St. Maarten and Antigua excursion questions.

[Mike981]

I have checked the individual forums in addition to Mother Google and I could not get an answer if these are decent excursions. I'm not sure if it is operator error or what. Any input on these?

Celebrity excursions:
St. Maarten, Island Tour: $29 pp

Antigua, Legends and Lores: $39 pp

 

We normally do private tours, but these were so cheap we thought what the heck.

[niborHS]

Definitely cheap, did it say how long either was, or describe it. Although St. Maarten is a small island, it still takes quite a while to drive around the whole island. I think the beaches in Antigua are beautiful, and we are not really beach people, but usually just get a taxi to take us to a beach that has a restaurant by it so we can have lunch. 

[Mike981]

Thank you niborHS

 

St. Maarten = 2.5 hours
Antigua = 2.5 hours

For the price we are not expecting much. Just a little time off the ship and then see how it goes.

[Mike981]

I'm wondering if maybe these are new or the names were changed to protect the innocent. 😉

[Denny01]

In St Maarten, we did the ‘Flavors of St Maarten. Not cheap - $120pp, but went to some very neat beach restaurants that were fun and great tastings at each one. Lots of fun to explore the differing foods of the islands and this one took us to 3 or 4 places for 3hrs+ and loved it. 

 

Not too long, got to see lots of both sides of St Maarten, and fun local hangouts/eateries, not straight tourist places. 

 

Den

 

 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

23 hours ago, Mike981 said:

Thank you niborHS

 

St. Maarten = 2.5 hours
Antigua = 2.5 hours

For the price we are not expecting much. Just a little time off the ship and then see how it goes.

Inexpensive tours can be well worth the price depending on the vehicle and the driver or the narrator. Usually just the driver for that price. Unless the weather is bad. You should have a good tour with lots of information and great sight seeing. If for some reason you do not like it, not a lot of loss. 2.5 hours may not happen. Do they stop for you to shop or go on the beach during that time? That is usually the get in the group time to get off time. No matter. Out of many only one was terrible. Grand Cayman. It was fully booked and was to be narrated by a so called pirate. It was a pirate theme  tour of which my grand son loves pirates. We it rained and rained. When it finally stopped they gave everyone the option of a refund. We chose to go along with another couple with there child. The weather turned sunny.  Mistake. The pirate vehicle was an old tram pulled by a jeep. No pirate nothing. The driver narrated it. He pulled over and talked on his phone for 15 min. Drove around looking at expensive homes. It was to be a 1.5 hour tour. Returned in 55 minuets. That was it. Back on board and went and informed them about it. The reply. We will note that. Thank you.

[Mike981]

Twodaywonder, that would be bad enough for just you, but then add in your grandson. 😞

[Janedoe2012]

Hey Mike- for $11 more you may want to consider Bernard’s Tours. Lots of highlights as well as venturing thru the French side and a stop at Maho Beach to watch the planes fly over.  Worth the drive to the French side and Simpson Bay to see the remnants of the hurricane destruction.   https://www.bernardstours.com/ 

[BlueSkiesTX]

2 hours ago, Janedoe2012 said:

Hey Mike- for $11 more you may want to consider Bernard’s Tours. Lots of highlights as well as venturing thru the French side and a stop at Maho Beach to watch the planes fly over.  Worth the drive to the French side and Simpson Bay to see the remnants of the hurricane destruction.   https://www.bernardstours.com/ 

 

I second Bernards’ Tours. We used them in 2016, pre-hurricane and they were wonderful. It was just enough for our first time to St. Maarten.

 

We used Capt. Bob’s boat tour this time (two weeks ago) because our daughters were older and could snorkel. Soualiga Destinations is the official name of Capt. Bob’s company...incredible day!

 

I should note that my extended family on this last cruise did a 2.5 hour beach break in St. Maarten through RCL and said it was “ just ok and too short.” Although if you just want something simple and off the boat, it might work for you. I think they paid $40ish which included a lounger. Enjoy St. Maarten! 

[Luvcrusn]

Mike, we did the St. Maarten island tour a number of years ago. It gave a good overview of the island, but it was primarily a bus tour with narration. There were a few photo stops along the way and the promised time on the French side where there were bistros and shops turned out to be a half hour stop at a small native souvenir type stop with really no time to grab a bite or shop in any of the shops that were there. Since then the island was rocked and devastated (French side much slower to recover). The traffic in St. Maarten can be quite busy so keep that in mind if you decide to strike off on your own. We were glad we did it, but now we're happy taking the water taxi to the beach.

[alcpa1]

We have been to both islands many times and both of these tours are merely drive bys. 

If you do take the St. Maarten tour take a morning time in case you want to go back to the French side or one of the beautiful beaches.

The Antigua tour won't even give you time in English Harbour or much more than a quick walk around if you even get to the fort.

You get what you pay for and in both instances it's not much.

[hcat]

13 hours ago, twodaywonder said:

Inexpensive tours can be well worth the price depending on the vehicle and the driver or the narrator. Usually just the driver for that price. Unless the weather is bad. You should have a good tour with lots of information and great sight seeing. If for some reason you do not like it, not a lot of loss. 2.5 hours may not happen. Do they stop for you to shop or go on the beach during that time? That is usually the get in the group time to get off time. No matter. Out of many only one was terrible. Grand Cayman. It was fully booked and was to be narrated by a so called pirate. It was a pirate theme  tour of which my grand son loves pirates. We it rained and rained. When it finally stopped they gave everyone the option of a refund. We chose to go along with another couple with there child. The weather turned sunny.  Mistake. The pirate vehicle was an old tram pulled by a jeep. No pirate nothing. The driver narrated it. He pulled over and talked on his phone for 15 min. Drove around looking at expensive homes. It was to be a 1.5 hour tour. Returned in 55 minuets. That was it. Back on board and went and informed them about it. The reply. We will note that. Thank you.

We took that tram tour  when I was recovering from surgery and did not want to be walking much.  It was mostly  bad!

 

There was a pirate.. We were crammed into the tram ( too many per row )  and made to wait  a long time for  a delayed tender to  arrive. The only highlight I recall was a brief stop at a small scenic beach area... too rocky to even dip our toes in..

 

Not fam with the other tours inquired about.  On St Maarten we usually take a ships tour to a beach with bar /restaurant.  Antigua...beach excursions as well.

Edited July 9, 2019 by hcat

[sound_guy0918]

+1 for Captain Bob's.  One of the best days we have ever spent in the Caribbean.