Caribbean cruise

DonnaMarieNJ | Sep 20, 202112:52 PM 8

Caribbean Puerto Rico Barbados St. Lucia Antigua and Barbuda St. Kitts and Nevis San Juan Cruises Trip Planning

I'll be cruising in December to the Caribbean. I'd like to pick your brains (and tastebuds) as to which food-related (alcohol, too) item to purchase on each island:

San Juan, Puerto Rico
Philipsburg, St. Maarten
St. Johns, Antigua
Bridgetown, Barbados
Castries, St. Lucia
Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis.

I understand this thread has very low activity, but I thought I'd ask anyway. Thanks in advance!

Caribbean cruise

8 Comments

Charles Yu Sep 20, 202102:07 PM Pre-Covid.....We were one of the first to cruise on the new NCL - 'Encore' which docked at a few of your captioned port-of-call...

Pre-Covid.....We were one of the first to cruise on the new NCL - 'Encore' which docked at a few of your captioned port-of-call.
First off, one can get great quality and price ' Caribbean Rum ' in all of the above!
We bought a few bottles of really exotic and uncommon ' Hot Sauce ' in San Juan.
Other than that, did not notice any real stand-out culinary goodies worth buying?!

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DonnaMarieNJ

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  mtskeeter Sep 20, 202107:32 PM re: Charles Yu What about those famous rum cakes? I hear they come in different flavors, too.
  
  What about those famous rum cakes? I hear they come in different flavors, too.
  
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  DonnaMarieNJ
  
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  1. Charles Yu Sep 21, 202108:06 AM re: mtskeeter Ah! Rum cakes! Great idea! BTW, customs allow them too since they do not contain meat products!
    
    Ah! Rum cakes! Great idea! BTW, customs allow them too since they do not contain meat products!
tcamp Sep 21, 202105:28 AM There was an interesting article in the Washington Post recently about a banana research center in PR and various farmers there...

There was an interesting article in the Washington Post recently about a banana research center in PR and various farmers there who grow varieties besides the Cavandish which dominates in US markets.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2...

Here is what I'd want to track down if I were in San Juan (from the article linked above):

"At Finca el Paraíso in Arecibo, farmers Jaime Jordán and Nina Craig grow six varieties of banana. The ones they bring to the weekly farmers market in Old San Juan are the guineo flaco, guineo manzano and guineo morado."

Don't know if those can be brought back, however.

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DonnaMarieNJ

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  CygnusX1 Sep 21, 202105:53 AM re: tcamp Produce is not allowed through customs. You probably won't be allowed to bring it back on the ship either.
  
  Produce is not allowed through customs. You probably won't be allowed to bring it back on the ship either.
  
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  1. tcamp Sep 21, 202106:44 AM re: CygnusX1 Bummer. Have to eat them there, I guess
    
    Bummer. Have to eat them there, I guess
    
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  cstr Sep 21, 202107:19 AM re: tcamp If you're entering the US, you're going to get busted by customs if you attempt bring back plants, fruit, meats etc.
  
  If you're entering the US, you're going to get busted by customs if you attempt bring back plants, fruit, meats etc.
  
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HeyImBack Sep 21, 202103:18 PM I've been on many cruises, and to San Juan more times than I can count. On our last cruise, we did a food tour and I highly recommend...

I've been on many cruises, and to San Juan more times than I can count. On our last cruise, we did a food tour and I highly recommend it. This is the company we used:
https://thespoonexperience.com/tours/

Re rum cakes, my experience has been that they are the same price on the ship as in one of the local shops.
tcamp

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