S. Caribbean Excursions?

[jimtheswede]

Hello,
We are going on our second cruise 4-12-03 to Bridgetown, Barbardos, then Castries, St Lucia, then St. Johns , Antiqua, then Charlotte Amalia, St. Thomas aboard the Celebrity Constellation. I have read that the beaches are great - how is the snorkling? We would like any info or feedback on what the best water-oriented type excursions, or other "must-do" things to do! Will probably book through the ship as it's the easiest for us newbies. Any info. is greatly appreciated! Thank you.
Jim Swedlund

 

[Sabina]

I haven't done it myself, but I've heard that Trunk Bay Beach is not to be missed in St John. It's supposed to be one of the top 10 best beaches in the world. I know there's snorkling there. You may want to do some further research.

I posted a question about it yesturday on the general forum you may want to check out. The title is something like, "getting to Trunk Bay from St. Thomas".

In St Thomas I've heard that Sapphire Beach is great and not as crowded as some of the others. Again, I can't offer any first hand knowledge...

Good luck!

 

[BSeabob]

Barbados....did the catamaran/snorkle was OK.. not great. Left from the dock and went to an area of sunken barge. Water fairly deep and no coral. Lots of fish when they threw out the bread.

 

[milla]

Take a cab from Charlotte Amalie to Red Hook (or you can take a longer ferry directly from the port) - ferry at Red Hook will take you to Cruz Bay, St. John (20 min. ride) for a couple bucks. Then a short cab ride to Trunk Bay - this beach is NOT TO BE MISSED. It is one of the Top 10 in the world for a good reason! We enjoyed the snorkling here (there is a long coral reef & underwater guided trail) more than any other island on our cruise last year. The water is calm, crystal clear, and not too deep - lots to see!
Was also in Barbados on the same cruise - Folkstone Water Park, just north of Bridgetown, is well-known there for their best snorkling. This is not a great beach, but the water & coral reefs just off shore were great...however the water was a little rougher here and there are some dangerous areas you can get caught against coral exposed above the water if you're not paying attention. St. John is the best - don't miss it!

 

[gsamml]

Barbados has some great diving and my wife enjoyed the horseback excursion. Harrison's caves are said to be worth a trip.

In St Lucia, you need to get to Anse Chastenet (spelling is a guess). It is where the marine park is located. Great snorkleing and diving. The sand is a black volcanic sand. Kind of neat actually.

Antigua is said to have some of the best beaches, but I have yet to get there.

St Thomas - take any excursion that takes you over to St John. St Thomas is a shoppers meca (and a husbands nightmare). For St John, there are 2 types of trips, laid back, a nice drive around the island and a snorkel stop at Trunk Bay. Or the wild way, the Captin Nautica powerboat trip. They stop at 2 diff places for snorkeling, the first has no beach, but great reef snorkleing and the second is either Trunk Bay or Honeymoon Beach, both great stops.
Or do the real mellow trip from St Thomas and take the Buck Island Sail and Snorkel. You will go over Buck Island on a private sailboat or catamaran and anchor in the cove to snorkel, then a slow sail back. Very relaxing.

Have fun.

 

[Oink]

We did the kayak and turtle encounter while in Barbados. It was not too strenuous and great fun....and snorkeling with the turtles was a blast. The crew was helpful, informative and just plain fun. They served free beer and rum drinks after the snorkel on the way back.

Like everyone else recommends, take an excursion that gets you to Trunk Bay on St John. Beautiful beach and a great underwater snorkel trail.

While in Antigua, we took a taxi to Dickinson Bay and rented a jet ski. Nice clean beach with little tiki hut type bars and various water crafts for rent. We did this on our own.

In St Lucia we did the jeep tour and waterfall hike. It was fun too, but not as much fun as a previous jeep excursion we did in Mexico one time. We plan to get over to the Pitons and Diamond Botanical Gardens during our next cruise stop here.

 

[jimtheswede]

Many thanks to all for the very helpful info.! It's too bad we only have 1-1.5 hours at Trunk Bay on the excursions available. If anyone has any additional hints or tips - I'm open to suggestions. Again, thank you!
Jim

 

[Robrph]

we did Taimi's catamaran trip in Barbados- it was the BEST. The Tiami dock is a 5 minute taxi from the pier. The catamaran goes to three different snorkeling sites- all were excellent. We got a tip for this excursion thru this board and it was really worth it- it was a highlight of our cruise last year

 

[Deb J]

Hi Jim!
My husband & I will be on the same ship the week after you (4/19/03). From what I understand we'll be the last group before it does a transatlantic trip and stays in the europe for the summer.

I'm glad you posted your question. I'll be watching for more responses before we leave.

We'll be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary on 4/20 (Easter Day) so we are really looking forward to the getaway!

 

[BurBunny]

Jim, it's easy to get to Trunk Bay on your own if you want to spend more time there. Take a taxi to Red Hook, take the ferry over to St. John, take another taxi to Trunk Bay. Voila

 

[tispwisp]

In Barbados we did the Catamaran/snorkeling with the sea turtles excursion! It was great fun and the coastline of Barbados is breathtaking.

St. Lucia - We went to the Botanical Gardens/Diamond Falls/Mineral Baths. It was the best excursion we ever went on. The gardens were like walking through Jurassic park! The Diamond Falls were breathtaking. The rock behind the falls is filled with minerals and when the sun hits the falls the water turns different colors. Definitely our favorite island and tour.

St. Thomas - I would definitely recommend taking a Ferry boat to St. John's. They have some beautiful beaches over there!

Antigua - We didn't do any excursions on this port opting instead to walk around town. I would definitely choose an excursion here as, in my opinion, the town isn't much to walk through. (Thought I would scream if I was asked one more time if I wanted my hair braided!) However, I know people that when on excursions past the town and had a great time!

Good luck with your decisions! You've got a great itinerary! I'm sure you'll have a blast!

 

[jimtheswede]

Thanks all for the ideas - just booked the following through Celebrity:

Catries, St Lucia - Land/Sea to Soufriere, which is a catamaran/bus trip thru the coastline, stopping off @ The Still Plantation for lunch, see the Pitons, Sulpher Springs, swimming in Anse Cochon cove and crusing past Marigot Bay. Thought we'd do the island exploration type as someone said the beaches here weren't as good as on other islands.

Bridgetown, Barbados - Five-Star Catamaran Lunch cruise & Turtle Encounter, which offers a snorkeling tour at an unknown beach, lunch, and a swim with the turtles. I read somewhere that this was a nice 5 hour excusion.

St Johns, Antiqua - Antiqua Beach Break, basically just a day w/lunch at a beach but don't know which beach!

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas - Scenic St. John Sea & Snorkle, aboard the Leylon Sneed that goes to Trunk Bay for about 1.5 hours. Seemed like a nicer way to get to Trunk Bay instead of ferrys & cabs.

We are just 5 weeks away & getting very excited! If anyone has gone on any of these and can give feedback I'd appreciate it as it's not too late to cancel and book others.
Thanks all!
Jim
Celebrity Century 4-12-02

 

[magnumcoog]

Wanted to move this back to the top as I am thinking about changing cruises to this one from Aruba and Curacao.