Southern Caribbean Jewelry Shopping

[slouman]

In January we will cruise the Southern Caribbean stopping at ports in Dominica, Antigua, Barbados, Tortola, and one other I can't remember at this point. We have been to the Western Caribbean many times and have done a lot of jewelry shopping ... always "haggling" over prices.

My question ... is similar jewelry shopping available in our ports of call on this cruise and if so, is "haggling" acceptable and expected just as in other ports?

Thanks,
Slouman

[penny3333]

Yes, you can haggle in those ports. The ports you have listed are not known for their jewelry, St. Thomas would be the place for that. There are jewelry shops, but not like St. Thomas. If you like snorkeling, the best snorkeling trip we've been on in the Caribbean so far has been in Dominica. We've done the Champagne Beach snorkel twice. Once on our own from the beach (definitely don't recommend that unless you like climbing over rocks) and once on a catamaran (wonderful excursion). You snorkel over a volcano vent, which makes the water look like a glass of champagne. We saw beautiful fish, squid, and a couple of turtles. You can honestly feel the difference in temperature when you're over the vent, as well. In Barbados, use Tiami, they have wonderful cats and the snorkel is a good trip. There is a shopping mall at the pier. The shopping in Tortola is in walking distance from the ship and there are a few jewelry stores there. The snorkeling there is great as well, we've done a couple sail/snorkels that went to Norman Island vicinity. There is a restaurant on the north side of the island on top of a hill where you can view the meeting of the Atlantic and the Caribbean, it is quite spectacular. There is also a bay (can't remember the name) with a good beach. We're going to Antigua for the first time in October, so I'll let you know what I find there when we get back. Hope this helps!

[DeanS]

Well of the ports you have listed I would prefer Antigua for snorkeling. Now everyone has their own preferences some like snorkeling trips from boats others prefer beach snorkels. I prefer beach snorkels myself. Some beach dives require a lot of work to get to the reef but Antigua is different. There are several areas around the island that have great snorkeling.

We thought we wanted to go to the half moon bay area but our taxi driver talked us out of it because it tends to be rough. So we went to Long Bay. This bay is on the north east side of the island and taxi cabs go to the area frequently. It is a protected cove and the reef is about 50 feet from the edge of the water.

One quick word on taxi's. The taxi's are all controlled on the island. Several independent operators will sneak past the taxi stand and try to hook up with you before you reach the outer edge of the docks. We found that a taxi was about half the price of the of the ship board excursion. The independent operators were about half of the regular taxi. We had a great experience. Be careful, if this is your first cruising experience you may want to stay with the ship board excursions. Hope you enjoy your cruise.