Some Issues, but Very Good Overall - Eastern Caribbean "Ports" Review by seasickcruisefan

Welcome To CruiseCritic.com | Stay on CruiseCritic.com Go to Cruise Critic UK Close X

Member Reviews
Home > Member Reviews > seasickcruisefan's Port Reviews of Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Maarten, St. Thomas

seasickcruisefan's Port Reviews of Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Maarten, St. Thomas
Carnival Valor cruise in September 2012

Member Name:	seasickcruisefan
Cruise Date:	September 2012
Embarkation:	Miami
Destination:	Eastern Caribbean
Member Review:	seasickcruisefan's Carnival Valor Review

	Grand Turk Port Rating: We loved this port. This is what I think of when I imagine what a cruise line private island is like. Pretty much nothing to do but lay on the beach and play on the water. This is exactly what we wanted. There were plentiful, free beach loungers, many in the shade. The snorkeling was great. We even saw an old canon in the water. Very laid back. There were waiters from the nearby Margaritaville who would offer food and drink. There were some excursions available, mostly for snorkeling. And there was a very nice pool at Margaritaville to use, but they were doing a pool party-type thing for the party crowd so we skipped that. We had a great time there.
More Grand Turk Reviews	Grand Turk Port Profile	Grand Turk Forum



	San Juan Port Rating: We also enjoyed this port. We hopped on a city tour bus as we debarked, and had a nice 2-hour guided tour and saw the sights - all for a fraction of the price of the same excursion booked on the ship. Afterwards, we did some shopping and headed back to the ship.
More San Juan Reviews	San Juan Port Profile	San Juan Forum



	St. Maarten Port Rating: As you can probably tell, we usually don't book excursions on the ship. Here we rented a car for the day for about $60 and drove around the entire island. Our first stop was the Butterfly Farm. Wonderful place and very friendly, pleasant folks there. Highly recommended. They even provide complimentary rum punch. Yum!!! After that we headed to a nearby beach and did some snorkeling, then made our way around the rest of the island. This island is beautiful.
More St. Maarten Reviews	St. Maarten Port Profile	St. Maarten Forum



	St. Thomas Beach Break Rating: Coki Beach - Amazing. GREAT for families. Island Tour Rating: Our Taxi driver took us on a tour on our way back from Coki Beach. Paradise Point Skyride Rating: This was our favorite port. Our first stop was the Paradise Point tram. Wow, you get the most amazing views from there! There's a bar and some shopping at the top as well as some animals to see and a ferris wheel. It's a little run down, but still nice to do. Everyone we encountered there were VERY friendly. After that we hopped in a taxi and made our way to Coki Beach. WOW. This was the best snorkeling we'd ever seen. Nice small beach, with waiters to bring food and drink. You can also rent snorkel gear there and they have showers so you can wash off the salt before you leave. Our cab driver picked us back up at our agreed upon time then took us on a island tour and stopped several times so we could take pictures - even Blackbeard's castle. Again, we did this all on our own. There was no need to book these through the ship. We saved a boat-load (pun intended) of money this way.
More St. Thomas Reviews	St. Thomas Port Profile	St. Thomas Forum

Thank You For Signing Up!