From: fosterag on

My better half and I are taking a two week back-to-back cruise out of
San Juan in October. The only excursion we've committed yet is a creole
cooking school in Dominica. I was hoping someone would have some good
ideas to consider on the other stops. We're stopping at
Curacao,Aruba,St. Thomas(Patsy wants to maybe do a tram),Barbados(second
leg);St Lucia,
Antigua,StMaarten, St Croix, then on to San Juan. This cruise is on
RCCL Serenade with whom we've cruised before.I'me in favor mostly in
walking ashore and doing a little shopping.
Does anyone know of a special place on these islands where a taxi or
ship excursion might go?
Thanks,
Fosterag


--
fosterag
Message origin: TRAVEL.com

From: gmbeasley on
On Tue, 3 Aug 2010 18:17:54 -0500, fosterag
<fosterag.4f589r(a)no-mx.forums.travel.com> wrote:

>
>My better half and I are taking a two week back-to-back cruise out of
>San Juan in October. The only excursion we've committed yet is a creole
>cooking school in Dominica. I was hoping someone would have some good
>ideas to consider on the other stops. We're stopping at Curacao,Aruba,
>St. Thomas(Patsy wants to maybe do a tram),Barbados(second leg);St Lucia,
>Antigua,StMaarten, St Croix, then on to San Juan. This cruise is on
>RCCL Serenade with whom we've cruised before.I'me in favor mostly in
>walking ashore and doing a little shopping.

>Does anyone know of a special place on these islands where a taxi or
>ship excursion might go?
>Thanks,
>Fosterag

In Curacao I enjoyed the Willemstad Trolley tour and also a tour to
Bloemhof plantation and then to the botanical garden. We also went on
a tour which went to the museum, the caves and the Seniors Curacao
factory which is where the authentic blue Curacao liqueur is made from
the dried peel of Curacao golden oranges. I have also just gotten a
taxi into town, done some shopping and then walked back across the
pontoon bridge and taken a taxi back to the ship. You might be able
to walk it, but I couldn't. If it is a Sunday, the shops may be
closed - you need to check.

Aruba - friends of ours went to the casino here and missed the boat
because she didn't have the correct time on her watch. What we
enjoyed the most was renting a car and driving around the island.

St. Thomas - the tour I liked best here was the BOSS tour (snorkel
scooters). If it is good weather you can take the Paradise Point
Skyride which is near Havensight. Except for that, I don't know of a
tram tour. The Coral World aquarium is also nice. You can also get a
taxi tour of the islands. We also like to take a taxi to Red Hook and
take the ferry to St. John and walk around there, shop, have lunch and
then take the ferry back to Charlotte Amalie.

Barbados has lots of things to do. Almost too many to list. There is
a bunch of shops outside the port or you can take the shuttle into
town and walk around on your own. The best place to go though is the
Museum which is a bit off the beaten track. We've also enjoyed tours
that went to the Orchid Gardens, St. Johns Church and Sunbury
Plantation House. If it is open, the Harrison's Cave has an electric
tram. I also like St. Nicholas Abbey which is a local great house
(not a religious place)

St. Lucia - there is a rainforest tram here, but I've only been here
once so can't help much.

Antigua - we took a ship tour to Nelson's Dockyard the first visit but
the tour I REALLY liked was the helicopter tour over to Montserrat
where the volcano is erupting.

St. Maartin - the tour I liked best was called tour was called the
Natural Wonders Tour, and it was to be 3.5 hours. The first place we
went (at 12:30) was to the St. Maarten Park, which has the biggest
exhibit of exotic parrots in the Caribbean. A nice blond girl took us
on a tour. It turned out to be a zoo somewhat like the zoo in Belize.
It apparently was started by someone who had or acquired a male baboon
(neutered) as an alternative to having him displayed in downtown
Philipsburg. Now the Park has various former pets, and some endangered
species breeding programs. The baboon is still there and he has a
female in the cage with him - she was in season, but of course he
couldn't do anything about it. Our guide said the female was quite
proud of her red bottom (which showed that she was in season) and
would stick it onto the cage bars to show it off. But sometimes the
male would make her stop that. There were lots of birds. Most of the
rest of the tour the guide pointed out various plants on St. Maarten.
She also passed various plant parts and pictures around so we could
see them sort of like a 7th grade field trip. (This is a compliment)

Another time we went, we rented a car (they have places right on the
pier) so we could drive to various boatyards and I wanted to go to the
French side, but couldn't figure out how to get there. The stores etc
on the French side will be closed if it is Sunday. We have also taken
the water taxi over to Phillipsburg and shopped a bit.

St. Croix we took an island tour which stopped in Christensted - they
have a National Park Site - Fort and a church plus a bookstore etc.

When we stopped in San Juan I got a private guide named Marian Balbin
to take us out to the El Yunque Rainforest (this is a US National
Forest - there is a film narrated by Jimmy Smits like ones that most
National Parks have except it was both in English and Spanish. She
took us to waterfalls and other sites in the forest and then she did a
little tour of the old city and we went to Fort Cristobal. Guides in
PR have to pass an exam to be licensed and Marion was very good - she
lived in NYC for most of her life.

From: Runge 124 on
Marion was very good - she
lived in NYC for most of her life.
Lol

Our guide said the female was quite
> proud of her red bottom (which showed that she was in season
Fascinating

I wanted to go to the
> French side, but couldn't figure out how to get there.
Duh.


<gmbeasley(a)mindspring.com> a �crit dans le message de groupe de discussion :
sgfh5610q4u0iunatmall9hhsk8mracdqi(a)4ax.com...
> On Tue, 3 Aug 2010 18:17:54 -0500, fosterag
> <fosterag.4f589r(a)no-mx.forums.travel.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>My better half and I are taking a two week back-to-back cruise out of
>>San Juan in October. The only excursion we've committed yet is a creole
>>cooking school in Dominica. I was hoping someone would have some good
>>ideas to consider on the other stops. We're stopping at Curacao,Aruba,
>>St. Thomas(Patsy wants to maybe do a tram),Barbados(second leg);St Lucia,
>>Antigua,StMaarten, St Croix, then on to San Juan. This cruise is on
>>RCCL Serenade with whom we've cruised before.I'me in favor mostly in
>>walking ashore and doing a little shopping.
>
>>Does anyone know of a special place on these islands where a taxi or
>>ship excursion might go?
>>Thanks,
>>Fosterag
>
> In Curacao I enjoyed the Willemstad Trolley tour and also a tour to
> Bloemhof plantation and then to the botanical garden. We also went on
> a tour which went to the museum, the caves and the Seniors Curacao
> factory which is where the authentic blue Curacao liqueur is made from
> the dried peel of Curacao golden oranges. I have also just gotten a
> taxi into town, done some shopping and then walked back across the
> pontoon bridge and taken a taxi back to the ship. You might be able
> to walk it, but I couldn't. If it is a Sunday, the shops may be
> closed - you need to check.
>
> Aruba - friends of ours went to the casino here and missed the boat
> because she didn't have the correct time on her watch. What we
> enjoyed the most was renting a car and driving around the island.
>
> St. Thomas - the tour I liked best here was the BOSS tour (snorkel
> scooters). If it is good weather you can take the Paradise Point
> Skyride which is near Havensight. Except for that, I don't know of a
> tram tour. The Coral World aquarium is also nice. You can also get a
> taxi tour of the islands. We also like to take a taxi to Red Hook and
> take the ferry to St. John and walk around there, shop, have lunch and
> then take the ferry back to Charlotte Amalie.
>
> Barbados has lots of things to do. Almost too many to list. There is
> a bunch of shops outside the port or you can take the shuttle into
> town and walk around on your own. The best place to go though is the
> Museum which is a bit off the beaten track. We've also enjoyed tours
> that went to the Orchid Gardens, St. Johns Church and Sunbury
> Plantation House. If it is open, the Harrison's Cave has an electric
> tram. I also like St. Nicholas Abbey which is a local great house
> (not a religious place)
>
> St. Lucia - there is a rainforest tram here, but I've only been here
> once so can't help much.
>
> Antigua - we took a ship tour to Nelson's Dockyard the first visit but
> the tour I REALLY liked was the helicopter tour over to Montserrat
> where the volcano is erupting.
>
> St. Maartin - the tour I liked best was called tour was called the
> Natural Wonders Tour, and it was to be 3.5 hours. The first place we
> went (at 12:30) was to the St. Maarten Park, which has the biggest
> exhibit of exotic parrots in the Caribbean. A nice blond girl took us
> on a tour. It turned out to be a zoo somewhat like the zoo in Belize.
> It apparently was started by someone who had or acquired a male baboon
> (neutered) as an alternative to having him displayed in downtown
> Philipsburg. Now the Park has various former pets, and some endangered
> species breeding programs. The baboon is still there and he has a
> female in the cage with him - she was in season, but of course he
> couldn't do anything about it. Our guide said the female was quite
> proud of her red bottom (which showed that she was in season) and
> would stick it onto the cage bars to show it off. But sometimes the
> male would make her stop that. There were lots of birds. Most of the
> rest of the tour the guide pointed out various plants on St. Maarten.
> She also passed various plant parts and pictures around so we could
> see them sort of like a 7th grade field trip. (This is a compliment)
>
> Another time we went, we rented a car (they have places right on the
> pier) so we could drive to various boatyards and I wanted to go to the
> French side, but couldn't figure out how to get there. The stores etc
> on the French side will be closed if it is Sunday. We have also taken
> the water taxi over to Phillipsburg and shopped a bit.
>
> St. Croix we took an island tour which stopped in Christensted - they
> have a National Park Site - Fort and a church plus a bookstore etc.
>
> When we stopped in San Juan I got a private guide named Marian Balbin
> to take us out to the El Yunque Rainforest (this is a US National
> Forest - there is a film narrated by Jimmy Smits like ones that most
> National Parks have except it was both in English and Spanish. She
> took us to waterfalls and other sites in the forest and then she did a
> little tour of the old city and we went to Fort Cristobal. Guides in
> PR have to pass an exam to be licensed and Marion was very good - she
> lived in NYC for most of her life.
>
From: gmbeasley on
On Wed, 4 Aug 2010 07:34:33 +0200, "Runge 124" <philsa(a)bigfoot.com>
wrote:

> I wanted to go to the
>> French side, but couldn't figure out how to get there.
>Duh.
>
It was because of road construction. I wanted to go to Grand Case,
but we were just south of Marigot and all the roads going in that
direction had detours that led us back to Phillipsburg. If we went
all the way back there and went around the other way, we probably
would have had no problem, but we had to turn in the car in time to
get back to the ship on time.
>
><gmbeasley(a)mindspring.com> a �crit dans le message de groupe de discussion :
>sgfh5610q4u0iunatmall9hhsk8mracdqi(a)4ax.com...
>> On Tue, 3 Aug 2010 18:17:54 -0500, fosterag
>> <fosterag.4f589r(a)no-mx.forums.travel.com> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>My better half and I are taking a two week back-to-back cruise out of
>>>San Juan in October. The only excursion we've committed yet is a creole
>>>cooking school in Dominica. I was hoping someone would have some good
>>>ideas to consider on the other stops. We're stopping at Curacao,Aruba,
>>>St. Thomas(Patsy wants to maybe do a tram),Barbados(second leg);St Lucia,
>>>Antigua,StMaarten, St Croix, then on to San Juan. This cruise is on
>>>RCCL Serenade with whom we've cruised before.I'me in favor mostly in
>>>walking ashore and doing a little shopping.
>>
>>>Does anyone know of a special place on these islands where a taxi or
>>>ship excursion might go?
>>>Thanks,
>>>Fosterag
>>
>> In Curacao I enjoyed the Willemstad Trolley tour and also a tour to
>> Bloemhof plantation and then to the botanical garden. We also went on
>> a tour which went to the museum, the caves and the Seniors Curacao
>> factory which is where the authentic blue Curacao liqueur is made from
>> the dried peel of Curacao golden oranges. I have also just gotten a
>> taxi into town, done some shopping and then walked back across the
>> pontoon bridge and taken a taxi back to the ship. You might be able
>> to walk it, but I couldn't. If it is a Sunday, the shops may be
>> closed - you need to check.
>>
>> Aruba - friends of ours went to the casino here and missed the boat
>> because she didn't have the correct time on her watch. What we
>> enjoyed the most was renting a car and driving around the island.
>>
>> St. Thomas - the tour I liked best here was the BOSS tour (snorkel
>> scooters). If it is good weather you can take the Paradise Point
>> Skyride which is near Havensight. Except for that, I don't know of a
>> tram tour. The Coral World aquarium is also nice. You can also get a
>> taxi tour of the islands. We also like to take a taxi to Red Hook and
>> take the ferry to St. John and walk around there, shop, have lunch and
>> then take the ferry back to Charlotte Amalie.
>>
>> Barbados has lots of things to do. Almost too many to list. There is
>> a bunch of shops outside the port or you can take the shuttle into
>> town and walk around on your own. The best place to go though is the
>> Museum which is a bit off the beaten track. We've also enjoyed tours
>> that went to the Orchid Gardens, St. Johns Church and Sunbury
>> Plantation House. If it is open, the Harrison's Cave has an electric
>> tram. I also like St. Nicholas Abbey which is a local great house
>> (not a religious place)
>>
>> St. Lucia - there is a rainforest tram here, but I've only been here
>> once so can't help much.
>>
>> Antigua - we took a ship tour to Nelson's Dockyard the first visit but
>> the tour I REALLY liked was the helicopter tour over to Montserrat
>> where the volcano is erupting.
>>
>> St. Maartin - the tour I liked best was called tour was called the
>> Natural Wonders Tour, and it was to be 3.5 hours. The first place we
>> went (at 12:30) was to the St. Maarten Park, which has the biggest
>> exhibit of exotic parrots in the Caribbean. A nice blond girl took us
>> on a tour. It turned out to be a zoo somewhat like the zoo in Belize.
>> It apparently was started by someone who had or acquired a male baboon
>> (neutered) as an alternative to having him displayed in downtown
>> Philipsburg. Now the Park has various former pets, and some endangered
>> species breeding programs. The baboon is still there and he has a
>> female in the cage with him - she was in season, but of course he
>> couldn't do anything about it. Our guide said the female was quite
>> proud of her red bottom (which showed that she was in season) and
>> would stick it onto the cage bars to show it off. But sometimes the
>> male would make her stop that. There were lots of birds. Most of the
>> rest of the tour the guide pointed out various plants on St. Maarten.
>> She also passed various plant parts and pictures around so we could
>> see them sort of like a 7th grade field trip. (This is a compliment)
>>
>> Another time we went, we rented a car (they have places right on the
>> pier) so we could drive to various boatyards and I wanted to go to the
>> French side, but couldn't figure out how to get there. The stores etc
>> on the French side will be closed if it is Sunday. We have also taken
>> the water taxi over to Phillipsburg and shopped a bit.
>>
>> St. Croix we took an island tour which stopped in Christensted - they
>> have a National Park Site - Fort and a church plus a bookstore etc.
>>
>> When we stopped in San Juan I got a private guide named Marian Balbin
>> to take us out to the El Yunque Rainforest (this is a US National
>> Forest - there is a film narrated by Jimmy Smits like ones that most
>> National Parks have except it was both in English and Spanish. She
>> took us to waterfalls and other sites in the forest and then she did a
>> little tour of the old city and we went to Fort Cristobal. Guides in
>> PR have to pass an exam to be licensed and Marion was very good - she
>> lived in NYC for most of her life.
>>