Best Excursions Silver Wind Barbados to San Juan

[Doylestown5518]

We are sailing the Wind (First Time on Silver Sea) March 10th Barbados to San Juan and want advice on best excursions (NO BUS TOURS) you all have had whether through SS on book on my own - for example, some of our favorite tours in Travel were biking through the vineyards in Bordeaux or hiking up a rain forrest mountain somewhere in the Caribbean (more for my wife, I was fearful I was going to fall off the trail and die - but memorable).  Though a good beach is always nice - love St Johns beaches. Thanks.  

[pf778c]

You should be able to see the excursions on the Silversea website for your cruise.  Overall, I think they tend to be geared more to passengers with limited mobility and rarely reflect my interests, so I do tend to book my own activities.  The only exception is where logistics just make it easiest to let Silversea handle the details - ie day trip in Guatemala to Tikal involving multiple buses and small planes, and although excursions to Petra in Jordan and Luxor, Giza, Valley of the Kings/Queens in Egypt on my upcoming cruise are doable on my own, I booked with Silversea to avoid worries about getting back to port before sail away.  I think they do a good job with these types of excursions though; it's really too much to really explore in the time available, but they do try to make the most of the time you do have.

Edited February 14, 2019 by pf778c

[Unibok]

Can you post your itinerary for us? I went on a very good snorkel excursion through SS, but I don’t know if you’ll be at that island. Some were better than others.

[Sunprince]

We are on the same cruise, the itinerary is:

Bridgetown

Bequia

St Lucia

Antigua

Les Saintes

St Barts

St Thomas

San Juan

 

We have been to all of these islands other than Les Saintes.  

 

Doylestown, if this is your first time to any of these islands then check out the SS website and book an island tour. The most variety of tours is in St Lucia, not my favourite place but it’s great to see the Pitons.  In Bequia try to do a tour of the Tobago Cays or Mayreau. Great place to snorkel.  

 

On a a side note, I noted that this cruise is now waitlisted in all categories, which seems odd since the cruise recently was not selling well (offering large incentives) and only recently had full availability in all categories.  Hope the passenger mix is representative of normal SS mix.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Unibok]

Ah, ok, thanks. The one I had in mind was at Tortola.

[Lois R]

Hi, in my opinion, that is a great itinerary.  I have been to most of those stops multiple times over the years.  You can walk around San Juan on your own.....go see the Forts and stroll along the Ave. No need to pay for a tour (in my opinion).

As for St Lucia, I personally LOVE it...it is beautifully lush….I have taken tours there....some land and found a tour years ago called "Coastal Cruise to the Pitons".....not sure if SS offers something like it or not.  St Thomas, I have been there so many times I don't usually get off the ship. But there is a lovely spot across the street from Havensight (that is the pier) called Paradise Point. You take a cable car to get up to the top. They have frozen drinks and the view is awesome....Sit and have a drink, look below and you can see the ships......really nice. There are plenty of tours for all these places though. Depends on your mood and what you feel like doing.

 

Of course, SS has many less passengers so if you book a tour that looks good to you, there will be less guests overall.  I booked my tours through the cruiseline on my last 2 sailings and was quite pleased with them

[Doylestown5518]

On 2/15/2019 at 10:13 PM, Sunprince said:

We are on the same cruise, the itinerary is:

Bridgetown

Bequia

St Lucia

Antigua

Les Saintes

St Barts

St Thomas

San Juan

 

We have been to all of these islands other than Les Saintes.  

 

Doylestown, if this is your first time to any of these islands then check out the SS website and book an island tour. The most variety of tours is in St Lucia, not my favourite place but it’s great to see the Pitons.  In Bequia try to do a tour of the Tobago Cays or Mayreau. Great place to snorkel.  

 

On a a side note, I noted that this cruise is now waitlisted in all categories, which seems odd since the cruise recently was not selling well (offering large incentives) and only recently had full availability in all categories.  Hope the passenger mix is representative of normal SS mix.  

 

 

We too hope the passenger mix is what had on a similar cruise - we're going with another couple but I'm the one who basically chose this cruise - relatively speaking a great deal,  and feel responsible.  They don't want to dress for evenings but we don't plan on being joined at the hip.  Thanks for the input.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MBP&O2/O]

On the opposite tack ... there is an underwater submarine tour at St Barts .... if you suffer from any form of motion sickness or Claustrophobia may I suggest you avoid it like the plague!

Personally I am OK with the motion sickness side of things, which was quite handy back in the day, but this one made me think about what I eaten for breakfast 😀

Several people did succumb and were somewhat ill !

Mike

 

[christraveller]

Les Saintes was a remarkably pleasant stop. Well walkable, a  friendly and clean town. People were leaving doors unlocked when shopping for their baguettes. We walked across the island, and had plenty of time. 

[TLCOhio]

On 2/15/2019 at 10:13 PM, Sunprince said:

We are on the same cruise, the itinerary is:

Bridgetown

Bequia

St Lucia

Antigua

Les Saintes

St Barts

St Thomas

San Juan

 

How did it all work out on this Silver Wind cruise earlier this month?  Best locations, loves, surprises, etc., from this cruise and these wonderful port opportunities?  For Bequia, below are some details and visuals from the Silversea excursion that we did .  Worked well!!  Better than just doing a long bus ride.  

 

For St. Barts, we talked with a cab driver and had him give us a drive-around tour of the whole island.  That allowed an excellent sampling for all of the key sights and locations. Fun!!  More for Barbados, St. Barts, San Juan, etc., on the full live/blog connected below. Good luck for those doing future planning at this enjoyable sites. 

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Amazon River-Caribbean 2015 adventure live/blog starting in Barbados. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, San Juan, etc.).  Now at 63,334 views:

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

 

Here are some of our Bequia sailing day excursion with Silversea samples, proof for the nice weather, sunshine, fun, etc.! This first picture shows us sailing toward the main town of Port Elizabeth. The second picture is of Princess Margaret Beach. Many sources, including TripAdviser, rate this scenic beach location as the "Best of the Best" for this island.:

 

 

 

 

 

[JTor]

I am on the Shadow this January with a very similar itinerary so would love feedback from the OP or anyone else about "non bus tour" options they liked.  My impulse is to book every "sailing/snorkelling" option I can find.  Or hiking when they offer it.  We definitely prefer to be active and outdoors and NOT sitting in a bus.

[Lois R]

3 hours ago, JTor said:

I am on the Shadow this January with a very similar itinerary so would love feedback from the OP or anyone else about "non bus tour" options they liked.  My impulse is to book every "sailing/snorkelling" option I can find.  Or hiking when they offer it.  We definitely prefer to be active and outdoors and NOT sitting in a bus.

When In January?