Cathy Pleitz

Help -- quick! <BR> <BR>My husband and I are taking our 3 teen sons on a s. carribean cruise stopping in St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Dominica, Martinique, Barbados & San Juan. <BR> <BR>What do you suggest for shore excursions vs. renting car on these places? Any thoughts you have would be helpful -- don't want to be "trapped" in boring tour group -- but also don't want to miss out. <BR> <BR>Thanks for any ideas you can give me!

fran

<BR>I've enjoyed your itinerary in the past and my best suggestion would be to do the "America's Cup Boat Race". In at least one of your ports it will be offered, and it's quite an experience. Especially if you enjoy sailing and working at winning. I did it several yrs ago and it was approx. $70. each. On St Thomas I would suggest you see Magan's Bay if you've never been there, it's one of the most photographed bodies of water in the world.

pleitz

Thanks for your comments -- any other thoughts on what to do == rent car vs. tours? <BR> <BR>Beach vs. sightseeing vs. shopping?

Jim

We have been to St. Thomas 3 times. My favorite trip was when we took a catamaran ride to St. John to a secluded beach for swimming, snorkeling, and a picnic lunch. Traffic on St. Thomas is wretched. I wouldn't rent a car there. You can take a taxi from the pier and he will take you any where you want to go like Mountain Top or Magan's Bay.

Jill

We saw these same island on the Carnival Fascination last year, and only did a ship-sponsored snorkel tour on Dominca. We saw the rest of the islands ourselves. You can rely on taxis and don't need to rent a car. In St. Thomas, you might want to shop in town early in the day, then take a taxi to a beach (we went to Magen's Bay)in the afternoon. We hit terrible rain in St. Maarten, but you can consider hiring a taxi for the day to drive you around the island, and then drop you at a beach. In Martinique, I'd recommend taking a taxi into town and walking around a little, and then take the ferry to Baqua Beach - it's beautiful (don't let people scare you about Martinique - we found the people to be helpful, and found the beach wonderful). We hired a taxi to tour us around Barbados, and then had him drop us at a beach. All the taxi drivers on all the islands were great about picking us up where and when they said they would. Have a great time! Feel free to e-mail me with any questions.