Bernard's and St. Martin July 10; Mariner

[Tabbymom]

I'm posting a daily report of our trip on the main RCI boards; here's the St. Martin section:

 

We disembarked and it was only a short walk to meet Bernard at 9:00 am. We had about a dozen people on our tour; all four of the parties were from our roll call! Bernard led the tour himself in the small AC van; he drafted the front seat passenger as bartender (hi Chris). The bartender’s job was to pass back water, soda, beers, and very potent shots of rum punch. It was an excellent and informative tour; as he drove, Bernard gave us information about the island including geography, history, economics, government, education, health care, housing, and flora and fauna. It was very interesting to learn about the relationship the two sides of the island had to each other, to France and the Netherlands, and also to Guadeloupe and the Dutch Antilles island groups. He discussed the cost of living differences and noted, for example, why all the fast food places and casinos were on the Dutch side.

 

Bernard started in Phillipsburg with a half hour stop at Rima’s since it was not near the other downtown stores. This was a huge store with two rooms filled with beautiful tropical clothes plus almost anything else you could think of to buy. And my fellow riders will attest that I could buy a lot in 30 minutes! Everything was reasonably priced (dresses for $15, shirts $10 or 17, necklaces for $6, etc.). This was not native crafts (my clothes were made in China and Thailand) but if you want to stock up on souvenirs, this is the place to go. Bernard said that the vendors in Marigot probably bought their supplies in Rima’s but charged twice the price and I believe him.

 

He continued around the Salt Pond and stopped several times for pictures, including hummingbird nests in the cotton trees, the Bienvenue to St. Martin sign, and an overlook of Oyster Pond and the yachts and homes on the hills. There was another stop with an overlook platform of the beaches; this is where Bernard waded into the water to find a sea urchin and let anyone who wanted hold it. DH was the brave one in our family. Bernard made sure to point out other islands (such as St. Barts) in the distance wherever applicable.

 

Bernard dropped us at Orient Beach by Waikiki at 11:00 for two hours and suggested we might want to get lunch there since it was the longest stop. We had our straw mats and walked up the beach a little ways to a clear area; only the hair braider/souvenir sellers approached us. It was a stunningly beautiful crescent shaped beach with many water activities including wave runners and parasailing. We relaxed and swam a little; DH and DS took a walk down the beach. There were no nudists and only a few topless women, most of whom obviously did not normally do this! There was one very tanned woman, however…

 

At about 12:15 we went to the Waikiki restaurant on the beach for lunch; there was a very good group playing what I would consider dinner music. We had an extremely delicious and outrageously overpriced lunch; DH had a Thai seafood dish and I had baked Brie with apples and bread (hey, I was in France, right?). It was a beautiful setting, sitting outdoors watching a local man weave palm leaves into a bowl with the beautiful beach in the background.

 

Bernard met us at 1:00 and took us on to Marigot, where we had a half hour to explore the beautiful harbor and open air French market. There was a fort high on a hill overlooking town; Marigot looked like an intriguing town to explore but there really wasn’t time to do much. DS had studied French for several years in school and found it fun to see it used naturally everywhere.

 

We continued on to Maho Beach where we had another half hour to watch the planes come in. While we were there, at least two big planes and several small ones landed; we all found it quite impressive. Before we left, Bernard treated us to rum punch shots from the beach bar. But after my rum swizzles the previous day I was playing it safe; didn’t want to wear out!

 

We headed back towards Phillipsburg with the chance to take some great pictures of the Mariner at the dock. When we reached town at 3:15 we had the option of shopping or continuing on to the ship; about half of us got out at Front Street and arranged for Bernard to return in 30 minutes. We picked up a bottle of Guavaberry liquor at the factory after free tastes and were able to get our hand-painted bottle personalized with the year. The van was about 10 minutes late picking us up but got us back to ship in plenty of time; DS had returned earlier and was watching for us off our balcony so I got a great picture of him from the pier.

 

I would recommend Bernard without hesitation; I cannot believe how many things we were able to see and do in only 8 hours. It was a great overview of the island. At the start of the tour he asked us to let him know of anything special we wanted to see but I sure wouldn’t have been able to think of anything else! Except maybe four times as long at every stop.

[Carnival Game]

We toured with Bernard too. He didn't stop at Rima's but that's OK. We highly recommend him.

[KMBB]

Tabbymom-how much did a 8 hour tour cost?

 

Carnival Game- Hi Kim, did you take a half day tour or a full day tour when you went? If a half day, how much was it? You and your son cruiseing soon?? I can't remember when you said you were going again. We can't cruise as a family right now--too expencise for us to fly. I might be going solo, can you pack me in your suitcase? Have a good day--kmbb, other wise know as Mary

[Carnival Game]

Mary, actually I think all of his tours are "full days", but not 8 hours. We met him at 9:00, waited for people to gather and left at 9:30. Shopping in Phillipsburg was the last stop. I believe those people were dropped off at about 2:45. Those who didn't want to shop (including us) were brought back to the ship at 2:50. We paid $30.00 but it's now $35.00. He provided all you wanted to drink in the van and gave us bottles of water to take to the beach. We're going to use him again during our next cruise on the Triumph November 9. :)

[KMBB]

Kim--are you doing the same ports, just a different ship? I'm planning our neighbors cruise for them and they are going to try to go the end of Dec. on the same ship that you are going on, only its a western caribbean.

I might be going solo with them, but its over the New Year, so I'm not too sure. Have a fun time, is your son going again with you--lucky boy!!! Mary

[Tabbymom]

We also booked before the price increase from $30 to $35; gave him $105 for the three of us to include a tip. It was a great bargain. Whoops - should have said 7 hours since technically he was taking care of us from 9:00 am to 4:10 pm when he dropped us back by the ship; onboard call was 4:30. We actually started out on the van about 9:15.

[Carnival Game]

Kim--are you doing the same ports, just a different ship? I'm planning our neighbors cruise for them and they are going to try to go the end of Dec. on the same ship that you are going on, only its a western caribbean.

I might be going solo with them, but its over the New Year, so I'm not too sure. Have a fun time, is your son going again with you--lucky boy!!! Mary

 

Yes, Mary, same ports, different ship. We really didn't have many choices that left from Florida on a Sunday. Some leave on Saturday, some from different places...

 

Yes, Dan is going too. He wouldn't let me go without him! :D

[Tabbymom]

Forgot to mention that I had a lovely email thank-you from Bernard waiting when I got home. What a gentleman!

[kiraryker]

Thank you so much for your detailed report on the tour - I am certainly more comfortable now after reading that - we booked him for my party of 8 in March 09 on the Triumph.

 

One question - when you are at the beach can you rent snorkle gear or should you bring your own??

 

Thanks

[Tabbymom]

Glad you liked the review - wanted to "pay it forward" with enough info for others to make an informed decision. Sorry, we didn't snorkle on St. Martin so don't know the answer to that one!

[Carnival Game]

We got a thank you note from Bernard too!