Southern Caribbean Excursions

[nwnittany]

Hi all - my family (wife, two college-age sons) are booked on a late December Southern Caribbean cruise.  Will be the first Caribbean cruise for all of us.   We have stops in Cays, St. Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire, and Curacao.

 

1.  Is it important to pre-book the 'equipment excursions' (e.g., paddle board, kayak, snorkel gear, etc), or can we just wing it and purchase at the beach on the day of ?  I'm not talking about where a boat takes you out to sea, but just looks like you can rent the equipment and DIY.

 

2.  Any recommended excursions ?  I've started looking at the youtube's, but thought there might be some good recommendations here.  We're generally fairly active (enjoying hiking and kayaking, for example).  The biggest rub is that I'm generally lazy and don't like having to set an alarm when on vacation...lol...

 

TIA

[Cruise Raider]

We went over to Klein Bonaire on a ship sponsored excursion once and they had all the equipment for anyone that needed it on the boat.  I still don’t like using masks and snorkels of others so we brought our own.  We used their fins.  
they take you out on the boat for a drift snorkel … the current takes you back to the island.  Lots of sea turtles around there.  
 

Our favorite excursion there was called the Best Of Bonaire.  It took you past the salt fields, to the slave huts, to this most amazing beach, etc.  

 

For Curaçao, we went to the Hato Caves.  It’s very interesting but it is excruciatingly hot.  We were so drained from the heat that we skipped the last half of the tour of the Fort, the Bridge and the  colorful establishments.  We’d done that before, though along with going to the Curaçao factory for some tastings before going out to the sea life park for a show.  Such an interesting island.   But hot!  

[chrysalis]

agree about Klein Bonaire....the Princess excursion is very convenient, with a good staff. We have done it probably 15 or so times.

 

In Dominica, and Grenada I recommend that you get a local van at each port (there are lots and lots of them), and do an island tour in each location. In Grenada, don't forget to buy some local spices. particularly nutmeg.

[skynight]

In Bonaire I recommend Bonairecruisers golf cart rental. You can tour at your own pace and see all the same sites as the organized trips see.

Warning about Curacao. From the main section of town you have to cross the pontoon bridge to return to the ship The bridge swings open to allow boats to pass, and there are frequent boats. Make certain you leave enough time to return to the ship. When the bridge is open there is a ferry, but that can take time if your time is very short.

Edited August 21, 2022 by skynight

[nwnittany]

59 minutes ago, chrysalis said:

In Dominica, and Grenada I recommend that you get a local van at each port

 

20 minutes ago, skynight said:

In Bonaire I recommend Bonairecruisers golf cart rental.

 

Are these things that we can just arrange the day of the excursion?  ie, get off the ship and find a local vendor  ? 

[chrysalis]

I don't know about the golf cart, but you will find lots of local vans to give you tours when you get off the ship...

[skynight]

3 hours ago, nwnittany said:

Are these things that we can just arrange the day of the excursion?  ie, get off the ship and find a local vendor  ? 

When you exit the ship you will find a row of tents where they are offering tours. If you want a golf cart suggest you reserve on line in advance. If you want water activities they are available. There is also a nice area to walk around. Are you there for 1/2 day or full day? One time when we were docked for a full day we took the golf cart, did the south route, stopped for lunch and then back to the ship. Really nice day. Bring water.

[capriccio]

We (me, DH, my 2 brothers and their spouses, ages ranging from early 60s to early 70s) did this itinerary in March.  DH and I had been to all the islands on other cruises.  The others had not.  You will notice that with the exception of Bonaire, we used Princess excursions.  That is not our normal habit but given Covid restrictions at that time on some of the islands we thought that the best thing to do.

 

• St. Thomas - Local Connections: Wildlife Sanctuary, Kayak, Hike & Snorkel with Marine Biologist.  Very interesting with a variety of experiences (kayaking, short hike, snorkeling, kayaking). As with any kayaking, the level of difficulty is dependent upon the wind which was moderate that day.

 

• Dominica - River Tubing & Rainforest Scenic Drive.  This was a blast and we were impressed at how safety conscious the guides were.

 

• Grenada - Glass-Bottom Kayaking.  We are all kayakers but it was the first time we used a glass bottom kayak and was great fun and interesting.  You hug the coast line and we had a day with very little wind so the kayaking was not difficult.  Our guide was great - both informative and personable.

 

• Bonaire - We have been to Bonaire on cruises three times.  The first and third times we went snorkeling with Woodwind.  The snorkeling off Klein Bonaire is spectacular and Woodwind provides all the equipment (with a range of choices) on their catamaran (with 20 or fewer participants), two drift snorkel experiences, and a meal.  The second time we rented a golf cart from Bonaire Cruisers and spent the day sightseeing at our own pace.  If you do this, be sure to visit the Donkey Sanctuary.

 

• Curacao - Hato Caves & Willemstad Walking Tour.  On a previous cruise DH and I did a self guided walking tour of Willemstad that we greatly enjoyed.  The rest of our group had never been there and we chose this since the Caves would be new to us.  Everyone enjoyed it and we were very impressed with our guide.

 

Check out the Caribbean Ports of Call forum for more information on independent excursions:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/456-caribbean/

[nwnittany]

Thanks to everyone for the great info...much appreciated. 

 

Interestingly, my family and I are having interesting discussions about how much to plan our excursions.....one faction wants to make sure we take advantage of every stop and don't get "shut out" of the best excursions, and, the other wants just wing it and see how the mood takes us. 

 

(I'm sure there is some political commentary in there somewhere...lol).  

 

In any case, all the responses are appreciated.  We are new to cruising, but really had a great time on our Summer 2002 Alaskan cruise and hope to repeat it in December!