Tour operator just cancelled and we leave on Friday... panicking, please help!

Hello everyone, my family of four leaves on the Carnival Sunshine this Friday. We had only booked excursions in two ports and were really looking forward to renting a motor boat in St. Maarten. We confirmed the trip several weeks ago and just an hour ago the company emailed us to say they "would not be back in time to follow through on the rental". I am distraught as this was our "big excursion" and now we have nothing planned, and I am afraid everything will be booked at this later date.

We are very "DIY" people which is why we wanted to rent our own boat (as we have done on past cruises). I just sent two inquiries to two other rental companies but I doubt we will hear back by Friday. We were wanting to fish, see the island from the water, have a little picnic on the boat, and then afterward explore Marigot or go to a beach.

Can someone please help me find some other options that we could make happen at this late date. Something that involves some fishing (we have our own pole), seeing nature, and exploring some culture. Our budget is 300-400 for the day. Once we get on this ship on Friday we will have no internet so I really want to get things figured out by then.

I am sorry if I seem so panicked, I am the teenage daughter and I do all the trip planning, so for this to happen makes me feel terrible and anxious. I would appreciate any suggestions. Thank you.

Have you picked up a phone to call these vendors?

You could also share their names.

gary

Gary, thanks for the response. We got the info about the cancellation around 6:00 PM and I figured most offices in St Maarten would be closed at this time. I plan on calling first thing tomorrow though.

Some places I emailed were St Maarten Sailing, St Maarten Cruise Excursions, Random Wind, Soualiga Destinations, Bernard's Tours, Blue Safaris, Swaliga Tours. I looked into some other ones but prices were too expensive. I'm mostly going off what I have read on here or what has good reviews on TripAdvisor. Random Wind has already emailed back with no availability but they are giving us recommendations on things to do.

If anyone has recommendations for smaller companies that might still have space or a DIY option that would work too. We can always find a tour at the dock as well I guess.

From your first post. I thought that you were just looking at the boat rental option. If you still lean towards that, try contacting Boathouse Boat Rentals.

Yes, you can always book a taxi tour right at the Cruise Facility, but I can't imagine that you couldn't get into a tour offered by Bernard, and he even has a US number: (954)-376-6582.

Normally I would recommend a private tour with Joyce, but she's currently off-island.

"Worst" case, your adventure could just be catching a local bus over to Marigot and exploring. Don't miss Fort Louis.

See my post in this thread.

gary