Southern Caribbean Cruise

I just returned from a cruise with some of your destinations on the itinerary. I was in St. Thomas 10 years ago and did a DIY historical tour. This is published in the guide you can pick up in the Havensight Mall Tourist Information Office. (also they have good free wifi). Magen's Bay is the most frequented tourist beach - and because it is so, they have got the services up and running there after last summer's hurricanes.
I will admit to staying on board in St. Kitts. They parked us at the cargo dock instead of in town and the shuttles were infrequent.
Antigua has 365 beaches (so they claim), so Cruise Critic or TripAdvisor can offer beach per beach reviews. I intended to take the local bus to one of the beaches (Darkwood), but it showered on and off all day so instead, I took the local #17 bus to English Harbour and Nelson's Dockyard. The buses leave when full, so pack your patience. But for $3-4 return trip, it is an interesting drive through much of the island. If you go to Nelson's Dockyard, there is a bakery behind the museum - try the meatballs and/or pineapple pastry.
As for beaches, Darkwood, Ffryes, Jolly Harbour, Runaway - all are enjoyed and taxi accessible from port (or bus).

Thank you Maria. We think of Caribbean being all sunshine, but yes, we need to plan just in case we do get a rainy day.

Peter, November is still part of the rainy season. You may have more dry days in January. But the best thing is to take some of those clear travel rain ponchos. They cover a lot without getting over heated. Good for keeping backpacks or shopping covered as well. Buy a few unless you are prepared to hang them to dry and fold them up again. I have some I have re used for several trips.

We did the same islands several years ago. I used Cruise Critic to find recommendations for local taxi drivers and guides for Antigua, Barbados, and St. Kitts. We did one of the cruise line tours to St John from St Thomas. In Antigua, we loved Jolly Beach and it isn't that far from the port. The water was gorgeous. In Barbados, we went to two botanical gardens that were very beautiful.

We are not beach people when we travel, since we live on St. Simons Island, Georgia. However, there are some great beaches in the Caribbean.

We enjoyed our Southern Caribbean cruise that visited Aruba, Curacao were nice. We loved St. Lucia the most. Grenada was great and we thought St. Lucia and Grenada to be the most authentic Caribbean islands. Barbados and Antigua were memorable and The US Virgin Islands, St. Thomas and St. John have wonderful beaches along with lots of history. St. Martin is OK, but I think it has nice beaches.

Thank you Barbara N and geovagriffith and diveloonie. We've added Jolly Beach and Secret Harbor Beach to our itinerary. It's good to hear about beaches that others have enjoyed and aren't so crowded with cruise passengers.

Just back from our Southern Caribbean cruise. Highlight of our trip was the private tour we took with Vicky at "More Than A Cab". Vicky is a wonderful tour guide - knowledgeable and personable and will tailor your tour to your particular interests. We visited Tet Paul nature trail, the sulphur springs mud baths, and the Botanical Gardens. Had no trouble taking taxis to the beaches at the other islands. Our favourites were Jolly Beach in Antigua and Brownes Beach in Barbados. We did the beaches in the morning and had no trouble renting chairs and umbrellas. But the beaches do get crowded after lunch.

Thanks for reporting back for future travelers!