Hi, Going on our first cruise in March. The ports of call are: Barbados, St. Lucia, Dominica, St. Maarten, Virgin Gorda, & Santo Domongo. <BR> <BR>Does anyone have suggestions for shore excursions? Should we book through the cruise line or do our own thing once a shore? <BR> <BR>Thanks for your help.

Hi David, <BR>I've been to some of those islands, but not all. We took cruise tours the first time we went to the Carib., but I think it was actually a waste of $. The islands are so small that there is not much difference from one end to the other. With the exceptions of a few forts, churches, and sugar plantations there's not a lot to investigate from a historical view point. It was interesting to see both sides of St. Martin - one French, the other Dutch. <BR>There are so many cabs down by the port, so I would suggest looking into that option. The tour in St. Martin took us to some hotel for a drink - total waste of time since we just had drinks in Marigot waiting for the tour to get going again. I'd head for Marigot first thing in the AM, because the traffic is horrendous in the afternoon and you don't want to miss the ship. You can do your shopping in the afternoon when most others are "shopped" out. That way you will also be a stone's throw from the tender that takes you back to the ship. Hope this helps. <BR> <BR>

Hi David: Sounds like a great itinerary that you will be going on. We have also been on six port cruises and I think they take a bit of planning compared to the three port of call cruises. first thing I do with this type of cruise is break it down into groups, beach stops, shopping ports and sightseeing ports. This way I don't do the same on each island (rainforests are pretty similar whether your in Grenada or Dominica etc.). This way the ports give me a different perspective and I get enjoy them individually than as one collective group of beautiful <BR>islands. I have not been to Santa Domingo (although I think that would be one to see the historical sights on like a museum etc.) or Virgin Gorda (snorkling or some water activity). In St. Lucia I would highly recommend the cruise to Soufriere and Diamond Falls. This excursion was great, Carribean lunch and a beautiful cruise up the coast to the Pitons (to me a must see on StLucia) on a van to the rainforest and Diamond Falls and to the Volcano Soufriere. On the cruise back we went swimming near Anse Couchon and then into the tourist area of Marigot were DR. Doolittle(the original) was film. This is one of the best shore excursions we have been on and worth every penny.St. Lucia to me is not a beach island.We have rented cars on both Barbados and ST. Marten and we found this to be great. Barbados has it all great beaches and lots of sightseeing like Farley hill, Andromeda Gardens, Codrington College ect. ect.. There are also great beaches like Bottom Bay Crane beach, Paynes Bay etc. ect. Last time we went to Barbados we did a bit of shopping then we went on a snorkling excursion to the underwater park and Sandy Lane Beach to walk on the beach and swim this was a really well run excursion and I would highly recommend it. We also went to the Boatyard Restaurant in the evening for some Banks on the Beach. Barbados offers everything so you may want to decide what your doing on the other islands and then fill in whats missing (like a beach day or a snorkle trip) on Barbados. St. Marteens is probably the shopping island of this itinary but I have to admit I spend very little time shopping on cruises. There is nice shopping in Marigot and there are nice cafes etc to people watch and some nice alley stores to photograph. Phillipsburg is so congested and getting dirty. There is a nice outdoor patio at the Holland Beach Hotel with a great view and great Pina Coladas. It doesn't look like much from the outside but it is a gem. When we rented a car on St Martins we went to Marigot, Grand Case, Cupocouy beach and Bay Long as well as Guayana Bay. It was a great day and an easy island to navigate, we liked having a day to go on our pace. The last time we went to St Marteens we rented a taxi to take us to Orient Bay for a beach day, it is a busy beach with lots going on activity wise and you can see EVERYTHING there. There are lots of restaurants but they are expensive. The snorkling excursions would be worth considering as they get good reviews( we had done our snorkling in Barbados and ST. John). Dominica will be an ecotourism type of island for you, we did the rainforest Trafalger falls tour, it is very long and therefore we could not do any other tour ( I would have liked to have done the whalewatch). This is not a beach island or one to rent a car on as the roads are rough and very winding, I would either rent a cab tour or the ship tour. There is little down town area.It is avery beautiful island and the botanical gardens are lovely, get a picture of the bus with the tree on it. If you do a ship excursion you may pay more but on some islands it will save you time and worry. Especially if this is your first cruise I would leave little to chance and book anything that you really want to see, (the StLucia boat cruise and the Dominca Rainforest trips sell out quickly and our really must do's) email directly if I can help with specific questions. happy cruising Karen

David: Congratulations on your first cruise! Hope it is everything you dream it will be. I can only comment on Virgin Gorda. Be sure to check out The Baths. Is is a beautiful beach of rocks the size of houses with clear, warm pools of water running between them. The snorkeling is great. The Baths have been featured in National Geographic several times. Have Fun!

Karen, Thanks for sharing all your informtion. This will help us plan our island visits.

We loved St. Lucia and Barbados. Can't comment on the other islands. We took a "Jungle Safari" tour in St. Lucia and it was great! Big 4X4 trucks took us up mountains and to a hidden water falls. Then we finished at a sugar plantation that has been converted into a museum. Well worth the US$40 for the half day. Be very careful in Castries. There were a few cruisers who had their wallets lifted. <BR> <BR>In Barbados, we walked to town from the port (15 mins vs. 5 min. cab ride). There are many shops and a few historic buildings in Bridgetown. The people are very friendly and enjoy a high standard of living, although the cab drivers were a bit agressive. We headed to the beach on the south coast. We heard later that the beaches are even better on the west coast. <BR> <BR>Enjoy your cruise. We had a great time on our first cruise last January. We are leaving for number two tomorrow on the Carnival Sensation.