Pinel Island Tour by RCCL

We we’re thinking of doing the 3 hour tour of Pinel Island/beach with RCCL. Has anyone been there or can let us know If this is good or not? No one talks about it on the boards! Thanks!

Pinel Island is great! We did not do an excursion through the cruise line, but took a taxi to the ferry boat, which is about a 30 minute drive from the cruise terminal in Philipsburg, St. Maarten. I can't remember the cost of the taxi but I think it was around $20-$25 each way and then the ferry to Pinel Island was around $12 round trip. (Double check prices since they may have changed.) When the taxi driver dropped us off at the ferry boat we told him what time to pick us up to take us back to the cruise terminal and he was there right on time. Pinel Island has a great beach, snorkeling and a very picturesque trail to walk around the island. We would definitely go back. Here is a link to a video of Pinel Island:

If you do this on your own instead of through RCCL, I didn't clarify from my previous post, but it's $12pp for the round trip ferry to Pinel Island. Be sure to make arrangements with your taxi driver when he drops you off at the ferry pier/parking lot (which doesn't have a lot there), to pick you up at a specific time because there are not any taxis.

Here's another video of iguanas on Pinel Island:

We did Pinel using Caribbean Paddling. Transportation from the port could be arranged through them. Most of the family kayaked over but I took the ferry. We arranged for a time to be picked and taken back to the ship. Everything went smoothly. The ferry runs every half hour I think.

We LOVE Pinel Island and highly recommend it. On our first cruise in 1992 (Carnival), we did a tour that sounds similar to the one by RCCL. It was a beach/snorkel excursion and was also about 3 hours. At that time, there was nothing there, not even a lounger. We threw our towels in the sand then, but the scenery was gorgeous. We liked it so much that we spent the day there on a cruise stop in May 2013, but to ensure transportation back to the ship, we booked a private tour company since Carnival no longer had a tour that went there. Unfortunately the private tour company we used in 2013 no longer offers tours to Pinel Island. The reason Pinel Island is not talked about a lot on these boards is because it is not a popular destination for cruise passengers. Getting there involves about a 20 - 30 minute drive (usually a cab) to Cul de Sac where you then take a small ferry (about a 10 minute ride) to Pinel Island. It's easy to get there, but the issue is getting back to the ship. Cabs aren't waiting at the ferry in Cul de Sac for cruise ship passengers. That is the reason we booked the private tour several years ago. Pinel Island did sustain hurricane damage last year, but have been rebuilding the beach bar/grill that is there (believe it's already open to guests). But if you book an excursion to Pinel Island through RCCL, the transportation will not be an issue.

I did a review of that cruise (Valor 2013), that is linked in my signature that included lots of pictures (Pinel Island starts on Page 16, Post #308), but I used Photobucket as my host site and when they changed their 3rd party photo hosting last year, I could not justify the the the price. Since I still just have the basic plan, the pictures in my reviews may or many not show up.

On 9/3/2018 at 10:00 AM, Hopetotravel said:

We did Pinel using Caribbean Paddling. Transportation from the port could be arranged through them. Most of the family kayaked over but I took the ferry. We arranged for a time to be picked and taken back to the ship. Everything went smoothly. The ferry runs every half hour I think.

can I ask you how long did you rent the equipment?   I see they have a 8:30-1:30 or 8:30 - 3 option.   Just wondering if you felt til 1:30 or 3 was best.. 

I think we were there until around 3 pm. The time seemed to go by fairly quickly. I guess it would depend what time you need to be back to the ship. We bought our lunch from the Caribbean Paddling people. Some of us needed gluten free food and they were very good at providing that. Only one of the restaurants was opened at that time (post hurricane) and they were only doing snack type food. Some hiked around the island while the rest (me) lazed around. It was a nice day.

On ‎9‎/‎3‎/‎2018 at 10:00 AM, Hopetotravel said:

We did Pinel using Caribbean Paddling. Transportation from the port could be arranged through them. Most of the family kayaked over but I took the ferry. We arranged for a time to be picked and taken back to the ship. Everything went smoothly. The ferry runs every half hour I think.

Thanks for the review.  Thinking of using Caribbean Paddling on an upcoming cruise.  Can you tell me about how long it took to Kayak from the mainland to Pinel Island?

It only takes about 10-15 min at the most. I think they got there before I did on the ferry.