Shore Excursions - Caribbean?
 

Going July 22 to St. Thomas/St. John, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Barbados and Antigua and looking for recommendations on shore excursions. May just go to the beach on Antigua and St. Maarten and would like suggestions of beaches with facilities but not crowds. Also, we have one day for St. Thomas/St. John and don't care about shopping, should we go to St. John and skip St. Thomas? Everyone says how great St. John is. Thinking of the Land/sea tour in St. Lucia and some kind of tour in Barbados. Help please! We are two sisters in our 30's, love beaches and would like to see the natural beauty of each island if possible.

This is my favorite itinerary. Sorry I can't give great beach advice since I am more of shopper/sightseer. I would stay away from the famous Magen's Bay in St. Thomas. I was so disappointed. I guess the beach/water was pretty, but the rest of the area reminded me of a state park in Ohio. Tacky entrance, giant metal trash barrels every where. I was very disappointed. We just did a snorkeling/sail tour in St. Lucia and it was fabulous. It stopped at a private beach for a while. Don't miss Harrison's Cave in Barbados. It is a popular ship tour, but you can easily get a taxi and go yourself for a lot less money. I am not usually into caves, but this was really fascinating. You ride through on a train and it is so beautiful it is hard to believe it is natural. It seems like a Disney setting. Have fun!

We were in St Maarten last year with RCCL. Best port of the cruise for my wife and I (42,41 yrs old). <BR> <BR>We spent time on the beach, 200 yards to the left of the pier. Rented chaises and umbrellas for $10, got great drink service. Later had lunch on the patio at 'Ever'tings Cool' on the beachthen wandered the first few streets shopping. Seemed safe, we really enjoyed. <BR> <BR>Try 'Ballarina's ' for jewelry shopping. Make them work for your business. Prices will fall. <BR> <BR>I aggree about megan's Bay on St Thomas. Beautiful beach, but very Ohio. <BR> <BR>Have fun. <BR> <BR>

Eileen, <BR> My sister and I cruise just about every winter. We LOVED the land/sea excursion in St.Lucia. At first we thought seven hours would be a bit much, but it flew by. Try to do the land part first and come back on the catamaran in the afternoon. We also love beaches. In St.Martin we take a taxi/van out to Orient Beach. It's a beautiful beach. The far end is clothing optional, but that's not where the taxi will take you. There are chairs to rent and good places to eat. In St. Thomas Megans is beautiful, but it gets crowded. None of the beaches on St. Thomas or St. John are really wide like Orient Beach. On St. Thomas we have been to Megans, Coki, and Morning Star Beach. I would suggest going to any beach EARLY--they get crowded later. We have also gone over the ST. John to Trunk Bay. It's beautiful The color of the water in incredible. In Barbados we've been to the beach at the Boatyard-crowded and loud and to the beach along Holetown--very nice. Take water shoes-there can be some stones. In Antigua we've been to the beach at the Royal Antiguan and along Runaway Beach. Both very nice. <BR> Have a great time.

If you take the ship's tours, St. Thomas/St. John CAN be done in one day. I did it last spring with no problems, but the tours allowed me to see a lot more than I could have done on my own, thus saving a lot of time. Don't know if it would be possible on your own.

I highly reccomend the America's Cup Regatta in St. Maarten. You get to race on the actual boats that sailed in the 1987 America's Cup. Then in St. Thomas the mountain biking excursion offered by the ship to Water Island is very good.