S. Caribbean, things to do without booking excursions???

[Drabu4]

We will be traveling on Dec. 23, 12 day cruise on the Explorer of the seas. There will be 5 adults and 3 teenage girls. The ports we will be visiting are, Basseterre-St. Kitts, Bridgetown-Barbados, Charlotte Amalie- St. Thomas, St. Johns/Antigua, San Juan-Puerto Rico, and Roseau- Dominica. We have never liked to book exursions and have always just went on our own to local beaches, shopped, or visited beautiful landmarks. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Sue L]

We will be traveling on Dec. 23, 12 day cruise on the Explorer of the seas. There will be 5 adults and 3 teenage girls. The ports we will be visiting are, Basseterre-St. Kitts, Bridgetown-Barbados, Charlotte Amalie- St. Thomas, St. Johns/Antigua, San Juan-Puerto Rico, and Roseau- Dominica. We have never liked to book exursions and have always just went on our own to local beaches, shopped, or visited beautiful landmarks. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

St Thomas you can go shopping or to the beaches on your own, St John's is accessible by ferry.

 

Not much in Dominica to do near the port area. The river tubing is a blast and the girls would love it. You can either do it with ship' s tour or privately and you might want to go to the ports of call board for specific tour recommendations.

 

San Juan, you can go to the forts in Old San Juan, there are two of them El Morro and San Cristobel. There is a free trolley that will take you there. There are green signs where the stops are. You can walk it though but it is all up hill on the way there. We usually take the trolley up to the forts and then walk down through Old San Juan. There are a lot of little shops along the way.

 

I haven't been to St Kitts for years but we did go to the Caribelle batik factory. Nice stuff and very unique.

 

 

Barbados, silvermoon tours is very highly rated. The town is not much.

[nanfromatlanta]

There is a lot of information on the Ports of Call Board for the islands you will be visiting:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5

[scher]

Why don't you join us at the roll call for your cruise. We have a nice group of people sailing with you on the Explorer 12/23/07 I have a teenage boy 18 at the time of sailing and a girl 14. San Juan there is not enough time to really go see the forts, we are only in port from 3pm and on and the fort closes at 5pm. You might just want to shop especially with 3 teenage girls and a coach outlet.

 

Barbados- a lot of us are going to a place called the Boatyard it is a fun lively beach with lots to do for a small cost.

Antiqua- we are doing Eli Eco tour

Dominca- Falls and River tubing

St Kitts - beach

St Thomas- meagan's bay and shopping

Here is the link for you

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=340906&page=214

[cruzobsessed]

my 2 cents.....

possibly the best excursion we ever did was the SILVERMOON catamaran in barbados. it is a little pricey but well worth it. they only book a small amount of people. they 1st take you to swim with sea turtles....then you snorkel over a reef and shipwreck. then you stop in a cove to swim off the boat and you get served an amazing lunch. oh did i mention that all drinks (alcoholic and not) are included:)

in st thomas take the ferry to st john's. definitely in the top 5 beaches (in my opinion)of the caribbean.

[negc]

On many, if not most, Caribbean islands you can walk to the downtown area and do as much shopping as you want, or hire a cab to take you on a tour of the island or to a beautiful beach. Often when we have gone to a beach we have arranged with the driver to return in a few hours to take us back to the ship. Very easy and frequently less expensive than booking an expensive tour. On St. Kitts next February, however, we have booked the Scenic Railway excursion which takes us around almost the entire island. Snacks and beverages are available as well as musical entertainment on what looks to be a very funky railroad train.:D In the Caribbean, unless we want to do a specific activity that is capacity controlled, we usually advise waiting until you get off the ship to make arrangements for the type of tour you are looking for.:)

[Worn out mailman]

We will be traveling on Dec. 23, 12 day cruise on the Explorer of the seas. There will be 5 adults and 3 teenage girls. The ports we will be visiting are, Basseterre-St. Kitts, Bridgetown-Barbados, Charlotte Amalie- St. Thomas, St. Johns/Antigua, San Juan-Puerto Rico, and Roseau- Dominica. We have never liked to book exursions and have always just went on our own to local beaches, shopped, or visited beautiful landmarks. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

My first cruise was a southern itinerary....I'll just comment on Antigua...I picked out a cabbie who held a collage of photos and he took us to the most beautiful (and very secluded) beach I ever sat on. I would suggest you do a beach at Antigua....and apply no less than a 30 SPF!!!:)

 

I say this because on my Antigua day (day 4 of 7) I decided that 30 wasn't allowing me enough color so I switched to 15. A stupid error...my belly was fire engine red for the rest of the cruise.

[Miss Vickie]

We will be traveling on Dec. 23, 12 day cruise on the Explorer of the seas. There will be 5 adults and 3 teenage girls. The ports we will be visiting are, Basseterre-St. Kitts, Bridgetown-Barbados, Charlotte Amalie- St. Thomas, St. Johns/Antigua, San Juan-Puerto Rico, and Roseau- Dominica. We have never liked to book exursions and have always just went on our own to local beaches, shopped, or visited beautiful landmarks. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

St. Kitts - Brimstone Hill Fortress is a wonderful, international historical landmark, well-restored, with beautiful views, and very interesting to visit.

 

St. Thomas - take the ferry to St. John for a day at the beach or hiking. St. John is about 75% national forest, and Cinamon Bay offers great snorkeling. Easy to do on your own.

 

Antigua - www.adventureantigua.com - Eli's Eco Tour - check out the ports of call boards - as far as we're concerned, it's the best excursion in the Caribbean.

 

San Juan - Walk the cobblestone streets of Old San Juan, visit the forts, soak in the architechture.

[Jarhead235]

When you get to St. Kitts, just go to the taxi stand at the gate to the pier....and ask for Sampson. Really big guy with a GREAT personality! He knows the island well, and will give you a great tour. His van will easily hold all of your group. Just tell him what you want to do, or just ask him to give you the grand tour of the island. Make sure to have him stop at the local bakery....WONDERFUL breads there. Also, make sure you stop at a roadside vendor and try out the sugar cane juice. Tell him that Joe and Lisa from the Crown Princess last April sent you.

 

If you're into snorkeling, head down to South Friar's beach first thing in the morning. You'll have some great snorkeling, an incredible view, and an almost private beach.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Joe