Through the cruise line or through the operators?

[expericd]

Hi-

 

Just booked my first cruise on the RCI Serenade of the Seas for this January.

 

Cruising from San Juan to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia, and finally Barbados.

 

Can anyone recommend how to book excursions at the different ports?

 

Are all of the different operators available through the cruise line? If so, should I book them in advance directly through RCI at their website?

 

Or am I better off contacting the operators directly?

[clackey]

We have only done the western carib. itinerary but the tours are about 25% to 40% cheaper thru independant companies. Check the ports of call boards and google. You will be amazed at what is available.

[suezyq50]

I would also recommend going to the ports of call board. We did private tours with Godfrey and Bernard's assistant, his name excapes me. We were very happy with both.

[gnparend]

You can google the islands and find the official web sites for each island. You can also find local tours. The cost does vary as some tours want to fill the van with 6 -8 people and charge a higher rate for just 2 passengers (i.e. $150 for 2 people or $40 pp if 6 or more). RCI will offer tours and the cost on some tours is not different on some. The advantage is if your late coming back or delayed the ship will be there. If you do find a tour go to the Port of Call board and ask oters on that board about the tour. You w ill get great feed back.

 

St. Thomas

If your big into snorkel go to Turks Bay on St Johns either by excursion or Taxi to Red Hook, Ferry to St John and Taxi to Turks Bay. Snorkel equipo available there. Or taxi to Megans Bay or downtown and shop

 

St. Maarten

Nive mall and local fle market on French side Margot or Dawn Beach Dutch or Orient Beach on French (remember french are clothing optional). Don't be afraid to rent a car . Local maps are great it's a small island

 

Antigua

Check out Lawarence of Antigua

 

St. Lucia

Serenity Land Tours Good island to hike

 

Barbados

Cavern are closed for repair sorry, good beach island

[Sheffie]

We have sailed this cruise 2 times, and love it!

 

We booked all of our excursions independently after reading the ports of call boards till I was dizzy!

 

At St. Thomas, a trip to St. John to either Trunk Bay or Cinnamon Bay is easy to do on your own. You can even ride the local bus to save $8 pp each direction. (We like Cinnamon better since there are fewer crowds.)

 

St. Maarten - so many choices. Last time we went on the Lord Sheffield and were the only 4 on the boat! What a great excursion. We sailed up the coast and anchored by a beach. The snorkling was okay here. We have done Pinel Island, Dawn Beach and Orient Beach. All were nice. I wouldn't recommend spending the day at the beach in town as there are so many better ones. The America's Cup Regatta is one of the highest rated excursions in the Caribbean. You can only do this excursion through the ship. It was a fabulous excursion.

 

Barbados - this is where you get to see and swim with the green sea turtles. We have gone on the Silvermoon twice and loved it both times. This excursion can book up fast, so you would have to contact them as soon as you decided to use them to be sure you have spaces.

 

St. Lucia - there are lots of great operators who will take you on a tour. I suggest that you get one that will include the beach betweem the Pitons. Quite a thrill.

 

Antigua - If you like anything on the water, Eli's Eco Tour is wonderful. Last time we did a land tour with Lawrence and enjoyed that also, but it was quite a different pace than anything to do w/ the water.

 

If you can fly down to San Juan on Friday, I suggest that you do it so that you can start out the cruise rested. I did Priceline to get a hotel and it worked out well.

 

Have fun planning your cruise. She is a wonderful ship with a great itinerary.

[logbook]

We booked with Joyce Prince in St. Martin and Sunny Liston in St. Thomas. Both were great tours, and about $35-$40 pp for 3 hours or more. If you go over to the "Ports of Call" board, you can get a lot more info. It appears to be much cheaper to do the excursions on your own, and book as early as you can.