Serious excusion help!

[CanadianMAG]

I need some help. We sail in 3 weeks and I only have 1 excursion picked out. I would like to have them all booked by next weekend... I need some serious help because I cannot decide. Last cruise was soo easy but this time its hard.

 

I don't know what excursion to do in St. Johns, Antigua, Barbados, St. Thomas and St, Maarten.

 

We have been to St. Thomas before and have done the tour of the island, shopped and have been to Coki Beach. I don't really need to do more shopping, do you have any other recommendations?

 

As for the other Islands I have no clue. I would like to do a catamaran and there seems to be a lot to choose from. I do not want to do the catamaran excursion in Barbados because the other party we are traveling with would want to join us and they are doing a rum tour (that we don't want to do) so I was thinking maybe a ATV excursion? are they fun? worth the $80?? How about a great excursion for snorkeling??

 

Soo many choices and I would like some advice, thanks!

 

oh ya.. and I dont want to go on a "booze cruise" cataraman. Drinks are ok but I don't want it to be too much of a drunk party

[bobbie0253]

We did Eli's Eco tour in Antigua and had a great time.

 

In Barbados we did the turtles with Thriller Ocean tours. Not sure if they are even in buisness anymore. Some CCers had problems with that company.

[CanadianMAG]

I did look at Eli's tour but it was $110 p/p a little too much for me to spend... :rolleyes:

[Murphy]

We did the Turtle Cove sail and snorkel aboard the Doubloon last time we were in St. Thomas. Neat ship, plenty of room to sit and move around and some of the best snorkeling we've ever done. Great staff who took us around the reef and dove down and brought up shells and sea life for us to see. I think there was some drinking after the snorkeling, but definitely not a party tour like the Kon Tiki used to be.

 

In Antigua we got off and hired a taxi to drive us around and give us a tour and asked him to recommend a lunch place with a view where we could hang out for a couple hours and he would come back for us. We ended up at a beach restaurant were one of the ship's tours came. But they ate off an open air buffet and we ordered off a nice menu. We met up with our dining table mates by accident and they were upset when they found out we ended up doing the same thing as them, but saw more and had a better food selection for less than half prices! Wish I could remember the name of the restaurant, but I can't, sorry!

 

Our last stop in Barbados was extremely stressful. We booked a Snuba tour thru the cruiseline and didn't know the power had stopped in our cabin and that our clock was 20 minutes slow. We got off the ship to meet the tour only to find that they had left already. It was a carnival day in port, which we didn't know and the taxi that the cruiseline sent us in to catch up with our group got stuck in the parade. We finally made it to the Snuba locale, only to find out that everyone had been held up waiting for us and we missed the intro on what to do. I did not enjoy this, but it was our fault for being late and no reflection on the tour! :)

[cb at sea]

I find, especially with ports we've been to, that it's a great time to stay on the ship. The crowd's are gone, and the service is super! Our next cruise, in 5 days, we don't have ANY excursions planned! Why spend extra money when I've already paid for the ship! I feel like once you've seen 1 island, you've seen 'em all. I guess if you cruise for the ports, then that's your thing, but I cruise for the cruise itself. Never much cared where we go, as long as we're sailing!

[Inshape]

in St marteen go zip lining. Rent a car right at the port and negotiate--there are 3 vendors right there. A hertz, reynolds and something else. We have used reynolds both times we were on the island. Go over to Orient Beach or Bikini Beach. Great beaches. Leave plenty of time to get back to ship--there is traffic--and a time difference. As the other poster said, stay on the ship and enjoy the lack of the crowds. We did that when we went to St thomas and just had no interest in doing something just to do. Loved that day on the ship.

[CanadianMAG]

Great idea for St. Thomas we could relax on the ship and if we get bored we can always jump in a cab and go somewhere.

 

I will look up the other recomendations...

 

Anyone else???

[laceyjane]

The Silvermoon 11 snorkel, lunch catameran in Barbados was one of the best excursions we have ever been on!! You should definitely check into it. Read the reviews on the Barbados thread and you will see everyone that has ever done it loves it-it is not to be missed when in Barbados. You do not have to snorkel if you don't want to (although it was awsome especially with the turtles) you can stay on the catameran instead of snorkeling. The couple that booked the rum tour should cancel that and do a catameran trip in Barbdos they won't be sorry. We have done several catameran trips on other island and this was our best by far!!

[bobbie0253]

I agree Eli's Eco tour is expensive. That is actually the most expensive one we have ever done. It really was worth it though....LOL

 

We usually do our own thing, and try to do it as inexpensive as possible. We do splurge every now and then though. Eli's was one of those splurges. I spent a week in Antigua once. The beaches are really nice. Shopping is pretty good. Miller by the Sea is a fun place to go and hang out on the beach.

 

Planning is half the fun...enjoy :)

[zantedeschia]

I don't know what excursion to do in St. Johns, Antigua, Barbados, St. Thomas and St, Maarten.

I'll tell you what we did last time and what we're doing next time which only partially overlaps cause it's Empress, not Serenade.

 

St. Thomas: my bf was vegging and I didn't feel like putting out the effort to get him moving so we skipped it. (don't remember why I didn't book a shore excursion in advance here, might have been budget constraints or I couldn't find one that appealed to me).

 

St. Maarten: America's Cup. It was just so, so, so amazingly, incredibly cool beyond words.

 

Antigua: the helicopter over Monserrat. Pros: was *really* neat. Cons: was expensive and the 2 people we flew with asked stupid questions all the way there and all the way back. The pilot to his credit, was very patient with them.

 

St. Lucia: the Pirate Extravaganza on the actual "Black Pearl" (her name is really the Brig Unicorn). This was the most disappointing one as we didn't sail, we motored there, so there was engine noise and diesel fumes. The crew was not all that friendly and the refreshments left a lot to be desired (and they charged extra for beer!). The destination was okay but nothing thrilling (Pigeon Island). Plus they cut that excursion short so the captain could sail by the Pitons while there was still light out (I lost track of time while shopping and got back to ship 5 minutes before they closed the doors, making it the closest I've ever made a sailing).

 

Barbados: I know you say you don't want to do a catamaran sailing but we went on one of the Tiami catamarans. I thought it was too crowded initially, but once we got out in the water people spread out to the front and top so there was more room. They motored out and I was like (rolleyes) not again (/rolleyes) but once we were offshore, they cut the engines, put up the sails and we sailed and it was absolutely lovely. Perfect. They had an excellent lunch plus real mixed drinks from their bar (not premix rum punch from a cooler). They did 2 snorkeling stops (one with sea turtles) which were fine, not great but not horrible either. The crew were very friendly and accomodating. I'd highly recommend a Tiami cruise from our experience.

 

Our next Southern Caribbean cruise, we overlap 3 islands, these are the excursions I've picked:

 

St. Maarten: The America's Cup Regatta. I can't express how absolutely, astoundingly, nifty this was. If we wear the t-shirts we bought from last time, we get another one free!

 

Antigua: The Rum Punch Beach Party. Did I mention my bf can be hard to get moving? If, in the future, I go, "hey let's take a cab to this beach" he might very well respond with grumblemurfleletmesleepbish. However, if I have tour tickets in hand come on let's go, he'll get up. I picked this one because you can rent wave runners at this beach and I know he likes to jetski. Me? I'll prob just sit in the shade and partake of the free rum punch. People will say it'd be cheaper just to go there on my own but by the time you factor in the cab fare, chair/umbrella rentals and drinks paid a la carte, it probably will come out to be about the same.

 

St. Lucia: Haven't absoutely decided but I'm looking real hard at deep sea fishing. Some excursions I do for me, some for him, this is a for him one, natch. He tells me no he doesn't want to go fishing but I know he'd enjoy it. I was looking at the Sulphur Springs/Diamond Waterfall stuff, but I'm not sure he'd like that, they looked kind of touristy and we go for more offbeat adventures.

[Inshape]

Cabs in St Thomas are very expensive. If you decide to just hop a cab, it would be better to rent a car if you have more than 2 people.

[Rala]

This was a few years ago--we did the Hamilton Caves tour while in Barbados. We enjoyed seeing the stlactites and stlagmites and other aspects of the caves environment. There was not a lot of walking and it was something a bit different from what you see on many of the islands.

[SLCBoys]

If you want a really neat tour do the Monserrat Volcano Helicopter tour in Antigua, well worth teh $250, did it a week ago and it's amazing! St Lucia...book Herod's Taxi, had an awesome tour with other cruise critic members, check out his site: www.herodstaxi.com Best Tour I've ever had!!

[KelJ]

We did the BOBs in St. Thomas and loved them.

Remember, you can only book your excursions online up until ten days before your cruise. After that, you have to wait and book them on the ship.

Have a great cruise!:)

[iluvcruzin]

For Antigua, I would suggest reserving a tour with Lawrence of Antigua. It's a great deal for $25pp. He takes you all over the island to the different historical sites, then a stop at a beach for a few hrs (we went to Tanner's but know others who went to a different beach). Those who don't want to do the beach portion, he takes them back to the ship and returns to pick up the beachcombers. I found out about him on the cc boards. http://lawrenceofantigua.com/ Send him a e-mail for current price and availabilty. If he is booked up, you can do the same thing by negotiating a day with the taxi's that are waiting at the end of the pier. With 4 of you, you could design your own tour.

 

St. Maarten - There are lots of things to do. Rhino Rides are a popular excursion. Lord Shiefield's ship is another. I personally like to rent a car and drive around the island. It's really easy to do. This way you could visit Orient Beach, Go over to the French Side, Go to Maho Beach and see the planes come in, etc... You can rent one when you get there. Be sure to get insurance as your own may not be covered for international travel. The ATV adventure on this island is supposed to be really good from what I've heard.

 

St. Thomas - You have so many options here. Take a cab to Red Hook and take the ferry over to St. John's. The USVI National Park is over there and they have the most beautiful beaches (Trunk Bay & Cinnamon Bay plus others). There is a bit of time involved. If you don't want to spend all day traveling, One of my favorites is Sapphire Beach. It's at a condo resort. They have rentals for snorkling, sailboats, ski-do's, parasailing etc. Honestly, I like it better than Coki. Here's a website which shows lots of options of things to do and the rates for cabs/ferries etc. http://www.*****/ There is a CC member who manges this site and posts on the CC St. Thomas Board if you have questions

 

Barbados - I did a island tour and it's been a long time ago but remember it was nice. At the time I went through the cruiseline.

[CanadianMAG]

Thanks for all your recomendations. I am going to spend a few hours tonight and piece it all together!

[CanadianMAG]

I have narrowed down my chooses and have a good idea what I want to do in each port.

 

I am still stuck on Antigua. I dont want to do the Larence tour, we have done a similar tour already in St. Thomas and we are booking with Herod in St. Lucia. I think thats enough. The helicopter tour is a little too much for me!

 

Any other suggestions?????I have looked through the Antigua section and nothing sparked any interest. I did look at the Catamaran sail, snorkle and beach tour as well as Bird Islan Catamaran sail.. BUT if we do Silvermoon I wonder if they are too much the same of cannot compare???

[AnnJohn]

The absolute best excursion I've ever been on was the Catamaran Cruise on the Tiami (swim with the turtles). The crew was awesome...food and drink were great.

[CanadianMAG]

Well they are all booked this is what I decided

 

St. Martin - Power Snorkel

Barbados - Tiami Five Star Catarmaran

St, Thomas - Mini Boat

Other party - Godfrey

St. Lucia - Herod

 

Antigua? Nothing

2 days San Juan ? Nothing

 

Thanks all for your help I do appreciate it!

[zantedeschia]

Well they are all booked this is what I decided

 

2 days San Juan ? Nothing

If you like seafood, consider eating at Agua Viva in Old San Juan. We go there and eat nothing but the raw oysters and ceviche. Wonderful mojitos and watermelon sangria too.

[jfs9900]

Antigua: The Rum Punch Beach Party. Did I mention my bf can be hard to get moving? If, in the future, I go, "hey let's take a cab to this beach" he might very well respond with grumblemurfleletmesleepbish. However, if I have tour tickets in hand come on let's go, he'll get up. I picked this one because you can rent wave runners at this beach and I know he likes to jetski. Me? I'll prob just sit in the shade and partake of the free rum punch. People will say it'd be cheaper just to go there on my own but by the time you factor in the cab fare, chair/umbrella rentals and drinks paid a la carte, it probably will come out to be about the same..

 

 

Do you remember how much the wave runner rentals were here?

[Learning Conformity]

We went to Runaway Bay Beach (after the Montserrat helicopter tour, which is worth every penny!), where the beach bar staff will bring you whatever you want right where you lay if you let them know you want beach service- even at the furthest ends of the beach.

 

There was this guy walking around with a woven hat with a giant igauna on it, so we called him over, and he made us the most amazing palm frond baskets and ornaments - he can make ANYTHING out of this stuff (sculptures, wall hangable art, hats, backbacks, he even has made bikinis! You name, or imagine it, he can do it) - his name is Bush, AKA Bushman.

 

He asked what we planned for the rest of the day, and recommended that we take a horseback ride on the beach, as he knew the guys at the other end of the beach who did rides. Sounded great, so for 45 minutes we rode ($20 pp - we very politely bargained since we could not take the full hour trip due to ship leaving and all, though in the end gave them more than their original asking price because we felt like we were ripping them off - IT WAS THAT GOOD), up to a 17th century sugar mill, and then full pace running on the beach, as they ask you about your riding level, and accomodate it - we are experienced riders, the leaders are professional Antiguan jockeys, kind and safe, the horses retired, and very well cared for.

 

There are many cab drivers in the nearby "lot", so no worries about getting back to the ship!

 

This beach is also great because it wasn't packed, and all of our beach blanket neighbors were so friendly and cool! Made MANY great new friends here.

 

P.S. - please don't tell many people about it, it's a "hidden jem"! And we want to keep it that way...

 

 

[grangermom]

I don't know if you're still looking for ideas for St. Maarten. I saw that you already have something booked. However, if you have any extra time, I recommend the Segway tour. The ship offers this tour for $65 pp. However, it is much cheaper if you go on your own. There is a water taxi that takes you across the bay. I think it's called Great Bay. There is a nice beach there, with a boardwalk and a bunch of restaurants. On the boardwalk is a hotel called Holland House. This is where the Segway people are. They only charge $25 pp. for 30 min. This was such a great excursion for us. If you don't know what Segways are, do a Google search. They are really fun.

Have a great cruise! It sounds like you've got some wonderful things lined up.

[Fury1995]

Barbados: I know you say you don't want to do a catamaran sailing but we went on one of the Tiami catamarans. I thought it was too crowded initially, but once we got out in the water people spread out to the front and top so there was more room. They motored out and I was like (rolleyes) not again (/rolleyes) but once we were offshore, they cut the engines, put up the sails and we sailed and it was absolutely lovely. Perfect. They had an excellent lunch plus real mixed drinks from their bar (not premix rum punch from a cooler). They did 2 snorkeling stops (one with sea turtles) which were fine, not great but not horrible either. The crew were very friendly and accomodating. I'd highly recommend a Tiami cruise from our experience.

 

I agree with the Barbados Tiami catamarans. We (7 of us) did this also. I thought it was going to be too crowded as well, but we actually enjoyed it! The crew let us "take turns" behind the wheel and we got some great pictures. The one thing I can remember about the day though was it was extremely hot, so the couple of hours in the water was welcomed by all.