shore excursions ? eastern Caribbean

[cescape]

Any recomendations for excursions? St. Thomas, Grand Turk, St maarten? We've done the cabanna on the Cays so probably will just to the barbecue but I was particularly wondering about the high speed boat ride in St. Thomas. Has anyone tried it? Thank y'all.

[pungo3]

I've done the high speed boat in St. Thomas but it wasn't a Princess excursion. However, I think the cruise lines pretty much use the same vendors. It was great but we did get wet. I loved it since I'm a water person but another couple wasn't very happy because they hadn't expected it. All three islands are wonderful and I think anything you do will be nice. I loved St. Thomas so much after the first time I cruised there, I went back and rented a condo and stayed two weeks. It's my favorite island. I found a great 'hideaway' that truly made me believe I was in paradise.

[SMRivera198]

I haven't been to these islands YET. Hubby and I are doing the same itinerary in Jan so I've been doing alot of research on them. So far some of the things we are interested in trying (and heard good things about) are parasailing, snorkeling, glass bottom boats and this horse back riding excursion (either st. thomas or st. maarten i can't remember which) where you ride on the beach and then the horses swim through the water, it looks really cool. Hope you have a great time and let us know which excursions were the best!

 

~Sara

[janetz]

In Grand Turk my DD and DS did the horseback ride. Had an great time! St. Marten,we did a private tour with Bernard. Check the St. Marten board for his site. He is excellent. :)

 

I found this...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=800944

[rez4jc]

We did a day sail in St. Thomas with Horizons. It was fabulous and included a gourmet lunch, premium drinks and snorkeling in secluded lagoons.

 

St. Martin you can head to Orient beach if you want, but we opted for a day trip to Pinel Island. This is where the locals go when they want to hang out a the beach. Just tell one of the taxi drivers, and they'll take you to the water taxi. There is food and cheap beer on the island.

 

Grand Turk is a great place to see, if you get away from the cruise ship pier and Margaritaville. Walk through the plaza to the parking lot and rent a golf cart for the day, $80 for 4. Drive around the whole island, stop anywhere you want, swim where ever it looks good. Then on your way back, go to Jack's Shack and have a cold beer and conch fritters. You'll find the turn off to his place about 200 yards before the fence/gate to the plaza, just head towards the ocean.

 

Have fun!!

[NeurosurgeryNP]

If you scuba dive, or are intrested in diving, Grand Turk is the place to do it. GT is known for it's diving tourism. They have "Discover SCUBA" program that lets you experience a shallow dive with instructor supervision. I highly recommend diving in GT.

 

St. Thomas - if you like snorkeling - we did the Trunk Bay St. John excursion through the ship. Had a great time and so beautiful. I hear the Champagne catamaran or the America's cup race in St. Thomas are awesome as well.

[libra61]

Any recomendations for excursions? St. Thomas, Grand Turk, St maarten? We've done the cabanna on the Cays so probably will just to the barbecue but I was particularly wondering about the high speed boat ride in St. Thomas. Has anyone tried it? Thank y'all.

My husband and I are big into excursions so we went on one at every port on our 6/22 cruise. We went on the Screaming Eagle( my husbands favorite) It was fun...you get very wet so wear a bathing suit. We also went on the Ondeck sailboat racing which was an absolute blast (my favorite). We did the power snorkeling at GT which was ok. The power thingys were ok but there wasn't much to see and the snorkeling was probably better at other beaches. Our puerto rico excursion was cancelled so we hopped on a tour bus for $20 each for a 2 hour bus ride...it was ok. We did the EZ bike tour in Bermuda which I would not recommend unless you are VERY fit. My husband and i work out and it was tough on us. There were several people in our group who had a really hard time keeping up.

Have a great time....I wish we were going again!

Shari

[turbo46032]

Do the Atlantis submarine ride. I am not easily impressed by marvels, natural or otherwise, but this one was one for the record books. It's out of St Thomas.

[zaza565]

If you like a quiet, beautiful beach, try Guana beach in St-Marteen; a taxi will get you there in no time and will pick you us whan you tell him to. The water is warm, high strong waves. Johnny the bar tender is a great man, he'll fix you with a good punch, great grilled fish, salad. You can get long chair & parasol at a low cost.

 

Enjoy!

[WNT]

Any recomendations for excursions? St. Thomas, Grand Turk, St maarten? We've done the cabanna on the Cays so probably will just to the barbecue but I was particularly wondering about the high speed boat ride in St. Thomas. Has anyone tried it? Thank y'all.

In St. Thomas, I suggest the Sea Blaster. It was great fun for our whole family.

You get wet with a high speed boat ride, over an hour of excellent snorkeling, and free rum punch on the way back. Our whole family had a blast.

[merl]

We decided we were going to just wander around on our own in St Thomas - big mistake - the area where the ship docks is not great...Would definitely recommend booking a shore excursion thru the ship - we wish we had. Another couple in our group booked a snorkeling excursion and they said it was fabulous - sorry I don't know which one it was but it was thru the ship - the said it was at a really nice resort.

[Boston936]

My wife and I did the dun-buggie adventure and grand turk last year. It was awesome but perhaps the most un-safe excusion I have every experienced:eek: . The buggies go about 40 mph but feels like 90. You get to control your speed, but to keep up with the pack you need to "floor it" Super Fun if you like adventures... not for you if you don't like risking death.