Princess St. Maarten Excursions

[Zoey1]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Sally and I did exactly this and it worked out great. There is a boat taxi near the ships that will take you to town in five minutes and bring you back as well. There are two taxi stops in town, one on each end. So start shopping on one end, then get back on the taxi at the other end. We had more than enough time to shop and enjoy Orient beach.

One note, most shops don't open until 9:00.

Sally and Kevin<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Kevin and Sally, thanks so much! Can I ask which beach on Orient beach did you go to and why? We are traveling with our 21 & 16 yr old "children" <G>.

 

[NightOne]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by gopher's girl:

I did the kayak excursion in Simpson Bay Lagoon. It was really neat. I'm not in the best shape, not in the worst shape, but a little muscle pain didn't bother me. I don't know if I would recommend this for children though because it is a lot of work for them. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Yup, it looked like a lot of work as I zipped by them on my Rhino Rider!

 

Put me down as a vote for the Rhino Riders.

 

 

Time until Sailing

[beary]

>>Kevin and Sally, thanks so much! Can I ask which beach on Orient beach did you go to and why? We are traveling with our 21 & 16 yr old "children" .<<

 

If you haven’t read yet, Orient beach is a two-mile long topless beach with some nudity. All beaches on the French side of St. Martin are topless. But Club Orient is a Naturalist resort on the south end of the beach and that is where most of the full nudity hangs around.

 

The Club Orient part of the beach is clearly marked by a low rock wall that runs into the water. But we did see a couple fully nude folks walking the whole beach. So there is that possibility on the whole beach.

 

There! All that being said, we were kind of in the middle. I can't remember the restaurant we were near. We took our kids, 11, 15 and 18 three years ago and while a topless woman was something to comment on the first time we saw one, it really was no big deal to them. At that time we didn't see any full nudes. This trip Sally and I saw a couple.

 

The beach offers a lot of everything except great snorkeling. Oh the water is beautiful and clear, but isn’t any reef close by to see a lot of sea critters. The swimming is great, the waves are big enough to ride without being knocked back to shore. You can rent jet skis, sailboats, parasail and the sand is white as can be. If you are a people watcher person, a lot of people from all over the world come here. Lots of small shops, food and drinks.

 

I don't think I would have trouble with my now 17 and 20 year old on any part of the beach because as Sally and I learned by accident the first time, once you see one big fat naked guy walking along the beach, you've seen then all. Right? The view might be interesting for a few moments, but the beach, water and fun will dominate the rest of the day.

 

Life is one long experience and Sally and I learned that day your kids mimic their parents, so you will know how they will take it all.

 

It's a fun beach with lots to do and I suggest if for all families to try at least once.

 

If it is after 2:00 PM, give yourself at least an hour to get back to your ship. The roads tend to get crowded as everyone is start toward the pier.

 

Have a great trip.

 

Barry and Sally

[spongerob]

Has anyone ever gone over to St. Bart's? I've been dreaming about a Cheeseburger in Paradise...I'm curious if there is regular ferry service or if the ship's excursion is the only way to get there.

 

Completed:

Sea Princess, Royal Princess, Grand Princess (3X), Caribbean Princess, Golden Princess

Coming up:

Tahitian Princess Oct 14/04

Caribbean Princess redux 6/25/05

[Aquarian]

Zoey1 (Wendy). Sounds like a plan. You can take the water taxi back and forth from the ship to downtown (Front Street), where the shopping is, in a relatively short time.

[geoherb]

We took the Pinel Island snorkeling excursion. It was not the best snorkeling place. But I enjoyed seeing part of the island on the bus ride and then the boat ride over to Pinel Island. The "partial nudity" mentioned in the description meant a few 50+ women without tops.

 

A couple of our friends were on the excursion and were so disappointed in the quality that they got a refund from the excursions desk. We did not see much to complain about other than there's not a lot of time for the snorkeling. We probably wouldn't do it again.

[Zoey1]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by beary:

>>

Barry and Sally<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Okay, now I am totally confused, you signed the earlier post Kevin and Sally and now Barry and Sally, did Sally change hubby's <VBG>

 

[cruisinsuz]

Thanks, Geoherb!

I am trying to decide if we will do the Pinel Island excursion. I like it because it is in the afternoon. Seems like the rest of the snorkeling-type excursions are in the morning. How was the beach area? Plenty of room or crowded? Beach chairs for rent, I assume? Do you leave on the boat from Orient Beach somewhere? What exactly did your friends not like about the quality? Sorry for all of the questions!!!

 

We don't necessarily need world-class snorkeling, we are just looking for a fun boating adventure for half a day and this looked as good as any others.

[jemingway]

A vote here for the butterfly farm.

 

JV The 4 stages of cruising: planning, anticipation, experience and reflection.