JDG2020

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

No excursion but the terminal is nice.

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

My favorite tour ever! Boat ride to The Baths at Virgin Gorda, we get snorkels, masks, blow-up vests, and swim fins. Jump in and swim and snorkel a short way to the beach. Then there’s a hike through the giant boulders - there are places where you have to stoop and/or move around the boulders. There are steps and they’re sometimes slippery. It was not that difficult but it was hot and steamy as we walked through the caves formed by the rocks. Plus, you have to carry your snorkel gear including fins and mask (I just kept my vest on). I’ve heard people say it’s too crowded, but we were the only ship in port when our tour started. If it had been more crowded, the tour would not have been fun. After the hike, we came out at another beach where there was a small bar and bathrooms. From there, we snorkeled about 300 yards back to our boat. This distance was not a problem because we had plenty of time to snorkel, take pictures, etc. on the way back to the boat.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Port was nice. We booked the Old and New San Juan tour through Celebrity because we had not been there before. At the first fort, the guide dumped us out and said to be back in 50 minutes. Several people were late getting back (6 people got lost in the fort), and the guide bitched about them, almost left them, but waited 5 minutes until they showed up. At the next stop (the fort on the sea), the guide said “you have 20 minutes, 20 U.S. minutes.” My friend and I returned after 15 minutes and the bus, the guide, and all the other tour people were gone! Did we both mishear what the guide said? My friend says no way, but they were ALL GONE. We were on the verge of panic (strange city, etc.) but another tour bus with the same company (through MSC cruise) had 2 extra seats and they let us on. We happily boarded and thought it was the same tour, however it kept getting later and later and our tour would have been over because we had dinner reservations at Barrachina at 7pm with friends from the ship. We had to exit the tour (guide was not pleased). Of course, we were on the other side of the island, and it’s not that easy to get a cab. We went to the Vanderbilt hotel (beautiful, by the way), and they called a cab for us. $20 later and only 5 minutes late, we arrived at Barrachina. Gus, the guide for bus #18, is the one who left us, btw. Celebrity would not refund our tour because Gus told them we were late and they considered us “whole” because we were clever enough to beg to get on another bus. They did refund the $20 for the cab ride.

Nassau, Bahamas

We did not visit Nassau because our ship sailed to Freeport to give food, water, generators, etc. after they were destroyed by Hurricane Dorian. We were all proud to be on Celebrity as they ga e aid to Freeport.

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

Tour through Celebrity to Trunk Bay on St. John. Wow! So beautiful! They say you can snorkel and follow a “trail” on the sea bottom, but it’s not that easy. This was an inexpensive tour, and I’ll pay more next time to get a guide and not just a bus ride. We went to Magen’s Bay last year, and Trunk Bay might be even more beautiful.

Celebrity Equinox

Try to get a hump/slant balcony and ask for loungers. Fill out the XPress pass on the app, including pictures, and you’ll sail through boarding.

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

Frederiksted, St. Croix, U.S.V.I.

Celebrity Equinox

Always choose the Equinox! I loved this ship.

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas