mandjfield

Message: Just found this forum .. and love it! Hoping to get some input on cruise stops- we are sailing out of San Juan going to St. Barts, Domenica, Barbados, Martinique, St. Kitts and St. Thomas. We love to go off the beaten tourist path and really see the island - the scenery (any must-see spots??)and how the locals live. Then we have 2 nights on Vieques (staying at B+B - Hector's by the Sea) and 3 more on Puerto Rico (Numero Uno) - again, any input would really be appreciated.

mandjfield

We are sailing on the Radisson Diamond at the end of Nov. Any info on that ship would be great too! Thanx!

DOCK

Hi, you will find tons of info on sites like Cruisecritic and Cruisemates both about your line and ports of call.

triathlete

Wow, sounds like a great itinerary. Of the places I've been to:

I loved St. Kitts. Did a horseback tour to the rainforest (Royal Stables, I think) that was fun--road through the cane fields, and saw some breathtaking views. Then went to a beach about 15 minutes away where they have wild monkeys (which were too smart to be out at noon--great beach though--little beach bars, beach waiters, cane umbrellas & lounge chairs...)

In St. Thomas I've done both Koki Beach and a St. John's/Trunk Bay snorkel. Not really off the beat path...

In San Juan you can often get great rates via Priceline on the Caribe Hilton (A 4-star resort, paid $75/nigh--see betterbidding.com and/or biddingfortravel.com for specific bidding tips). Great place--the Pina Colada was invented there.

Old San Juan is touristy, but you should go see the forts if you've never been; you can do self-guided walking tours.

El Yunke rainforest is neat, but be prepared to get rained on.

We also did a day trip to the other side of the island to tour some caves. It was nice, but a lot of driving.

We considered Vieques--in the end, the travel arrangements were too daunting. But kayaking the bioluminescent bays at night sounds amazing--though I'm guessing you already know that.

DOCK is right--there are port-specific forums on the sites you mentioned with lots of good info.

Have a wonderful trip!

mandjfield

Dock, thanks .. didn't know about those websites - this is our first cruise, so I'm doing the homework I can and appreciate the extra sites to check out.
Triathlete, great info .. and in fact we are definitely going to the bio-bay .. will post a trip report which may help you decide whether or not to go there next time.

PamT

Agree that cruisecritic is a great website for info. I've visited Dominica, Barbados, Martinique and St Thomas on a cruise in March of 2001 out of San Juan. Suggestions are Dominica - I didn't go myself but my sister REALLY enjoyed the snorkeling. Said it was the best she'd ever enjoyed. In Barbados we mostly shopped and didn't really tour the island - it was terribly HOT when we were there in port. We really enjoyed Martinique though - hired a taxi cab driver and he gave us a tour of the island for a lot cheaper than through the ship. We even stopped at a banana plantation and watched them pick them - we thought it was quite interesting. He also took us to a rum distillery (DePaz?). No matter what you decide to do, I'm sure you'll enjoy your cruise.