Bernard's Tour St Maarten

[murfturf]

We just finished this tour - and I mentioned part of our experience in the post above.

 

We really enjoyed this tour but I have a few things that weren't perfect. We got to Marigot and he asked if we wanted some food. He told us he would take us to Rosemary's and she would take care of us. I debated about doing this, but it was lunch and we like trying local food. He then told us we'd have time to go to Serafina's. Well, Rosemary's took nearly 50 minutes, and add in the walking time we didn't have time for Serafina's. I ran over there, and the line was at least 10-15 minutes long. I would suggest skipping the sit-down lunch, and going straight to Serafina's. Also, way too long at Maho like I said. He had us there an hour. It's a bar and a small beach where you have to pay $10 for a beach chair. My kids enjoyed it for about 20 -30 minutes. Hubby had to wait 15 minutes for a beer. The planes were nice, but I would have preferred more time in Marigot or time in Phillipsburg!

 

We had DJ and he was really good - really knowledgeable but I wouldn't say he had a fabulous outgoing personality. We did really enjoy it, but hearing about some of the other drivers, we didn't get one that was as outgoing. We also had some boring people on our van... lol. There was one couple that was more fun, and we tried to up the energy in the van but the other 4 were very quiet.

 

Overall - I enjoyed it and would recommend it to people with the suggestions of not sitting down for lunch in Marigot and asking for less time in Maho. :)

 

As far as Orient beach goes - yes one side is nude, and the other isn't. When we were there, one man decided to stand at the border and face the clothed side! My hubby called him the peacock. lol However, it wasn't that big of a deal, we found it entertaining! If you go further down Orient, you won't see the nude side at all. The beach was beautiful but crowded. It appeared you could so many water-sports along the beach - I assume you sign up at the hut across from the activity.

[SC98_Cruiser]

Did you pay via PayPal immediately after filling out the reserve form or did you wait till you received a confirmation from Bernard. I'm in the process of booking and not sure when I should enter my paypal info. The site mentioned I will be contacted to confirm my reservation.

[wrcjr98]

Did you pay via PayPal immediately after filling out the reserve form or did you wait till you received a confirmation from Bernard. I'm in the process of booking and not sure when I should enter my paypal info. The site mentioned I will be contacted to confirm my reservation.

I never could figure out how to do my deposit - and when Bernard emailed me to confirm, I told him I needed to pay my deposit, and he said it was okay, just to pay the full amount when I met him, which I did - I booked about 2 months out I think?

[mchelle77]

I did the deposit, but we have the private tour booked, so the $90 deposit was required.

[uscgwife]

Our cruise is still months away. When should I book?

[wrcjr98]

I did the deposit, but we have the private tour booked, so the $90 deposit was required.

 

Oh, okay - mine was just the group tour, so it was $5 per person, and there were only 4 of us -

How many folks do you have for your private tour if you don't mind me asking?

[wrcjr98]

Our cruise is still months away. When should I book?

 

I think you can go ahead and book it! I didn't do mine til 2 months before, because we threw together a family cruise rather quickly - Bernard is a joy to tour with!

[cyluxx]

Our cruise is still months away. When should I book?

 

We made our reservations about 3 months in advance. It cost us $40 per person and we paid in cash at the dock (or when we got off the ship and all you do is walk up to the first building and ask anyone and they'll get you in the right spot)...easy! Enjoy the trip, again, we were with Timo (Hi, Martin)!

[mchelle77]

Oh, okay - mine was just the group tour, so it was $5 per person, and there were only 4 of us -

How many folks do you have for your private tour if you don't mind me asking?

 

There are 11 of us in my group ... it's the only excursion we all agreed on! LOL

[wrcjr98]

There are 11 of us in my group ... it's the only excursion we all agreed on! LOL

 

You will LOVE it!! Have fun!!

[floridagal062]

Just back from Benards tour last week. Had a good tour just not as special as first two. We ask for mailman he was not available so we had someone else for a tour guide. Guide did a just ok job, did not talk to much and also only had one bottle of rum punch. Did not stop as much for photos as last time. Still a great tour, just nothing like having the Mailman for a tour guide...

 

 

Wow we just went on this tour with Sugar and had a blast. He was sooo funny. Our group of 19 went through atleast 8 bottles of rum punch tho some probably regretted it later. lol Next time ask for Sugar

[Gamin2008]

Ship itinerary change was dealt with professionally by Bernard.

Bernard Tours were advised of changes and they contacted my email to confirm new tour date and time.

 

Original booking for Tour #2 was mostly in the PM and seemed very well planned out. Unfortunately, due to itinerary changes, the Tour was in the AM which reversed the tour because of traffic, as we were told. I was on time at the meeting point for 8:30, as underlined in Bernards email, but for some unknown reason we seemed to be waiting around for more passengers to walk up and book this tour. We left at least one hour later!!

And there was traffic anyways.

I suspect they just do not want all the tour buses in the same area for parking issues. It is a small island after all....thus, the tour operator's recommendations or behavior...

 

Our driver Sexy was relaxed and cool but did not take the lead nor respect the tour descriptions since he wanted to please everyone on board. (Perhaps for Tips)

By doing that, we ended up spending way too much time at Maho Beach, since he let everyone run free by his lack of communication and assertiveness. Two passengers ended taking a taxi, I guess they were fed up with the waiting around and waste of Tour time. I just think that when the island is overcrowded, tour operators can not control time on tours.

 

The tour continued once Sexy managed to gather everyone, cause some of us helped for the search of passengers.

 

Then we spent maybe half hour in Marigot, but beware you may spend your half hour waiting in line at Sarafina's and believe it or not, we only got 30 minutes of free time at Orient Beach (tour description says at least 90 minutes of free time at Orient Beach)....which is why I booked this tour.

Where did all our tour time go since we did not stop at Iguana Farm nor at Oyster Pond, I think Sexy did not even mention those.

 

The rest of the time we spent in the bus driving from one point to the other.

I think that the driver should respect the schedule since most of us want what's on the description of tour. It is for the description of tour that I've booked this tour #2.

 

So, to me if passengers wanted to spend more time at a site, then they should have taken some other tour. It is not up to the driver to please everyone on board since we All should know what we paid for.

 

BUT, beware when there are many ships at Port. The risk is that you will not get exactly what's on the menu. There is simply not enough parking space for these tour buses at one site. So, they reverse your tour and recommend you stay at a certain site.

 

The tour was just ok I would say, not out of this world. Even if they provide free drinks to compensate! In the end St-Maarteen is a very Touristic Island. Not my cup of tea, I guess.

Edited April 4, 2013 by Gamin2008

[Karysa]

Ship itinerary change was dealt with professionally by Bernard.

Bernard Tours were advised of changes and they contacted my email to confirm new tour date and time.

 

Original booking for Tour #2 was mostly in the PM and seemed very well planned out. Unfortunately, due to itinerary changes, the Tour was in the AM which reversed the tour because of traffic, as we were told. I was on time at the meeting point for 8:30, as underlined in Bernards email, but for some unknown reason we seemed to be waiting around for more passengers to walk up and book this tour. We left at least one hour later!!

And there was traffic anyways.

I suspect they just do not want all the tour buses in the same area for parking issues. It is a small island after all....thus, the tour operator's recommendations or behavior...

 

Our driver Sexy was relaxed and cool but did not take the lead nor respect the tour descriptions since he wanted to please everyone on board. (Perhaps for Tips)

By doing that, we ended up spending way too much time at Maho Beach, since he let everyone run free by his lack of communication and assertiveness. Two passengers ended taking a taxi, I guess they were fed up with the waiting around and waste of Tour time. I just think that when the island is overcrowded, tour operators can not control time on tours.

 

The tour continued once Sexy managed to gather everyone, cause some of us helped for the search of passengers.

 

Then we spent maybe half hour in Marigot, but beware you may spend your half hour waiting in line at Sarafina's and believe it or not, we only got 30 minutes of free time at Orient Beach (tour description says at least 90 minutes of free time at Orient Beach)....which is why I booked this tour.

Where did all our tour time go since we did not stop at Iguana Farm nor at Oyster Pond, I think Sexy did not even mention those.

 

The rest of the time we spent in the bus driving from one point to the other.

I think that the driver should respect the schedule since most of us want what's on the description of tour. It is for the description of tour that I've booked this tour #2.

 

So, to me if passengers wanted to spend more time at a site, then they should have taken some other tour. It is not up to the driver to please everyone on board since we All should know what we paid for.

 

BUT, beware when there are many ships at Port. The risk is that you will not get exactly what's on the menu. There is simply not enough parking space for these tour buses at one site. So, they reverse your tour and recommend you stay at a certain site.

 

The tour was just ok I would say, not out of this world. Even if they provide free drinks to compensate! In the end St-Maarteen is a very Touristic Island. Not my cup of tea, I guess.

 

 

Maho, Orient and Sarafina's are way up there on touristy things to do on the island. If you are ever back to St. Martin I would suggest you head to Grand Case. It's a lovely village with a couple of nice beaches and wonderful restaurants and quaint boutiques.

 

From reading here on cc you should have gathered that Maho and Orient were really popular with cruisers. If you had 5 ships or so in on your day I bet those places we're packed. If crowds are not your thing then you chose the wrong places to visit.

[Gamin2008]

I am still not sure if cruising is my thing. But it gives me a brief overview of an Island / Country. I appreciated St-John (St-Thomas) much more for its beauty and would go back to explore.

 

From what I saw on my first visit, though I did do the tourist tour, St-Maarten does not look appealing to me. I was not impressed with Orient Beach, I thought this looks like being in Acapulco with all the activities going on. It is very touristy but I got to swim in the ocean for 30 minutes!

 

Researching on the internet for my vacation, Grand Case and that area was on my list of places I would probably want to visit since it seems away from the tourist scene. Maybe next time.

 

But honestly, what can you do when you have 6 hours for a first visit. You end up doing what is most popular to be on the safe side.

Edited April 4, 2013 by Gamin2008

[Karysa]

I am still not sure if cruising is my thing. But it gives me a brief overview of an Island / Country. I appreciated St-John (St-Thomas) much more for its beauty and would go back to explore.

 

From what I saw on my first visit, though I did do the tourist tour, St-Maarten does not look appealing to me. I was not impressed with Orient Beach, I thought this looks like being in Acapulco with all the activities going on. It is very touristy but I got to swim in the ocean for 30 minutes!

 

Researching on the internet for my vacation, Grand Case and that area was on my list of places I would probably want to visit since it seems away from the tourist scene. Maybe next time.

 

But honestly, what can you do when you have 6 hours for a first visit. You end up doing what is most popular to be on the safe side.

 

Ya it's hard to beat the natural beauty of St. John. It's like comparing a National Park to a big city. If you do decide to do another cruise look for one with a couple of less touristy or less developed islands. Dominica and St. Lucia might be to your liking.

 

With 5 plus ships in ports like St. Maarten I think sites such as cruisecritic really do come in handy because you get information from others who also are afraid to miss the boat.:) but have ideas on how to enjoy less popular areas of the port.

[Gamin2008]

Looks like we have the same taste. Wanted to book for this Itinerary but flights were not aligned with my availability. Of course it was much more expensive and with HAL, I am solo female in my early 50's and I was a bit worried about the atmosphere on that ship being known for the high percentage of retirees.

 

 

http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/CruiseDetails.action?destCode=C&portCode=&shipCodeSearch=&durationCode=3&dateCode=3_2014&flexibleMonths=false&noOfFlexibleMonths=1&pageNumber=1&voyageCode=N419&webItineraryIdForAudit=C411SW

[Karysa]

Looks like we have the same taste. Wanted to book for this Itinerary but flights were not aligned with my availability. Of course it was much more expensive and with HAL, I am solo female in my early 50's and I was a bit worried about the atmosphere on that ship being known for the high percentage of retirees.

 

 

http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/CruiseDetails.action?destCode=C&portCode=&shipCodeSearch=&durationCode=3&dateCode=3_2014&flexibleMonths=false&noOfFlexibleMonths=1&pageNumber=1&voyageCode=N419&webItineraryIdForAudit=C411SW

 

 

Well since St. Maarten is my faviorite island because I feel that it has everything that I am looking for in an island vacation I don't think that we are on the same page just yet.:)

Anyways, back to the subject at hand...Bernard's Tour. I have not taken it so I have no comment on it.:)

[Gamin2008]

What is appealing to me about St-Maarten is the fact that you have easy access to other islands...:)

 

Thanks for your comments.

Edited April 4, 2013 by Gamin2008

[wrcjr98]

Gamin2008 -

I hate to hear that you didn't enjoy Bernard's Tour - We took the tour with "Sexy" back in December - and he was much better then it sounds like - he always told us how long we had at each stop before we got off the bus, and everyone always came back - but - everyone on our trip had made reservations, I don't think we had any "walk ups" - maybe they were disrespectful of time since they hadn't researched what tour to take like most of us do?

I hear alot of solo's like sailing Norwegian, as they actually have solo cabins and a lounge for everyone to meet -

Hope you have better luck in the future!! Don't give up on cruising!

[Gamin2008]

Gamin2008 -

I hate to hear that you didn't enjoy Bernard's Tour - We took the tour with "Sexy" back in December - and he was much better then it sounds like - he always told us how long we had at each stop before we got off the bus, and everyone always came back - but - everyone on our trip had made reservations, I don't think we had any "walk ups" - maybe they were disrespectful of time since they hadn't researched what tour to take like most of us do?

I hear alot of solo's like sailing Norwegian, as they actually have solo cabins and a lounge for everyone to meet -

Hope you have better luck in the future!! Don't give up on cruising!

 

Thanks for the info. :) There weren't that many solos on my cruise. But I was cruised by a crew member though...;) Cutie too!

 

Do you know if Norwegian is owned by another cruise line, if so which?

[wrcjr98]

Thanks for the info. :) There weren't that many solos on my cruise. But I was cruised by a crew member though...;) Cutie too!

 

Do you know if Norwegian is owned by another cruise line, if so which?

 

I don't know the answer to that - so I googled it and read the Wikipedia page, and it looks like they are affiliated with NCL America, which, I haven't heard of?

I always see some really cute crew members, and often wondered if they ever tried to have any type of relationship with passengers? Now I know!

[Karysa]

I don't know the answer to that - so I googled it and read the Wikipedia page, and it looks like they are affiliated with NCL America, which, I haven't heard of?

I always see some really cute crew members, and often wondered if they ever tried to have any type of relationship with passengers? Now I know!

 

Our DD's English Tutor met her boyfriend 2 year's ago while sailing Australia and New Zealand for 3 weeks with her folks on a HAL ship. Before she left we told her that there may not be any single people her age on this particular cruise. She was content to just lie out in the sun and visit the ports with her parents. Instead she got swept off of her feet and she ended up working as a Librarian on the same ship that her boyfriend works on.:)

Edited April 5, 2013 by Karysa

[jandjct]

There will be 6 ships in port the day we are in St. Maarten in Nov. from 8am-6pm. I'm worried about getting back to the ship if we take a tour because of traffic. Has anyone been there when there are a lot of ships in port? Thank you!

[Gamin2008]

Our DD's English Tutor met her boyfriend 2 year's ago while sailing Australia and New Zealand for 3 weeks with her folks on a HAL ship. Before she left we told her that there may not be any single people her age on this particular cruise. She was content to just lie out in the sun and visit the ports with her parents. Instead she got swept off of her feet and she ended up working as a Librarian on the same ship that her boyfriend works on.:)

 

 

Thanks for the story. I simply believe in.....Destiny!

[Gamin2008]

There will be 6 ships in port the day we are in St. Maarten in Nov. from 8am-6pm. I'm worried about getting back to the ship if we take a tour because of traffic. Has anyone been there when there are a lot of ships in port? Thank you!

 

I would be worried too! But you can always contact the tour operator via email and ask how they handle these situations if you book a tour.

Or, book a ship excursion ahead of time. With ship excursions you can not miss the boat.

 

I had booked ahead on a ship excursion for St-Thomas , it was cancelled due to itinerary changes but when they reinstalled the excursion (5 ships in Port), there was limited availability. So, they handled the excursion booking order by first come first served! I was lucky I got to go since many excursions were unavailable or sold out.

Edited April 5, 2013 by Gamin2008