Post your Eastern Caribbean Excursions here!!!

[100AcreWood]

Great thread, I'll have to read through it. We have an Eastern Caribbean cruise planned for October. It sounds like most of you booked tours and excursions from outside companies vs. Disney.

My question is - It sounds like St. Thomas is better for beach days. What is the best thing to do on St. Marten if you want a non-beach day?

 

[Sarabi's Cubs]

We just got back from a New Year's cruise on the Fantasy, and for our St Thomas day, we chartered a boat through Good Day Charters. Total cost was $900, but there were 9 of us so it was cheaper than the Disney snorkeling excursions. Plus, we had the boat all to ourselves from 9am-4pm. We took a taxi to the marina and met with Captain Stan. He was great, had snorkels and fins and bottled water for all. He took us to several spots around St. Thomas for some great snorkeling, and we stopped for lunch at a nice little beach spot. It was a perfect day!

Laurie

 

[newtandkaren]

subscribing

 

[gatorgirl72]

some great reviews, following!

 

[Amunet]

I'm going to be reserving excursions soon and I'd love some feedback on our plans:

St. Maarten
Planning on doing the Under 2 Flags tour and afterwards go to the Yoda Guy's Movie Exhibit so DH can do some geeking out.
Does anyone know if we'll have time to do both of these? Any food recommendations?

San Juan
Just tour on our own with the trollies. We have 2 places we want to visit: The Cemetary (Santa Maria Magdalena De Pazzis Cemetery) and a chocolate bar (Casa Cortes), DH is a huge chocolate fan!
Any food recommendations here?

Castaway Cay
5K Lol that's about it! We're not huge beach people but maybe if we can get shade? Do you think they'll be shade for us after the 5K (well only I'll be doing the 5k) on Serenity beach?
I'm also thinking about going on the slides.

We both love cultural things (and food) but we're not so much into the ruins. Normally we are but these other things seem more interesting to us.

 

[Dug720]

Castaway Cay
5K Lol that's about it! We're not huge beach people but maybe if we can get shade? Do you think they'll be shade for us after the 5K (well only I'll be doing the 5k) on Serenity beach?
I'm also thinking about going on the slides.

Have cruised twice so far - both times on an if not sold out then very close to it Dream (in July and during Presidents' Week, so both heavy travel times) and there has NOT been a shortage of chair sets around umbrellas at Serenity Bay. Even after the 5K.

The slides I've never been to because I only pass the family beach and don't bother investigating anything there.

 

[moomy-san]

In St. Thomas we have chartered a private helicopter tour with Caribbean Buzz Helicopters. I'll be honest, the prices is not for the feint of heart, one hour is @ 1/3 of our cruise fare. But it is on our bucket list so I decided we would do it. I'll post a review in 3 weeks when we return.

 

[KStock0508]

This will be my 3rd trip to St. Maarten and I have a few "must dos".

1) Get a Guavaberry colada--guavaberry is native to the island and this is the only place you can get one of these fabulous drinks. I like the Blue ***** Bar for my coladas. The owner is really nice. The food is delicious (jerk wings anyone?).

2) Sint Maarten Old Man Gourmet store. It is located in Philipsburg with all the shopping. You can get some Guavaberry liqueur to bring home. Plus, lots of native spices. On some days there is even a painter that will custom paint the liqueur bottles for your souvenir. If you would like this, make sure you get to the shop early.

3) Liquor store in Philipsburg--great deals on various alcohols you can bring back on the ship.

4) AMA Jewelers also located in Philipsburg. Very reasonable and great quality. Staff is very friendly and not pushy at all.

 

[DISNEYFAN3260]

So glad to have found this thread! I'm already making plans for our cruise in early August and would love recommendations.

St Maarten - History and culture
We're sailing as a family group of 10 with ages ranging from 65 to 14. The grandparents much prefer sightseeing and culture over beaches so I'd like to take the whole family for a great island tour this day. It looks like the DCL and private tours are very beach-oriented. Can anyone recommend a good tour with a focus on island history and culture? DCL's Under 2 Flags tour doesn't seem very in depth and it's fairly short? Private tours are too pricey.

St Thomas/St John- Snorkeling!
The teens get to choose on this day. Which snorkel experience can someone recommend for beginners and up that has great views and a comfortable ride for the grandparents who won't be snorkeling? Thoughts about the Doubloon Sail and Snorkel?

Thanks for sharing your info and experiences!

 

[mhconley]

St Maarten - History and culture
We're sailing as a family group of 10 with ages ranging from 65 to 14. The grandparents much prefer sightseeing and culture over beaches so I'd like to take the whole family for a great island tour this day. It looks like the DCL and private tours are very beach-oriented. Can anyone recommend a good tour with a focus on island history and culture? DCL's Under 2 Flags tour doesn't seem very in depth and it's fairly short? Private tours are too pricey.

Thanks for sharing your info and experiences!

Check out Joyce Prince's private tours. (http://joyceprince.com/) I have no experience with her but read very good reviews here on DISboards and she is quite reasonably priced.

We're doing the Eastern Caribbean in September. We are avid snorkelers and are considering these non-DCL tours.

St. Maarten
Captain Alan's 6 Hour Special - Snorkeling, Beach and Lunch boat tour from Oyster Point

St. Thomas
St. Thomas Scuba and Snorkel Adventures Three Beach Adventure

Has anyone ever used these outfits? They both have excellent reviews on Trip Advisor.

Martin

 

[maps81]

We are doing Joyce Prince in St. Maarten in late May on the Fantasy.

We are trying to do Marriott Frenchman's Reef & Morning Star Beach Resort in St. Thomas.

 

[ukintheus]

We did the Best of St. Thomas Island Tour and Shopping a couple of weeks ago. It was better than I expected and the shopping at one place was really good with some great deals on clothes. It wouldn't appeal to someone with kids who are looking for an active excursion but was good for my group as we had my Mum with us who has limited walking. Here is the link for pictures and a detailed explanation of what we did from my trip report. (Full trip report link is in my sig).

Best of St. Thomas Island Tour and Shopping Excursion

 

[elphie101]

I'm glad this thread got bumped up because it made me realize I never posted our excursions! We were on the 10/18 Fantasy, first time cruisers, DH and I on our honeymoon 26/25 years old respectively. Going into our trip my DH's one request was no complete-beach excursions, as he is a textbook Irishman and pale as a sheet of paper.

St. Maarten: I had been to St. Maarten before with my family (we were not impressed) but DH hadn't, so I booked Bernard's Tours to give him a good once-over of the island as well as stops where I thought he would be most interested, Marigot and Maho Beach (we did not want to do Orient Bay, see above re anti-beach husband). The tour pick up was very convenient at the dock and we shared our van with about 10 other passengers, one family from the Fantasy and the others from the Carnival and Norwegian ships in port. The van was stocked with a cooler of water, soda, Carib beer and one heck of a rum punch which was included in our tour price, and we made good use of it! Our driver was friendly and spent the entire time giving us facts and history of the island. Unfortunately the island was hit by a hurricane 2 or 3 days before, and a lot of destruction was visible (boats on land, overturned cars). We ended up losing 30 minutes of our time in Marigot because of a downed power line from the storm, but there's nothing to be done about that - our driver cut Marigot short to make sure we would be able to make the big KLM plane at Maho Beach, which was the serious highlight. Other than Maho Beach and Marigot, the only other stops were scenic outlooks where we took photos, which we didn't mind. We stumbled back onto the Fantasy slightly buzzed from rum punch and very pleased with our experience!

St Thomas/St John: My one request was SOME beach time and that it be at St John and Castaway Cay, and because we were nervous about braving the ferry boat ourselves we booked the St. John's Eco Hike through DCL (again, to appease the anti-beach husband). The ferry departed from the cruise dock again with passengers from other ships as well as those who had booked the Island Tour and Trunk Bay excursions. Once we got to St John we were next door to the National Park Center, where our .75 mile hike took off from, led by 2 different guides. The trail wasn't too bad in terms of difficulty, but I would definitely wear sneakers or something more supportive than flip flops. I would also bring a bottle of water for the hike (even if that means paying ship prices) and make sure you eat well that morning - DH came close to overheating and was not doing so well. Along the way our guides pointed out local plant and insect life and told us about island life in general. Honeymoon Beach is AMAZING and a serious highlight of the island - quiet, peaceful and pristine. We were greeted with cases of water and a selection of chairs ready for our group and enjoyed 45 minutes in the most crystal clear ocean I have ever swam in. From there we walked up to the advertised sugar mill, though we really passed by it rather than actually stopped and explored. From there we boarded taxis back to the St John port - the path from the beach to the taxis goes from sand to asphalt so putting your sneakers on over wet and sandy feet is not required (we threw everything into a spare plastic merch bag in our backpack) At the port we poked around the Park Center and local shops until the ferry came back for us. I would definitely recommend this excursion if you are looking to perhaps be a little more active on your trip or for more than JUST a beach excursion (and I would 100000% recommend Honeymoon Beach) as well as the security of knowing you are on a DCL excursion if you are concerned about getting back to St. Thomas on time and ferries that run on "island time".

As for Castaway Cay, we planned a day at Serenity Bay but were sadly rained out. I guess we'll just HAVE to cruise again!

 

[lisamarie12]

I am a little torn as to what to do in San Juan. We have never been there and its our anniversary so we have to do something fun. Forts and history seem a little (who am I kidding a LOT) boring to me. We have a 4 year old DD, which I want to bring on whatever excursion, but DH would rather leave her with the kids club so we can do something a little more challenging. If we do not take her that opens up more possibilities, I guess. So if we take her with, it is probably going to be the Distillery/Rum tour. If we don't then probably one of the jungle/rainforest tours. I like the one with the ATV but its pricey.
I thought about whether we could just get off the ship and find something to do, but as I said, the forts don't seem appealing to me.

 

[dolly25]

I am a little torn as to what to do in San Juan. We have never been there and its our anniversary so we have to do something fun. Forts and history seem a little (who am I kidding a LOT) boring to me. We have a 4 year old DD, which I want to bring on whatever excursion, but DH would rather leave her with the kids club so we can do something a little more challenging. If we do not take her that opens up more possibilities, I guess. So if we take her with, it is probably going to be the Distillery/Rum tour. If we don't then probably one of the jungle/rainforest tours. I like the one with the ATV but its pricey.
I thought about whether we could just get off the ship and find something to do, but as I said, the forts don't seem appealing to me.

We really liked the rainforest. We on going next Sat. on the Fantasy, so this time my husband and I are visiting the forts. My daughter and her husband are doing the ATV thing. My son and his wife are doing the horseback riding into the rainforest. If you have never been to the rainforest go!

 

[PlutoIsHerFav]

Great thread! We're sailing in April with stops in St Thomas and San Juan.

St Thomas - we've booked the Magen's Bay beach day through DCL. However we'd like to do it on our own to get there earlier. The excursion doesn't leave until 9:30 and there are 5 ships in port that day! However, we have a two year old. I'm afraid to plan on a taxi because I won't have her car seat. Are there any other transportation options safe to use with a toddler?

San Juan - would you do the Rainforest tour or just get off and walk around/see fort? Again this will be with a two year old!

 

[dolly25]

Has anyone done the Zip Line in St. Thomas

 

[double_O_ten]

Has anyone ever been to the El Yunque Rainforest Tour & Nature Walk excursion in San Juan. Trying to decide if I want to do the excursion or just get off the ship and explore San Juan on my own. I will have a 3 and almost 5 year old with me.

Thanks

 

[ForMyBoys]

St. Thomas - In this case, we took a cab to Crown Bay and boarded the ferry to Water Island. Cab was maybe 15 mins, ferry about the same. Our destination was Honeymoon Beach... dare I say we liked it more than even the legendary Castaway Cay? It's pretty close (and we had a cabana at Castaway!). After getting off the ferry, there's a short 5 minute walk up a hill. Once reaching the top, you are greeted with a fabulous view of the beach. 5 minutes down the hill and you are at the beach - what a place! It was completely deserted when we arrived. There's a place to rent snorkeling gear on one end, and two choices of food. We ate lunch at Heidi's, which is basically a couple locals hanging out grilling and mixing drinks. They had fish tacos to die for!! Everything here was a bit overpriced, but in our minds very much worth it. Three set of snorkels @ $35, plate of tacos for $10, etc. .

Hi DaddyNash, I keep meaning to post to thank you for your post. We sailed the week of Feb. 7th and were looking for a good do it yourself beach outing on St. Thomas. I had read about honeymoon beach in other excursions but they all required my son to be 5 or older and he was 4. We followed your advice to the tee. Here is how it went for us. Since the water taxi only runs at 8am then 10am/11am we didn't rush off the boat. We walked straight off to the official taxi stand (avoiding non-licensed taxi drivers) and they took us to crown bay for $20 there and back- total $40 (they let our 4 year old ride free). Since the water taxi didn't run at 9am, only 8am then 10am, we didn't have to rush off the boat. We paid $35 for whole family for the water taxi. We got to Crown Bay at 9:50, unfortunatly it was full, but the water taxi driver did a double run. We sat at the restraunt and ordered sodas, tipped well and they gave us lots of free refills before the water taxi came back at 10:20. On the water taxi a woman who owned a little golf cart rental business offered us a daily golf cart rental for $35 since she had some unreserved. We took her up on it. So instead of walking to the beach we golf carted over. The beach was awesome. Warm, clear, gentle sloped. Not too deep, not too shallow. Saw some great fish. Free beach chairs and umbrellas, there were also a few spare extra beach toys for the kids which was good because we forgot ours.

We also ordered drinks and a nacho plate, I think it was $18, but it was HUGE and really good. We then drove the golf cart all around water island and saw some amazing views. I think we caught the 4pm back to town, boat deparature was 5:45 or something like that. There was a little traffic back but we got back w/ plenty of time to spare. We spent around $150 for the whole day with 5 family members, and we had a fantastic time and met some great locals. Anyway, I wanted to thank you for your post and your recommendation. It was a great day for our family.

 

[Dug720]

Has anyone ever been to the El Yunque Rainforest Tour & Nature Walk excursion in San Juan. Trying to decide if I want to do the excursion or just get off the ship and explore San Juan on my own. I will have a 3 and almost 5 year old with me.

Thanks

My parents (72 and 71) did that one in December and loved it.

I stupidly opted for the Waterfall "Adventure" and had the worst "guide" ever. If you get Dan, do whatever you can to get into the other group if there is more than one. He is a perfectly nice person I'm sure, but he should be off exploring on his own rather than holding everyone else up looking at the same breed of tree when there is NO difference between it and the other 50 he pointed out.