Seabourn Caribbean Excursions

[Sidney68]

Hi, I am new to cruising and will shortly embark on a 14 night cruise starting and ending in Barbados. Ports include St Kitts, St Barts, Antigua, Dominica, St Lucia, Guadalupe, St Maarten, BVIs. Given the Covid situation currently, I understand that we will only be allowed off the ship for Seabourn organised excursions; the choice is slightly overwhelming and therefore I wonder if anyone could recommend any in particular?  I am pretty active, love the beach and sea, but also would like to experience some culture - any guidance would be appreciated! Also, do you have to book in advance or is it possible to organise once on board once the onboard schedule is known? In addition, I have seen reports that docking can be subject to last minute change, what happens if you book and then there is a slight change in the itinerary, would we get a refund? Thanks in advance. 

[Catlover54]

You get a refund on an advance pay excursion if it is cancelled.

 

You do not have to book in advance, but at least pre-Covid, when ships were full,  many did to be sure they got what they wanted.

 

I will send you a list of my favorites separately, and will link to a review ( though it is pre-Covid).

[cruiseej]

Taking the last question first: yes, if a tour is canceled for any reason, you are refunded.

 

Taking the middle question about advance booking next: the cruises have been pretty empty -- under 150 passengers -- since July, so very few excursions have been selling out. They're expecting significantly higher passenger counts as we get into the traditional Caribbean cruising season next month, so it's possible that if a group traveling together all books one excursion, it could sell out. I have always preferred to book in advance to lock in what we want. You can cancel most excursions onboard if you change your mind by the deadline, which is typically two days in advance. (Exceptions are some of the high-priced excursions, like private car or boat.)

 

If you have onboard credit and want to use that for excursions, you can book and pay in advance, and then ask in Seabourn Square for them to reverse the transaction to use up your onboard credit first. If you have a credit balance at the end of your cruise, if the credit is from the refunds of your pre-booked excursions, you'll get the balance credited back to your credit card. In other words, you can pre-book and pay, but get that money back to the extent you you onboard credit to use up.

[Catlover54]

December 2018 review ( has some ports you are not going to, others you are)

 

 

[Catlover54]

Your ports:

 

1.  St. Kitts -- I did "Best of St. Kitts".  The Brimstone Fortress was a highlight.

 

2.  St.  Barts -- we were late getting in, so we only walked around town with overpriced shops and cafes.   If you have a lot of time, and must be in a group, go for an excursion that includes a beautiful beach there.

 

3.  Antigua -- Nelson Dockyards was a lot of fun.

 

4.  Dominica -- a rainforest walk to the Emerald Pool is beautiful

 

5.  St.  Lucia -- Aerial Tramway is a must

 

6.  Guadalupe -- If it is Iles de Saintes,  Fort Napoleon is terrific.  Very nice town.
7.  St.  Maarten -- a basic island tour ( both Dutch and French side)

 

8.  BVI -- don't know, wasn't there yet ( next month!)

 

Edit:  forgot Barbados.  A basic island drive is good, especially if it goes to the east side.

Have fun!

Edited October 15, 2021 by Catlover54
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[Hlitner]

You might want to consider that when at St Kitts the entire ship can go ashore for a full day beach party so no need to book a morning excursion unless it is something you really want to do.  The morning excursions do get you back to the private beach day by noon.

 

Hank

[dalliowner]

Jost van dyke on BVI is one of the best beaches you will find 

[cruiseej]

8 hours ago, Hlitner said:

You might want to consider that when at St Kitts the entire ship can go ashore for a full day beach party so no need to book a morning excursion unless it is something you really want to do.  The morning excursions do get you back to the private beach day by noon.

 

Let me chime in about St. Kitts...  We've now been to the big "Caviar in the Surf" beach day on St. Kitts twice. The first time in 2019, we decided not to do any morning excursion because we wanted to get the the beach as early as possible, get our beach chairs, and enjoy a nice beach day, complete with the caviar event and, more importantly, the grilled lobster tails at lunch. (Okay, it's technically a full-on barbecue with ribs, burgers, fish, salads and more, but as far as we're concerned, the ability to have unlimited lobsters tails hot off the grill is all this was about!) We were there on Christmas, and the staff was celebrating as much as the passengers; many, many staff members, including all senior managers up to the hotel director, f&b director, and cruise director, were thrown in the water by fellow crew, and it was just a great, joyous day for passengers and crew.

 

Last month, we were back, and after talking to the Destination Services managers about how the tours were specifically timed to get back to the beach around noon, before the caviar at 12:15 and lunch following, we decided to book one of the excursions: the St. Kitts Scenic Railway. We wanted to actually see some of the country, not just go to the beach and then back to the ship. There was both a good and bad component to our decision. The excursion was definitely worthwhile: we saw a lot of the St. Kitts countryside and learned a lot about the country's history and culture from our excellent tour guides on the bus and the train. The bad part was just a fluke, I assume: there were some mechanical problems with the train after we boarded, and we sat for almost 45 minutes before the train pulled out. Well, you can't shorten train tracks, and you can't speed up a narrow gauge train beyond its rated speed, so there was no way to make up the time. Most people rolled with the delay, since there wasn't anything we could do, but a couple passengers were uptight and grouchy about us being late. 

 

The railway folks were in constant contact with the ship, so they knew we were going to be late getting back, and indeed, we arrived at 12:45 instead of noon -- just in time for the caviar in the water portion of the day to be ending. In the graceful way Seabourn deals with most things, they did their best to deal with our delayed arrival, as a team of crew members and senior managers swarmed to meet our buses with glasses, flowing champagne, and caviar on crackers. (Perhaps the first-ever Seabourn "Caviar in the Parking Lot" event? 😉) We went straight to the lobster lunch, enjoyed that every bit as much as the first time we were here, and enjoyed several hours in the afternoon relaxing on the beach and in the water.

 

Despite the delayed train, I'm glad we did that excursion because now I feel like I have actually visited St. Kitts. But if it had been my first time and we missed the caviar event in the water, I would have been disappointed. (I should also note that we had caviar almost every day on the ship, so we did not suffer from the lack of caviar on the beach!) I assume our delayed excursion was an anomaly, and I'd recommend the scenic train tour if you want to see much more of St. Kitts than just the beach.

 

The train tour starts with a short bus ride from the port to the train depot, a train trip around more than half the island, and then the bus picks you up to travel the rest of the way back to the beach. The train is a two-level train: a fully-enclosed, comfortably air-conditioned lower level, and a fully-covered but open-air upper level. Seabourn books enough space so it was easy to freely move up and down -- which was important when we had two short torrential rain downpours and everyone retreated inside while the staff repeatedly worked to dry the seats so we could go back topside. 

[Sidney68]

6 hours ago, cruiseej said:

 

Let me chime in about St. Kitts...  We've now been to the big "Caviar in the Surf" beach day on St. Kitts twice. The first time in 2019, we decided not to do any morning excursion because we wanted to get the the beach as early as possible, get our beach chairs, and enjoy a nice beach day, complete with the caviar event and, more importantly, the grilled lobster tails at lunch. (Okay, it's technically a full-on barbecue with ribs, burgers, fish, salads and more, but as far as we're concerned, the ability to have unlimited lobsters tails hot off the grill is all this was about!) We were there on Christmas, and the staff was celebrating as much as the passengers; many, many staff members, including all senior managers up to the hotel director, f&b director, and cruise director, were thrown in the water by fellow crew, and it was just a great, joyous day for passengers and crew.

 

Last month, we were back, and after talking to the Destination Services managers about how the tours were specifically timed to get back to the beach around noon, before the caviar at 12:15 and lunch following, we decided to book one of the excursions: the St. Kitts Scenic Railway. We wanted to actually see some of the country, not just go to the beach and then back to the ship. There was both a good and bad component to our decision. The excursion was definitely worthwhile: we saw a lot of the St. Kitts countryside and learned a lot about the country's history and culture from our excellent tour guides on the bus and the train. The bad part was just a fluke, I assume: there were some mechanical problems with the train after we boarded, and we sat for almost 45 minutes before the train pulled out. Well, you can't shorten train tracks, and you can't speed up a narrow gauge train beyond its rated speed, so there was no way to make up the time. Most people rolled with the delay, since there wasn't anything we could do, but a couple passengers were uptight and grouchy about us being late. 

 

The railway folks were in constant contact with the ship, so they knew we were going to be late getting back, and indeed, we arrived at 12:45 instead of noon -- just in time for the caviar in the water portion of the day to be ending. In the graceful way Seabourn deals with most things, they did their best to deal with our delayed arrival, as a team of crew members and senior managers swarmed to meet our buses with glasses, flowing champagne, and caviar on crackers. (Perhaps the first-ever Seabourn "Caviar in the Parking Lot" event? 😉) We went straight to the lobster lunch, enjoyed that every bit as much as the first time we were here, and enjoyed several hours in the afternoon relaxing on the beach and in the water.

 

Despite the delayed train, I'm glad we did that excursion because now I feel like I have actually visited St. Kitts. But if it had been my first time and we missed the caviar event in the water, I would have been disappointed. (I should also note that we had caviar almost every day on the ship, so we did not suffer from the lack of caviar on the beach!) I assume our delayed excursion was an anomaly, and I'd recommend the scenic train tour if you want to see much more of St. Kitts than just the beach.

 

The train tour starts with a short bus ride from the port to the train depot, a train trip around more than half the island, and then the bus picks you up to travel the rest of the way back to the beach. The train is a two-level train: a fully-enclosed, comfortably air-conditioned lower level, and a fully-covered but open-air upper level. Seabourn books enough space so it was easy to freely move up and down -- which was important when we had two short torrential rain downpours and everyone retreated inside while the staff repeatedly worked to dry the seats so we could go back topside. 

Thank you for your helpful advice the scenic rail trip sounds fabulous. I note on the itinerary there is potentially another opportunity to undertake the rail trip from Basseterre? Am I correct in assuming that the beach day happens at Carambola, it sounds amazing, I can’t wait! 

[Sidney68]

19 hours ago, Catlover54 said:

December 2018 review ( has some ports you are not going to, others you are)

 

 

What a well written review - really enjoyed reading your account. 

[Catlover54]

21 minutes ago, Sidney68 said:

What a well written review - really enjoyed reading your account. 

Thank you, Sidney.

I will second that Caviar in the Surf at Carambola beach is beautifully done ( and neither DH nor I are usually "sun and sand" people).  The lunch food was superb ( though it sounds more basic than it was), rest rooms were clean, shaded chairs comfy.

 

But Cruiseej has inspired me to do the railway at St. Kitts next time 🙂

 

 

[brenecke]

I am a fan of antique/odd railways - if you ever find yourself in Majorca with nothing special planned, you would do well to take the scenic rail trip there.  We did the St. Kitts rail trip in 2017 and experienced major delays as well.  That time they waited for customers from a larger ship that was late getting to port.  We not only missed caviar in the surf, but most of lunch as well.  We ended up taking a tender back to the ship with some water toys and having a late lunch at the Patio Grill.  Some guests were quite upset about missing the majority of the beach event and Seabourn refunded the cost of the excursion.  We are not really sand people (and I don't like caviar), so it didn't bother us too much, but if you are really looking forward to the beach day it might not be the safest plan.

[SDuckers]

On 10/14/2021 at 4:17 PM, Sidney68 said:

Hi, I am new to cruising and will shortly embark on a 14 night cruise starting and ending in Barbados. Ports include St Kitts, St Barts, Antigua, Dominica, St Lucia, Guadalupe, St Maarten, BVIs. Given the Covid situation currently, I understand that we will only be allowed off the ship for Seabourn organised excursions; the choice is slightly overwhelming and therefore I wonder if anyone could recommend any in particular?  I am pretty active, love the beach and sea, but also would like to experience some culture - any guidance would be appreciated! Also, do you have to book in advance or is it possible to organise once on board once the onboard schedule is known? In addition, I have seen reports that docking can be subject to last minute change, what happens if you book and then there is a slight change in the itinerary, would we get a refund? Thanks in advance. 

Highly recommend the Aerial Tram and Zip Lining on St. Lucia.  We also enjoyed the Catamaran sail and snorkling at Carombola beach.

[Sidney68]

23 hours ago, SDuckers said:

Highly recommend the Aerial Tram and Zip Lining on St. Lucia.  We also enjoyed the Catamaran sail and snorkling at Carombola beach.

I love the sound of this as I am both adventurous and active.  Unfortunately I am not however great with heights so wonder if I may struggle with this?

[cruiseej]

19 hours ago, Sidney68 said:

I love the sound of this as I am both adventurous and active.  Unfortunately I am not however great with heights so wonder if I may struggle with this?

 

The tram is an open air car with only a metal frame and seats. Here's a picture from the company website:

 

 

It felt very stable and doesn't have the big bumps some trams do. It is completely silent, which is excellent for immersion in the jungle. It moves pretty slowly and smoothly, so you don't feel like you're lurching around. On the way up, most of your views are pretty close-in, as you ascend the side of the mountain; on the way down, there are times where you have a broad view out over the valley and to the sea. It's quite beautiful, but only you can figure out if this sounds like it would be problematic for you; I hope the additional description helps a bit.

 

We did just the tram, not the zipline. The zipliners go up the same tram, then do several zipline segments, then climb back up to the tram platform, and take the tram down.

 

 

[SDuckers]

On 10/19/2021 at 2:42 PM, Sidney68 said:

I love the sound of this as I am both adventurous and active.  Unfortunately I am not however great with heights so wonder if I may struggle with this?

There was one guy who did the zip lining with us who admitted to being afraid of heights, but he did just fine.  You wear a harness and are triple locked into the cables.  The guides help you on both the "take off" and "landing" at each platform.