What kinds of things do you like to do? Some people love beach days, others want to hike, others to shop, others to learn about history, etc, etc.

We did not particularly like Aruba, but it was fun to rent a little four wheel drive and drive on the roadless side of the island. On Barbados, we took a tour with cab and the walked around Bridgetown. Thought Barbados was very nice. On another trip we went to a rum factory and spent time on the beach. On Antigua we went to Nelson's Dock Yard. Very nice for those interested in History. Also bought some of the nicest rum I have had - Antigua Cavalier Rum. Most islands may only need a walk around.

What about St.Lucia? Want to see Pitons but not a beachy person plus cannot go to volcano as highly allergic to sulphur.

In Aruba we took a snorkeling trip that included a stop at a coral reef, a stop at a shipwreck, and a narrated tour of the harbor.

In St. Thomas, we've done a self-guided historical walking tour, spent 1/2 day at Coral World, taken the ferry to St. John for an island tour by jitney. Many people like to shop in St. Thomas, especially for jewelry and linens.

In Barbados, we went to a botanical garden with multiple walking paths and to a histocial site, the name of which I can't remember.

We often do research to figure out what we want to see and then negotiate with a cab driver when we get off the ship to take us to those places.

In St. Thomas our group of 6 did a private yacht sail. It was excellent! There was another group of 4 onboard as well so only 10 people! www.stjohndaysail.com.

Aruba we did the ship wreck snorkel trip through the cruise ship. The catamaran was very crowded and also several other ship excursions at the same place, same time. Much too crowded. ..would not do it again.

the day-sail on st.johns looks great, but $250 plus tips is high for us. does anyone know of any 1/2 day-sails (less expensive) on ANY of the islands on this cruise? also, on these islands, can anyone tell us any hotels that we can stay at (for a fee) for most of a day?

First of all I love this route. The so. Caribbean is wonderful in opinion. I can recommend excellent private tour operators on Antigua and St. Lucia. We used these guys and were very impressed. I am friends on facebood with Gordon in Antigua as is my son and was so impressed with spencer in St. Lucia that I made a draft in eastern Carib. dollars upon our return and sent him some xtra money. These guys will take care of you. You can prearrange and tailor a tour to your liking, they will pick you up on the dock and escort you in a nice van with a cooler full of local fruit, pop, H2O and beer and will be much less $$ than what the ship will charge.
http://www.spencerambrose.com/
http://www.tourguidegordon.com/

Some of the cruise ships depart San Juan late at night, so if you have a chance before the cruise to explore Old San Juan, I'd highly encourage it. There is a free trolley you can hop on, and many historical and cultural sights, restaurants, and shops all within walking distance from the port. Try to get to either of the 2 forts: El Morro or San Cristobal. And you can even get free samples of rum across from the port at Casa Don Q.
For St Thomas, we read through all the private tours offered and decided against them because we were not really interested in hours of shopping. This was one time when one of the ship's tours offered a much better itinerary for a really good price. We enjoyed the sightseeing, 2 hours at Magen's Bay (amazingly beautiful beach), and then on to Blackbeard's Castle. We loved the history, antiques, and gardens at restored colonial manor houses, and then we people watched and strolled along Main Street before catching the ferry to take us back to the ship. It was a very full day and ended up being one of the best of the cruise, so do look carefully at your tour options.

The island of St. Lucia is quite a remarkable place, and quite different from the other islands my husband and I have been to. Compared to one of our all time Favorite's Barbados it really is all encompassing and has an amazing assortment of excursions which can be appreciated when touring with local guides. On our last visit we used Real St. Lucia Tours http://realstluciatours.com/ who was referred to us by the travel agent we've been using for 6 years. We certainly were not disappointed in the number of things we were able to do in a few hours. My husband loves the beach and he had the opportunity to snorkel at the Jalousie "Now Sugar Beach" site. The volcano is also a treat as you get to cover yourself with the black mud, they say it's therapeutic , personally I think it's fun.

If you are having second thoughts about exploring this island don't, you will be glad you did.

Hope this helps..

Mary

marykula, the OP's trip was 2 1/2 years ago.