Joyce Prince....Another Great Tour

We, a family of 4, booked Joyce about 3 months in advance of our cruise to St Maarten and are very glad we did. She met us at the designated area outside the main gate of the docks and away we went in her nice new air conditioned mini van with a cooler full of bottled water and beer for our consumption.

First stop was up the mountain to get some great pictures of the ships in port then back down to Philipsburg for some shopping. The wife and kids along with Joyce shopped while I sat outside the shops taking in the sites. There was one store that I got a great deal at that I have to tell you about. I bought a beer for a little under $600 and I received a free sapphire ring for my wife ;) . I also picked up a few Cubans at a local store for the rest of the cruise and had a nice smoke after dinner each evening.

After shopping, we drove over to Orient beach. All the while Joyce gave us a great description of the culture and history of the island. We stayed at Orient beach for a little over an hour than headed out again. The next stop was Mullet Bay beach, which is close to Maho beach where the airplanes land right over top of you. This is where we had lunch along with Guavaberry Daquiries and stayed for the remainder of the afternoon. The beach was not crowded and we enjoyed it better than Orient. Joyce came back around 3 and we started our drive back to the ship through Simpson bay.

What a great day. After saying goodbye to Joyce we hung around the pier and consumed a few adult beverages before boarding the ship. I must say that we have been to many ports, but the area around the dock at St Maarten is by far the nicest we have been to. The water taxi is right there to take you to downtown Philipsburg and a nice beach, or you can walk around the dock area and do some shopping there. There are a few great bar hangouts too. Very clean and friendly.

Here is Joyce's email address if you want to get in touch with her, which I highly recommend you do if you are looking for a personal all day or 1/2 day tour. joyol1771@yahoo.com

Bill

Thanks for the review. We also booked Joyce and are looking forward to our tour with her. How many hours did you have with her and what was the price for the four of you? I have her booked for 3 hours $100.00 but she said that we could have more hours if necessary. Not sure how much extra that will cost.

Cruisin Together, we had her from around 9am till about 4pm. If you book her for the entire day she picks you up at 9am and will bring you back whenever you like (within reason of course). I would recommend getting her for the entire day. Our cost was $150 for all 4 of us. My DW mentioned after the tour was over, "There is no way we could have done this tour in 3hrs."

She only takes one family/group so the tour is really personalized to exactly what you want to do. She will give suggestions tailored to fit your interests. Good luck and you will not be dissappointed.

Bill

Thanks, I was just poking around this board for info on what people did with Joyce. I have her booked for a day in October. I was thinking I would have her leave us at the beach at day's end and then cab back to the ship. any pro's or cons to that?

mary beth

mary beth, depending on what time your ship leaves, Joyce will wait for you or drop you off and come back and pick you up without the need for a cab. She dropped us off at Mullet bay and came back about 2 hours later, picked us up and brought us back to the dock. She is very flexible with the tour plan.

Bill

Thanks, Bill... I think we will be due back on board at 5:30 so should have plenty of time for a full day with Joyce.

We will have to consider Mullet Bay .. sounds like a nice afternoon there.

Can you tell me if there were any motor sports there? Wave runners or the like? Someone in my party might be interested in that.

Marybeth, no motor sports were available while we were there nor did I see any nearby. There is a small concession stand for burgers, ribs, fries, and beverages (adult and non adult beverages). You can also rent chairs and umbrellas. This is more of a quiet beach with not a lot of activities going on. Also it was not that crowded the day we were there.

Bill

Just returned from our cruise on the Radiance yesteday. Joyce gave us an excellent tour of the island. The 4 of us booked her for the whole day at $150. She dropped us off at the beach of our choice (Maho Beach) at around noon. We stayed there at the Sunset Beach Bar for about 2.5 hours drinking Bushwackers and watching the planes land. Then she picked us up and drove us back to the ship. Loved it! I wish Joyce could be cloned and give tours of every island on the planet!!!

One word of caution --- Radiance of the Seas stresses that you keep up with "ship's time" (on our cruise, it was Eastern Time). So, plan your pick-up and drop-off times accordingly and let your tour guide know in advance!

We had a great tour of St. Martin with Joyce on March 23rd. There were three of us; my husband, daughter, and me. I agree with CaptainD that it would be great if Joyce could be cloned.

We met Joyce at 9:00 in her nice new air conditioned mini van with a cooler full of bottled water and beer. We visited the Guavaberry Company and a few other shops in Philipsburg then went up the mountain for pictures of the harbor and the ships. We also made a stop at Rima factory outlet store for some great buys on Island souvenirs. Then we started our circle island tour. We drove by Maho beach next to the airport where the planes fly right over you, we made a quick stop at Mullet bay beach and it was beautiful. Throughout the drive Joyce gave us a lot island background and history as well as current issues. We saw a lot of beautiful places but she also showed us some not so beautiful parts. She called it “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” tour. We visited Marigot where we made another quick stop for some French pastries. We had a 1 hour stop at Orient beach before returning to Philipsburg.

The great thing about Joyce is that you can set your own itinerary and have the tour that you want. You don’t have to take a packaged tour and do what everyone else does. We would highly recommend Joyce to anyone visiting St. Martin. You can contact her at: joyol1771@yahoo.com

Thanks for the info...I emailed Joyce yesterday and she responded early this morning. I booked her for the day and she said she will take us wherever we want since it is only my family. $200 for a family of 5.

Jen

DH and I just got back from our cruise and had our tour with Joyce on 4/12. This was our favorite port and the tour with Joyce was our highlight of the entire cruise! If you are even thinking about this tour - do yourself the favor and book it. Joyce was wonderful and very reasonably priced ( it was $75 for the 2 of us for the day and we saw everything!!!)

How do I get in contact with Joyce?

Thanks

Sherry

How do I get in contact with Joyce?

 

Thanks

Sherry

Her e-mail is posted above, but here it is again: joyol1771@yahoo.com

Or call her directly (011) 599-547-4264

Hi Stef .. can you tell me more about your day with Joyce. I'm going with her in October and like to know what others before did on the island ;) Thanks!

I've not used Joyce but also never heard anything but good reports from those who have used her.

Good choice

Hi Stef .. can you tell me more about your day with Joyce. I'm going with her in October and like to know what others before did on the island ;) Thanks!

We first drove up a hill to take fantastic pictures of the port and the island. Joyce showed up cotton trees and drove us through some residential areas. We seriously drove through every section (front st, back st, Dutch side, French side, drove to ALL of the beachs, to some hotels, the restaraunt/night club/shop area, airports, etc..)

Joyce let us out at the mall on the French side. We only stayed a half hour because we wanted to get back to our tour. There was no way to cover all of this on your own or through one of the cruise excursions. I wasn't really sure what kind of tour it would be and if my DH would like it - but this was our favorite port and tour.

Our neighbors, who are cruise and Carribbean regulars, told us about Joyce Prince and helped us get connected with her. They told us that they held her in the highest regard and that we should seriously consider hiring her for our first shore excursion in St.Maarten. They were right. Joyce was one of the highlights of our cruise.

I agree with what has been said about her on this thread. She was prompt, warm, personal and accomodating. We took a 5 1/2 hour general tour of the island with a lunch stop in Marigot. We liked her political, economical and historical perspective. But she also gave us a personal and forthright idea of what it was like to live on the island. She is very straighforward and tells it like she sees it.

If we return to St. Maarten we will definately would hire her again. Yes, if there was a Joyce Prince on every island then every shore excursion would be educational, relaxing and fun!

Ron

DH and I just got back from our cruise and had our tour with Joyce on 4/12. This was our favorite port and the tour with Joyce was our highlight of the entire cruise! If you are even thinking about this tour - do yourself the favor and book it. Joyce was wonderful and very reasonably priced ( it was $75 for the 2 of us for the day and we saw everything!!!)

Since there were only 2 of you, did you have to share the tour with another party, or did you get Joyce all to yourselves for the day?

Since there were only 2 of you, did you have to share the tour with another party, or did you get Joyce all to yourselves for the day?

We had Joyce all to ourselves.

How wonderful! Thanks for the reply. :)

DH and I just got back from our cruise and had our tour with Joyce on 4/12. This was our favorite port and the tour with Joyce was our highlight of the entire cruise! If you are even thinking about this tour - do yourself the favor and book it. Joyce was wonderful and very reasonably priced ( it was $75 for the 2 of us for the day and we saw everything!!!)

I was just curious. You only paid $75 for 2 people for the whole day? We are booked in Oct & the price quoted was $70 for 2 people for 3 hours. I wonder why it would only be $5 more for all day :confused: I actually thought the $70 was reasonable because I had read other posts and people were paying a lot more than $75 for 2 people for the whole day. Maybe we should have booked the whole day........

Well, we booked a full day with Joyce for four people $200. Obviously there is not a set price. We are going to be there on Thanksgiving day. I think that is why it is premium rate. Maybe not. I don't know. Either way to have a private tour with a notable and well thought of guide, that is enough for us!!:D

I don't know how many hours our tour was but we did have plenty of time afterwards to do shopping on our own. So, I guess I wouldn't call it all day but it was more then 3 hours.

Anyone who has enjoyed a personal tour with Joyce should feel privileged. She has a very limited schedule because she wants to maximize the experience and not be rushed. If you were not successful in being with her, just wait until next time.

Not only is Joyce a great person, but her other half (Ridley) and daughter are equally charming and interesting! What a great family to enjoy!

Thanks for sharing your pictures, kal. I had read so many good things about Joyce on these boards that I actually booked her last Dec for this Oct!! I didn't want to miss out :) I am sure I made the right choice! Susan