid-April.

You stay on the ship for 3 consecutive months? If so, you are my idol ;) and I will see you in March of 2019.

 

However, arguably the nicest beach in all of the Caribbean is Mullet Bay, located a quarter of a mile from Maho going toward Marigot.

We visited Mullet and it was one of our favourites too. The time we visited the waves were 10-12' high (I have photos to prove it) and they said that was rare at Mullet. Photos online have it looking like a crystal clear sheet of blue glass. We plan to go to Mullet again in December when we visit St. Maarten next. Nice thing about it is that you can walk or get a very quick cab over to Maho to watch the planes for an hour or two after visiting Mullet for the majority of the day.

[bobmacliberty]

Another vote for Bernard's on St. Maarten, Thenford Gray on St Kitts, and especially Cosol Tours on St. Lucia. We did a private tour with Cosol Tours (family of 4 in a mini-van) and Cosol included breakfast at his house. Gorgeous views from his balcony! See the Adventure of the Seas review link in my signature for pictures from the same ports last summer.

[zdad59]

We just did the cruise in February. Check out my trip report....

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2463129

[sngl4good]

Awesome! We'll have to plan to meet up :D

 

 

Pat

 

 

Yes, we should plan it.

[BillOh]

We cruise every 2 years so this cruise is way out there March of 2019. How far out from sail date will excursions and other services like beverage packages be available?

 

Thanks for your replies. We're anxious to get to know the Royal community.

 

Pat

 

With regard to the excursions, Are you set on doing only ship's excursions and not private? I booked a great private excursion on Aruba (I know you're not going there) 600 days ahead and it was great. Had plenty of time to communicate with the vendors to get comfortable with them. In St Martin, my first time there (now my favorite island) I did Bernard's tours. You will hear good things about it here and on trip advisor. St Martin is an easy island to get around with a good cab system. I recommend researching and going out on your own.

[BillOh]

.

 

In the Caribbean, we usually book excursions with local vendors rather than through the cruiseline. We only use those who are highly recommended on Cruise Critic and TripADvisor.

 

 

In Antigua, we used Lawrence of Antigua.

 

I......

In Barbados, we took the ship's tour of the caves and do not recommend it. Boring and too expensive.

 

 

I'm going to remember Lawrence, and hope to go back there again. The worst excursion I ever had was through Royal in Antigua and I'm dying to go back and actually see the island. Making note of Barbados, we are going back there again.

[BillOh]

We love sailing out of SJU! In Barbados, we love to sail ( catamaran ) with Calabaza. Awesome, awesome, awesome time snorkeling and swimming with turtles! Highly recommend it!

 

 

I've heard this one a lot. When we were in Barbados we did a Royal Catamaran turtle swim, while nice, we saw the Calabaza people and what a great time they had. Making note of that.

[bitofun]

With regard to the excursions, Are you set on doing only ship's excursions and not private? I booked a great private excursion on Aruba (I know you're not going there) 600 days ahead and it was great. Had plenty of time to communicate with the vendors to get comfortable with them. In St Martin, my first time there (now my favorite island) I did Bernard's tours. You will hear good things about it here and on trip advisor. St Martin is an easy island to get around with a good cab system. I recommend researching and going out on your own.

 

Thanks for the information. Not at all set on only doing the ship's excursions. Have done both in the past while cruising on Carnival. Kind of depended on the port. Everyone who has replied so far report excellent experiences choosing private excursions. Looking forward to checking out all the recommendations!

[BillOh]

Thanks for the information. Not at all set on only doing the ship's excursions. Have done both in the past while cruising on Carnival. Kind of depended on the port. Everyone who has replied so far report excellent experiences choosing private excursions. Looking forward to checking out all the recommendations!

 

 

With regards to Bernard's tour in St Martin, it is a good value and nice people. The only thing I don't like about it, is its a bit rushed, not staying some places very long compared to what it used to be. (In 2011 we got 2 hours at Orient beach) One of the stops was a bit contrived as a tourist spot and I've heard that about the butterfly place and the iguana farm. But for the first time on the island you get a nice tour of the whole island and they are well run and dependable. Bernard's offers two tours where you will go with others. They also offer a private tour where you set the agenda. If you join your roll call and find others interested, you can pick your own agenda. Either way, its no-lose.

 

 

By the way, Freedom in one of my favorite ships and we had a Junior Suite last time. Great cruise!

[rsharp83]

Just did this itinerary on Adventure. I have detailed excursion notes on all these Islands in my trip review. (Except for St. Lucia as we were sent to Martinique last minute). Most people here seem to be recommending land based sight seeing tours. If that is what you like then those are likely good recommendations. On St. Maarten and Antigua we did more adventurous kinds of boat tours that circumnavigated the islands. If you are looking for alternatives to land tours you might be interested in Soualiga Destinations Boat Tours and Adventure Antigua.

[subtchr]

I've heard this one a lot. When we were in Barbados we did a Royal Catamaran turtle swim, while nice, we saw the Calabaza people and what a great time they had. Making note of that.

 

It was such an incredible day! Fantastic food and drink, homemade salads and other fresh dishes. Warm and friendly crew, and of course beauty all around.

 

Untitled by Sue, on Flickr

 

Untitled by Sue, on Flickr

 

Untitled by Sue, on Flickr

 

Untitled by Sue, on Flickr