Help! St Thomas/st Maarten Excursions

[batc]

We Have Been On The Western Cruise, But This Time We Are Taking The Eastern. We Had Planned The 4day, But Decided To Switch To The 7day. When Telling The Mom's (total Of 9 Of Us, Ages 2 To 58) One Is Not Very Excited Now. First, Being On The Boat For 7 Days, Thinks She Will Be Bored And Second She Really Wanted To See The History Side In Nassau. Can Anyone Help Me As What History Type Things She Can See On The Eastern Ports. I Want This To Be A Great Family Vacation For Everyone.

Thanks For Any Input. Oh And This Is The First Cruise For Both Mom's And Husband's Sis,bil And Nephew.

 

[tvguy]

There is something called the "Two Flags" tour on St. Maartin that should include a lot of historic sites on both the French and Dutch sides of the island.

We opted for the 12 Metre Regetta there, a blast, and Coral World on St. Thomas, which our kids liked (and they were 12 and 16 at the time)

As for getting bored on a cruise, I don't know how that can happen, I even did a 14 day cruise once with three consecutive days at sea, it was heaven.

 

[JSCTRico4]

We went to St. John for the snorkeling. It was really nice. They had bathrooms and showers where we snorkeled. I would recommend it. My 9 year old son, and 5 year old daughter really enjoyed it. Calm VERY clear waters. Perfect for a first time snorkeler or the more experienced!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I'd asked too. There are some good ideas here. (P.S. she should be thanking you, LOL).

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=801058&referrerid=70088

 

[Tiggerish]

Our family did the Under Two Flags bus tour in St. Maarten on our April '05 cruise. I was not impressed and my nieces, 9 and 15 were bored to tears.

It was a full size tour bus with comfortable seats, air conditioning and big windows but just did not seem like there was alot to see. Stopped briefly in the french town and even more briefly at a lookout over the ocean, picture taking spot. Our bus had only a driver who also gave the tour information. Learned that other buses had a separate tour narrator and a driver but don't think it would have made much difference.

But as far as being bored on the cruise - - I am 51 and single and traveled with extended family group. I had a great time. I did alot of the Art of Entertainment classes and other lectures by myself and was always made to feel very welcome and at ease.

By the way, I have always been big on combining education and vacation so it was my idea to have the group do the bus tour.

 

[CM_Mom]

We did the St. John Island Tour on St. Thomas day. The guide on the boat over to St. John gave a narrative about the history of the islands we passed on the 40 minute trip over to St. John. The the island tour was in open air "taxi busses" and the driver gave history of the areas as we passed them. It included a stop at Virgin Islands National Park and at the ruins of a sugar plantation that is maintained by the park service. I thought it was interesting and very informative. DH & I are 50 somethings and we had my aunt and mom along who are 80 somethings.

If I remember correctly the Trunk Bay snorkeling and the Eco Hike Excursions were on the same boat to St. John.