Triumph Excursion Help!?!?

[crazycajuncruiser]

We are sailing on Carnival Triumph on Nov. 23rd and having difficulty finding the best excursion to take and with who. We are going to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and San Juan. I know we wanted to go to the Bacardi Rum Factory in San Juan but we don't arrive on the island until 5:00 pm and doesn't it close at that time? Any and all suggestions would be helpful...we have about 40 people in our group!!

[VolzCruiser]

I would recommend going to St John's Trunk bay while in St Thomas. I was there just last week and it was wonderful

[nothomeonacruise]

Our first Triumph cruise, we went to San Juan at night. I don't recommend the evening walking tour in San Juan. You don't see much at night. We were outside the fort about 45 minutes and we found out that the fort was closed, so we never did go inside. (that time) The tour guide kept going on and on. I love history, but she was a snore. My family kept giving me looks like they wanted to leave. I kept them on the tour. We did visit several fountains, and a plaza.

The next time we went (last year) we hired a taxi. They are in a line at the port. We didn't pick the ones in the front (too pushy), but picked a quieter taxi driver at the end of the line. (A friend, who travels frequently, gave us that hint) Marco, our driver, took us on the best tour ever!! The nice thing about your own tour is that you can stop anywhere along the way.

In St. Thomas, we did the Blackbeard's Castle tour the first Triumph cruise. It was great. The second time, we took a waiting bus and did our own touring. We have a favorite lunch spot there.

 

In St. Martin, our first Triumph cruise went there, we took the island tour. I loved seeing the French side, and the French market!

[ferretface]

We were on the Triumph 01/2006. In San Juan we took an evening walking tour with Legends of Puerto Rico. Debbie was our guide & she was great, very informative and friendly. The URL won't show up here, but just do a google search & it comes up. We found this tour here on CC also.

 

On St Thomas we toured with Godfrey (www.godfreytoursvi.com). It was an incredible time. We toured the island, swam, shopped & drank wonderful banana daquiri's. If you search here on CC you'll find many reviews. That's how we found him.

 

On St Martin we did the Golden Catamaran through Carnival. I was disappointed (not their fault thou). The sea was too rough to go where planned, so it was mainly just a boat trip. In 2009 we're going with Benard's Tour (www.benardstour.com). Gets rave reviews here on CC.

 

Have fun

[taszmom]

We did a night call in SJ, we just walked around and saw the city. The forts close around 5pm as well. We walked along the Promenade on to the fort. Though we couldnt' get in, there are some signs explaining the history and there is a HUGE open field where tons of people were flying kites. We felt very safe, lots of policeman around. On the way back to the ship, we stopped at a little cafe and had a drink and a snack, and then at a restaurant for dinner. Service was very slow, we didn't have enough time. The line to get back on the ship was VERY long.

 

Been to St Thomas a few times. Did Magen Bay Beach one time, this last time we took the ferry over to St John and went to Cinnamon Bay Beach, it's beyond Trunk Bay. Less crowded, minimal facilities, but the beach was gorgeous.

 

St Maarten. There is a nice beach right there in st Philipsburg when you get the ferry from the dock. Good shopping here too. One time we took an excursion to Orient Bay Beach on the french side. Sat and had a nice lunch and glass of wine on the beach. Everyone spoke french, felt like I was in St Tropez. Another time we took a taxi to Margot (and walked around the city a bit) There are a number of cafes.

 

There are plenty of tour operators that offer excursions other than the cruise lines and at much less $. Try http://www.ShoreTrips.com I am using them for my upcoming Valor cruise.

[Delinpa]

We did the Butterfly farm on St. Martin w/ a side trip to Orient Beach ( only saw 2 nudes, one was great, the other should have never done it). On St. Thomas, we took the Sunny Liston Tour and it was fantastic.

[wonderfullife]

For those who like to kayak, the Bioluminescence Bay tour in San Juan is fantastic. It is a long ride on the bus to the kayaking area but it was well worth it. On the Liberty cruise we took, the only people who seemed happy to have stopped in San Juan (that we talked to or overheard) were those who went on that kayak tour.

 

Some people seemed okay with the Bacardi tour but they did mention that you don't go into the factory but just something like a visitor center.

 

St Thomas has a nice beach with Magens Bay. When we went there it was very deserted which I understand is rare. It was wonderful swimming without the crowds. We also went to Trunk Bay on St John another time and that is where I am hoping to go when I am back there.

 

I have not been to St Maarten yet.

 

Good luck with your decisions. I am sure everything will turn out well.

 

Aleece

[NDalfrey]

I am with CrazyCajunCruiser's group. We are so looking forward to this trip.

 

I would love to hear more about the Sunny Liston tours....

[cruisinqt]

Puerto Rico has their own website for tourism information, it's at www.gotopuertorico.com. I found a wealth of information on this website. San Juan, Puerto Rico has a new trolley system that's free. It's an open air trolley called "El Morro" and it's right across the street from the pier. You can also find lots of informative booklets and maps at the information booth at the dock. I would recommend going to PR's website (above) and getting some ideas on where to go at night and then you can use the free trolley to get there. Most people are going to the forts, which is what we plan on doing, so you might not get that many ideas on where to go at night. The website above may be your best bet.;)

 

When we went to St. Thomas, we used Sunny Liston tours which did a nice long tour including shopping, beach time, a tour of the island, and a stop for lunch. It's in a long open air trolley with lots of island music playing and sing alongs during the island tour. And at only $30 per person, you can't beat the price! I highly recommend them.

 

When we went to St. Maarten, we did Bernard Tours which included a tour of the island, time at the beach, shopping, and a stop for lunch on the French side (excellent cuisine!). :D We had a whole day's tour for only $30 per person. This was one of our all time favorite excursions because the tour guide's (two brothers) were born and raised on the island and have a wealth of info about the island and it's inhabitants. Plus it's in a brand new GMC van (white with chrome wheels) that has air conditioning, a plus for us as the island was very hot.

 

I hope these tips help you. Recommendations like this is what have made our past few cruises so great. We already know ahead of time that we have an excellent tour guide and we even know what to expect during the tour. It's takes a lot of worry out of choosing a tour. I used Sunny Liston and Bernard's Tours based on recommendations from people at cruisecritic and I wasn't disappointed. Bernard's Tours is at www.sxmtours.com and Sunny Liston Tours is at www.sunnylistontours.com.

[jwlnroe]

I would just walk around in San Juan.. we got off right away and did some shopping and was back on the ship for dinner by like 8 or 8:15 or so. I would definetly go to St Johns Trunk Bay if you can afford it otherwise you can do island tours from the locals for like $25 a person.. we almost did that but it rained so we didn't. They take you to sapphire beach at the end which from what i've heard is a very gorgeous beach and is rated one of the top beaches. Anyways hope that info helps.

[Delinpa]

A little hint on shopping on St. Martin. After you leave the dock, bear left, go up a little alleyway where you'll find some nice bargains. Marlboro cig. 5 ctns. for $50, Absolut Vodka $7, mens Polo shirts w/ pockets 3 for $20, beach bags 4 for $5. The furthur you go in to the town, the cheaper things get. Mens very nice embroidered caps 3 for $10. Their $10 a piece at the stores on the dock.

[bonnys]

Can anyone tell me how expensive it is to get to St. John's from St. Thomas?

[finoky]

We have done it several times but has been a few years. I seem to remember it being a little more than $30/pp round trip. We took a taxi from the ship to Red Hook. Ferry from there over to St John. Then taxi to Trunk Bay. On the return trip we took the ferry back to Charlotte Amalie for some shopping in town.

[nothomeonacruise]

I want to add that our paying the taxi for the private tour (Marco) in San Juan gave us a look at things we wouldn't have normally seen. He even got out at the capitol and explained some things to us. He also took us to both forts (and waited a long time while we toured) and then took us to one place that was simply beautiful along the water. As I said, he gladly stayed with us when we wanted to stop and waited. Our cruise was also in November last year during Thanksgiving. So, there were Christmas decorations up in the capitol building!!

[NDalfrey]

Thanks everyone for the wonderful information...that is the beauty of this site. It's great to be a cruise critic member!!!