southern caribbean shore excursions

Old Apr 20th, 2015, 04:07 PM
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southern caribbean shore excursions

My family of 5 will be cruising this late July on the Adventure of the Seas with Royal Caribbean. We will be stopping at these islands: St. Croix (Frederiksted), St. Maarten (Philipsburg), Antigua (St. Johns), St. Lucia (Castries), and Barbados (Bridgetown). By the way, our port city is San Juan, Puerto Rico. We will be there for one week prior to our cruise!! There are so many options for excursions. Are there any places on these islands that we shouldn't miss? The oldest is 42 and the youngest is 7.5. We love adventure and the ocean!!! We are thinking of booking through Royal Caribbean. Any suggestions would be great!!

Thank you
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Old Apr 20th, 2015, 06:45 PM
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We much prefer booking shore excursions privately; they're cheaper and more personalized.
Check out the Ports of Call boards at www.cruisecritic.com for ideas.
In Barbados, we had a great beach day at The Boatyard. For $15 per person, we got beach chairs and umbrellas, a drink, and cab ride back to the ship. It cost us $5 each to get there. The beach was lovely, the bathrooms clean, and there were lots of activities.
In St Martin, we rented a car (they're right at the pier) and circumnavigated the island, visiting both the French and Dutch sides, stopping at lookouts, doing some hiking, getting some beach time. The roads are in good condition and well marked.
In Antigua, we went to South Coast Horizon. They picked us up at the ship, took us on an island tour, then to the resort. We kayaked a short distance through a mangrove lagoon, then took a boat to the coral reef for snorkeling, back to the beach for a delicious lunch, kayaked back, got a different island tour on the way back to the ship.
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Old Apr 21st, 2015, 09:11 AM
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I agree with Abram. Do the tours on your own, especially for the Caribbean. As you have 5 people you can at the worst get a shared ride with 2-3 people and its way better than what a cruise ship offers with a busload of people. I have cruised the so. Caribbean twice and recommend highly the following tour guides;
http://www.tourguidegordon.com/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio..._St_Lucia.html
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...St_Martin.html
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Old Apr 21st, 2015, 04:32 PM
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I agree with Abram and jacketwatch. I have cruise over 25 times (the last 4 in the southern Caribbean. Book tours on your own. It is cheaper and much more personalized. I have been on your route twice (on the Serenade). I can definitely recommend the following tours/adventures:

Calabaza Cruises on Barbados - Gina is easy to work with
http://www.calabazasailingcruises.com/

Adventure Antigua - been on this twice
http://www.adventureantigua.com/

Cosol Tours - I have taken two different tours from them
http://www.cosol-tours.com/tours.html

In St. Maarten, be sure to visit Maho Beach when a 747 flies over you VERY low. You can Google photos of this.

St. Croix is our least favorite island. Last time we rented a car at the pier and drive to several beaches and towns. We had a blast. One warning. We have gone to Buck Island and the waters can be VERY rough. We have snorkeled all over the world including the Great Barrier Reef, Belize, Hawaii and Fiji. Buck Island was our least favorite snorkel place.

Barbados and Antigua were fabulous for snorkeling. St. Martin was just OK.

Bon Voyage!
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Old Feb 4th, 2019, 05:55 AM
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Originally Posted by sillybilly
My family of 5 will be cruising this late July on the Adventure of the Seas with Royal Caribbean. We will be stopping at these islands: St. Croix (Frederiksted), St. Maarten (Philipsburg), Antigua (St. Johns), St. Lucia (Castries), and Barbados (Bridgetown). By the way, our port city is San Juan, Puerto Rico. We will be there for one week prior to our cruise!! There are so many options for excursions. Are there any places on these islands that we shouldn't miss? The oldest is 42 and the youngest is 7.5. We love adventure and the ocean!!! We are thinking of booking through Royal Caribbean. Any suggestions would be great!!

Thank you
How was your trip? I am planning a trip to Antigua and then Conejo Valley. I am planning with my family of 4 members. I have a 5 year kid and an infant. I am slightly worried about the destination. Is it good for the kids? Or I have to take some precautions before starting my travel. I am looking for suggestions that can help me in my excursion.
uri30 is offline  
Old Feb 4th, 2019, 07:23 AM
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uri30: Welcome to Fodors. This thread is very old and the OP and sillybilly has not posted on the forums for a few years.

It would be better if you start a new thread of your own. But post it on the Caribbean Forum -- since it seems you are asking about an island visit, not a cruise.
janisj is offline  
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