I just discovered a new excursion on the island

An island friend commented today on a new excursion being offered on the island.

It caught me by surprise.

There is a company that is apparently offering a tour from the Cruise Facility to Maho beach. It's a boat that takes you there by water, then anchors offshore while you watch the planes fly in and/or swim/snorkel around or to shore.

Obviously I have no experience with this thing that I just discovered, but it looks like Royal Caribbean offers it as one of their St. Maarten excursions,

Music, drinks, snacks, what's not to like?

I did find this quote on their website: "full bar and great food, at modest prices. You can open a tab and pay at your convenience".

Has anyone heard of this or (even better) experienced this?

It's sure to cause some trouble with the taxi drivers, and apparently has already raised concerns on the island.

gary

It's about time! This gold mine should have been tapped a long, long time ago. We've been saying this for years. :)

What tour is it?

carnival has it also for my cruise in october. Its called Ultra Hi-Speed Glass Bottom Boat, Swim & Beach. $79/adults, $69/kids 2 1/2 hours. We are already booked on Random Winds because we like to go outside of the cruise ship but for those who are more comfortable with ship excursions, it has very good reviews.

It's not the same as the High Speed Glass Bottom.

The link in the first post takes you right to the Royal Caribbean page for the excursion.

gary

Here's a link directly to the excursion's website.

gary

I've seen this new excursion quite a few months ago on Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner. We enjoy boat rides and will definitely try this tour on one of our future cruises when we're in port for a shorter period of time. We like to make the most of our time in St. Maarten and 3 1/2 hours for an excursion on one of our favorite islands is just not enough time, especially when we're in port for 10 or 11 hours. Wishing the excursion was longer, but we will give it a try in the future.

IMO, I don't think the taxi drivers have to worry much as some people want to spend hours at Maho and $69 pp for Royal's 3 1/2 hour tour is not cheap where as a taxi or a private excursion would be a better deal in St. Maarten.

There is only 1 review for this tour on Royal's website below.

Relaxing and exciting very nice people running the tour/boat.

Wonderful exciting tour, the people running the boat were absolutely wonderful, one of the guides even had his young family on the boat who were a joy, the boat get's so close to the landing planes that you can see the people through the windows, highly recommend this tour to anyone who wants a nice boat ride then an exciting hour or so watching 747's land a couple hundred feet above a crowded beach, the boat also has a large platform that folds into the water for swimming and lounging , one of the best tours we have been on after 13 royal cruises!

Wow - this looks pretty cool - have been to maho several times and was just going to skip it on this next cruise and try another beach - but might be interested in trying this out! :)

Hi! This is an exciting new excursion. Can it be done from the company or do you have to book from RCCL. Anyone who has been on the boat please answer a few questions.

1. How do you get to the boat dock for excursion? IOS I know would have a big bus.

2, Anybody have a price from the company -- not excursion from boat?

3. Areas to protect from sun and still see the planes coming in?

4. Changing area/showers/toilets/getting into the water from boat?

(I am getting too old and stiff to use boat ladders so love swim platforms)

Thanks for your help. I go on IOS August 2 with 5 family members teen through grandparents so finding activities for all is difficult.

Hi! This is an exciting new excursion. Can it be done from the company or do you have to book from RCCL. Anyone who has been on the boat please answer a few questions.

 

1. How do you get to the boat dock for excursion? IOS I know would have a big bus.

2, Anybody have a price from the company -- not excursion from boat?

3. Areas to protect from sun and still see the planes coming in?

4. Changing area/showers/toilets/getting into the water from boat?

(I am getting too old and stiff to use boat ladders so love swim platforms)

 

Thanks for your help. I go on IOS August 2 with 5 family members teen through grandparents so finding activities for all is difficult.

the website has information on the boat and facilities and pricing.....I have contacted them directly as I am sailing with Carnival in November.

Right now it seems since this is a 'new' excursion they do not have a schedule yet? Not sure when they will be going out - they said they would contact me once they had a schedule set up???

http://www.airportadventuresxm.com

I do not see any pricing on this companies web site for this excursion. Anyone know the adult cost for non RCCL guests?

I do not see any pricing on this companies web site for this excursion. Anyone know the adult cost for non RCCL guests?

From their website: We recommend making a reservation as spaces are limited. After we have received your reservation we will contact you via email and send you information about pricing, timing and availability.

gary

From their website: We recommend making a reservation as spaces are limited. After we have received your reservation we will contact you via email and send you information about pricing, timing and availability.

 

gary

So odd that the price is not on the website and you have to book it in order to get a price, find out the time (which is important for visiting Maho) and if there is availability. I don't get why they are doing it this way.

We looked into this excursion (actually we were going to take it) and the price is $65 US which does not included food or drinks, 4 hour tour. then we heard about Blue Safari Splash 3 Island Tour for $98, 6 hour tour, includes lunch & drinks, snorkeling, and time @ Maho to watch the planes. It gets good reviews on tripadvisor. so we decide to take this tour instead, we will be going in April 2016.

So odd that the price is not on the website and you have to book it in order to get a price, find out the time (which is important for visiting Maho) and if there is availability. I don't get why they are doing it this way.

Certainly not the way that I would design a website.

I did check TripAdvisor, and they seem to get good reviews.

They're associated with Royal Caribbean, so they surely come first.

It may simply be a question of supply and demand?????

You don't really have to 'book it', just ask for a reservation, which in a way makes sense, as they could be fully booked by Royal, and then what?

fishman620 provided a price, $65, which seems pretty steep. Bernard would be much more cost effective, or even Joyce if you have a larger party. Avoiding road traffic sounds appealing, but at quite a price.

What would happen if you book an open trip and then Royal offers more bookings? Your guess?

gary

I have used both Bernard and Joyce on trips to this island and both were great.

These people not posting pricing on their website steers me away though...why not just post up how much it costs without having to fill in the form. For that reason alone I think I am going to aim in another direction. If I wasnt going to this island with my sister (who has never been) I wouldnt even get off the ship...been there enough and have seen it all (I think lol)

Fourseventeen,

Joyce doesn't post a price on her website, but you still booked her?

gary

I had never seen her web site...to date I have never seen if she has a web site or not. She was offered through a personal recommendation from someone I know. I called her, she gave me a price...booked it, done deal.

Just to let you know, the website GTaylor posted concerning the new excursion to Maho, did want payment for the excursion but on their website. there is no payment option (they said that it hadn't been set up on their website yet). They told me that I could email them my cc# or call them with it. I decided against it, not secure enough for me.

I had never seen her web site...to date I have never seen if she has a web site or not. She was offered through a personal recommendation from someone I know. I called her, she gave me a price...booked it, done deal.

Can you please advise what the price is per person? And is there a schedule out now as to when the tour is offered?

Thanks :)

I don't see why one would choose this over a tour like Captain Bob's. On Captain Bob's tour, you go around the whole island, go to a couple snorkel spots and a couple of beach stops, eat lunch, and stop at Maho for a while to watch the planes. We were probably anchored at Maho for at least 30-minutes. I have video of the tour in my vacation video linked in my siggy. Anyone want to explain the appeal of just going to Maho to me?

I don't see why one would choose this over a tour like Captain Bob's. On Captain Bob's tour, you go around the whole island, go to a couple snorkel spots and a couple of beach stops, eat lunch, and stop at Maho for a while to watch the planes. We were probably anchored at Maho for at least 30-minutes. I have video of the tour in my vacation video linked in my siggy. Anyone want to explain the appeal of just going to Maho to me?

We aren't interested in Captain Bob's b/c we will be with small children and the speed boat thing isn't our thing.. We would much rather prefer the type of boat that this tour offers... Different strokes for different folks right

I guess no one has done the excursion with Royal Caribbean. I was hoping for some more reviews other then the really positive one on their website.

This appeals to me. I like shorter excursions. I don't snorkel but my family does.

I am still hesitant to do private excursions. Despite the cost difference, I am risk adverse.

We don't sail until September but we plan on doing this for sure! :)

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I don't see why one would choose this over a tour like Captain Bob's. On Captain Bob's tour, you go around the whole island, go to a couple snorkel spots and a couple of beach stops, eat lunch, and stop at Maho for a while to watch the planes. We were probably anchored at Maho for at least 30-minutes. I have video of the tour in my vacation video linked in my siggy. Anyone want to explain the appeal of just going to Maho to me?

Cap. Bob's is a full day and $30-$40 more pp. ( difficult to get exact price for the Other boat trip) some people like half day excursions and although it cost less per hour for a family of 4 captain Bob's is about $100 more. Also on Captain Bob's website it says that you can't get off of the boat at Maho. That means you can't be in the water or on the beach. If you look at the cool shots and if you have ever been to Maho beach the real experience is when you are on the beach and the jets fly right over head to land at the adjacent landing strip. Another thing, being out anchored in the water is not the same experience at all when the jets take off. The sights, sounds and even the feel is different. ;) I hope that answers your question.:)

I was on the Lord Shefield and the planes flew overtop of us at Maho and it was neat but not even close as cool as experiencing this from the beach is.