Philipsburg, St. Maarten - Dock or Tender and Excursions

[mjrcruiser]

I've been to St. Maarten on the Breeze, but for some reason I cannot remember, (maybe it is old age? lol :rolleyes:) does Carnival dock or tender into Philipsburg, St. Maarten?

 

Also, can anyone give me insight regarding the Maho Beach excursion, "Airplane Watching and Snorkel Cruise"? I had the Segway excursion reserved but got notification it was cancelled by the tour operator. We sail the Vista on December 17th.

 

Thank you so much! :D

[stobe1]

You have a pier in St. Maarten.

 

As far as excursions, I would HIGHLY recommend going to Pinel Island. It is absolutely fantastic and beautiful and secluded and you wont regret it. There aren't any organized shore excursions there, but that is a good thing because otherwise it would be crowded. If you want a private, secluded beach day, going to Pinel Island is well worth it.

Edited August 6, 2016 by stobe1

[Zevo]

No Tender. Ships dock at phillipsburg. As far as excursions go, if you like to snorkel, than book a tour with Captain Bob, Soualiga destinations. I've done it twice and is worth every penny.

[Boozebabe]

You have a pier in St. Maarten.

 

As far as excursions, I would HIGHLY recommend going to Pinel Island. It is absolutely fantastic and beautiful and secluded and you wont regret it. There aren't any organized shore excursions there, but that is a good thing because otherwise it would be crowded. If you want a private, secluded beach day, going to Pinel Island is well worth it.

 

We spent a week on St Maarten in 2003 and discovered Pinel and went there 2 different days. Food is quite expensive there so take something with you. We each got a small seafood tray of food and each got a Coke and it was $40 American. But it was one of the best days of our entire lives. I'd go back in a heartbeat. The wtaer there is sheltered and quite calm. You can walk out 100 feet and only be chest deep.

[BoDidly]

Sounds like it's been a while since you were there . They have built more docking areas for the larger ships . Maho beach is great but we just grab a taxi there and back ,cheaper than the excursion. Just request the rate for the sunset beach bar ,great food as well as the sites of the planes landing there.

 

Or you can just grab a water taxi to Philipsburg for shopping and the local beach there. Marigot on the French side is a must see if your into straw markets and Restaurants.

[Melozone]

We did a private tour with Bernard's tours. We went to the French side, Orient Beach, Maho and all around the island. A nice day!

[riclop]

I've been to St. Maarten on the Breeze, but for some reason I cannot remember, (maybe it is old age? lol :rolleyes:) does Carnival dock or tender into Philipsburg, St. Maarten?

 

Also, can anyone give me insight regarding the Maho Beach excursion, "Airplane Watching and Snorkel Cruise"? I had the Segway excursion reserved but got notification it was cancelled by the tour operator. We sail the Vista on December 17th.

 

Thank you so much! :D

 

You dock.

[idil]

I've been to St. Maarten on the Breeze, but for some reason I cannot remember, (maybe it is old age? lol :rolleyes:) does Carnival dock or tender into Philipsburg, St. Maarten?

 

Also, can anyone give me insight regarding the Maho Beach excursion, "Airplane Watching and Snorkel Cruise"? I had the Segway excursion reserved but got notification it was cancelled by the tour operator. We sail the Vista on December 17th.

 

Thank you so much! :D

In June we docked ...and it was our first time in st. Maarten, of course we went to Maho beach :D

 

As you may read in my detailed review we visited the airport area beaches almost at each location and Maho was the craziest place ever! ;)

[itchintocruise]

We stopped this past March in St. Martin off the Adventure of the Seas and yes the ship docks and you can just walk off. We had pre-arranged a kayaking trip to Pinel Island and then taxi transfer to Maho Beach and Sunset Bar and Grill. I would highly recommend and will probably do again in the future. It took us about 40 minutes to kayak each way to the island. It has a nice beach and shallow, calm water to swim in. Their was a bar serving food and drinks. It definitely had a European flair to it. Yes a little pricey but good food. Sunset Bar was great and they were finishing up a major expansion including swimming pool, brick oven pizza, gift shop and giant deck overlooking the beach. We got lucky and saw the KLM 747 take off. What a rush to feel the exhaust of the engines as it takes off. It was the highlight of the cruise.

[Moosevilleco]

I would also suggest Pinel Island. Depending on how long your stop is, I would suggest hiring a personal driver for the day so you can do multiple stops. Last time we started at Pinel then went into Marigot for lunch at Sarafinas and shopping and then stopped at Maho for about an hour. Macho is a great experience and always fun, but Pinel is a much nicer beach area. We also like to pick up some Guavaberry on the way back to the ship!

[mjrcruiser]

Thank you for all your ideas and suggestions!!!! There is so much fun in doing the research and planning a cruise and I appreciate everyone's input! :) :)