I absolutely CANNOT decide what to do in St. Maarten! I've searched this site, the rest of the Internet, studied Carnival's shore excursions, and read several books. Has anyone done ANY of Carnival's excursions on this island? If so can you tell me about them? Good or bad, I want to hear it all.
While on RCCL, we booked a 4x4 jeep trip through the cruise line. $90 each and about 6 hours. It's advertised as an on and off road trip; not much off road was offered. Had about 2 1/2 to 3 hours of beach time at Mullet and Orient Beaches (combined, not at each beach). About an hour to shop in Marigot, and a couple of short stops along the way for photo opportunities. There was a significant amount of traffic and stress involved (easy to get separated from your guide). If you don't know the island, that can be a little stressful. We saw a good portion of the island and have used this outting as a primer for our next trip to St. Maarten. We've seen what the island has to offer and now can zero in on what we want out of our next visit. If you want a general overview of what the island has to offer, this is a good trip. If you want a lot of beach time, it is not for you.
I know that a Carnival passenger took Carnival's version of this trip and was very displeased with the outcome, if I recall correctly, mainly because of the traffic.
Not one of my favorite islands. The shopping is good there. Lots of people love Orient Beach, but they make you pay to use the restrooms and lounge chairs. If you buy drink tickets from one of the clubs on the beach, they'll let you use their restrooms. Since the beach is clothing optional, you will see some that should be clothed walking up and down that aren't. The snorkeling there is not worth the money. It is pretty interesting to take a land tour. The difference between the Dutch and the French side is noticeable, and it's cute to see the goats and chickens on the roadside. When we go now, we usually just go to the beach near the pier or stay on board. We did the America's cup race there and that was a hoot! A bunch of tourists trying to run a racing yacht. Hope this helps a little.
We did the Segways and it was a blast! We did the earliest morning excursion and there was no crowd on the boardwalk. We could zip around without worrying about hitting a tourist!
After that, we hired a van (there were 8 of us) to take us to Marigot. On the way over, the driver gave us a lot of interesting information. The bazaar at Marigot has many unique items and our adult children enjoyed shopping there more than anywhere else.
The previous time that we were at St. Maarten, we took an island tour which included a butterfly farm. That was a nice tour also. It is an interesting island with two different cultures, two different governments, and two different ideologies.
Originally posted by Nadine M:
We did the Segways and it was a blast! We did the earliest morning excursion and there was no crowd on the boardwalk. We could zip around without worrying about hitting a tourist!
After that, we hired a van (there were 8 of us) to take us to Marigot. On the way over, the driver gave us a lot of interesting information. The bazaar at Marigot has many unique items and our adult children enjoyed shopping there more than anywhere else.
The previous time that we were at St. Maarten, we took an island tour which included a butterfly farm. That was a nice tour also. It is an interesting island with two different cultures, two different governments, and two different ideologies.
Nadine
Very cool, Nadine! I didn't see a Segway tour - I'm going to have to go back and look. DH would LOVE THAT!!!! (I hope they still offer it!)
All of you have given very helpful info, keep it coming! I appreciate it!
I've searched this site, the rest of the Internet, studied Carnival's shore excursions, and read several books. Has anyone done ANY of Carnival's excursions on this island? If so can you tell me about them? Good or bad, I want to hear it all.
Linear Mode
