Family Cruise on the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas: 8 Days of Sun and Fun

Although this port is not on the same island as the famed Grace Bay Beach, you’ll still see some beautiful turquoise waters here! This port was developed solely as a cruise port stop by Carnival Cruise Line. It definitely has that feel with all the shops and restaurants you’d expect to see as soon as you disembark from the ship. It’s home to the largest Margaritaville restaurant in the Caribbean, so expect to have that party atmosphere all throughout the beach and pool area. This port is perfect for an easy beach/pool day off the ship. There’s no need to transfer anywhere. Everything is right there when you get off the ship. However, if you were also looking for a good port to skip and spend more time on the ship, then this would be it.

Kid-approved tip: Get off the ship early! It pays to be one of the first people off the ship. There are only so many chaise lounges by the pool/beach and with another Carnival cruise ship docking the same day, we were happy to have our pick of chairs. They filled up very quickly!

Upon disembarking from the ship, you will find a small built-up area of shops and one main restaurant. There are plenty of taxis that will take you to downtown Charlotte Amelie where there are more options. We opted for a boat ride over to St. John’s to explore the National Park area of that island. It was a beautiful day so we had great weather for the ferry and loved seeing all the beauty that the more rugged St. John’s has to offer. We also enjoy crossing off National Parks from our list, so that was a perk!

Kid-approved tip: Book an excursion for this port. There isn’t much to do around the immediate port area so you’ll want to have a way to explore more of the island.

This stop was a favorite among a lot of our group. We loved the beaches and the relaxed feel of the island. I would definitely plan a trip back to this island and spend more time exploring all it has to offer. Half our group opted for the train ride excursion, which they said was fun, albeit a little long for young kids. The rest of us decided to book a transfer to Spice Mill Beach. We loved this beach and would definitely recommend it. It’s on the Caribbean side within a little bay. The water was perfect and it wasn’t too crowded. There was a restaurant with chaise lounges and food/drink.

Kid-approved tip: Bring some blow-up rings for the water! The $3 rings I grabbed from Target before we left came in handy at the beaches we visited. You definitely don’t want to spend the $25 they were selling them for in the port! FYI: you can only use them in port. They are not allowed in the pools on the ship.

What’s not to love about this port?! It is definitely the most developed port area that we visited, with the most to offer cruise ships. We arrived in Phillipsburg which is on the Dutch side of the island. Since we had booked a beach transfer in the afternoon for our whole group, we took the ferry from the cruise terminal over to the main shopping area of Phillipsburg. There are tons of chaise lounges lining the beach along with restaurants and shops. After exploring for a couple of hours, we headed back to the cruise terminal on the ferry to catch our beach transfer.

I would recommend heading to Orient Beach on the French side of the island. While it was the Atlantic side, it was not too rough on the day we were there. The water was gorgeous and the restaurant/beach club was picturesque with amazing views and food.

Kid-approved tip: Plan for the transfer time between ship and whatever beach you choose. We had lots of snacks and activities to keep our kiddos happy and occupied!