Tour with Bernard 1/28/09

[marcia014]

At about 8:45 we left the ship and went to meet up with Bernard. The first thing we saw was John holding a sign for Bernard’s tours. Easier to find that I expected!

 

Bernard provided bottled water, sodas, and a potent rum punch with guava berry for his customers. He took us first to Rima, the “Wal-Mart of souvenir shops” for a brief stop. We got back on the bus, and went to the French side of the island. Bernard explained that the Dutch side of the island, St. Maarten is smaller but is where the airport and cruise ship terminals are. The French side of the island, St. Martin is larger and is where Orient Beach is, one of the most famous beaches in the Caribbean. We stopped at a beautiful cove for sightseeing and photos. There was a show of the local sea urchins and other marine life.

 

We drove around and saw local animal life including goats, chickens, lizards, etc. and received information about this island and its inhabitants. We then went to Orient beach for a two-hour stop. We purchased the use of two loungers, an umbrella, bathroom passes, and two drinks for $15.00. While here, we ate lunch at Pedro’s - we had barbecued chicken, rice and peas, and salad for $11.00. It was a beautiful stop!

 

After Orient Beach, we went to a shopping area on the French side, near the Fort. We then went to Maho Beach in front of the airport. For those who don’t know, the aircraft land immediately in front of the beach, and leave with their exhaust blasting the beach. For those who love aircraft, Maho Beach is THE stop in St. Maarten! On the way to Maho Beach, the bus got very hot and it was noted that the air conditioner had problems and a new bus would be brought while we were at Maho.

 

After Maho we drove through town, and saw the area where the luxury yachts are docked. Those who wanted to shop were dropped off in downtown, and those of us who wanted to go back to the ship were dropped off where we started. Some of the other ships passengers had time to shop, but we had to be back on board in half an hour or so. At this time we paid Bernard, and said goodbye to him and his crew. This was an AWESOME excursion that we would HIGHLY recommend!

 

For more of my cruise review, and pictures from this excursion, see the entire review here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=928537

 

Any questions, please ask!

[Buckeye Geo]

Marcia: Thanks for posting a wonderful review. We will be touring with Bernard on March 26th.