Bernards Tours on St Maarten Oct 20 Fantasy Cruise

[caribear]

My family and I took Bernard's tour in Nov 2010. It was okay, but like another poster mentioned we spent a lot of time on the bus. We wasted about 30 minutes because a husband/wife wanted to stop at the Harley Davidson store to get t-shirts. The rest of us waited on the bus and got annoyed when time started slipping by. The traffic to Marigot was terrible. Not Bernard's fault, but since waiting 30 min at Harley Davidson..and a late start to the tour...I think it threw the whole tour off. I think we waited in traffic for an hour or more....and then had 30 minutes to walk around before meeting back on the bus. We opted for Galleon Beach....while the rest went to Orient. Several of the people who went to Orient said our family made the right decision to go to Galleon as there were a couple of older men walking down the beach sans clothing....not just on the clothing optional side...but all down the beach...I draw the line when the bottoms come off. We also did not get to see the sea life that they usual show on the tour because we went in "the other direction" according to our guide since our tour got off to a late start. We did spend a lot of time at Maho which we enjoyed, but the beach was no where in sight when we were there! The water line was up to the rocks...so a little disappointing. Not sure how often this happens.

A couple of years prior when it was just DH and I....we went to Mullet Bay via taxi and then walked to Maho via a trail at the far end of the beach. From there we caught a taxi back to the ship. I think we might do this again when the kids are a little older.

 

[Silverfox97]

When you were at Maho, did you go on the beach, or go to the restaurant and hang out? I found the beach at Maho to be small, rocky, crowded, and in lots of places you were unable to sit because of the jet wash from the take-offs. We saw a plane land...and that was fun for about 5 minutes, but to actually go to the beach there was difficult IMHO.

Beach. It was definitely not crowded either. We had no issues with jet wash. We could've watched planes land all day. The only take off that was cool was the big plane; the little ones were just "meh." We plan on heading to Maho next time we are in St Maarten. It was our favorite part of the tour. Marigot was boring; we used the restroom and that was about it!

We didn't buy anything & I'm sad we forgot to buy Guavaberry

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[Star Wars Guy]

Just got our confirmation for Tour 1.

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[disney1990]

My feeling was that we could do the tour the first time. If and when we go back, we will know better what we want to see and do. Most tours spent about an hour in Marigot and that is definitely on my list - getting to both Capitols.

 

[onecoolpilot]

My feeling was that we could do the tour the first time. If and when we go back, we will know better what we want to see and do. Most tours spent about an hour in Marigot and that is definitely on my list - getting to both Capitols.

Just curious, how did you enjoy the tour? I didn't realize it at the time, but I believe you guys were sitting behind us on the van ( driver was David, your daughter talked about people being tackled in the Quad...)

It was interesting, but if I found myself on the island again, I probably wouldn't do the tour. David was cool and I enjoyed seeing the sites. I'm really bummed though that I didn't get to hang on the fence while the big KLM 747 took off ( missed it by about 30 seconds)

 

[disney1990]

Just curious, how did you enjoy the tour? I didn't realize it at the time, but I believe you guys were sitting behind us on the van ( driver was David, your daughter talked about people being tackled in the Quad...)

It was interesting, but if I found myself on the island again, I probably wouldn't do the tour. David was cool and I enjoyed seeing the sites. I'm really bummed though that I didn't get to hang on the fence while the big KLM 747 took off ( missed it by about 30 seconds)

Yes, that was us with our daughter Sarah, a graduate of SUNY-ESF. I wanted to do the tour because it was our first time to St. Maarten and I knew nothing about the island. I really enjoyed seeing the Iguanas and the sea urchins. I was a little disappointed that we didn't actually go to Orient Beach. I would have rather spend a little less time at Maho Beach. My DH and Sarah held onto the fence when a plane took off. After the tour, we got off the van in Phillipsburg and shopped a bit and we then found where we could have our passports stamped (a must for Sarah, since she is our world traveler.) Next time, we will probably arrange for transportation to a beach for a little while, back to Maho beach, and then a little shopping in Phillipsburg.

Did you get a chance to eat at Sarafina's in Marigot? The pastries were awesome!!

 

[onecoolpilot]

Oh yes, Sarafina was very tasty. Maho was a bit of a let down for me personally, with little beach area (because of the tide I guess?) and missing the big plane, but all is well, maybe next time. My little one had fun playing in the small beach area, down the road from Sunset Bar. That was the only beach time she got this trip, poor thing.

She decided to stay on board while we shopped in St. Thomas, and we let her thinking that she would have all day at Castaway to play at the beach...OOPS!

Like you, if we end up there again, we will probably just hit the beach for a bit, make our way to Maho, swing by Sarafina of course, and then if time permits, a little shopping.

 

[disney1990]

Oh yes, Sarafina was very tasty. Maho was a bit of a let down for me personally, with little beach area (because of the tide I guess?) and missing the big plane, but all is well, maybe next time. My little one had fun playing in the small beach area, down the road from Sunset Bar. That was the only beach time she got this trip, poor thing.

She decided to stay on board while we shopped in St. Thomas, and we let her thinking that she would have all day at Castaway to play at the beach...OOPS!

Like you, if we end up there again, we will probably just hit the beach for a bit, make our way to Maho, swing by Sarafina of course, and then if time permits, a little shopping.

My husband and daughter did the Eco Tour on St. Thomas. I met up with friends that live in St. Thomas (and I hadn't seen in 20 years). They gave me a person tour of their home island. It was an awesome opportunity. This was Sarah's first cruise and she was so very disappointed that she missed Castaway because she really wanted to go to the beach. Sounds like, when you go back to St. Maarten, that you will be touring similar to us.

 

[OMD13]

I am looking to book a tour in St. Maarten but the website asks what time we dock. Does anyone know the answer?

 

[neg58]

After the tour, we got off the van in Phillipsburg and shopped a bit and we then found where we could have our passports stamped (a must for Sarah, since she is our world traveler.) Next time, we will probably arrange for transportation to a beach for a little while, back to Maho beach, and then a little shopping in Phillipsburg.

Did you get a chance to eat at Sarafina's in Marigot? The pastries were awesome!!

Where do you get the passport stamp? Do you get one on the French side and the Dutch side?

So you recommend a tour? We are first timers, but I think we would just like to go to the beach for 3 hours, then to both capital cities. I was thinking a taxi?

Nancy

 

[onecoolpilot]

I am looking to book a tour in St. Maarten but the website asks what time we dock. Does anyone know the answer?

It was 8am for our cruise. I'm not sure if it's always 8am. Hang on and I'll go find the link that I used to find the time...

Ok, I found the site again (and bookmarked it this time), but something is odd. The DCL site shows, for example, the Fantasy leaving on 12/14/12 on an eastern, and according to the itinerary, will be in St. Maarten on 12/17/12. However, this site, shows her leaving PC on 12/15, St Thomas on 12/18, and then San Juan on 12/19. I'm not sure what's going on there, but for what it's worth, here's the link. Just click the link at the top that page for the month that you're sailing:

Disney Fantasy Port Schedule

 

[owensamo]

I am looking to book a tour in St. Maarten but the website asks what time we dock. Does anyone know the answer?

If you log into your reservation on the DCL site, the itinerary should have port times listed.

 

[disney1990]

Where do you get the passport stamp? Do you get one on the French side and the Dutch side?

So you recommend a tour? We are first timers, but I think we would just like to go to the beach for 3 hours, then to both capital cities. I was thinking a taxi?

Nancy

LOL - it took us about 2 hours to find out the answer to that one. You should be able to get it stamped on both the French and Dutch sides, but we only had ours stamped once. If you go straight out to the street from the cruise ship and make a right. It is about a 15/20 minute walk. If you decide you want to go, I will go into more detail.

 

[neg58]

I've been reading these St Maartens posts and want to get your ideas.

I think what we'd like is to go to Orient Beach and then go to the French capital, eat, shop, (get a passport stamp!) and then go to the Dutch capital and do the same.

Is there any reason to pay $60/each to do this as a tour? We wouldn't mind using a taxi or even a public bus, and then doing a more expensive tour on St. Thomas. I'm rather confused why so many people pay $60 for a beach day. I'm pretty sure I can buy a lot of lunch and drinks for less than $180.

All tips appreciated on the passport stamps/taxis/shopping, or even if we should do a tour rather than going to the beach at all.

Nancy

 

[JD&LYD]

We took this tour (Bernards) in Feb this yr. very good tour. $40 pp. Bernard himself rode with us for over half the tour. He went w/another vanafter Orient beach. Maho is on the second half. Very good tour We would do it again. If you do this or any other that goes to Orient Beach and other places on St. Maartin, be aware that there is a 50 cent charge to use the rest rooms/toilets at the beach. Have a great cruise and take Bernards.

 

[keishashadow]

We took this tour (Bernards) in Feb this yr. very good tour. $40 pp. Bernard himself rode with us for over half the tour. He went w/another vanafter Orient beach. Maho is on the second half. Very good tour We would do it again. If you do this or any other that goes to Orient Beach and other places on St. Maartin, be aware that there is a 50 cent charge to use the rest rooms/toilets at the beach. Have a great cruise and take Bernards.

we used bernards the end of june. they dropped us off so we could rent chairs/umbrellas at a beach cafe (close to the divider line between the two beaches). We had a great time there and were able to use the bathroom on the parking side of the building without any charge but it was a single toilet very rustic.

We wondered why so many men were wearing sarongs. The chair attendent told us they've cracked (no pun intended) down on the men's nudity when they cross the divider.

 

[Big Mo]

Looks like Bernard's e-mail got hacked. Perhaps this goes without saying, but you shouldn't send him $1,900 to the Philippines.