Martinique

[marydz]

I am posting this on this board versus the ports of call board because there is not much activity there. I was wondering what everyone suggests to do on Martinique. I was thinking about getting a taxi to take us around the island. Any specific suggestions on what not to miss regarding sightseeing?

Anything you absolutely loved about Martinique? Also, if you ever hired a taxi for an island tour, approximately what did you pay and did you just get your taxi at the pier or did you arrange it beforehand. Any suggestions or advice will be much appreciated. Thanks :)

 

Mary

 

Carnival Legend 3/27/05

Carnival Legend 3/28/04

Carnival Victory 8/11/02

[tarbashchaputi]

Hi there,

 

We sailed into Martinique a few years ago and did not particularly care for the island, despite the fact that it is very pretty. We did a taxi ride there and for 60 minutes I believe it was 50USD which was out of site compared to other islands - as an example, I hired a taxi for a day in Antigua that same cruise and it cost 45 not including the tip.

There is shopping on the island and I did not see any real wheeling and dealing going on in the stores, however there is a park within walking distance of the pier with boths.

 

I'm sorry I can't be really positive about this port, but we really did not enjoy it. I found it dirty and we did not feel comfortable there. I had bad vibes for some reason that I can not explain.

 

I hope this helps you. If I were going back to Martinique, I would likely do a ship based tour or snoop around here to find out what is cool to do there. The people that frequent this web site have amazing ideas and may be more help to you than I.

Brian

[savandbarb]

I am posting this on this board versus the ports of call board because there is not much activity there. I was wondering what everyone suggests to do on Martinique. I was thinking about getting a taxi to take us around the island. Any specific suggestions on what not to miss regarding sightseeing?

Anything you absolutely loved about Martinique? Also, if you ever hired a taxi for an island tour, approximately what did you pay and did you just get your taxi at the pier or did you arrange it beforehand. Any suggestions or advice will be much appreciated. Thanks :)

 

Mary

 

Carnival Legend 3/27/05

Carnival Legend 3/28/04

Carnival Victory 8/11/02

We did martinique last year and went on a carnival excursion to do some snorkelling( not to bad but alot of fire coral and floating condoms"jelly fish").

The cab drivers are right outside the gate where the ships dock and are very pushy:mad: !!!!There is a little shopping plaza at the pier,it is not too expensive but make sure you get your money back in dollars otherwise they will give you it in Euros and they are all but worthless up here:eek: .it is a nice place to visit but I can't say I'll look for it again when looing at booking a cruise.had alot more fun in St Martin!!!:D

[popcorngal]

We were just there less than a month ago, and I was all prepared to hate the place. Had heard all kinds of negative things about how rude the people are etc. But I have to say, I think it was one of the prettiest islands we've ever been to. We did the St. Pierre island tour booked through the ship. The visit to the town of St Pierre was amazing and the stop at the Depaz Rum Distillery had some of the lushest surroundings you will ever see. It is located part of the way up on Mt Pelee. It was a wonderful tour on a very modern and well air conditioned motor coach. Be prepared to come back through a security checkpoint to even get back on the pier. Your bags will be xrayed and you will go through a metal detector as well. This is before you can even come back on the gangway to go through it again on the ship. It wasn't bad though and I figure if you have nothing to hide, then it shouldn't be a problem!:D

[Islandbuoy]

Great place to shop and see some local color. Both the fish market and the straw market are excellent. Prices for lunch etc are quite high and are in euros!!

[tef43]

Stay on the ship, or better yet, cancel and rebook onto a ship that does not include this dreadful place on its itinerary. Been there twice, giving it the benefit of the doubt after the first time, big mistake.

[cantw82cruise]

When we went to Martinique in "03" I was not looking forward to this stop. We weren't there very long and hadn't planned a tour. When we got of the ship we decided to try a taxi tour. We found a guy that could handle 6 of us (two families of 3). This guy had a big station wagon. We had a great time he took us to a rum factory. We toured inside and saw how the rum was made, then they had a gift shop. We went to an old church, and a waterfall in the rain forest. We paid $50 + tip for each family and it was about a 3+ hour tour. We all had a great time, I think we enjoyed it more because we weren't expecting to see anything to nice.

 

Have a great time, and just enjoy what's out there....

[TVMet]

We were there last year and were prepared to hate it because of all the negative comments. (You do dock in a terrible part of town.) Otherwise, it was our favorite shore excersion on an 8-Day Legend S. Carr. cruise. We took the advice of someone on this board, "if you every book a ship sponsored shore tour, do it in Martinique." We did and had a great day. We took a "party boat" to an isolated beach for swimming and stuff. The island is really an incredible sight once you get away from the city/dock area. The boat let us swim at the beach, then we went back with rum punch or soda for everyone and a nice party on board. We even made a few sight-seeing side stops. Later at dinner, people who didn't plan well and just "got off the ship to walk around" all had negative experiences.

[gsb]

think it's the prettiest Island-- Interior looks like Maui or Kauai. We rented a car from Budget and drove all over and across the island. People were very nice everywhere.

[xgdgirl]

Since I was with GSB ;) , I'd have to agree that Martinique is one of the nicest islands I've been to. Don't rely on other's opinions, get out there and make up your own mind. You might be pleasantly surprized. I know I was. Well, that was once I got used to the driving. :D

[gsb]

Have you changed your name?

[xgdgirl]

GSB - drop me a line. My email's in my profile. :)

[gsb]

ntnt

[xgdgirl]

ntnt

xgdgirl@yahoo.com :)

[gsb]

it didn't work--

email me--gsbaxter@hotmail.com

[dotshub]

We went on our own, not on any of the ships tours. But we didnt take a taxi, we rented a car for the day. Not too expensive as I remember.

We drove to St Pierre, ate lunch there, did some sightseeing, enjoyed the local flavor. We had a great time on our own, at our own pace.

[judyjbest]

We were in Martinique aboard the Legend in January, 2004. We had heard so many negatives things about trips into the city, we opted to take a ship excursion called Fun, Sun, and Sailing that didn’t leave until 10:30 am. That allowed us to sleep in and enjoy a nice breakfast, before joining our excursion. Two catamarans picked us up right next to the ship. We sailed for about 45 minutes across the water, while the catamaran’s French crew entertained us and served us drinks and snacks. One of the crew posed each couple for pictures all around the catamaran. During the return trip back home, he showed us our digital pictures, with options to buy a CD of the pictures – they were really good pictures, but his prices were high. The sail across the water was very relaxing and we enjoyed the sun and the water.

 

We anchored in a small cove of a black sand beach. Some of the passengers, including Roger, snorkeled right off the boat up by the cliffs. The rest of us, including me, took a small skiff ashore. After about an hour, we all boarded again to head to the bat caves. We took turns visiting the bat caves in the small skiff. They were both interesting and smelly. Then we took another 45 minutes to sail back to the ship. A wonderful day in Martinique! We arrived as the ship was sounding it’s horn signaling it’s impending departure.

[poker2pla]

Went to Martinique last year. Took taxi to shopping area (about 3 per person). Cab drivers very pushy and rude. Then took boat to island across harbor ($6 per person round trip). Beautiful shopping village with marina, bars and food. Walked to beach area near hotel with casino (about two blocks). Best beach I have every been on. Vendors selling drinks just outside hotel area, French Bread and cheeses, lounge chairs for $3. Rode boat back and and cab to boat. People are rude on this island but they are French and expected to be that way.

 

poke