I am going on a cruise to the Caribbean with some family and friends and will be the only surfer. I'm trying to bring a board but have never surfed any of these areas and was wondering if anyone had any info or tips in trying to do so. Below are the ports in which ill be: San Juan, Puerto Rico - 9 Jan. '13 - St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands - 10 Jan. '13 - Philipsburg, St Maarten - 11 Jan. '13 - Castries, St. Lucia - 12 Jan. '13 - Bridgetown, Barbados - 13 Jan. '13 - St. Johns, Antigua - 14 Jan. '13 I appreciate any feedback
a lot of those islands have surf. good luck finding it. try this out for surf maps of the carribbean: wannasurf.com
i am also going on a cruise in january but it starts friday the 18th of january and its going to Puerto Rico, Philipsburg, Netherlands Antilles, St Thomas, Virgin Islands - U.S, and Samana, Dominican Republic. i know for sure that puerto rico has many places near the port for me to surf and i have a list of 10 beaches for every island im going to because once i get on the cruise i wont have internet or service to lookup anything and wifi on the cruise is very expensive just like salt said that website wannasurf.com is exactly where i found every beach for each island and it tells u so much more about it whether its a beach break or reef. i just called up the cruise that im going on and they confirmed it that your are indeed allowed to bring a surfboard onboard but it will count as 1 of your 2 luggages, so next time research what your going to say
Hey. Most of those areas have surf, but you are not near the surf and won't have time to get to it in a day.
The key word in my post is "most" dipsh*t. Learn to read before getting your panties in a knot, frantically calling your cruise ship then rushing back to make your first post with a smartass response.
Classic Zippy! Your access to transportation is going to be the most limiting factor. Remember, these cruises are CARIBBEAN cruises, not ATLANTIC cruises. You will be going to port on the Carib side of each island and the most consistent waves are on the Atlantic sides unless there is a storm in the Carib. Best thing to do is bring a healthy rental car budget or get to know the bus lines really well before heading out. Cabs can work too. PR: Plenty of breaks within a 30 min drive of San Juan, highly dependent on winds. Barbados: South Point is about a 20 min drive from BT, Brandons is near there too. Batts Rock, Sandy Lane and Tropicana are about a 30 min drive North but could be much more depending on traffic. These are all West Coast spots and highly fickle--South Point being the most consistent. Soup Bowl is all the way across the island and takes a little over 45 min to get to from Bridgetown. You best take a cab--really easy to get lost. Don't know much about the others.
You will be rushing from the get go as your time at each place is usually limited. Just get dropped of in PR and become a castaway working your way towards the west. Do it man, just do it
IMHO don't bother. I have never been on a cruise, thank god, but my wife suffered through a few. Unless you are on a private boat with an open itinerary, you will not have time to surf. Maybe if the boat has one of those weird wave machines you can stoke it up. Other then that you board will just take up space in your 10x10 cell, uh room.
Appreciate the feedback - I've made it on the cruise with a single board (7'6") that fits right against the wall and its out of the way. We will only be in PR for 7 hours but will hit sunset within the first 3 so we'll see what happens. All the other ports will be all day long typically 9-4 which should give me enough time to get a good session in dependent on the transportation and wave of course. Thanks again
hey i will be going on a similar cruise in about 10 days where i will be stopping first at puerto rico at 3pm and departing 9pm, then second to Philipsburg, St Maarten from 8am to 6pm, and 3rd stop is St Thomas, Virgin Islands - U.S. i want to be prepared where to go right when i get to each island, i will be bring my 5'7 shortboard and surfing will be my priority.if you could tell me which beaches you went to, to surf so i can save a lot of time finding out what place i can and cant surf that would be great
