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Good Day in Martinique

cruiseapril

By cruiseapril,
in Martinique

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cruiseapril

cruiseapril

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Last week, we spent part of a day in Martinique, from the HAL Noordam. The tour we took- St. Pierre and Balata Gardens- was the best tour we took on this cruise. As many know first-hand, Martinique is a beautiful, lush island. The part we toured, from Fort-de-France to St. Pierre, then through a Rain Forest to Balata Gardens and then to Balata Church- was clean and well cared for. People were friendly- especially our guide-Yves.

 

We didn't know what to expect and were interested to spend time learning about Mt. Pelee, the volcanic eruption, and later-about the flora of the Caribbean at Balata.

 

Another highlight of the day was cruising from the port, past Mt. Pelee where one could see the path of the volcanic eruption all the way to the sea.

 

Martinique would be a good place for adults to vacation- especially adults who know some French. We have been to St. Martin, now to Martinique, and look forward to visiting other French islands in the future.

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CaliforniaAC

CaliforniaAC

Posted
Posted
Last week, we spent part of a day in Martinique, from the HAL Noordam. The tour we took- St. Pierre and Balata Gardens- was the best tour we took on this cruise. As many know first-hand, Martinique is a beautiful, lush island. The part we toured, from Fort-de-France to St. Pierre, then through a Rain Forest to Balata Gardens and then to Balata Church- was clean and well cared for. People were friendly- especially our guide-Yves.

 

We didn't know what to expect and were interested to spend time learning about Mt. Pelee, the volcanic eruption, and later-about the flora of the Caribbean at Balata.

 

Another highlight of the day was cruising from the port, past Mt. Pelee where one could see the path of the volcanic eruption all the way to the sea.

 

Martinique would be a good place for adults to vacation- especially adults who know some French. We have been to St. Martin, now to Martinique, and look forward to visiting other French islands in the future.

 

How long did you get to spend in St. Pierre?

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jeffstew

jeffstew

Posted
Posted
Last week, we spent part of a day in Martinique, from the HAL Noordam. The tour we took- St. Pierre and Balata Gardens- was the best tour we took on this cruise. As many know first-hand, Martinique is a beautiful, lush island. The part we toured, from Fort-de-France to St. Pierre, then through a Rain Forest to Balata Gardens and then to Balata Church- was clean and well cared for. People were friendly- especially our guide-Yves.

 

We didn't know what to expect and were interested to spend time learning about Mt. Pelee, the volcanic eruption, and later-about the flora of the Caribbean at Balata.

 

Another highlight of the day was cruising from the port, past Mt. Pelee where one could see the path of the volcanic eruption all the way to the sea.

 

Martinique would be a good place for adults to vacation- especially adults who know some French. We have been to St. Martin, now to Martinique, and look forward to visiting other French islands in the future.

 

Hi April-

 

We went to Martinique on the Sea Princess this past April and found the island to be stunningly beautiful. We did the Land and Sea tour that took us by boat to St. Pierre- the volcano is quite impressive and the trip over was great- and then took us by land to Balata Church and straight through the lush rainforest back to Fort De France. What a drive and not for the faint of heart! We then had plenty of time to explore the capital by ourselves before heading back to the ship. Our U.S. dollars were readily accepted everywhere and we actually found the language barrier to be somewhat of an adventure. We did what we could to communicate with some people and found the responses to be both cautiously friendly and amusing. I thought it was a great day. I can't understand the attitudes of some people who expect to be catered to like they are the most important people in the world and demand that the natives conform to their customs and/or wishes. Martinique is gorgeous and exotic, and in my not so humble opinion, well worth the stop. I would love to return someday.

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CaliforniaAC

CaliforniaAC

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Has anyone taken the water taxi to Pointe du Bout? How far a walk is it from the cruise ship dock? Thanks in advance for yuor answers.

 

Yes, we have taken the water taxi to Pointe du Bout. It's an easy walk from the cruise ship. Actually you can see it if you are docked at Pointe Simon. If you are docked at Quai des Tourelles just follow the blue sidewalk to downdown. They took American Dollars for the tickets, which were inexpensive (I don't remember how much.) We meant to go to Anse Mitan, but when the ferry arrived he said come on, you can walk or take the ferry to Anse Mitan... so we went to Pointe du Bout and stayed there.

 

Here is the schedule for one of the ferry (vedette) companies. It was the one we took:

 

http://vedettes.madinina.pagesperso-orange.fr/horaires.htm

 

 

Here a picture from the Pointe Simon Terminal. Click on the picture to make it bigger. If you look down from the brown church steeple to the small docks in the water- that is the ferry terminal:).

644555500_178cruisecritic.jpg.d66bef3aba9dac88ea34f929c103eb4a.jpg

Edited by CaliforniaAC
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TLHB70

TLHB70

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Posted
We are going on the Noordam beginning of January and will be stopping at this port. I can not wait!

 

I'm not sure -- looking through the boards to figure it out :) do you have any suggestions?

 

 

We will be on the Noordam cruise in March visiting this port. We are still trying to decide on an excursion also.

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ithaca gal

ithaca gal

Posted
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Hi April-

 

We went to Martinique on the Sea Princess this past April and found the island to be stunningly beautiful. We did the Land and Sea tour that took us by boat to St. Pierre- the volcano is quite impressive and the trip over was great- and then took us by land to Balata Church and straight through the lush rainforest back to Fort De France. What a drive and not for the faint of heart! We then had plenty of time to explore the capital by ourselves before heading back to the ship. Our U.S. dollars were readily accepted everywhere and we actually found the language barrier to be somewhat of an adventure. We did what we could to communicate with some people and found the responses to be both cautiously friendly and amusing. I thought it was a great day. I can't understand the attitudes of some people who expect to be catered to like they are the most important people in the world and demand that the natives conform to their customs and/or wishes. Martinique is gorgeous and exotic, and in my not so humble opinion, well worth the stop. I would love to return someday.

 

Can you tell me why the drive is not for the faint of heart??? :)

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Norwaylin

Norwaylin

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Why are the ships in port for such a short time? Also, 7AM to 1PM. Are the shops even open that early? By the time you get somewhere, you have to turn around and get back to the ship. My earlier cruises spent more time in port and better hours while there. In Cozumel, we were there from 9AM to Midnight! It was great seeing the city lights as we pulled away from the dock.

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cruiseapril

cruiseapril

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Posted (edited)

ithacagal- The roads through the Rain Forest in Martinique are narrow and winding and steep in some parts. We had a very good bus driver who went slowly. We were on a Rain Forest Drive in Dominica with the same conditions. Not for the feint of heart- but interesting.

Edited by cruiseapril
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Krazy Kruizers

Krazy Kruizers

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We have been to Martinique several times -- best tours were years ago on Cunard and NCL where we docked right in town and spent an entire day there.

In 2005 or 2006 we stopped there -- HAL ship for only a half day and did the St Pierre tour. Being there such a short time we were rushed through everything compared to the tour we did on Cunard.

In 2009 our short stop there was cancelled because of a strike there -- instead we went to Dominica for a full day.

Just this past November we were on the Noordam from 8 AM to 5 PM. Sadly for some people this was one of their holidays and people were warned that there would be very little buses or taxis running and only a few stores would be open. To make matters worse -- we had driving rain all day. We were also at a new pier for us -- Pointe Simon. We had planned on just visiting the vendor area -- but they were all closed down. In the afternoon we noticed that inspite of all the rain they still had their regatta.

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gaelan

gaelan

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Norwaylin- Noticed that the Holland America Noordam is sometimes in Martinique from 8 am until 5 pm.

 

This may be true but on our cruise on the Noordam last week we did arrive on Sunday...which I have seen commented upon often.... much of Fort du France was closed. Most of the tours we looked at were ship based and in our opinion too short so we declined. We did enjoy our walk around town visiting the local cathedral with fantastic choir, the local library was open when the cruise ships arrive, interesting architecture, but very musty, we also visited the an open fruit and vegetable market and enjoyed a cold beer at the port. We speak French and had Euros so navigating was very easy......just one thing is that the some of the odors around town are not for the feint of heart. My DW commented that a pressure washing business would make a mint in this place. Finally, There was an interesting historical fort down by the docks but unfortnately this was not open as it is part of a naval installation. As a note upon arrival we were told...that a new water taxi had begun operating right from the dock to the beaches across the bay for US$9.00 pp round trip and ran on the hour with the last taxi heading back to the dock at 3:00pm. It looked like many took this option. Hopefully in the future HAL will amend their schedule to arrive outside of a Sunday and make the visit at least to the town much more interesting.

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