We booked our next cruise for spring break... Any relative information on the places we are visiting?? ?

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phantom_of_valkyrie

Aruba was a gorgeous port of call. Look over the list of shore excursions listed and tell us which ones are most interesting to you. We could help better that way. The port is a nice mall though but you definitely should take a shore excursion there. Avoid anything dumb like a Beach Break. Those are always an extreme waste. You get a cab to a beach (which you could have done on your own to a better beach) and then everything is another $50. You are bothered endlessly by people wanting to know if you want to rent the jetski or go parasailing.

I've never been to Bonaire or Grenada.

Dominica is a wild life preserve. When I was there it was the most boring port in the world. They list this one shore excursion about 50 times but when you are hiking up to that waterfall, all 2000 on your boat will be there too. The waterfall isn't gorgeous and breathtaking with 2000 people trying to get a picture at it. No chance to see any wild life either. In my opinion, it's the worst island I've ever been to. I don't know how many shore excursions you were planning on doing but if I ever go back to Dominica, I'm staying on the boat. Cheaper spa days when you are in port and if you lay out by the pool, it's like having your own private waiter.

St Thomas I've been to many times. I love it. It's my favorite port. What did you do last time? If you are planning to do any shopping at all, St Thomas is the best choice for that. Great deals on liquor, on jewelry. Tons of stuff to walk around and see. I rarely take a shore excursion here. Next time I want to do the ski lift up to the top.
http://stthomasskyride.com/

But there is definitely no shortage of things to do in St Thomas. And as the cruise port is right in town, I usually walk around and find things on my own. Though Megan's Bay is a great shore excursion for some peace and quiet.

What are your interests? If you are snorkeling, I'd avoid doing that at Dominica and St Thomas. The snorkeling isn't that great there. However I used to have my scuba certification and Bonaire was always listed as a top scuba destination so I imagine the snorkeling would be best there as well. What do you normally do? Are you active or not? Into shopping or not? Give us a bit more to go on please.

Read cruise critic like everyone said as well but Grenada holds the most interest to me having never been there. It looks gorgeous. I'd definitely take a shore excursion there. One of my favorite shore excursions is a kayak rental though. You get some great pictures and get to see the area from the water.

luludoodie

Look up all the reviews.
Look at the shore excursions offered on Princess's website.
Decide what you would like to do/visit.
Then organise your own hire car. Cruise line shore excursions are extortionate, poor value for money and you miss the things you would really like to see/do.
A hire car for the day will cost you less than 2x excursions and be much better fun than being stuck in a coach! You can also stay out longer and if staying at one place overnight you just book 2 days!

Kristina L

I've not been to many of these but I'll tell you about the two that I do know.

San Juan, PR - I spent a week in PR a few years back. Since you'll be departing from here, you'll have some time to play if you go a day or two early. If you enjoy hiking, the El Yungue National Forest is a must. Be sure to have your bathing suit because there are waterfalls where you can swim. It's so beautiful here. Also, Old San Juan with the old Forts and unique architecture is very interesting. If you get there with enough time, do a kayak trip in the bio luminescent bay in Fajardo. Arecibo is pretty interesting too.

St Thomas - I get off the boat and get right back on another one to go to St Johns Island and the Virgin Islands National Park. It's so cool. If you take a guided tour of the part you'll learn some incredibly interesting things about the island. Just be careful not to step in the wild donkey poo - yes they have wild donkeys. It's a very cool place.

Anonom

Hi,
I recommend that you visit this site:
http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=303

They have hundreds of reviews about your ship and many have island-by-island reviews.

drtravelfoxes

I agree with the first responder.."cruise critic" or similar board will get you better answers.

sometimes you can eve link up with those on your cruise.

flyer talk forums is not bad for all kinds of travel.

MomSezNo

If you're looking for RELEVANT information, you might want to go to CruiseCritic.com, click on "Boards", then go to "Ports of Call". You'll find lots of great info from past cruisers.

In Aruba, the Jolly Roger trip is fun [you may or may not be able to book it on your own]. Bonaire is known for snorkeling, though I haven't been there, yet! In Dominica, the Wacky Rollers canopy tour is fantastic. Again, you may or may not be able to book this on your own, depending on the ship you're on. At St. Thomas, I'd go right to St. John. It's rather a hassle to do on your own, but you get to go right where you want to go and spend as much time as you like. You could do a short [one-mile] easy hike on the Linde Point trail from the NPS office and get to two deserted beaches. Then either hike back to the ferry or hike further to Caneel Bay and grab a cab back to the ferry. The ferries leave from either Red Hook or Charlotte Amalie. You can find the schedules at vinow.com. Don't be late - the ship won't wait for you unless you're on one of their tours.

Have fun.

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