Shore Excursion experience information

[DocF]

Good morning fellow cruisers. We will be taking the Glory Eastern Caribbean trip on September 29. We are wondering about the shore excursions for St. Thomas and St. Maarten. I guess the most useful information would be if any of you feel a particular excursion is a "be sure and miss".

 

Thanks in advance,

Doc

[MelBCroozer]

We were on the Glory in June, 2005. We went on Godfrey tours in St. Thomas. Very nice and reasonable. The drivers were very accomodating and the tour was great. The website is: http://www.godfreytoursvi.com. In St. Maarten, we took a taxi over to the French side and went to Orient Beach. Have fun!!

[luv2cruise777l]

We also did Godfrey's tours on St Thomas. A great sight seeing tour with a beach break at the end. I would highly reccomend Godfrey's tour. In St. Maarten we did Carnival's See and Sea tour. It was a big waste of money. Try to find a private tour as they are a better value for your money. Have a great cruise!:)

[CaroleLee]

Good morning fellow cruisers. We will be taking the Glory Eastern Caribbean trip on September 29. We are wondering about the shore excursions for St. Thomas and St. Maarten. I guess the most useful information would be if any of you feel a particular excursion is a "be sure and miss".

 

Thanks in advance,

Doc

 

Hi,

If you are a snorkeler take the ferry to St John's from St Thomas about $6.00 and frequent trips St. Thomas Tourist Board will have schedule. Beautiful beach, clear water. Snack shack for drinks,etc.

Carole

[alphakitty]

Hi,

If you are a snorkeler take the ferry to St John's from St Thomas about $6.00 and frequent trips St. Thomas Tourist Board will have schedule. Beautiful beach, clear water. Snack shack for drinks,etc.

Carole

 

The trip to St. John is awesome, but it's a bit more than the ferry ride. All tolled it cost DH and I $48 round trip per person to get there and back. Cab ride to ferry dock, ferry, taxi to beaches on St. John, admission to Trunk Bay beach...it all adds up.

[poptart]

We were on the Glory in November. We did Carnival's excursion in St Thomas to St. John. We loved it. It is beautiful. I don't remember the price but we felt like it was worth it. We had some time to shop right there at the port before we met the ferry for the excursion. It was a beautiful ride and they pointed out lots of sites to see--homes, islands etc. Then we got in these jitney bus things to the trunk bay. It was a wonderful day. When we got back we make a quick trip on the sky ride to the top of the mountain in St. Thomas for some bushwackers. It was a long day but lots of fun.

 

This time in St. Martin we just took a cab to the beach and shopped. Last time we were there we took a ship's jeep excursion. We got to see the whole island and spend some time at Orient Beach. We really liked that excursion too.

 

Nassau, this time we just shopped and bought lots of purses at the straw market. We had planned to go to Atlantis and didn't make it. Our stay there was short and we'd been there before. We just got back on the ship and enjoyed the hot tubs and pool there. Visit the hot tub in the spa.

 

I hope this helps a little. BTW we are in our 50's if that makes a difference.

[Marobarb]

I am sure you will get some good answers here, but don't overlook all the great information available on the Ports of Call section of these boards.

 

St. Thomas/St. John - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=133

 

St. Martin - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=93

 

Nassau information on Bahamas board - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=58

 

for Port Canaveral information, go to the East Coast Departures board - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=415

 

Also check out the roll call thread for your cruise - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=358491

[Shadieeie]

Hey DocF come join our roll call

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=358491 we have a fun bunch of people going on this cruise. :D

[cruisetmc]

We loved Trunk Bay.

 

1st time in St. Maarten we did a shipwreck snorkel that was great. Second time we did a bus tour of both sides of the island.

[Island Annie]

In St. Thomas, be sure to ride the Paradise Point tram. Once at the top they have several unique shops, and a large patio to enjoy lunch (or snack). Be sure to try a "BUSHWHACKER" (their signature drink) They are the BEST!

 

Don't forget to bring your camera. The view of Charlotte Amallie & the surrounding islands from the patio is absolutely BREATHTAKING.

 

 

Then there's still time to hop on the Red Hook ferry to St. John to spend some time at Trunk Bay Beach. (voted one of the 10 best beaches in the Caribbean:-).

 

Once you ferry back to St. Thomas, depending on your ships departure time there should still be time to do some shopping at Havensight before getting back onboard.

 

This is how I like to spend my day in st. Thomas:-)

 

Sounds like a busy day, but relaxing on the patio & then on a beach are not too tiring.

 

Here is the website for the Paradise Point Tramway: http://paradisepointtramway.com/

 

Enjoy!

 

Annie

[nothomeonacruise]

You want to see the French side of St. Maarten/Martin. There is a French market that is something not to be missed. We took a bus tour with a wonderful tour guide to both sides of the island that we booked through Carnival.

 

On St. Thomas, we did the Blackbeards Castle tour and that was great, too. The 99 steps with the historical homes are very nice.

On a side note, be sure to eat at Gladys's Cafe. It's tucked down a small cobbled street with flowers and lovely shops tucked along the way. There's a small fountain on one end of the street. Gladys Cafe has delicious food, and Gladys is someone you don't want to miss! There's also a chocolate shop not far away..yummm