katjoe

OK thanks! I was wondering whether it would be possible to combine taking a ferry to Hamilton, walk around there for a bit and then head to the beach...might be a bit much for one day, though -esp since ship is leaving again at 4pm ? Wish we had more time there!!!

I know everyone raves about Horseshoe, but I have now read repeatedly how crowded that one gets.. What alternatives are there? Don't need a super lot of amenities but some stuff would be nice... My first time in Bermuda - wish we had one of those overnighters there!!!!

We were in Cococay last year, plenty of free loungers available - tons, actually! But that was on Grandeur, so a small ship. I personally don't think you need to spend that money, but that's your call. We LOVED it there!!!

Why not use the road?

Why would you pay $54 to go to stores that you have everywhere in the US? I don't get it.

To me, it was just typical Florida ugliness and run-downness. But maybe by the time you get there, they'll have restored the beaches? I'm sure they used to be nice. Just don't pay for the ship's shuttle - they wanted $19 (!!!) per person, just to take you to Cocoa Beach on a bus! The local public one (aptly named Cocoa Beach Loop) was 1.50 per person :-0

For Antigua, I recommend Turners Beach - quite possible the best beach we've ever been to. Just stunning!! And for St Kitts I HIGHLY recommend Thenford Grey Island Tour. Again, def. one of the best tours we've ever done, quite possibly THE best!! Enjoy this itinerary - we just got back from a much less thrilling one that took us to FLorida and the Bahamas.

I completely second that!!! You don't need any excursion in San Juan, it is a lovely, lovely city (at least it was before the hurricanes?) and more beautiful than any other place in the US. it's old, like REAL old, and totally reminded me of Europe! We actually stayed there for three nights after our cruise last year. It's gorgeous, friendly, has tons of good food and drink and you can easily uber to the beaches. I'd recommend doing that to anyone!!

There isn't. It's an armpit. We just got back from there. Took a public bus to Cocoa Beach (left very close to the cruise terminal) but there wasn't much of a beach left (I guess bc of hurricanes) and it was very windy, so went to the Sandbar and had some drinks. Walked back to bus stop, took bus back and had him drop us off as close as possible to Jetty Park; went there but beach even worse and nothing to do there, so walked back to the ship - bit of a walk so only for those who are comfortable walking. I really don't need to go back to Port Canaveral. If we do, we'll go to the Space Center next time. Other than that, avoid this port if you can!

Apparently, there will be two other ships there that day (!!) so no idea if that increases or decreases our chances of being nearer to the beach...

Thanks for that, but that doesn't really show me where the ships will be docked, only what ship will be in which port on a specific day?

Totally second this!!! Don't overdo it and don't put this expectation on you to always do something. Port days are busy enough on cruises, I'd try to kick back on sea days. Oh and the only thing we do as far as entertainment (we do'nt really like any of those shows) is Trivia - hubby is a big fan and it's very amusing - and it's not super late, which is good for us since we're usually pooped out after dinner :-)

We are thinking Paradise Cove for Freeport; from the descriptions I've read, Freeport is not in the least attractive and I do'nt think we'll bother trying to visit the town...I forget what I wanted to do about Paradise Cove, will go back and try to find a good way to get there or if anyone has any advice, I'll gladly read it!

We will definitely want to explore the town - which makes a closer beach more attractive also since it'll be easier to do both. And maybe go back to the ship after sightseeing to pick up beach gear etc. It's also not a super long day there so I feel like spending 90 bucks to go to the beach is prob not worth it for us. Maybe we'll do a private beach trip next time, if we go back to Nassau, which seems likely since it's a very common stop on Caribbean cruises!

Yeah maybe I'll try again at some point - I have a feeing it's not gonna happen but I suppose I'll keep trying ;-)