jomurr Posted May 12, 2021 Report Share Posted May 12, 2021 Hello, I am a first time cruiser sailing on the Explorer of the Seas 7 Day Southern Caribbean cruise. The cruise stops in St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Matrteen, St. Lucia, Barbados, and St. Kitts. What are the best excursions to do at these locations and if anyone has any advice for a first time cruiser that would he helpful. Thank you so much. PRebecca and Sharla 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted May 12, 2021 Report Share Posted May 12, 2021 Welcome to the message boards! As a first time cruiser I would check out this section of RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/getting-started jomurr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted May 12, 2021 Report Share Posted May 12, 2021 "Best excursions" is really an individual taste thing. Our favorite spot on St Kitts is a hole in the wall beach bar on South Friar's Bay, but I'm sure 10 others on here would give a different answer. jomurr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted May 12, 2021 Report Share Posted May 12, 2021 As far as excursions at your destinations it really depends what you are looking for. Some people are older and are looking for something less active and more guided while others are looking for active adventures that involve a lot of energy. Some people bring kids and are looking for kid friendly excursions. Some people are beach people and some are looking to experience the culture of a destination. Can you provide some insight into what you are looking for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted May 12, 2021 Report Share Posted May 12, 2021 Welcome to the message boards! Check out this blog post: Eight Southern Caribbean Cruise Tips & Secrets jomurr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted May 12, 2021 Report Share Posted May 12, 2021 22 minutes ago, jomurr said: Hello, I am a first time cruiser sailing on the Explorer of the Seas 7 Day Southern Caribbean cruise. The cruise stops in St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Matrteen, St. Lucia, Barbados, and St. Kitts. What are the best excursions to do at these locations and if anyone has any advice for a first time cruiser that would he helpful. Thank you so much. I would advise to research each of your port stops to see what may be of interest to you and then you can really hone in on what types of excursions you want to do. Then again to a first-time cruiser, my advice is do not get too attached to any of those port stops as things happen and it isn't always guaranteed that you will make it to the ports. Don't let that dictate your enjoyment of the entire cruise experience. Explorer is a good sized ship for a first time cruiser and also a good first taste as to what Royal Caribbean has to offer as a cruise line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UNCFanatik Posted May 12, 2021 Report Share Posted May 12, 2021 15 minutes ago, jomurr said: Hello, I am a first time cruiser sailing on the Explorer of the Seas 7 Day Southern Caribbean cruise. The cruise stops in St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Matrteen, St. Lucia, Barbados, and St. Kitts. What are the best excursions to do at these locations and if anyone has any advice for a first time cruiser that would he helpful. Thank you so much. Welcome to the boards! This may get moved to excursion section. First, I will answer with the Caveat that restrictions will be lifted where you can do shore excursions on your own. I have been to 2 of the 4 locations, St Maarteen and St Luica St Maarten, we rented a car and did a tour on our own. It was the only island we visited on our cruise where people drove on the right hand side of street. The round abouts can be a little tricky but manageable. Went to Maho Beach to watch the planes fly over the beach. Drove up to Fort Amsterdam and explored several beaches and then enjoyed a lunch at one of the beach side BBQ places. St Lucia. we did a land and sea tour with Edmunds Tours. Great Tour. Waterfall...exciting boat ride and ended with snorkeling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reigert2008 Posted May 12, 2021 Report Share Posted May 12, 2021 We are also booked on the Explorer for a Southern Caribbean. She's a great ship and we were on her for Alaska once. It is totally a great mix of offerings from across the fleet so a good way to try it out. I also recommend that you research each excursion listed in the cruise planner to get an idea of the types of things that may be available. We have only done one excursion (the train in Alaska), since we just like to wander around the ports when we visit ad checkout the area. We also typically get back on the ship in the early afternoon and take advantage of things while the ship is a little less crowded. As many have said, there is no wrong way to do a cruise, so figure out what you like and want to do and go for it! Stay Safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted May 12, 2021 Report Share Posted May 12, 2021 St Lucia we did the boat tour (JJ SPeedboat Tours I think) instead of the land tours. Saw all the same things, just most of the travel was by boat. One of the few excursions I've ever done that I would without hesitation do again. Even if only for the rum punch (or, when the rum punch runs out, just rum) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UNCFanatik Posted May 12, 2021 Report Share Posted May 12, 2021 17 minutes ago, smokeybandit said: St Lucia we did the boat tour (JJ SPeedboat Tours I think) instead of the land tours. Saw all the same things, just most of the travel was by boat. One of the few excursions I've ever done that I would without hesitation do again. Even if only for the rum punch (or, when the rum punch runs out, just rum) The Rum Punch I had on St Lucia was 95% rum and 5% punch it seemed. But it was mighty tasty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reigert2008 Posted May 12, 2021 Report Share Posted May 12, 2021 As a first time cruiser, you may want to stick to excursions offered by Royal (if no restrictions), as you get your "sea legs" then you can venture out to 3rd parties. It will be one less thing to think about, particular if a port gets canceled for some reason. In my experience, the price of the cruise excursions has not been too far from what the 3rd parties offer, but YMMV. Of course, if you know of a reputable 3rd party and can do the research that should work as well. Stay Safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DandA Posted May 12, 2021 Report Share Posted May 12, 2021 There has been a lot of good advice given, My #1 advice is don't be late getting back to the ship! I like to study the deck plans so I know where everything is especially my favorite places (i.e. Schooner Bar, Cafe Latitudes). I also recommend watching some you tube videos of the ship tours, I'm the kind of person that likes to walk out of my cabin and know that I need to walk aft and go up 3 decks to get to point A. I saw a video once of a couple on embarkation day who had no clue where anything was and spent several hours wondering the ship first up then down the fwd then aft. They began to get frustrated before they found what they were looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRebecca Posted May 12, 2021 Report Share Posted May 12, 2021 Welcome! I found some of the most useful information on port stop options right here on these boards by searching the port name in the excursions section. You're definitely in the right spot to get some good information! Enjoy the research part of your journey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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