Port Zante at Basse Terre is another touristy area, and in fact was added on to this island to create the area and provide a dock for large ships. It's not quite as well-kept as Phillipsburg. I've read in many places that you'll be besieged by local with trained monkeys the minute you get off the ship. This wasn't our experience at all. We booked a tour on Grey's Island Tours. This time the cruisers were on island time, and we were delayed an hour waiting for everyone to arrive. Thenford Grey himself drove us around in another small, but comfortable air conditioned bus. He's a pleasant guy with an almost aristocratic demeanor, obviously well-educated with a terrific sense of humor. He's well versed in local history, culture, and politics. Mr Grey also has an encyclopedic knowledge of local plant life, which gives the tour of Romney Manor another dimension.Our first stop overlooked the bay where the Breeze was docked. The view was pretty, but there wasn't much to see. Next we drove up to the point on the island where the Atlantic and the Caribbean are divided. This is a breathtaking view. There are a couple of stands where you can buy cold drinks and souvenirs. We also did the monkey thing you hear so much about. To tell the truth, it was kind of fun.For me at least, the highlight was the tour of Fort St George on Brimstone Hill. This is quite a precarious drive, which Mr Grey handles well. For $5 you can rent a device which has a recorded tour. It's fascinating information, but save your money. You won't have time for it all. Make sure your cameras are charged. The fort itself will afford you some interesting pictures, but the views of the island and the ocean are magnificent. From there we went to Romney Manor (no relation), an historic sugar plantation, rum distillery, and botanical garden. There is also a factory making batik, an African method of dying cotton to produce some stunning designs. We bought one. There is wide variety of plant life both local and important, including a huge banyan tree. Here Mr Grey showed off his extensive of the flora.Our final stop was Frigate Bay. There are resorts there with wide beaches and chairs to rent, but it's pricey. We went to the other side to Shipwreck Bar & Grill. I can scratch one off the bucket list. I've always wanted to eat at an ocean restaurant where the beach is the floor. You can down a few stairs and sit on the beach or snorkel. There are even a couple of outdoor showers to wash off the salt. We didn't have time for that because lunch took over an hour. We ordered a burger, a chicken plate and some ribs. I was hoping for some local flavors, and while the food was well-grilled, it was nothing we couldn't find in the states; and the ribs must have come from the skinniest pig they could find. With red beans, rice, plantains, and a bucket of Carib the total came to $70. I'd go back for the atmosphere and nothing else.Overall we enjoyed the tour and would take another of the tours Mr Grey offers. We might also explore Frigate Bay on our own. Read Less

Took a taxi to Cockleshell Beach. Not a beautiful beach, but just average-looking. We had fun swimming and throwing a ball. Ate lunch at Spice Mill Restaurant right on the beach. Highly recommend!! Best jerk chicken ever!! good burgers & fries too. Read Less

St. Kitts – day at beachWe did not book any tour through the cruise. We planned on taking a taxi to a beach. Did not have much research done for this so I asked onboard. Our shopping lady said that taxi drivers will have pictures of the different beaches and you can pick where you want to go. We approached a taxi guy and looked at his pictures and told him what we were looking for. He suggested Cockleshell Beach. Our taxi driver, Daisy gave us some info on our drive, about 25 mins. She told us about where we were going and how much it was going to be. Taxi was $7 per person, one way. The guy gave me a 2 for 1 for the kids since they were small. The beach lady, Debbie had chairs available for $5 each with a free umbrella. She had some floaty stuff and snorkel equipment we could borrow and she sold some drinks and snacks. Nobody bothered you here. It was very secluded and the water was so clear. Very calm and there was lots of shells to collect. The sand was kind of black. They said it was from the volcano. We told Daisy what time we wanted to be picked up to go back to the ship and Debbie had it written down on a board. It was a very relaxing time. We saw fish and starfish right underneath us. For my family of 4 spending $52 to go the beach for the day was worth it compared to booking through the cruise at that same price for 1 person. On our drive back, Daisy stopped at a view overlook for photo ops. We saw the Atlantic one one side and the Caribbean on the other side. Best view ever! She didn’t do this on the way to the beach since she wanted us to get there and to get some chairs. The views were amazing. Shopping in St. Kitts was nice but the ladies working in the stores were not very friendly. Nice port and with stores and such. Read Less

We hadn't booked an excursion but got a taxi to a bay, that ranged from white to black sand, with the Atlantic on one side of the peninsular and the (warmer) Caribbean Sea on the other, our taxi driver gave us a guided tour en route and arranged to pick us back up to take us to the port Read Less

Basseterre (Port Zante) was a new port for us this cruise, so we didn't know what to expect. We stepped off of the ship and we were amazed by how beautiful the terminal area was. It was really nice, with ample shopping, taxis, and tour offerings. It sort of resembled what St. Maarten looks like, if not nicer. We went on a half-day island tour/half-day beach tour with a driver that found us almost immediately after we stepped out of the terminal. We went to the Botanical Gardens and saw that part of the island before going back in the taxi to the other side of the island to Frigate Beach. Our driver actually took us to the wrong beach, as we had wanted to go to FRIAR'S BEACH, not FRIGATE beach. But either way about 30 minutes after we got there, it started to pour and we left to go back to the ship then. Overall, it was a very nice island. Read Less

There is not much to see on St Kitts. We hired taxi driver ,Chris for an island tour, We had been previously and took the train. It was ok. Not much to see. Drinks and cake and relaxing view of the island.Chris was great. Informative and fun. We went to the batik factory. Lovely grounds. Lots of pretty batik item. Do buy when there. You will not find these items anywhere else.Chris taxi and tour service, he will drop you at the beach and pick you up. islanyute@gmail.com mini van with AC. Read Less

Brimstone Hill is worth seeing - very historical, great views and well kept. The secret of enjoying St. Kitts is to get a tour that takes you away from Basseterre, which is not the most picturesque place. Read Less

Dark sand, was very nice! Saw monkeys also! Read Less

Just walked around and shopped. It is a great location to do that. A lot of variety of shops and very clean. It was a very pleasant experience to sit and watch people, listen to the music playing and watching street performers. Read Less

We took a walk to Basseterre. The highlight for us was seeing the Catholic church which is very quaint and has old charm. Our walk was nice, but we regretted not taking an excursion. It's a beautiful island to explore. Read Less

Port town is ok, not much for shopping. Took a taxi tour which we bargained with and had a great tour. Read Less

We took a ferry to Nevis and went to four seasons . Would not do it again. Can't use the beach chairs or umbrellas as they are only for hotel guests. We only had option of 1 pm ferry to get back to st Kitts , which is really not enough time to spend on Nevis . So check ferry schedule carefully before leaving. When we got back to st Kitts we took a cab to Cockleshell beach . The time was getting tight and the cab was not cheap ( about $30 each way) but we were glad we did it. The beach was nice And they have a good beachfront Restaurant there with a good food. The deliver waited for us. We used taxi on st Kitts, Nevis , Grenada and st Tomas and had a good experience everywhere . People were extremely friendly and reliable . Don't be afraid to get a random cab. All drivers always came back for us even before arranged time and were very helpful . Read Less

Just did some shopping in the port area. Had some very good shopping and would recommend using here for any jewelry purchases. Nice port area and not bothered by too many vendors. Very windy day in port and would have been tough doing any water or sailing activities. Read Less

2 HUGE American Ships were in at the same time as us and we were definitely the poor relations and were the wrong side of the harbour for the shops! It was a half hour walk away! We did get a bus back! Read Less

As other cruisers have stated, this port has a bit more nagging once you step off the ship. The island itself is very beautiful but you can tell it is not built up yet like other places such as St. Thomas or St. Maarten. We decided to take a taxi to Cockleshell Beach. The beach was on the other side of the island so we had a nice little tour driving over to it. It was $7pp each way for the taxi. There were limited chairs and umbrellas at the beach so we just found a spot in the sand. The water was great for swimming and it was beautiful to see the sister island, Nevis across the bay. This beach did have the occasional guy trying to get you to take a picture with a monkey or lady trying to give you an aloe massage. Nonetheless, we still enjoyed our time here. Read Less

St. Kitts was the only place where we pre-booked a tour with Greg's Safaris! We had the tour to ourselves - 4 of us plus our very knowledgeable tour guide! We went to a plantation where he was able to tell us about all of the trees & plants, on to some small villages, and then in to the forest - which was amazing and peaceful! We were so excited to be surrounded by monkeys flying through the trees - we then went on to sugarcane fields and to some old sugarcane processing plants - we learned so much about the island. Our last stop was at a little church and then on to our ship. We would highly recommend Greg's Safaris - great day! Read Less

There are lot of Taxis on shore who can take you to a beautiful beach. We had a driver take us around the island with a drop off and pick up on Friar's beach. There are many people in the square with trained monkeys who will pose on you for a picture for a price (very cute). Overall, this is a beautiful island. We have been to this port twice and would come again. Read Less

Downtown Basseterre is busy and except for the Cathedral there's not much to see. Head to UNESCO World Heritage Site Brimstone Hill Fortress. It's a must see in Basseterre. It's a 30 min drive from the port and the cab cost us 50 USD (apparently it's the government set rate because we asked around and everybody gave us the same price). The exhibitions in the fort are not all that impressive but the view and the architecture of the place are what matters. It's worth the trip. Read Less

Once again, no excursion, only walking the town. The captain announced that an alarm had sounded as we were expecting to leave at 5 PM, which delayed departure by a half hour or so. Read Less

Lovely shopping just off the ship Read Less

I had read mixed reviews of St. Kitts, and it seemed the highlights were either Brimstone Fort (but we had already done forts in San Juan) or the overcrowded, pushy-vendor Cockleshell Beach (and we had already had some great beach/snorkeling days as well). We opted to take a 40-minute ferry out to the island of Nevis, which I'd heard was a truly beautiful, pristine, uncrowded beach - and that not many cruisers ventured out there, so it seemed like the kind of place we wanted to see... something "different". As mentioned in my full cruise review, this was the only regret of our trip. First, the ferries do not exactly follow the schedule, and the 9:30am ferry left 40 minutes late. Upon arriving in Nevis, we could see Pinney's Beach off to the left of the ferry dock - about a mile walk each way, most of which was a paved walkway (then a 10-15 minute walk along a street that wound around a neighborhood of sorts). No problem, we were prepared for that. What we weren't prepared for was the 1/4- to 1/2-mile stretch of run down, abandoned shacks we had to walk past in the "neighborhood" area mentioned above (there is really no alternative route to this). This was the only time we felt a bit uncomfortable on this cruise, though nothing specific happened that made us feel "unsafe" - it just seemed a little TOO run down/abandoned for 2 women to be walking around alone. We were on the roadway but there was no sidewalk here, and upon reaching an clearly inhabited/operating hotel (resort) - which I knew would be the beginning of Pinney's Beach behind it. We walked between the buildings which seemed clean enough from the outside, but saw nothing but garbage and filth strewn throughout the common areas. It property smelled awful and we thought to ourselves "who the he** would stay here?" But, we only needed to get to the beach behind so kept walking through the property... only to find a concrete barrier blocking any access to the beach from this hotel. So, not only do people actually pay to sleep in this *beachside* hotel, but they can't actually walk through to the beach (seemed very weird to us). The concrete barrier was more of a combined retaining-slash-privacy wall, I think, but we could find no opening/stairs/pass-through of any kind. Since it was only about waist-high from the hotel side, and we are in semi-decent shape, we decided to just climb over and "jump" down to the beach area below (from the beach side, the concrete barrier was now about chest high). This end of the beach truly does not have much for population, but we could see some beach buildings and a long pier further down, just as I had read about on CC. We walked barefoot about 1/2 to 3/4 mi. down to the Four Seasons area, but only ever saw maybe 10 people on the beach itself. It WAS pretty, and it WAS un-crowded, but we just felt weird being there (and I generally love getting off the beaten track). There were 2 few beach bars along the way to this area, and a shack set up for renting water toys, etc., so I'm guessing maybe it gets busier on other days or in the late afternoons? We ended up walking through the grounds to the Four Seasons (which are truly beautiful, by the way) and visited their gift shop. We used their poolside restroom (which is more like an art museum - absolutely exquisite), then sat at their cabana bar and ordered a lemonade and virgin Pina Colada (only $16, including tip). The lemonade was THE BEST I've ever had, certainly fresh-squeezed, and my daugher loved the Pina Colada. After that, we decided to walk back along the beach and catch the next ferry back to St. Kitts - which of course, we saw pulling away just as we walked up to the dock. Bought tickets for the next one (only 45 minutes later, thankfully) and then sat in the port area being harrassed by a local pervert who made some very suggestive propositions to my daughter. Of course we tried politely walking away, toward the open-air bar area, through a little gift shop area, etc., but he seemed to keep following us and we finally just went to stand in the sun near the port authority/security guard at the dock. Lo and behold, the "pervert" ended up being a local luggage porter for the ferry co., and he ended up going through the gate with us and working just outside the ferry steps - thus enabling him to make one more proposition to my daughter as we boarded. We ended up wishing we had just stayed in St. Kitts and had wandered around the very nice and clean shopping area near the port, which we DID get to spend some time doing before our all-aboard time of 4:30pm. I'm guessing the people who went to Cockleshell Beach had a much better time, and if I find myself on St. Kitts again that's exactly where I'll be heading. Read Less

Went to Cockleshells Beach for a Beach Day. Nice beach with a good view of Nevis. A bit rocky to get into the water so water shoes would be nice. good snorkeling so bring your snorkel gear. Saw 6 lobsters about 30 yards from shore. You can also rent horses to ride if interested. Good beach bar for drinks and lunch. There are ladies on the beach giving aloe massages for $40 for 30 min. You can offer $25 for 30 min and they will accept. The ride is about 20 minutes from the port at $7pp each way. Read Less

This island is not built up as yet. The beaches are great, but the shopping is very limited. We spent the day at the Marriot and really enjoyed the beach and the facilities. It was worth paying the extra for the day pass. Read Less

We opted for our own tour out to the beach. After getting through the port gate we were accosted by lots of guys with baby monkeys and offers to take you somewhere. It was a bit overwhelming. The local police are there to make sure the drivers don't cross the line and are treating the tourists okay. We had one policeman question a driver named Scooby and said he is legit and if hes not, come tell me after. So off we went with Scooby to the beach. We negotiated first and I want to say it was like $6/person to get there and back with our group of 8. We went to the black sand beach and I'm sorry I can't remember the name of this one. It's been three weeks and I did so much research it's all fading. The beach area was very small on the end we were at. We rented to sets of chairs and umbrellas for $10 (two chairs and an umbrella). There were lots of shells on the beach and out in the water for the kids to hunt for. It was a good beach for that. I read about the amazing array of aqua life here and I believe they all enjoyed it but I didn't go out. There were several little bar and grills on this stretch of beach some nicer than others. We ate at the one down on our end and it was actually really good food. There were wild monkeys and mongoose also there but they were in a different area and were used to the people and we didn't interact. I've never seen a wild mongoose! There were people offering massages and they are a bit aggressive and don't know when to accept no. They use fresh aloe limbs for the massage oil which was pretty neat. I got my feed and bottom legs rubbed for $10 for about 5 minutes. We told Scooby what time to come get us and he was back promptly waiting on us. We didn't pay him until we got back to port. We all loved the downtime of the beach and hanging out. The people trying to shove monkeys on you is a little annoying at the port. All to make a buck with your picture being taken. Read Less

Took a taxi ride to Carambola (South Friar's Beach) $4/per person for shared cab ride of 4+persons. Quiet and calm, pricey food and chair/umbrella rentals ($10/each rental) but overall great serene experience and very clean facility. Tranquility was very valued with no vendors on the beach!! We heard from others that Cockleshell was nothing compared to this. One of our favorite days on the cruise. Read Less