Destination: St. Johns, Antigua

October 9, 12:58 PMBaltimore Cruise Travel ExaminerStephen Mencik

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Today we talk about city of St. Johns and the island country of Antigua and Barbuda. This is one of the stops on the 12-night "saints" cruise from Celebrity Mercury that sails from Baltimore. The other stops already discussed are St. Thomas, St. Kitts, and St. Croix. The next article will discuss St. Maarten.

St. Johns is the capital city of Antigua and Barbuda is is located on the island of Antigua. When you go ashore, you will find plenty to do. If you want to just relax on the beach, you have plenty of choices. At Carlisle Bay beach on the south side of the island you'll find clear water and lots of tropical fish for your snorkeling pleasure. At Freeman's Bay you'll find Galleon Beach which has places for sunning and tanning, as well as a reef for snorkeling just 75 feet offshore. Jolly Beach is on the west coast of Antigua and offers a mile long beach of white sand with plenty of shopping and places to eat nearby. Lest you think these are the only beaches, some have said Antigua has 365 beaches, one for each day.

For the truly adventurous, Celebrity offers an excursion called the Antigua Canopy and Challenge. This allows you to see the rain forest area from above. There are 9 ziplines, and other challenges waiting for you. I'm sure it is a tour you'll never forget. Golfers be warned. There are only two courses on the island, and neither gets great reviews. If you really must play, the two courses are Jolly Harbor and Cedar Valley. 

For sightseeing, there are really only a few choices. The botanical gardens is a great place to see the local flora. The Governor's House also has some nice gardens. For those that like history, there are several forts to see, including Fort James, which sits at the top of a cliff overlooking St. John's harbor. It was built by the British to keep the French from entering the harbor. St. John's Cathedral dates back to the 1700's, but the current building was built in 1845. The previous building was destroyed in the 1843 earthquake.

Other options offered by Celebrity include a swim with the stingrays tour. While this author has not done this in Antigua, he has swam with the stingrays in Grand Cayman and the experience is great. If the tour in Antigua is anything at all like in Grand Cayman, you'll love it. What might be the most exciting, but also the most expensive, is a helicopter tour to the island of Montserrat to fly around the still active Soufriere Hills Volcano. Finally, if you haven't lost enough money in the ship's casino, the King's Casino at Heritage Quay is waiting for you.