Bernard or Joyce-Which one and why?

[awinner]

I heard that both are great...Just wondering who you favor and why, so I can make a final decision for our upcoming cruise in April.

[fitzie39]

Joyce is great...we enjoyed her tour on 15 Jan...can't compare to Bernard, but Joyce is a pro, very friendly, and will give you a very nice tour for a very good price. I don't think you'll be disappointed with either one, but Joyce Prince is very, very good.

[Eeyore'sthebest]

We used Joyce Prince just last week. She was wonderful. We did a private tour and she customized it for us. We stopped for shopping, sightseeing, a great history of the island. My DD is an altar server so she took us to a Catholic church so that I could take her picture there. I figure it will get her brownie points at school and church.

At the end, she dropped my daughter and I off at the beach for a swim. She continued on and took my husband back to the ship. But before she dropped him off, she took him to a local place so he could sample some of the food.

 

She was wonderful. We would book again with Joyce.

[Name Of The Game]

We used Bernard twice last year. He is wonderful!

[Arizona Laura]

Bernard has multiple excellent reviews as well as his other drivers that you could use if he is booked already.

www.bernardstours.com

Have fun. Laura

[prairiesailor]

awinner: We used Joyce in Feb of 2008 & enjoyed her tour immensely since she did what we wanted to do. She is very knowledgeable & knows all the best location to take pictures. She sent us a Christmas e-mail & asnwered some questions I had about what might be open near the port since we are there until 11 pm. We would not hesitate to use Joyce again. Hope this helps. One suggestion is don't wait to long if you are going to use Joyce-she books up quickly.

[lv2teach]

what is a joyce tour and how do get a hold of her?

[gtaylor]

Here is a link to an example of what a typical tour of the island might be with Joyce.

 

There is a lot of additional information available on her website. Be sure to check out her selection as guide and driver for Alton Brown and crew (Food Network) when they visited St. Maarten.

 

gary

[terroach]

Why would we book a tour with Joyce again? Because from the moment we met her for our tour her friendly, engaging personality made us feel like we had known her all our life. She can customize your tour or make suggestions if needed. We spent a wonderful day with Joyce last Sunday 1/24/09 and would highly recommend her for anyone requesting a reference. You will not be disappointed if you choose her tour.

[JNCRUISEBUMS]

We were with Joyce in November 2008 and had a fabulous time! She is so personable and truly wants you to enjoy St. Marteen. A lovely lady~~be sure to book quickly, she's vey popular and fills up quickly!! Bon Voyage! Say hi to Joyce from Nancie and Jim from Austin, Tx.

[shortstuf1255]

We had a wonderful tour with Benard last week Jan 28. It was great he stopped at many places so we could take pictures and took us to see all of the island. He provided cold drinks for the tour water soda and beer but beware of the rum punch!!! its strong but very good!! Near the end of the tour there was a problem with the air on the bus that we were on while we were at Maho beach he had the bus changed and we had air for the end of the trip. We would go with him again in a heart beat!!!!

[FinelyCruising]

Questions about the Bernard Tour....I have reviewed the itin on his site....at what point and where is the an opportunity for lunch? Is it at Orient?

 

Also, at Orient, fees for beach?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Island2Girl]

Thank-you for this information. I was looking for a non cruise line tour on St. Maarten for our cruise in April. I have a question though, how much did you pay for your tours? I realize that the price will be different based on our prefrences on the tour, but an idea would be great. Joyce does not post prices on her web site, so any help is appreciated.

[VIKINGCRUISER]

We went with Bernard and had a great time. I also heard Joyce is nice. Just do your homework and know where you want to go and want to see.

 

Have fun!

[Arizona Laura]

Bernard's Tours.

His itinerary and prices are posted.

You pay in cash for his tours.

 

Besides going to

www.bernardstours.com

you can e-mail him with specific questions.

bernard1332002@yahoo.com

 

Bernard and Joyce do get the most recommendations by far on this thread but I am partial since touring with him with our group.

Have not been able to get back to St Martin since DH had severe vertigo with both flights to Florida.

St Martin is a great island and miss it.

Laura

[prairiesailor]

Island2Girl: I think we paid somewhere $30 to $40/ person. If you e-mail her she will provide prices. Any operator on any of the islands who takes time to send Christmas wishes to past clients gets my support. I had some questions about what to do on the Island since we don't leave until 11pm on feb 18,2009. She gave me some names of restaurants near the port that were open. As you can see she is very willing to provide info. Hope this is some help to you.

[hancogran]

Thank-you for this information. I was looking for a non cruise line tour on St. Maarten for our cruise in April. I have a question though, how much did you pay for your tours? I realize that the price will be different based on our prefrences on the tour, but an idea would be great. Joyce does not post prices on her web site, so any help is appreciated.

 

We were on Bernard's Tour last week and it was fantastic! The price was $35 each, payable after the tour was over. The tour was approx. 6 1/2 hours and we had shopping, Orient Beach (about 1 1./2 hrs), Maho Beach (45 minutes), Marigot Market (45 minutes) as well as all the beautiful sites on St. Maarten. There were approx. 20 people on the air conditioned bus! You can check his website which gives a full description of the tour.:)

[hancogran]

Questions about the Bernard Tour....I have reviewed the itin on his site....at what point and where is the an opportunity for lunch? Is it at Orient?

 

Also, at Orient, fees for beach?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

We had lunch at Orient Beach when we went with Bernard Tours last week. We were there for close to 2 hours. I think the name of the place we ate at was Kontiki..right on the beach. There are no fees to get into Orient Beach.

[Kikkycat]

We also recommend Bernard. We toured with him last week, Fri. Jan 30th. He made special arrangements for us as one of our group was celebrating her birthday that day!

 

At Orient Beach, going on to the beach is free. If you want to sit down and have shade, you can pick one of several vendors who will sell a package of chair/umbrella/drink/bathroom & shower access. We were there for almost 2 hours. It was raining when we got there and when we sat down. Someone came to help us with the umbrella and said they'd come back to collect the fee for using the chair. They never did, but we ate lunch there - at KokoMarina (VERY yummy seafood) so that may have been a wash.

[Island2Girl]

Thank-you all so much for the information. I will contact both Bernard and Joyce for our cruise in April. I appreciate the help.