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St. Maarten tours

floridaguy_69

By floridaguy_69,
in Royal Caribbean International

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LABCHICK

LABCHICK

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Posted

We had a excursion with Bernard several yrs ago. Loved it. Bernard told my DH that he made his own rum punch. My DH is still talking about that punch. Maybe we will have to book another tour just so DH can have some of that punch again.

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mollyeilis

mollyeilis

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In a stunning development after years of hearing great things about Bernard's, my son and I did NOT enjoy our tour with them.

 

The rum punch was rum, and it was sweet, but it wasn't anything special at all.

 

We were squeezed in on a bus that wasn't slated for us (we booked for 3 then DH was having a migraine and didn't go) and we left much later than we were supposed to, and it just wasn't good. The tour guide's style was yelling at us.

 

The iguana "farm" is a stop at the side of the road with some astroturf down. The stop at a beach lookout includes a dude manhandling live sea urchins (breaking off their spines every time he shoves it into someone's hand).

 

Orient Beach was good. Maho Beach was not; I was so over the tour by that time, and so worried about time, that we nearly just grabbed a taxi.

 

I had wanted to do some shopping in Philipsburg and we were not given the option, nor would there have been a decent amount of time to do even brief shopping and then get on back to the ship.

 

 

Next time I'm going on my own with a taxi or we'll try Joyce Prince tours instead.

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tinalouise69

tinalouise69

Posted
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I am booked with Capt. Bob Soualiga tours in November. The tour looks fun to me... I will report back

 

Did Soualiga Destinations tour with Capt. Bob in Nov 2013. It was a GREAT excursion. So much fun that we are doing it again in October when we sail on Oasis of the Seas. However, it is not really an 'island tour' if that is what someone is looking for. There are some parts of the island that get pointed out as you are going past on the boat - but if you are really looking to see different things on the island - this is a boat / water-based 6 hour excursion.

 

That being said - we thought about doing something different this time around but after discussing other 'land based' tours, we decided go with Capt. Bob again. Capt Bob does a great job with the excursion - everywhere we went was beautiful, the boat was so much fun, and the food was delicious. Try the Guavaberry Colada when you stop for lunch - yummy!!! You will have a blast in November!!!! :)

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JoeRum

JoeRum

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Not an island tour but we had a great time with Robinsons boat tours. 2 snorkel stops, lunch on an island and ended the day just off Maho beach watching the planes land.

 

http://www.boat-charter-stmartin.com/

 

 

Captain Mike is the best guy there. Here is a link to a you tube video of the tour. Such an awesome day!

 

 

Enjoy your Cruise!

 

JoeRum

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allie3490

allie3490

Posted
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In a stunning development after years of hearing great things about Bernard's, my son and I did NOT enjoy our tour with them.

 

The rum punch was rum, and it was sweet, but it wasn't anything special at all.

 

We were squeezed in on a bus that wasn't slated for us (we booked for 3 then DH was having a migraine and didn't go) and we left much later than we were supposed to, and it just wasn't good. The tour guide's style was yelling at us.

 

The iguana "farm" is a stop at the side of the road with some astroturf down. The stop at a beach lookout includes a dude manhandling live sea urchins (breaking off their spines every time he shoves it into someone's hand).

 

Orient Beach was good. Maho Beach was not; I was so over the tour by that time, and so worried about time, that we nearly just grabbed a taxi.

 

I had wanted to do some shopping in Philipsburg and we were not given the option, nor would there have been a decent amount of time to do even brief shopping and then get on back to the ship.

 

 

Next time I'm going on my own with a taxi or we'll try Joyce Prince tours instead.

 

Completely agree with you. Would never do this tour again nor would we recommend it. We found it to be a complete waste of our day as most of it was spent in a hot van. Next time will just take a cab to Orient Beach.

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Thrilled2012

Thrilled2012

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I lived in St Maarten for a few years (went on vacation and loved it so much that I picked up and moved there) so I am most likely looking at this from a different angle. You may certainly enjoy a tour. But if it were me, I would take the bus (which are really vans....I heard that they have increased in price but still only a couple of dollars) or a taxi (which will obviously be more expensive) and head to a beach. Orient is the most popular for cruise ship passengers (many ship excursions to that beach). It is beautiful! But also crowded and "touristy". Its a very long stretch of white sand beach with a pretty view of Anguilla and lots of water sports, restaurants and shops. At the far end is a nudist club so sometimes you will get some people from there wandering around without clothing if you are sitting close to there (although they are not supposed to, but nobody seems to say anything). My kids will never get used to this!

 

If crowds and a more commercial beach aren't your thing, then near to Orient is Dawn Beach which is smaller, more secluded and less commercial. You will need to take a taxi there as the public bus does not go there.

 

My two favorite beaches on the island are Baie Rouge and Mullet Bay though. Beautiful, cozy beaches! We stay in St Maarten for a few weeks at the winter holidays every year, and whenever we are there and have friends coming for a day on a cruise then this is where we take them.

 

Whatever you do, I hope you enjoy your cruise and "The Friendly Island"

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91fun

91fun

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Posted

We used Joyce Prince. We saw a fair amount .. But she had very little "narrative" or description of places. No entertaining stories or anything. She was on her phone a LOT... At least 6-8 calls. We do have lots of great pics . Stopped at a great French bakery. I specifically asked about taking stuff back aboard. She said as long as not fruit and veggies it was ok. I got some bread and a very nice pastry - could not bring onto the ship! The section of Orient Beach she took us to was nearly deserted.

Mind you she is nice and it was a long tour with some good spots for pics but she just had very little to say.

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mollyeilis

mollyeilis

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allie3490 I'm so glad I'm not alone.

 

Stopped at a great French bakery. I specifically asked about taking stuff back aboard. She said as long as not fruit and veggies it was ok. I got some bread and a very nice pastry - could not bring onto the ship!

 

The bakery forgot our bread so we didn't try to bring that on, but we were told that anything containing CHEESE could not be brought on. Was your pastry a cheese danish type of thing?

 

In the end I was accidentally somewhat obnoxious, because I stood there trying to call DH (who had caught a nasty cold AND was dealing with a migraine, so he was lying in a darkened room for 2 days, blowing his nose LOL) to get him to come down and eat his tiny cheesecake (I do not eat cheesecake and DS was stuffed), and finally the guy said "did I hear you say it was CAKE? Well, CAKE is allowed, go ahead." All while winking, because he knew it was cheesecake, not cake.

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91fun

91fun

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allie3490 I'm so glad I'm not alone.

 

 

 

The bakery forgot our bread so we didn't try to bring that on, but we were told that anything containing CHEESE could not be brought on. Was your pastry a cheese danish type of thing?

 

In the end I was accidentally somewhat obnoxious, because I stood there trying to call DH (who had caught a nasty cold AND was dealing with a migraine, so he was lying in a darkened room for 2 days, blowing his nose LOL) to get him to come down and eat his tiny cheesecake (I do not eat cheesecake and DS was stuffed), and finally the guy said "did I hear you say it was CAKE? Well, CAKE is allowed, go ahead." All while winking, because he knew it was cheesecake, not cake.

It was regular French bread and an almond croissant! If it had cheese I could not taste it but I don't really think it did. . Yes, stood there eating by the inspection area. I got zero info from Royal as what could not be brought on which really annoyed me.

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Last Mate

Last Mate

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Posted (edited)
Can anyone tell me about island tours of St. Maarten that are NOT through the cruise line? Thanks!

 

I highly recommend Joyce Prince http://joyceprince.com/ we have used her twice now and she is simply amazing!

We will spend the day with her every time we visit going forward, no need to look elsewhere, she can do it all!

When you go to St. Maarten be sure to visit Tijon http://tijon.com/ and make your own perfume in his lab. Joyce took us there as part of a private tour the first time we visited.

Edited by Last Mate
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Last Mate

Last Mate

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We used Joyce Prince as well. It was an excellent tour! She tailored it to what we wanted to see, brought us to a great local lunch spot, and was flexible with our plans.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

Yup, she can make anything happen!

 

My wife still talks with her via email. Our first visit with Joyce was back in 2013. She is just a wonderful person! On our second visit with her she had presents waiting for our 2 young daughters.

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S.A.M.J.R.

S.A.M.J.R.

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We were catching a cab to Orient Beach (because we didn't really have plans) and the cabin driver offered to be our tour guide for the day. He took us to the road side iguana feeding spot, Orient Beach, Grand Case (had lunch there), Marigot (bakery), Maho Beach, and stopped at a small straw market for some shopping before getting us back to the ship.

 

$180 including tip for six of us!

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