Best St. Maarten & St. Thomas excursions thu Freedom of the Seas

Just booked a cruise for late summer on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas. I was curious if there are any "don't miss" excursions you'd recommend in Philipsburg, St. Maarten or Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. Thanks!

St. Thomas we generally do a snorkel tour and have never been led awry. We did this in St. Thomas on our Quantum trip and it was excellent. New ship at half capacity with a great crew. In St. Maarten we always do the St. Maarten beach break to Orient Beach which we love. We have gone 7 or 8 times and it is always great. 2 free drinks plus inclusive lunch as well as reseved loungers. Plus the water is always nice and the waves are great for body surfing.

Bernards Tours in St. Maarten is excellent!! We used him our last time on Freedom, and would definitely tour with him again!

Usually the best excursions are through independant bookings. Go have a look/search at the ports of call board to get more info from all members.

Did this back couple years ago during Freedom cruise, was highlight of cruise.

http://www.rumbabacharters.com/

Believe it was $150 person, there was 5 people on sailboat, best food we had all cruise. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

Not sure if they still offer it but we have done the America's Cup regatta through RCI and it was an amazing exciting time. Worth every penny.

In St. Thomas, we have done an excursion to St. John through RCI to see Trunk Bay, very pretty beach.

agree, Bernards Tour is the best. Free rum punch, water, soda and beer. Goes to the airport to watch the planes.

St Thomas you can take the St John's island tour. Lots of fun and should be done through the cruise ship because of the ferry ride over and time issues. Also the best snorkeling tour though RCCL.

Adding another recommendation for Bernard's tour in st marteen. It's not through the ship.

Not sure if they still offer it but we have done the America's Cup regatta through RCI and it was an amazing exciting time. Worth every penny.

 

Did it twice. Loved it.

Stars and Stripes vs. True North, real race with real racing yacht. And you are the crew.

Not sure if they still offer it but we have done the America's Cup regatta through RCI and it was an amazing exciting time. Worth every penny.

 

In St. Thomas, we have done an excursion to St. John through RCI to see Trunk Bay, very pretty beach.

I think Trunk bay is the best beach in Caribbean, for St Marten I would just take a taxi to Orient beach , taxi is less than 10 dollars each way

Not sure if they still offer it but we have done the America's Cup regatta through RCI and it was an amazing exciting time. Worth every penny.

 

In St. Thomas, we have done an excursion to St. John through RCI to see Trunk Bay, very pretty beach.

America's Cup sometimes gets cancelled due to lack of bookings. We have done Golden Eagle catamaran several times. Fabulous time. Snorkeling in St John's is good for St Thomas stop

These are 2 great island to book your own excursions and not go through the cruise line.

St. Martin - I highly recommend Captain Jo Boat Charter out of the French Side. Awesome and very relaxing time. He will customize the trip to whatever you want to do.

St. Thomas - We spent the day sailing with Rumbaba Charters. Awesome day sailing, snorkeling and the food that was prepared for lunch was first class. Also they went above and beyond making sure our kids had a great time.

Going on the Oasis in May and booked tree limin zipline in St Thomas, since it got all good reviews from everything I read.

Not sure if they still offer it but we have done the America's Cup regatta through RCI and it was an amazing exciting time. Worth every penny.

I have to agree with this . We did it and absolutly loved it !

St Thomas - We've done the Champagne Catamaran thru Royal 3 times now, and it's so much fun! The crew is fabulous and the snorkeling and scenery is the best!

Has anyone done the St. Barths tour? I'm debating between going to Maho Beach or taking the ferry to St. Barths for the day.

Have some fun and try the ScreamingEagle in St. Thomas. Last time we did it there was a 76 yr old grandma on it. We thought she was going to have a heartache but she still goes on roller coasters. It's also a short excursion so you can fit another short one in.

Whatever you do in St. Marteen make sure it takes you past Mako beach and watch at least one Jetliner come in. Google it.

In St. Thomas we always go to Paradise Point and Blackbeards Castle. If you are going to Blackbeards, wear your swimming things. They have 5 different pools that you can swim in as you make your way through the fort, amber museum, 100 stairs, etc. Paradise Point for lunch and a little shopping. Great views of the ship.

In St. Martin, the beach is a short walk away or you can get a taxi to the french side of the island and visit Orient Beach.

We never book excursions, we just do it all at our own pace however I do believe that all the options I mention are available as excursions if you prefer.

St Thomas - We've done the Champagne Catamaran thru Royal 3 times now, and it's so much fun! The crew is fabulous and the snorkeling and scenery is the best!

I know I already posted about this excursion on this thread, but I can't emphasize enough how great this excursion was.

Does anyone know the current prices for parasailing & jet ski rental at Orient Beach?

We did Capt. Bob's in St. Marteen and it was really great. He has multiple speed boats and takes you to 4-5 different beaches, snorkeling at two of them, one with sea turtles. A delicious lunch was provided at a restaurant on one of the beaches. And they serve water, sodas and beer throughout the excursion.

Did it twice. Loved it.

 

Stars and Stripes vs. True North, real race with real racing yacht. And you are the crew.

It was a workout for my husband who helped with the sails. I worked hard passing out soft drinks. : )

I know I already posted about this excursion on this thread, but I can't emphasize enough how great this excursion was.

Another vote for Champagne Cat from me! I had a fabulous time, the beach was stunning, the crew was great (in fact we were disappointed because we didn't bring enough to buy t-shirts & tip the crew what we thought they deserved - so we didn't buy t-shirts - I guess we're going again!), the rum punch & beer was exactly as advertised - all around great!

Also another vote for Bernard's at St. Maarten :) Great time there too!! An awesome way to see a lot of the island if you're a first-timer.

If you want to go to St. John, it's the one time I'd recommend the ship's excursion. The ferry picks you up at the cruise pier and returns you to the same spot. The extra few dollars beats taking a taxi to Red Hook and then the public ferry.

St Thomas - We've done the Champagne Catamaran thru Royal 3 times now, and it's so much fun! The crew is fabulous and the snorkeling and scenery is the best!

Same here ... and have totally enjoyed it EVERY time! :D

LuLu