Robin

I'm cruising to the southern caribbean on the Monarch of the Seas during the wwek of April 16th. jI am especially interested in things that are worth seeing or doing in St. Lucia, St. Maarten, and Barbados since these are three places I have never been. Any suggestions? I'd also like to know about the shopping that's available.

Don

On St Lucia's north end, there is a little indigenous community that has a wild jump up with the whole community joining in and with charcoal broiled native food being cooked in the streets as you stroll by. <BR> <BR>We have sailed the Caribbean for 10 yeaars and that just had to be the happening of a lifetime. <BR> <BR>I beleive the community is just north of one of the largest ports on the island and the happening is either Friday or Sat night. <BR> <BR>The Pitons (large spires) are, of course, the place to "go" when on St Lucia. <BR> <BR>Don't know about St Martin. don

Barbara

St. maarten is a duty free island and there is great shopping. The capital of the Dutch side is Philipsburg and the Front Street there is lined with duty free shops. the cruise ship tenders bring you right into the center of Front Street. <BR>If you have time, take a tour to the french side. the charm of St. Maarten is being half Dutch and half French. you can arrange for tours on the ship, I am sure. the capital of the French side is Marigot, a charming little town .also with duty free shopping. <BR>If you want to go to the beach, go to Oyster Pond Beach about a 20 minute drive. Have lunch at Mr. Busby's beach bar/restaurant. <BR>If you want to sail, you can also arrange to sail for 2 hours on the America's Cup Yachts. you can help crew on these boats and actually race. <BR>Have fun!

lisa

On St. Lucia, there are various boat rides you can take (catamaran, schooner -- lots of options) from where the cruise ships dock, sailing down to the area near the town of Soufriere and the Pitons. That is the most beautiful part of the island. There is a beautiful botanical gardens and waterfall in Soufriere which I highly recommend visiting. Many of the organized excursions also include the nearby "drive in volcano" which is a misnomer -- it is interesting to see but I like the botanical gardens better, as well as the very good snorkeling at Anse Chastanet. If you get a chance, try to have lunch at a wonderful restaurant called Dasheene which is at Ladera Resort -- it overlooks the Pitons and the Caribbean and it has the most stunning views, and wonderful food!

Robin

Thanks so much Don, Barbara, and Lisa. Is there a rain forest excursion available? Is it worth seeing? I went to Ladera's website. I checked into that resort two years ago. Unfortunately I didn't get to go as planned that year. I'm looking forward to the cruise so that I can check out the island in case I wanted to go back there land/air at a later date. What's your favorite place island? I'll be looking for a good place to honeymoon later this year.

LouAnn

I stayed in St. Lucia for a week and did everything. The rain forest excursions are good but not if you are on the island for only a short period of time. The drive to the rain forest is very long (at least an hour) and the hike we were on took a couple of hours. I would agree with other replies about the boat trips and the Pitons. That excursion was my favorite along with the Botanical gardens. I also went to the Friday night "Jump Up" party and my suggestion would be to stay away.

Laurie

Lou Ann, <BR>Just curious why you said to stay away from the Friday night Jump Up Party? We are going in May and were planning to go. Do you know if the area it is held is close to Sandals resort we are staying at?

lisa

You can go hiking in the rainforest with local guides and it is definitely worth doing -- but it does take a while and you probably can't do both the boat trip to the Pitons and the rainforest, and if you have to choose one you should see the Pitons and the botanical gardens. <BR> <BR>Ladera is wonderful -- I stayed there for a week -- incredibly romantic, beautiful views, great food and service.

Lou Ann

Laurie <BR>The Jump Up was very wild- drug sales, people begging for money every where you turned, teenage boys coming up to unattached women and doing the bump and grind! My friend and I went there with one of the local tour guides we met and he had advised us before going there with him to wear no valuable jewelry and bring only essential cash. He also pointed out to us the known local thieves while we were there! We only stayed about an hour and that was enough for me. If you are with a large group that includes male companions it probably wouldn't be that bad, but it is crowded. Have fun in St. Lucia - it's a beautiful island!

karen

Hi Robin:You have chosen a great itinerary for your vacation. We have been on a similar cruise,as well as seeing StMartin and Barbados again on different cruises. If you like to do alot of sight seeing rent a Moke in Barbados. For the ministry of tourism or the Fodors books you can set yourself a nice day trip. Drive up the west coast to Speightstown then over to Cherry tree hill, Farley Hill, then over to Batheshaba , to Andromeda Gardens, Codrington College to United Church with a great view. We then drove to Crane Beach then to Acurra Beach area ect. You can stop were you like, beaches ect. We finished the day with a happy hour drink at the Hilton to watch the sunset. We had ordered the car from home and it was waiting at the dock for us. A very good day.We had long stays in Barbados so we took advantage of that. On our second visit we went on a boat excursion to Folkstone underwater park and snorkled then went to the Sand bay beach for swimming. Unlimited drinks on the way back. We went shopping in the morning and over to Browns Bay. It is behind the Boatyard restaurant. After dinner we took a taxi with a group back to the Boatyard for some beer on the beach. We ran into alot of the ships crew when we were there. Barbados is a great cruise stop!!Our first visit to St. Marteen we also rented a car and that was wonderful and again easy to navigate.Lots of beaches not as many tourist sights, historical ect to see. Last time we took a taxi to Orient beach since we did not go there the first visit. It is a very busy beach with lots of restaurants and water sports. One end is clothing optinial but you will see all no matter were you are on the beach. There is a pretty little patio bar at the Holland Beach Hotel at the back, walk through this small hotel and you'll be surprised what you will arrive at. The pina coladas are terrific, nice music and a view of the ships. In my opinion there is only one thing to do in St. Lucia if on a day visit. The boat excursion to the Pitons. You will get a Caribbean lunch and a terrific coastal boat ride. The Pitons are a must see and the Falls and Gardens are terrific as well as seeing the Volcano(?) which was more interesting than spectacular.The drive through Soufriere to the Falls is great. On the way back to your ship you'll stop for a swim and then also pull into Marigot which is beautiful(the original Doctor Doolittle was filmed there). This was the best excursion we have taken and we've been to a few. E-mail directly if I can answer anything else for you.Karen