char wrote:
Hi there. . I'm a 1st time cruiser and going on the Explorer this
November w/ my Fiance and family and friends .. why?? I'm getting
married this November on the beach in St.Thomas when the ship docks for
day.

Congratulations.

Can anyone help and give me tips and pointers on what to do or
NOT do during our week long cruise which stops at San Juan, St.
Maarten, St.Thomas and Bahamas??

Tell us what kind of things you like to do. Do you want to plan things
revolving around the water? Are you into historic stuff? Is shopping
your thing?

Also, I want to give "welcome gift
bags" to my wedding guests either as they arrive at desk to check in or
have in their cabin waiting for them-- any ideas as to what I can put
in bags that won't be expensive and heavy as I'll have to bring in
suitcase with me? or any idea on how to do this??

Hmm. Well, getting the stuff into your guests' cabins shouldn't be too
tough, although you might not get it there before they go into their
cabins for the first time. With the help of the cabin stewards assigned
to the cabins, you should, for sure, be able to get stuff into the
cabins at the first night's turn-down cabin service. We've done this a
few times. Seek out the steward assigned to whatever cabin, ask them to
put the gift in the room, and that's it. We got a sense that they were
into the fun of the surprise. Maybe show up 5 or 10 minutes late for
that first evening meal. All your guests will be seated while you're
running around delivering gifts. The cabin stewards are usually out and
about at this time, too.

Your other option is to order something from the catalog that RCI has,
of gifts that can be delivered to the room - flowers, chocolate covered
strawberries, hors d'oeuvres, champagne, gift certificates for stuff on
board like casino, drinks, spa, etc. Usually, there will be a catalog
of stuff included with your cruise documents. Or, if you can't wait
until then, you can probably find what's available on RCI's website.

anyone's help .. any excursions that would be of interest? or to
avoid??

In St. Maarten, I think practically everyone has raved about both the
Golden Eagle Catamaran and the America's Cup Racing Yachts. I did the
catamaran, and it really was a lot of fun. Next time, I think I'm going
to taxi over to Marigot on the French side.

In San Juan, we took one of our very favorite excursions ever. It was
horseback riding on passo fino horses in Dorado, which was a bit of a
drive. We're usually pretty hesitant to book riding tours with
unfamiliar operators, because too often, the horses are in sorry shape,
not well cared for, and so used to the nose-to-tail kind of ride that
it's a bore. Not the case here. Horses were great, ride was great.

Aren't you busy getting married in St. Thomas? If you have a few hours
to hit a beach, I really like Coki for its great snorkeling, beach bar
and restaurant service and relaxed atmosphere. I think the cab is
something like $5-7 per person.

Bahamas - do you have a lot of time there? I don't know what your
itinerary is, but that port always seems to be either a morning or an
afternoon. Lots of people head over to Atlantis to check it out. I've
taken a really great snorkeling tour there. Or, you can just relax on
board - take advantage of discounted spa prices that often pop up on
port days.


Bringing about 25-30 people coming to wedding.

That should be great. We were lucky enough to attend a similar wedding
on Enchantment of the Seas last summer. We also had about that number
of people. The wedding was on Key West. For the most part, everyone did
their own thing during the day, but we all had dinner together each
night.

Best of luck to you. Post a review when you get back!

Lee