St Maarten port excursions are lacking

[lklgoodman]

We are going on the March 4 Wonder cruise to St Maarten. I was able to book things last night, we are silver cc . Disney had over 30 port excursions listed on their site as of yesterday. Last night when I went to do the excursions there were only 17 that showed up, both beach excursions were sold out, so was the Regatta. Out of the remaining 14 excursions, 7 of them were for those either over 8 yrs old or adults only. Yesterday Disney had a new beach excursion listed for St Maarten, however it wasn't on the list to pick from last night or this morning. Just thought I'd share this since I now see other Eastern cruises are now going to St Maarten. I really wish Disney would update their website to show that a lot of the excursions aren't available. This really makes me sad for the people who live there. I'm guessing the lack of excursion choices is because the island is still in really bad shape.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We are going on the March 4 Wonder cruise to St Maarten. I was able to book things last night, we are silver cc . Disney had over 30 port excursions listed on their site as of yesterday. Last night when I went to do the excursions there were only 17 that showed up, both beach excursions were sold out, so was the Regatta. Out of the remaining 14 excursions, 7 of them were for those either over 8 yrs old or adults only. Yesterday Disney had a new beach excursion listed for St Maarten, however it wasn't on the list to pick from last night or this morning. Just thought I'd share this since I now see other Eastern cruises are now going to St Maarten. I really wish Disney would update their website to show that a lot of the excursions aren't available. This really makes me sad for the people who live there. I'm guessing the lack of excursion choices is because the island is still in really bad shape.

Since Concierge, Platinum & Gold Castaway Club level could book excursions before you could, it's quite likely that the more popular ones will be sold out. Often, if there's a big demand for certain excursions DCL will add additonal departures, usually once the cruise begins.

The basic excursion types information can't really be noted as to which may or may not sell out quickly, as each cruise is different. Once the booking windows open, that's when that information is available. The general information as to what excursions there may be is based on what's been available in the past. Not all excursions are available year after year, as those contracts are pretty much set up on a yearly basis.

 

[lklgoodman]

Don't they still list the excursions and show that they are sold out? Last night they only had 3 excursions as being sold out. I had a list of excursions that I was interested in, 8 on my list weren't even listed at all, not even as being sold out? I just checked Disney's port excursion selection and a few of them are now removed from the list, but not all of them.

 

[gfire520]

I had the same issue as I am on the same trip as you. I logged in last night and all the beach excursions are sold out. My kids are young so there isnt much for them to do. I hope they add another bus for the beach tours.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I've found some external options:

http://www.soualigadestinations.com/soualiga_destinations/Most_Popular_Tour.html

and

http://www.bernardstours.com/tours.html

 

[hrhdhd]

I had the same issue as I am on the same trip as you. I logged in last night and all the beach excursions are sold out. My kids are young so there isnt much for them to do. I hope they add another bus for the beach tours.

If you just want a ride to a beach, there are vans that run to different beaches right from the port. Depending on how many people, it'll cost $6 or $7 a head. Then just take a cab back to the port.

 

[acndis]

Our Fantasy cruise was just redirected to St. Maarten (instead of Tortola) on 3.13. The Disney tours were really lackluster as OP said. I contacted Sousliga after seeing all the great reviews on these boards. I did not wait and went ahead and booked! I think these will fill quickly. It looks like a great tour.

 

[DetroitAvant]

Does Disney offer the race? We did this when were on Royal and it was fantastic. We had a 6 and 8 year old with us.
https://www.trisportsxm.com/adventure-race-st-maarten-tour-9.html

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Does Disney offer the race? We did this when were on Royal and it was fantastic. We had a 6 and 8 year old with us.
https://www.trisportsxm.com/adventure-race-st-maarten-tour-9.html

No.

There is a bunch of stuff offered by other providers.

For those seeking beach days, you can take the water taxi for $7 RT to a beach near downtown that gets good reviews. Several resorts offer day passes.

It looks like the zip line and a few other places have lower age limits than Disney versions of the outing as well.

 

[Bsmitty]

Our Fantasy cruise was just redirected to St. Maarten (instead of Tortola) on 3.13. The Disney tours were really lackluster as OP said. I contacted Sousliga after seeing all the great reviews on these boards. I did not wait and went ahead and booked! I think these will fill quickly. It looks like a great tour.

What is this Sousliga? I did a search & could only find this thread. I’m in the same boat...itinerary changed. I had Aristocat booked for Tortola & am beyond sad, as that was my favorite thing I was looking forward to.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

What is this Sousliga? I did a search & could only find this thread. I’m in the same boat...itinerary changed. I had Aristocat booked for Tortola & am beyond sad, as that was my favorite thing I was looking forward to.

Regrettably, the most equivalent organization I could find to Aristocat lost their yacht in the hurricane with no ETA to be up and running again.

This is Soualiga: http://www.soualigadestinations.com/soualiga_destinations/Most_Popular_Tour.html

If you wade past the reviews on TripAdvisor about the easy cancels post-Irma, they have strong reviews. Not as much snorkeling as on Aristocat, but there is some explicit beach time.

 

[Bettyscruise]

The lack of open excursions could also mean there will be several cruise ships docked there at the same time. Vendors could be overwhelmed by numbers as well as conditions. Check to see what other ships may be there with yours.

 

[KristiMc]

We did the Soualiga tour in 2014 and it was great! Highly recommend.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I think another issue is really that while there are a couple of really nice beaches (Orient Beach comes to mind), some of them are French. Disney will not have a general excursion to a French beach. The French are flexible about the use of tops on ladies. Even if Disney put a huge disclaimer, someone's precious youngster would SEE A BOSOM and all hell would break loose at Guest Relations, KWIM?

Loterie Farm and the zip lines there are still out of action. The Nature Reserve of St. Maarten describes itself as "destroyed" (https://reservenaturelle-saint-martin.com/en). Rockland Farms is open, but Disney add some age requirements well above what the attraction itself enforces (and probably rightly - I'm not sure I'm feeling the "4 and up" for the Schooner, but I think Disney make it 10 or 12, which may be extreme in the other direction).

I do wonder what the thought process was. I guess the downtown and dock area is in better shape at Philipsburg than in Road Town.

 

[lklgoodman]

The 2 beach excursions that are sold out are to Orient Beach. We were also looking at the Rockland Estate excursions that Disney has their site, but they weren't included in the actual list of excursions for our cruise. Sunday afternoon they added another beach excursion, doesn't say to what beach, but again, it also wasn't included in the actual list of excursions for our cruise. Dh likes to stick with Disney excursions, I do all the research/planning so I'm going to look into the other ones that have been posted here. He usually tells me to pick whatever I want anyway.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The 2 beach excursions that are sold out are to Orient Beach. We were also looking at the Rockland Estate excursions that Disney has their site, but they weren't included in the actual list of excursions for our cruise. Sunday afternoon they added another beach excursion, doesn't say to what beach, but again, it also wasn't included in the actual list of excursions for our cruise. Dh likes to stick with Disney excursions, I do all the research/planning so I'm going to look into the other ones that have been posted here. He usually tells me to pick whatever I want anyway.

I will say that if you really want a beach, you can get the water taxi RT for $7 from the pier area and go to Great Bay Beach. Otherwise, I'd look into some of the day passes for different resorts. With a 6:15 depart you could easily spend 4-5 hours at the beach and shopping and have no issues getting back via either the water taxi or a taxi taxi.

 

[sdjen]

Regrettably, the most equivalent organization I could find to Aristocat lost their yacht in the hurricane with no ETA to be up and running again.

This is Soualiga: http://www.soualigadestinations.com/soualiga_destinations/Most_Popular_Tour.html

If you wade past the reviews on TripAdvisor about the easy cancels post-Irma, they have strong reviews. Not as much snorkeling as on Aristocat, but there is some explicit beach time.

Just wanted to chime in about Aristocat. We had them booked for early February and the owner said they would be up and running by then. But, Disney just changed our port from Tortola to St Martin so we have to cancel anyways. So bummed!

 

[sdjen]

We visited St Martin a few years ago and loved Le Galion beach. Easy to grab a ride to and from the beach and very kid friendly too. Calm waves and a more family oriented environment. Can rent a chair/umbrella and there was a beach shack for food and drinks. Not sure if they were hit by hurricane though.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I think it's important to keep in mind that St. Maarten is SMALL. It is pretty easy to go rogue or to book "non-DCL" really safely on the island. It looks like most of the independent providers even arrange transport.

I am also surprised the DCL excursion goes to Orient Beach, given its status as clothing optional. Do they at least have a disclaimer, or is there going to be "omg BOSOMS!!!!" at guest services later? Cuz if there is, I am easily entertained watching such things.

 

[carrieshields]

I will say that if you really want a beach, you can get the water taxi RT for $7 from the pier area and go to Great Bay Beach. Otherwise, I'd look into some of the day passes for different resorts. With a 6:15 depart you could easily spend 4-5 hours at the beach and shopping and have no issues getting back via either the water taxi or a taxi taxi.

Which resorts offer day passes?