Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

St. Maarten Excursion

brentconn

By brentconn,
in Princess Cruises

 Share

Recommended Posts

OCruisers

OCruisers

Posted
Posted

Brent ..... We took this tour through Princess in January.

We normally take a taxi on our own to Orient Beach but the timing on this one was ideal for us so decided to give it a try.

They picked us up at the ship and took us by bus. Our tour guide was very interesting and kept everyone entertained.

Once there, they showed us our beach chairs and the covered bar/restaurant area with tables & chairs. At that point we were on our own to enjoy the lovely beach. I love to watch the parasailing there.

Lunch was good and freshly cooked rather than a buffet.

All in all it was a very nice tour and we enjoyed our stress free day. :)

LuLu

Link to comment
Share on other sites
geoherb "Live from...." Rare

geoherb

Posted
Posted

Going to Orient Beach and back on your own via taxi is pretty easy. I wouldn't pay the extra. The things you get aren't worth it (as long as you're the type who can make sure to be back to the ship on time on your own). Be sure to check out the St. Martin board here on Cruise Critic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Thrak

Thrak

Posted
Posted
Brent ..... We took this tour through Princess in January.

We normally take a taxi on our own to Orient Beach but the timing on this one was ideal for us so decided to give it a try.

They picked us up at the ship and took us by bus. Our tour guide was very interesting and kept everyone entertained.

Once there, they showed us our beach chairs and the covered bar/restaurant area with tables & chairs. At that point we were on our own to enjoy the lovely beach. I love to watch the parasailing there.

Lunch was good and freshly cooked rather than a buffet.

All in all it was a very nice tour and we enjoyed our stress free day. :)

LuLu

 

My question would be: How did the price compare to doing it on your own? I find most Princess excursions to be insanely priced. (In Hawaii they wanted $89 per person to visit the Arizona - which is free. For the price of one person on the Princess excursion we rented a car and the three of us had use of it all day.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
stoneharborlady

stoneharborlady

Posted
Posted

We have done it twice, and throughly enjoyed it. The chicken was very good, and we would rather relax and let someone else (who knows how to get there, drive) We all love Orient Beach, the water has been very clean and not too rough when we went. I would go again in a heartbeat.

 

Karen

Link to comment
Share on other sites
OCruisers

OCruisers

Posted
Posted
We have done it twice, and throughly enjoyed it. The chicken was very good, and we would rather relax and let someone else (who knows how to get there, drive) We all love Orient Beach, the water has been very clean and not too rough when we went. I would go again in a heartbeat.

Karen

 

Karen .... Agree! Often to us, it's more about the convenience than the money. :D

We had the fish and it was very good! :)

LuLu

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lovetocruiseprincess

Lovetocruiseprincess

Posted
Posted
My question would be: How did the price compare to doing it on your own? I find most Princess excursions to be insanely priced. (In Hawaii they wanted $89 per person to visit the Arizona - which is free. For the price of one person on the Princess excursion we rented a car and the three of us had use of it all day.)

 

There's also a public bus for I think $1.50. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rdsqrl

rdsqrl

Posted
Posted

Another consideration is traffic, which can be extremely congested in St. Maarten. I'd be doubling the normal cushion I'd leave for getting back to the ship timely if I were doing anything outside Philipsburg on my own.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ereggae

Ereggae

Posted
Posted (edited)
Thinking about doing the World-Famous Orient Beach Break & Lunch

excursion. If anyone has done this, please let me know your thoughts on it.

 

Thanks,

 

Brent

 

We have been to St. Maarten several times and we take the same taxi every time. He takes us to Orient Beach to The Sun Beach Clubber where we hang out for the day then he picks us back up at an arranged time. The staff is wonderful and the food very good. The last trip we asked him to pick us up early to take us to Maho Beach, which is famous for the planes flying right over the beach when landing. It was different and enjoyable. Give yourself sufficient time to make it back to the ship as traffic can be a bit crazy on the return.

 

http://www.sint-maarten.net/St-Maarten-Beaches/MahoBay.html

Edited by Ereggae
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 8 months later...
kodiac

kodiac

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hi - I noticed Princess says there are "drinks" available - is it just a welcome drink --- or is it open limited bar? Just curious as we may book this trip next month.

Edited by kodiac
Link to comment
Share on other sites
OCruisers

OCruisers

Posted
Posted
Hi - I noticed Princess says there are "drinks" available - is it just a welcome drink --- or is it open limited bar? Just curious as we may book this trip next month.

 

Only the "welcome drink" (punch/rum punch) is included. You will need to pay for any other drinks.

LuLu

Link to comment
Share on other sites
CQG67

CQG67

Posted
Posted

Have used Bernard's Tours twice and been very pleased. Ran around $40 - $45 pp and was smaller group. Personally I didn't care for Orient Beach - very crowded and frankly not the prettiest. Then there were all of the old naked people strolling up and down the beach. Lovely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lovetocruiseprincess

Lovetocruiseprincess

Posted
Posted
Have used Bernard's Tours twice and been very pleased. Ran around $40 - $45 pp and was smaller group. Personally I didn't care for Orient Beach - very crowded and frankly not the prettiest. Then there were all of the old naked people strolling up and down the beach. Lovely.

 

Most people including myself think Orient beach is one of the nicest but as you say most of the nudists aren't what some people expect. :eek: (but that's only if you go to that area and there are signs posted so that you should know what to expect)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tyskie

Tyskie

Posted
Posted

We did the Princess Orient Beach Afternoon. We shopped in the morning and took the "tour" in the afternoon (yes first time to St.M). Our rum punches were included - unlimited and mighty good! :eek::D Great loungers, umbrellas.

 

That said, since then we go on our own - get there early and get back early. Everyone has their own comfort factor with tours - go & enjoy!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
trev71

trev71

Posted
Posted

I know we did this same excursion threw Royal. It was a nice beach, If you wanted to keep your umbralla you would have to give the guy there a few more dollars I do beleive.

 

The only thing i did not like was the people vendors walking up to you asking you 100 times if you want to buy something.

 

Free rum punch was good though

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...