Bernard's Tour St Maarten

[gtaylor]

I don't want to stop at Rima's but would rather have an hour or two on Front and Back Streets. Want to stop at the Guavaberry Emporium, maybe Banane Vanille and maybe a little jewelry shopping for my 25th anniversary:D. Would I be better off switching to Tour #1?

Cathy

 

We've only done a private tour with Bernard, which was fantastic, but I have a couple comments.

 

Rima's has closed (last month) their big store on Pondfill Road, as the owner has retired. They do plan to still offer their products at the wholesale level ( which was their original intent) and may open a small retail shop on Back Street in downtown Philipsburg. Dates uncertain.

 

The Guavaberry Emporium does not offer a Banane Vanille as far as I know.

 

That is probably a flavoured rum produced by the Ma Dou Dou people, located over in Cul de Sac, French side, but which is probably available at most liquor shops on the Dutch side as well.

 

I'd take a look at Ocean Jewelers on Frontstreet for the Ma Dou Dou as they had a good selection available on our last visit.

 

 

(click)

 

gary

[Shedraggon]

Thanks gary!

 

 

Think I've decided to switch to Tour #1. We have plenty of sun days so a short trip to Orient will be fine.

 

I forgot about the shop in Cul-de-sac so I will definitely check out Ocean Jewelers. Also saw a Facebook page for a shop called Banane Vanille on Old Street so I'll look for that too. We enjoy taste testing! And sorry, yes I knew the Guavaberry Emporium was different. I was saying I wanted to go to both! Again love taste testing and didn't buy much last time we were here (20 years ago).

 

 

Definitely want some time to roam downtown Philipsburg. The town looks very colorful and we want to be relaxed shopping and getting back to the ship.

 

So Tour #1 has a little extra time in Marigot. Anything we shoud not miss there, other than Sarafina's or Rosemary's?

 

Thanks!

[packed and ready to go]

I booked with Bernard's for a party of 11. Great time and driver asked what we would like and tailored the tour to our likes. Free soda, water and beer and made sure we were at Maho Beach for the great airplane show. Had us back to the ship in time as the roads are weird timewise. Would recommend as will many others. Safe driver.

 

Ditto for us Bernard's was awesome, our tour guide was Mailbox very nice time Rum punch was mostly rum the lots of beer, soda and water.

[gtaylor]

Ditto for us Bernard's was awesome, our tour guide was Mailbox very nice time Rum punch was mostly rum the lots of beer, soda and water.

 

I suspect that this was the MailMan, he delivers. :)

 

gary

[cruisecritiquer]

I suspect that this was the MailMan, he delivers. :)

 

gary

 

LOL @ mailbox. This is totally something I would say. I murder people's names all the time.

[BOAZ5]

I have done a lot of research on Bernard's Tours. We have our private tour booked.

 

I have read many comments about staying on schedule and rushing through the tour to get to Maho for the planes.

 

Since we booked a private tour, does anyone think it would it be possible and feasible to go to Maho at the beginning of the tour? We could get the planes out of the way and know exactly how much time we had at the other stops.

 

Just a thought!

[gtaylor]

The only planes coming in until late morning are all 'Puddle Jumpers', so if that satisfies your interest in Maho, then go for it.

 

They're nothing compared to even a 737 coming in, much less a 757 or an Airbus. And the Holy Grail is the 747.

 

gary

[BOAZ5]

The only planes coming in until late morning are all 'Puddle Jumpers', so if that satisfies your interest in Maho, then go for it.

 

They're nothing compared to even a 737 coming in, much less a 757 or an Airbus. And the Holy Grail is the 747.

 

gary

 

Thank you! I figured it was something like that.

[swom]

I've done him before and we are going back to St Maarten in Feb and would like to do it again. Can someone please give me his website? Thanks in advance!

[cruisecritiquer]

I've done him before and we are going back to St Maarten in Feb and would like to do it again. Can someone please give me his website? Thanks in advance!

 

http://bernardstours.com/tours.html

[swom]

http://bernardstours.com/tours.html

 

Thank You so much!

[mommie_2_3_krazy_teens]

 

Anyway, I would certainly use Bernard's Tours again. But I would also print out the airplane arrival schedule for SXM, and make sure I got there on time! Or, next time I go to SXM, I may just plant myself at the Sunset Bar all day. :D

 

Where do you find the airplane arrival/departure schedules for the SXM airport? We will be there March 24th and are doing a private tour with Bernards. My son and my husband NEED to see airplanes! Ha! I have to get this one right. :rolleyes:

 

Thank you for your very candid review! I know that nothing is perfect, and I was starting to worry when I could not find ANY negatives about Bernards Tours! :eek:

[Fouremco]

Where do you find the airplane arrival/departure schedules for the SXM airport? We will be there March 24th and are doing a private tour with Bernards. My son and my husband NEED to see airplanes! Ha! I have to get this one right. :rolleyes:

 

Thank you for your very candid review! I know that nothing is perfect, and I was starting to worry when I could not find ANY negatives about Bernards Tours! :eek:

For arrivals:

http://www.flightstats.com/go/FlightStatus/flightStatusByAirport.do?airportCode=SXM&airportQueryType=1

 

For departures:

http://www.flightstats.com/go/FlightStatus/flightStatusByAirport.do?airportCode=sxm&airportQueryType=0

[shawne71]

Has anyone ever done the Maho Beach Tour for $25/pp offered by Bernard's rather than the Full Island Tour? What time did you leave Maho Beach and head back to the ship? I know it cost more than taking a taxi but I've heard traffic can be a nightmare and feel more comfortable going with Bernard.

[packed and ready to go]

Has anyone ever done the Maho Beach Tour for $25/pp offered by Bernard's rather than the Full Island Tour? What time did you leave Maho Beach and head back to the ship? I know it cost more than taking a taxi but I've heard traffic can be a nightmare and feel more comfortable going with Bernard.

 

Bernard's will customize your tour after just coming back from a Bernard tour and they were the greatest. I would spend my whole time on Orient Beach, and skip Maho unless your are 100% sure you will see the large planes (jets) come over. Beach is small and no big deal. That's my opinion. We had a group tour that was put together from those interested on our cruise critic sail, discount and all agreed we did not want to stop for phone shoots and if you wanted to shop, you could be dropped off on the way back to the ship.

[KBCruiser2013]

We are going on a private tour in January. Does anyone know if the tour guides prefer to be tipped in euros or US dollars? Also, while we are there, is it easier if we have already exchanged USD for euros for shopping and eating?

[jdvmd]

We are going on a private tour in January. Does anyone know if the tour guides prefer to be tipped in euros or US dollars? Also, while we are there, is it easier if we have already exchanged USD for euros for shopping and eating?

No need to exchange dollars for Euros. All are accepted especially USD.

[CruisingYiayia]

We will be on the Reflection in 2 weeks and have booked Bernard's Tour. Our pick-up time is 9:00 A.M. Does anyone know if this is the same as ship time?

[Fouremco]

We will be on the Reflection in 2 weeks and have booked Bernard's Tour. Our pick-up time is 9:00 A.M. Does anyone know if this is the same as ship time?

Sint Maarten is UTC -4, while ship time for ships departing Florida will be UTC -5 at the conclusion of DST. In my experience, however, cruise ships adjust to local time to avoid such confusion.

 

[BOAZ5]

I booked with Bernard's for a party of 11. Great time and driver asked what we would like and tailored the tour to our likes. Free soda, water and beer and made sure we were at Maho Beach for the great airplane show. Had us back to the ship in time as the roads are weird timewise. Would recommend as will many others. Safe driver.

 

What was the time difference between ship time and island time?

We are scheduled to meet Bernard at 9:00am in June. From the research I have done, I think the island and ship are on the same time in summer.

Is this correct?

[WECRUISE4US]

Just returned from Oct 20th sailing of Carnival Valor and on St Maarten/St Martin we did Bernard's tour with "The mailman" as our guide. We had a great tour and great time. We met at 9 am (ship time and local time) at meeting point which is easy to locate. Enjoyed the entire tour and spent plenty of time at Maho to see several planes land and take off. Highly recommend this tour. Price is good $35 pp and included drinks (Beer, Water, Rum punch with mostly Rum!!) :):)

[asuedonym]

Just returned from Oct 20th sailing of Carnival Valor and on St Maarten/St Martin we did Bernard's tour with "The mailman" as our guide. We had a great tour and great time. We met at 9 am (ship time and local time) at meeting point which is easy to locate. Enjoyed the entire tour and spent plenty of time at Maho to see several planes land and take off. Highly recommend this tour. Price is good $35 pp and included drinks (Beer, Water, Rum punch with mostly Rum!!) :):)

 

We took it a few years ago and it was great!

[Bamer5]

First time Cruiser....I booked Bernard's 9am tour for Jan.29th . We are on the Oasis and will be in port 8am to 5pm. I received the email where to go and to be there for 8:45..great!! Then I noticed some posting about ship time and port time. How can I find out if my time in port is on the same time as St Maarten's ?

[Fouremco]

First time Cruiser....I booked Bernard's 9am tour for Jan.29th . We are on the Oasis and will be in port 8am to 5pm. I received the email where to go and to be there for 8:45..great!! Then I noticed some posting about ship time and port time. How can I find out if my time in port is on the same time as St Maarten's ?

Ship's time is adjusted to port time when cruising through two or more time zones. If your itinerary for the Oasis indicates that you will be in port from 8am to 5pm, consider that to be both ship's and port time.

 

Your major concern it to adjust your watch to match ship's time so that you don't return late to the dock. Don't worry, you'll get lots of reminders on board. Relax and enjoy yourself!

 

[swom]

Ship's time is adjusted to port time when cruising through two or more time zones. If your itinerary for the Oasis indicates that you will be in port from 8am to 5pm, consider that to be both ship's and port time.

 

Your major concern it to adjust your watch to match ship's time so that you don't return late to the dock. Don't worry, you'll get lots of reminders on board. Relax and enjoy yourself!

 

 

and Bernard is EXCELLENT at knowing ship time!!! He'll get you back in time.