Which tour to take? Bernard's or Captain Bob's?

[hrmkr]

Wanting to get people's opinions on which tour they like. Hopefully someone has taken both and can compare.

[SeaThruU]

My husband and I did Captain Bob's "Most Popular Tour" a couple of years ago. It was a very nice day with some nice sight seeing, a couple snorkeling stops, a great lunch at a beach restaurant in Grand Case, and beach time at Pinel Island. We stopped boat in the bay at Maho beach to watch planes land. It was a very short walk from the ship to his dock.

 

 

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[bubbadogmom]

My dad and I did Bernard's. There was an issue with us getting off the ship and we were late and the tour had left, but they threw us in a van and caught us up to the rest of the group! Amazing people! I'd say Bernard's Tours for sure.

 

 

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[kcsavage]

I haven't done both tours but I second that opinion on Bernard's tours. It was my favorite excursion ever. We've used Bernard's Tours twice and you won't be disappointed. Last time we had the Mailman as our driver and he was so entertaining and informative. Our group of 18 (ages 8-65) had a wonderful time. Orient Beach is beautiful and airplane beach might be my most favorite place on Earth. Hope that helps and that you have fun. Good luck deciding....I'm guessing you can't go wrong in St. Martin :)

[Nebr.cruiser]

We've done both and we liked both, but to me they are very different experiences. Capt. Bob (at least the tour we did) does an awesome speed boat tour around the island with several stops for turtles, snorkeling, swimming, and island and a great lunch. It is really fast and thrilling and not a smooth ride, but we loved it. Also came back in time to see the planes come in to Maho Beach.

 

Our Bernards tour was an island tour by bus--ours was a smaller bus. There were several short stops for scenic views, a longer stop in Marisol on the French side and a stop at Maho Beach. For a sight seeing tour it was fine; a lot tamer than Capt. Bob. It was considerably cheaper also.

 

My first pick would be Capt. Bob, but they are both good--just different.

[motherchic]

I have cruised for years and this is my first negative review. We just sailed on the Eclipse 14 day cruise. last week I booked captain Bobs tour for 4 of us.

1) I wrote to him and asked his opinion: two of us have knee problems and I wanted to know if in his opinion we could do the tour. He wrote back, "absolutely yes".

2) This was the first snorkel/ beach tour that we had to first sign a waiver on non responsibility. It registered to us that it was indeed a first for us but that was ok.

3) Initially when I first booked the cruise the time in port was different then what it ended up being. Captain Bobs tour ended at 4pm. We were supposed to board the ship at 4:30pm. When we realized it, THAT morning, I called captain Bob. He said no problem. You will be back in plenty of time.

4) When we arrived. He told us that the tour still was going until 4 but not to worry. I asked him if he guaranteed that we would get there on time ( as some tours do) He repeated don't worry they really don't sail away till 5pm. Maybe just me, but my rule has been. DONT cut it that short.

I told him that that worried me and I did not feel we could take the risk He said fine but he was charging me anyways. I guess thats his right. BUT not customer friendly.

We decided to go rather then loose the cost of 4 bookings.

5) After we were on the boat and sailing; (it sat 14 I believe). We realized that the man operating the speed boat was the ONLY person from Captain Bobs tour co on the boat. THATS WHY WE SIGNED THE WAIVER !!!!!

If I had realized it we would not have sailed. Think about it, only he knew where he was sailing or how to operate the boat. If anything happened to him???? Or us!!!! He stayed on the boat when people swam and snorkeled. I have NEVER EVER been on this type of tour that one of the boat hands didn't go in the water with a life ring, just for safety sake. REMEMBER no boat hands.

6) This tour was not easy for anyone who had knee problems, or any health issues. Getting out of the boat was very difficult. It hurt both of us.

7) When we stopped for lunch, we didn't dock. The anchor was dropped and you had to get off the boat, in water over your head and swim to shore in order to have lunch. For most no problem , but when I specifically asked Bob about the ability of doing this tour with bad knees he never said any of this. HE SHOULD HAVE.

8) When we got back he said that they had called a taxi that would be waiting for us at 4pm so we could get back in time. It was not there. He in an email said it was but it wasn't. We waved a taxi down, got to the port at 4:15 then still had to walk to the ship.

We would have jogged if we could have :-(

In my opinion, Capt Bob did not consider safety first. He should have been more honest and elaborate when I asked him about the ability to do this tour. AND he ABSOLUTELY should have had another deck hand on that boat. He could have put us in danger.

If you have no disabilities and if he has 2 people on the boat it is a good tour. Lunch was very good, beaches nice. But personally I would look elsewhere

[forest4trees]

We have done two tours with Capt. Bob and had a great time on both occasions. I have never done Bernard's so I can't compare; but I would not hesitate to book Capt. Bob again.

 

However if you do have bad knees/legs this is probably not the tour for you. Other than the dock at the beginning and end at each stop you get off/on the boat via a small water ladder. There are few hand-holds above the water line to help pull yourself up.

 

Sincerely,

-Kurt

[scsagh]

I haven't done both, only Bernard's in early February. I would highly recommend it. The bus/van we were on held about 20 people, so there were the 4 of us and 16 others. The Mailman was our guide. He, and his rum punch, were very good. We had a few short stops for sightseeing, then were at Orient Beach for about 1 1/2 hours, followed by Marigot for about 45 min., and final stop was at Maho Beach to see the big jets come in.

 

At Marigot, I wish I had skipped Serafina's, as the line moved very slowly, the pastries and sandwiches were nothing special (in my opinion), and then we had no time to look around. Someone had said the shopping was the same everywhere, but I did see many things there that I didn't see in town.

 

Our tour with the Mailman from Bernard's Tours was the best tour we had of the three port stops we made this cruise!

[KSCPA]

Can someone get me captain bob email or website please

[cinesage]

Can someone get me captain bob email or website please

 

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