The last time we were in St. Croix we rented a car and toured around the island. We have been to Buc

I'm all about the best ports of call and no mega size ships. Minimal At Sea Days, beautiful islands and beaches and interesting culture. Hate shopping. In our 60's. Only the second cruise of our lives. Which of these 4 would you choose and why for a 7 night departing San Juan in February (these are on RC or Celebrity)? I must admit St. Thomas virtual tours online sounds too crowded to me (I don't like shopping) and I've always wanted to see Barbados. Don't know any of these other ports except San Juan:
Well either #2 or #4 if Barbados is a must. If you like less crowded places I am not sure about this as this is high season so likely all ports will be busy. I don't think you can wrong with either choice but # 4 has places that are likely to be a bit less visited that # 2 so thats why I say go for #4.
I would recommend option 4. Definitly avoid St Thomas - if you don't like shopping especially having to elbow your way around stay away from there. Its nice to see some of the smaller islands that the megaships don't visit. We have done so many Caribbean cruises and don't want to do another one due to the crowds. Tortola virtual tours online is one of our favourites. It is small, has lovely beaches and you can use a taxi to get around. Their fares are regulated and posted so you don'thave to worry about getting ripped off. We also like St Kitts and Guadaloupe.
I did optional No. 3 on Celebrity Summit, virtual tours online and I think it would work for you. The ports were amazing, great beaches, and the ship (Celebrity virtual tours online Summit) was excellent -- big but not too big and recently refurbished. Food onboard was very good, too.
Do not go knocking down St. Thomas if you like beautiful beaches. Magens Bay in St. Thomas is frequently listed as one of the Top 10 Most Beautiful Beaches in the World...and it sure deserves the spot. Calm, warm, clean, huge coastline, exquisite. I have been to St. Thomas more than once and I hate shopping; Can't wait to go back.
You can also use the individual port's "port schedule" and find out how many ships is in which port in which day. Each port publish their own calendar. You will have to look through each port though. Some may not be as up to date or far into the future. But, the cruise ship's schedule is on a cycle so you can just work the math and project.
Traveller69, snow hit Victoria and Vancouver just a few days ago ... I guess you missed it. It appeards that we will have the coldest Christmas in 40 years. It is projected to be somewhere between -28C to -32C.
Here is a website that will give you the information. Just click on the port and it takes you to a page where you can choose the year and the month. It shows every ship in that port on any specific day.
We are looking at Option 3 for our vacation in 2013. We want to see Grenada and Dominica. We have already been to St. Thomas on a land vacation, and though it was not one of our favorite Islands and we really didn't want it on an iteniary. Looks like it won't be an option for us to skip it. St. Thomas is not all about shopping. Pick a sail, beach or Island tour excursion virtual tours online or go over to St. John.
I did the third option with Celebrity Summit in late January/early February last year, and at 38, I think I was one of the youngest passengers on the ship. There were one or two couples virtual tours online with babies, there was about a 12-year-old who I kinda felt sorry for since there were no other kids on the ship and one family with a few college virtual tours online age/20-somethings. That was it. Other than a few more people in their 30s, the crowd was mostly 40s-60s with a few older people.
Thanks folks. We ended up booking Option 2 in January which is on the Celebrity Summit because the reviews sounded slightly better than the other two which are RC-Brilliance and RC-Adventure (the latter is too large a ship) because, honestly, at our age, the fewer kids on board the better. Also liked the ports and we'll find something away from shopping to do on St. Thomas.
St. Lucia - the docks are closed to town but the town does not look colonial and is quite mordern. If you are physically fit and enjoy hiking, the hike up to Fort Rodney would be great adventure and away from the crowd. There are always nice sandy beaches, after all, you are in the Caribbean! Some may try to convince you to tour a banana plantation. Resist it. You are better off to see the interior virtual tours online with rainforest, volcanic soufriere, or even a costal boat tour would be nice.
Antigua - beaches, beaches and more beaches. The must see, if you are a history buff, is the historic Nelson's Dockyard. It is a national park and is full of restored buildings virtual tours online from the by gone era when the British uses it as their main naval station from 1700 onward.
St Croix - The coral reef is breath taking. Snorkeling is porbably the best thing you can do here, even if you don't swim. Get a float vest and put your head in the water, that's it! If you do not want to get wet, go to Christiansted. There are many 18th and 19th century Dutch colonial buildings.
St. Maarten - the 12 meters yacht Sailing (America Cup)challenge. The only thing is, it is actually hard work. They may tell you otherwise, but once you get into it, you will work your "rear end" off. If you have any interest in sailing virtual tours online at all, this would be the one. If not, take the tour to Marigot (the French side) or the world famous (over-rated) Orient beach.
Barbados - There are plenty of beaches (what else is new?) and everyone is going to stop at Harrison's Cave. The Rum distillery tour is always interesting (free sample!). If you did not snorkel at St Croix, try the Atlantis submarine here. This will take you down to about 100 feet so you can see all the underwater virtual tours online sights even if you don't scuba dive. Last thing: find a local eatery and sample the flying fish, a tasty local delicacy.
virtual tours online Funny that I messed up on our ports in my OP. They are in this order: Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten, St. Thomas. We do love history, virtual tours online but also beautiful virtual tours online beaches and calm water. We are in our 60s and can tolerate some snorkeling but not extreme sports.
So far, I've book 6 hour land and beach time (w/ beach snorkeling) tours on Barbados and St. Lucia. For St. Marteen, booked a 6 hour tour that includes 3 on the island (including St.Martin/Marigot) plus 3 hrs relaxing/snorkeling at Pinal Island.
Now, need to consider what we'd like to to on Antigua and St. Thomas. I think my husband would like to go out on a sailing ship and the history of Antiqua is of interest. But there is an amazing Eco Tour on Antinqua too? With St. Thomas our last stop, I was thinking of just a 3 hour tour that drops us at our choice of Coral World, Coki Beach, Magens Bay or Saphirre Beach. Alternatively, we could so a sailing day to St. John's. Opinions? Are we going to be exhausted from all this?
I would highly recommend doing the sailing day to St Johns. virtual tours online Its not far and is a fairly short sail but the beaches that they take you to on St. Johns are fantastic. The snorkeling there is great. We did a private sail when we were in St Thomas virtual tours online and the fellow who took us was so much fun. He took along a bag of Kentucky fried chicken which he threw in the water when we snorkelled. The fish were gorgeous and swarmed around for the chicken. All we had to do was hang out around the boat and be entertained with the spectacular display.
St John is absolutely gorgeous. It all depends on how much time you have in port that day. As it will be 45 minutes one way to get there and back by boat. If you plan to go to St. John, I would go with th3 ship's excursion to St John as they will have a chartered boat rather than relying on the regular schduled service.
T69 - I am surprised at the KFC as it would be harmful to the sea life (the grease!) plus it maybe illegal. I think he might have used raw chicken bones and not cooked KFC. We used raw chicken bone as bait for our crab traps. Left the traps overnight and the next morning, the traps are full!
The last time we were in St. Croix we rented a car and toured around the island. We have been to Buck Island snorkeling, but unless virtual tours online it is a calm day, he currents virtual tours online can be VERY heavy. I have snorkel end all over the world and I would have to say that was one of my least favorite places.
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