same activity...which port?

[ginka]

we will be on Carnival Sunshine 8 day Exotic Eastern 2/20/15-2/28/15. we will likely be arranging our own shore excursions rather that booking them thru carnival, and have picked out some things we would like to do, just not sure which island is best to do it on.

 

1. we are in St. Thomas on 2/23 from 1-9 pm (ship time). We have been to st. thomas 2 x's before, one did an excursion to st. john, and the second time went to megans bay and then up the tram to Paradise point. Since we will be in port into the evening, we are planning on either taking a taxi or paying the 20.00 p/p to take the tram up and down (advice on which way to go cost wise??) and have drinks and watch the sunset, so from 530 pm or so is covered.... so trying to decide what to do during the day. One option is to do the mini boats that you drive yourself in a group, to Christmas Cove, snorkel for an hour and then drive the boats back. The excursion is about 3 1/2 hours so would fit the time frame well.

 

 

2. We are in St. Maarten 2/25 from 8 am to 4 pm (ship time) they have this same type of excursion (rhino rider--2 person boat) in St. Maarten that takes you from Simpson Bay to Creole Rock to snorkel and then cruise back along the shore to see both sides of the island. This excursion is about the same length of time (3 1/2 hours) and starts right when we get off the ship. Our MUST SEE in St. Maarten is Maho beach to watch some big planes come in, so if we did this on this island, we would go to Maho following the boat excursion and spend an hour or so at the beach and/or bar and then make our way back to the ship. We have been to St. Maarten once before, but am ashamed to say, I dont remember what we did..most likely just beach and swim (but not Maho).

 

so based on the times I have... which island would be the best to do the mini boat excursion (as far as time, snorkeling quality, etc.) also, based on my MUST DO on each island, (paradise point for sunset/evening and Maho for planes), do you have other suggestions if we didnt do the mini boat on that island. We like to beach, swim, snorkel, some adventure (but usually only if I am in control of the situation, like driving the boat fast myself!! dont know if I could handle being on one of the crazy fast boats driven by someone i didn't know..). Not big on shopping, but do like to spend a half hour or so wandering thru the shops browsing.

Which island would offer more opportunities for an alternative?

 

thanks!

 

(and ps... planning to just beach/pool it at the pier in Grand Turk, and maybe a segway tour in San Juan....other suggestions after the segway tour?)

[blue_water]

If Maho is a must then your plans for SXM look good. Creole Rock is decent but I think STT has better snorkeling right off the beaches. We like strolling through Philipsburg as well if it isn't too crowded. A nice daysail is on the Golden Eagle cat, great day and excellent crew.

sailingsxm.com

 

On STT we'd head for either Coki, Secret Harbor, or Sapphire Beach, gorgeous beaches and great snorkeling, just depends on the vibe you want. $10pp each way via taxi. You could then have a taxi drop you at PP (at the top). You can then either taxi down or take the tram down.

Or you can zip line or take a nice daysail if time allows. Yacht Nightwind and High Pockets are very popular.

[Ms411]

I've seen the mini boat tour on St Thomas, and it's never a huge group. Find out what capacity is on each island. That may help you decide, but St Thomas usually has better snorkeling.

 

Try the Segway on St Martin since you can't do that on St Thomas. We used Rock and Roll (I think that's the name!) and they were fantastic! You could go to Mayo either before or after.