Opinions on Eastern excursions -- What's good/What's bad?

[CSX2]

What were your favorite Eastern excursions and why? Which would you never do again? Anyone with activities to recommend beyond the advertised excursions?

 

[randytenn]

The St. John Trunk Baby snorkle tour was the highlight of my cruise last month. Beautiful scenery, and perfect snorkling.

The Sea and See, while interesting, is something I wouldn't do again. St. Martin is kind of run down and sad. The semi-submarine was fun, but the tour of the island was kinda depressing.

 

[sigafoos]

We did the Americas Cup sailing regatta in St. Martin and we all loved it. Even my then 13DS who left the ship complaining all the way that all he wanted to do is stay on the ship with his new friends! He let the excursion with a huge grin and said it was "awesome"! We also did the 5 Star Trunk Bay Snorkeling and we all (myself,DH,DD16 and DS13) enjoyed it. While some people don't think it is enough time snorkeling we felt it was enough. It was our first time snorkeling. I know alot of people prefer to go their own way instead of being "herded" on organized excursions I am more comfortable knowing that we won't get lost or some thing unforseen will happen to make us miss the ship! We did go into town on our own in both St. Martin and St.Thomas to shop, but I must be honest while in St.Thomas knowing we were to leave at 5 I was looking at my watch the whole time and making sure there were always taxis around to be back on the ship in time! Sometimes I drive my kids crazy! They are always saying Mom we have PLENTY of time!
KIm

 

[jrabbit]

We cruised in January. We were scheduled for the “shipwreck snorkel tour”. The evening before arriving in St. Maarten we were notified that our excursion had been cancelled – poor snorkeling visibility. So we scrambled to get another snorkeling excursion. The only one left was the Golden Eagle catamaran which is billed as a sailing/snorkeling/beach party (people really like this one). The next day when we gathered for the excursion, the cruise director said that the snorkeling was not going to be good and if that is why we signed up for this excursion, they would let us opt out. Our understanding is that due to where St. Maarten is and with their winds and current that snorkeling is a hit or miss proposition. I don’t know if its like that year round or just during the winter months. We ended up at Orient Bay on the French side (clothing optional) of the islands own our own. We had a great day at the beach and it cost a whole lot less than any organized shore excursion.

BUT if anyone has done the shipwreck snorkel trip – I really would like to hear about it.

In St. Thomas we took the barefoot catamaran cruise over to St. Johns and snorkeled there (not Trunk bay). This was a truly wonderful excursion (a little pricey) . I highly recommend it. The boat was clean, the crew friendly and helpful, and the weather was great (even if we got rained on a little on the way home). Like I said I do recommend this excursion, but if we go again we will do the snorkeling trip to Trunk Bay. I’ve seen picture of people going up a cable car – that looks like fun and you get a great view too.

 

[macbasset]

Hi, we did the golden eagle catamarran snorkeling trip at st. martin. as someone else said, the waters were rough that morning and gave us the opportunity to pass if we wanted. we decided to go and they did the beach near the airport. it was absolutely fabulous! we didn't as many fish as we did at trunk bay later, but the ride on that million dollar catamarran was beautiful; music, snacks, champagne, and lunch. you could ride up front on the bouncy front part or in the back. then we did the snorkeling trip to trunk bay and i wouldn't have missed that breathtaking view of such a beautiful beach. we saw more fish and coral, etc. there at the underwater national park than at any other place. we would definitely do both of these again. we are going again over new year's and may try the kayaking excursions at both places since we have just become interested in kayaking this summer. i hope someone can tell us about these two trips. barb