St Thomas and St Martin excursion recs pls

[jt25741]

Hi,

We are family, husband, son 13, and myself. Only issue is that I am in cancer treatment and this is our first vacation April 5 Celebrity.

 

Looking for highlights or something easy to do (ie: taxi, tour) and brief (3 hours or less) for St Thomas and St Martin. There are going to be 7 ships in port on St Martin and want the easiest, but fun experience.

 

Rather not book Celebrity tours as it would be with a group...looking for more individual experience and avoid crowds.

 

Any tips appreciated!

[jsf]

You can always find a taxi at the dock that will offer you any thing you want to do or offer suggestions. If you up to it I would suggest a trip to St. John while in St. Thomas.

 

J.

[helen haywood]

Take Bernard's tour in St. Martin. Google it. He will take you to an iguana farm and several other scenic spots...over to the French side...to a beach for a bit and to Maho to see the planes land. Google Maho as well to see what I'm talking about. And you are certain to be delivered back to your ship in time which is important in St. Martin because they have terrible traffic snarls at times.

[lmcubs]

Take Bernard's tour in St. Martin. Google it. He will take you to an iguana farm and several other scenic spots...over to the French side...to a beach for a bit and to Maho to see the planes land. Google Maho as well to see what I'm talking about. And you are certain to be delivered back to your ship in time which is important in St. Martin because they have terrible traffic snarls at times.

I can second the recommendation for Bernard's Tour in St. Martin! Bernard is such a gentleman and a great ambassador for his island.

 

In St. Thomas we booked with Sunny Liston. I did the full day tour, but others just did the island sights tour. Sunny was a hoot, and had us singing all over St. Thomas. Even though it rained all day, we had the best time!

[blue_water]

If you are on the Equinox and docked at STT on April 7 for 9 hours it's a relatively quiet day for STT with only 2 ships and 6500 visitors. You are docked at Havensight along with thr Valor so you could enjoy a tour of the island followed by some time relaxing at Paradise Point for drinks or just to enjoy the view. As stated taxi drivers provide great tours and you can often find one available to give you a private tour, or a professional tour operator has packages and you can find these at vinow dot com or rated on tripadvisor.

If you're interested in more than that there are some excellent daysails you could enjoy like Yacht Nightwind or High Pockets, many have a 6-person limit and go out with fewer and that can be a very nice day. They're typically snorkeling trips but you don't need to snorkel to enjoy a nice day on the water!

 

Paradise Point is home to an open-air restaurant/cafe and other things including the Bird Lady who has a fun and interesting bird show. Great spot for kids of all ages to spend a couple hours before returning to the ship. You can take the tram down from PP and it's a short 10 minute walk back to your ship.

 

For SXM we would most definitely consider getting off the island because of the huge crowds that day. A nice daysail can be very enjoyable, and we love taking the Golden Eagle out when we're staying on the island or stopping on a cruise. You could stroll Philipsburg then take their daysail after. You don't need to snorkel to enjoy the day, and the boat is great and the crew excellent. Add a nice lunch as well!

http://www.sailingsxm.com/

A much nicer experience than working through the crowds on a tour or other excursion there.

 

Good luck with your treatments, and have an enjoyable cruise! :)

[peanutzmom]

In St. Thomas, I can highly recommend both Sunny Liston and Godfrey tours. They hit most of the same highlights but have a different vibe. Sunny Liston is louder, more upbeat, playing the Caribbean music and making jokes. Godfrey is more sedate and goes into a lot of the local culture and history. I've done both of them twice and would do either one again in a heartbeat.

 

St. Martin is my absolute FAVORITE Caribbean port, and we've done several land vacations there, as well as cruise stops. We've never booked an excursion, though. When we visit it as a cruise port, we usually just walk around Phillipsburg for a couple of hours in the morning, then take a taxi to Orient Beach for sun, relaxation, and amazing Caribbean and French cuisine that we can enjoy in our bathing suits with our feet in the sand! :cool:

[jsf]

If your taking an 11 year beware Orient Beach is clothing optional

[peanutzmom]

If your taking an 11 year beware Orient Beach is clothing optional

 

Only the very south end is clothing optional, and there's a huge sign letting you know it. The rest of the beach, in typical French tradition, is topless, though I usually see more women with their tops *on* than with their tops *off*.

[OCruisers]

Hi,

We are family, husband, son 13, and myself. Only issue is that I am in cancer treatment and this is our first vacation April 5 Celebrity.

 

Looking for highlights or something easy to do (ie: taxi, tour) and brief (3 hours or less) for St Thomas and St Martin. There are going to be 7 ships in port on St Martin and want the easiest, but fun experience.

 

Rather not book Celebrity tours as it would be with a group...looking for more individual experience and avoid crowds.

 

Any tips appreciated!

 

Very sorry to hear you have needed to do cancer treatment. Happy to hear you are well enough to have an upcoming cruise.

For exactly what you want, you would probably be best off getting a taxi driver to take you around. There are many in each of your ports who will be more than happy to do this.

LuLu

~~~

[blue_water]

In St. Thomas, I can highly recommend both Sunny Liston and Godfrey tours. They hit most of the same highlights but have a different vibe. Sunny Liston is louder, more upbeat, playing the Caribbean music and making jokes. Godfrey is more sedate and goes into a lot of the local culture and history. I've done both of them twice and would do either one again in a heartbeat.

 

St. Martin is my absolute FAVORITE Caribbean port, and we've done several land vacations there, as well as cruise stops. We've never booked an excursion, though. When we visit it as a cruise port, we usually just walk around Phillipsburg for a couple of hours in the morning, then take a taxi to Orient Beach for sun, relaxation, and amazing Caribbean and French cuisine that we can enjoy in our bathing suits with our feet in the sand! :cool:

 

jt wanted to avoid the ship-sponsored excursions, and the tours mentioned are the same experience. I was also wrong to mention them, sorry jt.

For a nice tour on STT a taxi driver woud be a much better choice. We prefer a private driver, the last we had before we started staying on STT was a gent we met through the Secret Harbour Resort. If a tour is in the cards I would try e-mailing them. Otherwise try googling for private drivers, not that expensive, and oh so much more enjoyable.

 

As to Orient, that will be totally swamped, similar to a day at sea on the ship and you're stuck with the same crowd but multiplied by 7. Definitely the wrong advice in this case. Would strongly a daysail, f that isn't an option hire a driver and head for a much nicer and quieter beach like Friar's and Baie Rouge.

 

EDIT But if you want a lively tour those mentioned are good, and both islands offer gorgeous beaches as well.

Enjoy your cruise, and best of luck jt

Edited March 21, 2014 by blue_water