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Private Tour Companies

disneynut64

By disneynut64,
in St. Martin/St. Maarten

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johnlcruise

johnlcruise

Posted
Posted
Looking for input regarding private tour companies in St. Martin any info would be greatly appreciated. Also was looking into the company St. Martin excursions. Thanks Cindy

 

Cant go wrong with Bernards...http://www.bernardstours.com/

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JNCRUISEBUMS

JNCRUISEBUMS

Posted
Posted
You should probably also consider Joyce Prince, another Tour Operator who comes highly recommended on this board.

 

Her Website pretty much tells the story, but also search this board for additional comments and recommendations.

 

gary

She's amazing, we used her 2 years ago and it was a fabulous day we spent with her!!!!! Nancie and Jim

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Arizona Laura

Arizona Laura

Posted
Posted

Bernard is the best.

We have not been back to the Caribbean due to DH dizziness with flying and cruising but he wants to give it another try with premeds so I am so excited to get to go back to St Martin later in 2010.

Many of the same group who first toured with Bernard with us will be going too and everyone is so excited.

We all loved St Martin and cannot wait for Bernard to take us around for a second tour.

Laura

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gtaylor

gtaylor

Posted
Posted

Willbcruisin, Laura, compared to what?

 

Both of you keep posting that Bernard's is the BEST tour, but which of your other tours do you compare it to?

 

I've been on Joyce Prince's tour and I thought, and said here, that it was great. I don't think that I've said that it was the best, because I don't have any comparison to other tours.

 

Just wondering?

 

gary

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taegan

taegan

Posted
Posted

who would you recommend for a snorkling and beach trip? We would be 2 families 10 total, 6 kids ranging from 15 to 10. We have never been to this port last year we did a western and got a private guide at each port. it was usually cheaper than booking an excursion individually. We are not looking for shoping or a lot of sight seeing. Snorkling and beach time or just beach time with a bar and alot of activities for kids ie water trampolines and such

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Willbcruisin

Willbcruisin

Posted
Posted
Willbcruisin, Laura, compared to what?

 

Both of you keep posting that Bernard's is the BEST tour, but which of your other tours do you compare it to?

 

I've been on Joyce Prince's tour and I thought, and said here, that it was great. I don't think that I've said that it was the best, because I don't have any comparison to other tours.

 

Just wondering?

 

gary

 

Gary..........

 

I post many many things about many experiences I have had cruising. If I found a place, ship or excursion above and beyond I love to recommend it to my fellow cruisers. Thats what these boards are all about! I have posted much more on other threads than just this one.........

 

I don't feel you though are asking for personal reasons...... you being a travel agent you should already have a wealth of information!

 

If you do really need info about Bernards Tours just look through the many, many posts on the St Martin boards.

 

I enjoy posting and chatting with fellow cruisers who share the same passion as I do......cruising, new places and new people!

 

Thank you for asking though and Happy Cruising to YOU:D

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alphazeta

alphazeta

Posted
Posted

Some of you have said Bernard's Tours is very good. I am negotiating with him now for a private tour for 4 people. He came back with a cost of $350 for the day. That seems high to me. If you assign $50 for gas, maintenance and depreciation, that leaves $300 as the cost for a 7 hour tour which is about $43/hr. If he pays his employee $15/hr, which may be high there, it leaves a pretty good profit margin. Have any of you had a private tour, and if so, what did it cost. If not, the tours you went on with him, how many people on the tour and what was the cost per person. Any info if will be appeciated.:)

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kal

kal

Posted
Posted

I agree with gary on his comment about "best". I too recommended Joyce Prince in my comments and indicated her tour was extremely good. I would like to suggest it is the "best", but unfortunately I am not sufficiently familiar with other providers to make that judgement.

 

Of course the children in St. Maarten use the word "Ridiculous" when they refer to something they really, really like. Maybe that's what "best" means?

 

It's also humorous to think gary is a travel agent. Now if he made recommendations on a restaurant or an automobile to rent, does that mean he is a PROFESSIONAL CHEF or OWNS AN AUTO DEALERSHIP???? :rolleyes:

 

I think not.

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  • 2 weeks later...
deb63

deb63

Posted
Posted
Some of you have said Bernard's Tours is very good. I am negotiating with him now for a private tour for 4 people. He came back with a cost of $350 for the day. That seems high to me. If you assign $50 for gas, maintenance and depreciation, that leaves $300 as the cost for a 7 hour tour which is about $43/hr. If he pays his employee $15/hr, which may be high there, it leaves a pretty good profit margin. Have any of you had a private tour, and if so, what did it cost. If not, the tours you went on with him, how many people on the tour and what was the cost per person. Any info if will be appeciated.:)

 

I booked a private tour with Bernard for next year based on the reviews on this board, for $350. There will be 4 of us.

 

I didn't have a problem with the higher cost, as I assumed it is higher in order to make up for the empty seats. If he were not booking exclusively with me, he would be charging 10 people $35 each for the same tour. But by me paying for all 10 seats - we get to decide where we want to go, and how long we want to stay. .. without worrying about what anyone else wants to do.

 

So the option with him, or other tour operators (I priced with Joyce Prince as well - and they were in the same ball park) you can pay a per person fee, which is smaller. . .and stick to the agenda. Or you can pay more to rent the whole vehicle/guide for the private tour that you design with the tour guide.

 

Being our first cruise, I wanted the private tour. . .even if it was extra $. :)

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Arizona Laura

Arizona Laura

Posted
Posted
Willbcruisin, Laura, compared to what?

 

Both of you keep posting that Bernard's is the BEST tour, but which of your other tours do you compare it to?

 

I've been on Joyce Prince's tour and I thought, and said here, that it was great. I don't think that I've said that it was the best, because I don't have any comparison to other tours.

 

Just wondering?

 

gary

 

I don't understand why you are questioning my tour guide history because I recommend Bernard and you choose to recommend Joyce.

I can tell you that I am not a travel agent, have never received anything for a recommendation I have made for hotels, shuttle providers, tour guides etc on CC over the past three years.

I have been on multiple cruise tours and yes I think Bernard is "the best" and have a tour booked for 10 of us (most have been on his tour previously) with him again in 2010. We are hoping my DH is able to fly with his health issues to Florida otherwise we will have to stay with cruises out of California and our friends will tour St Martin without us. We both will be very disappointed if not able to return to the Caribbean.

I agree with Willbcruisin that research into these boards will reveal that there are many recommendations for Bernard.

I have never toured with Joyce and therefore can not comment on her.

I do however respect other posters recommendations for tour guides including Joyce Princes because that is what CC is all about.

I think most of us make recommendations for tour guides simply because of the wonderful times we have had on a tour and the lifetime of memories we cherish from them.

Laura

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wiiLOVE2cruz

wiiLOVE2cruz

Posted
Posted

We just returned from the Emerald Princess. We booked Joyce for our private tour in St. Maarten. She was excellent! I coudn't think of anything we didnt' like. We had a 4 yr old to a 68 yr old and all of us enjoyed the tour. As a travel agent, I'd highly recommend Joyce to all of my clients. Here is her contact info:

TEL.011-599-526-5252 OR 011-599-581-1065 PHONE / FAX 011-599-547-0264

website: http://www.princepersonal.com

I'm happy to answer any further questions rochelle at carrouseltravel dot com

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homeinboca

homeinboca

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the suggestions on private tours on St Martin. We have had some poor experiences booking through the cruise line so I am looking at going on our own or with a private tour operator. Bernard's sure looks like a fun time! We'll be in St Martin during spring break 2010, so if anyone else on the Emerald Princess Cruise is considering, let us know!

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COTINGEY

COTINGEY

Posted
Posted

We are looking at either Bernard or Joyce Prince for our 2/2010 tour. We would prefer private at the additional cost. In researching, how do I determine what is best to see at someplace I've never been to before? I need a beach for non-swimmers, and not to be a prude, but nudity does bother me and I don't need my 13 and 10 year old daughters getting an education (both have disabilites and wouldn't understand why people are missing clothes). :p We want to see both sides of the island plus (of course!) shopping.

Thanks,

Robyn

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