Flavors Of St. Martin Food Tour

[Jiminy1955]

Has anyone done the Flavors Of St. Martin Food Tour ship excursion? We have booked it on the Equinox in March & just curious on any feed back you may have.

[ZiggyGA]

We did this tour back in April while sailing Reflection. We were a group of five that included our grandchildren 12 and 9 years old. We loved the excursion. I believe it was four stops (on a smaller bus with a very informative guide). Amersterdam Cheese Shop for cheese and wine, a restaurant famous for crepes with panoramic views, Caribbean barbecue (delicious) and a gelato shop where we also enjoyed a carousel ride. It was pricey, but well worth it, even for the kids - they loved it!

Edited December 3, 2016 by ZiggyGA

[vedettes1]

A Dutch cheese shop and a French creperie may be fine, but they are not exactly "local." For that, I suggest a cab ride to Grand Case and lunch at one of the "lolos." These are some barbeque shacks (competing, but all in one location) grilling and serving local meats, seafood, sides. Fun, cheap, tasty. I have a feeling that the ship's "taste of" tour is expensive and unexceptional.

[thebutlerdidit]

I contacted the Flavors director of operations with some questions that I had regarding the differences of booking on our own or through the ship. The ship tour is slightly shorter because they make one fewer stop. Here's her response:

 

"Yes, correct the tours are slightly different. The Celebrity tour is 4 stops = 4.5 hours. You will visit the Amsterdam Cheese Store, Paradise View Creperie or Captain Olivers, Sky's the Limit, and Antoines or Taloula Mango's or Serafina's for dessert.

 

On our general tour, we also visit either Le Soleil or L'Escapade in Grand Case for a local rum tasting. The meeting point is different as well. On our general tours we meet at the cheeseshop which is just a 5 minute walk from where your ship docks. "

 

We enjoyed the walking tour of San Juan that Flavors operates, and we decided to book the St. Martin tour through Celebrity. I can report back next week after our Silhouette cruise next week.

[ClaudiaB]

Yes! We did it last week. BUT....... we booked it independently of the cruise. Do that. It's the same company out of the Amsterdam Cheese Co. and it's about the same price (within a dollar), but the independent one only does 4 to 6 people and the cruise one does a minimum of 10. You also get an extra stop, so it's 5 stops. Our driver was great and the guide was fabulous. We had a wonderful time. The extra stop that the cruise doesn't do (which adds about 30 minutes to the tour) is a rum tasting at a wonderful little place.

 

It was kind of interesting. We were on the cruise and had no plans for that day, so I looked online at Trip Advisor. The title of the excursion was the exact same as the cruise. Same price. But only 3-1/2 hours for the cruise and 4 stops and 4 hours for the independent. Same meeting place. So I emailed back and forth and found it's the same. It was a no-brainer. Get the better tour with more stops and less people for the same money.

 

BTW, the first "stop" is wine and cheese at the shop itself. Very informative. You get a discount and a 5 minute shopping time before you head out. Definitely buy some of the gouda!!!!

[ClaudiaB]

A Dutch cheese shop and a French creperie may be fine, but they are not exactly "local." For that, I suggest a cab ride to Grand Case and lunch at one of the "lolos." These are some barbeque shacks (competing, but all in one location) grilling and serving local meats, seafood, sides. Fun, cheap, tasty. I have a feeling that the ship's "taste of" tour is expensive and unexceptional.

 

The bbq place in Grand Case on the tour IS a lolo. She told us all about that term. All the places that are in the tour are local, family-owned places with the best food. They tested out restaurants for months before they opened their tour company.

[Jiminy1955]

I contacted the Flavors director of operations with some questions that I had regarding the differences of booking on our own or through the ship. The ship tour is slightly shorter because they make one fewer stop. Here's her response:

 

"Yes, correct the tours are slightly different. The Celebrity tour is 4 stops = 4.5 hours. You will visit the Amsterdam Cheese Store, Paradise View Creperie or Captain Olivers, Sky's the Limit, and Antoines or Taloula Mango's or Serafina's for dessert.

 

On our general tour, we also visit either Le Soleil or L'Escapade in Grand Case for a local rum tasting. The meeting point is different as well. On our general tours we meet at the cheeseshop which is just a 5 minute walk from where your ship docks. "

 

We enjoyed the walking tour of San Juan that Flavors operates, and we decided to book the St. Martin tour through Celebrity. I can report back next week after our Silhouette cruise next week.

 

I would so appreciate that!! My husband & I are looking forward to this.

[Jiminy1955]

We did this tour back in April while sailing Reflection. We were a group of five that included our grandchildren 12 and 9 years old. We loved the excursion. I believe it was four stops (on a smaller bus with a very informative guide). Amersterdam Cheese Shop for cheese and wine, a restaurant famous for crepes with panoramic views, Caribbean barbecue (delicious) and a gelato shop where we also enjoyed a carousel ride. It was pricey, but well worth it, even for the kids - they loved it!

 

 

Glad to hear you all liked it! We are looking forward to it.

[Jiminy1955]

Yes! We did it last week. BUT....... we booked it independently of the cruise. Do that. It's the same company out of the Amsterdam Cheese Co. and it's about the same price (within a dollar), but the independent one only does 4 to 6 people and the cruise one does a minimum of 10. You also get an extra stop, so it's 5 stops. Our driver was great and the guide was fabulous. We had a wonderful time. The extra stop that the cruise doesn't do (which adds about 30 minutes to the tour) is a rum tasting at a wonderful little place.

 

It was kind of interesting. We were on the cruise and had no plans for that day, so I looked online at Trip Advisor. The title of the excursion was the exact same as the cruise. Same price. But only 3-1/2 hours for the cruise and 4 stops and 4 hours for the independent. Same meeting place. So I emailed back and forth and found it's the same. It was a no-brainer. Get the better tour with more stops and less people for the same money.

 

BTW, the first "stop" is wine and cheese at the shop itself. Very informative. You get a discount and a 5 minute shopping time before you head out. Definitely buy some of the gouda!!!!

 

 

Thank you! Is 5 minutes really enough time to shop?

[Project_gal]

I contacted the Flavors director of operations with some questions that I had regarding the differences of booking on our own or through the ship. The ship tour is slightly shorter because they make one fewer stop. Here's her response:

 

"Yes, correct the tours are slightly different. The Celebrity tour is 4 stops = 4.5 hours. You will visit the Amsterdam Cheese Store, Paradise View Creperie or Captain Olivers, Sky's the Limit, and Antoines or Taloula Mango's or Serafina's for dessert.

 

On our general tour, we also visit either Le Soleil or L'Escapade in Grand Case for a local rum tasting. The meeting point is different as well. On our general tours we meet at the cheeseshop which is just a 5 minute walk from where your ship docks. "

 

We enjoyed the walking tour of San Juan that Flavors operates, and we decided to book the St. Martin tour through Celebrity. I can report back next week after our Silhouette cruise next week.

 

Thanks. That sells me on the ship's tour (we already have booked) because we really would not want the rum tasting.

[ZiggyGA]

Thank you! Is 5 minutes really enough time to shop?

 

We had more than 5 minutes and the shop isn't that big. We sat on the bus waiting while others finished their browsing, which wasn't a problem at all. I'd say it was at least a good 20 minutes.

[Jiminy1955]

We had more than 5 minutes and the shop isn't that big. We sat on the bus waiting while others finished their browsing, which wasn't a problem at all. I'd say it was at least a good 20 minutes.

 

 

 

Thank you for responding. :)

[thebutlerdidit]

I'm reporting back on our experience with the Flavors of St. Martin food tour. We were on the Silhouette and took this tour on December 8th. Ankie was our guide and we had 14 people plus Ankie and our driver on the bus.

 

The first stop is just minutes from the port at the Amsterdam cheese shop. We stood around a table (actually a Dutch delivery cart) and did our wine and cheese tasting. We tasted 5 different cheeses. Let's see if I remember: young Gouda, sheep's milk cheese, aged Gouda, pepper flavored Gouda and Amsterdam cheese. We had both a white and a red wine. We were all given a bottle of water before leaving, too. At the end of the tasting they showed us a specially packaged gift bag that could be purchased for $55. It had several cheeses, crackers and a cheese knife. Several purchased this set and it helps move the shoppers along quickly.

 

Then we went to Captain Oliver's, where the tasting was various tidbits of fish. We sat down at a linen covered table, but there wasn't really a presentation. We all had water and for $4 you could purchase a rum punch.

 

The lolo we went to was called Sky's the Limit. We had plates with small amounts of barbecued chicken and ribs plus potato salad, coleslaw and a Johnny cake. It was all fabulous! The place was packed, but we had tables saved for us. The owner was there and was very friendly.

 

Our last stop was at the Carousel, where we could choose 2 flavors of gelato to try. The pistachio was a favorite! Anyone desiring to could take a spin on the restored Italian carousel. You can't do that every day! By this time I was ready for a restroom break, and the bathrooms here were very nice.

 

We booked the noon tour, and our all aboard was 4:30. We got back on board at 4:25! Ankie was in contact with Celebrity several times advising them about our location and the traffic situation.

 

I'd recommend this tour, but I think I'd go for the 11:00 tour rather than the 12:00. Even though you know the ship will wait for you it felt a little stressful.

[FKGirl]

I agree with thebutlerdidit. I thought the tour was very good, and I was glad to be on the Celebrity tour as we were late getting back (after all aboard time). Our tour, however, was 22 people and it was too many.

 

I wrote a review on my blog of our tour: http://floridakeysgirl.com/2016/12/12/flavors-of-st-martin-an-island-food-tour/

[Jiminy1955]

I'm reporting back on our experience with the Flavors of St. Martin food tour. We were on the Silhouette and took this tour on December 8th. Ankie was our guide and we had 14 people plus Ankie and our driver on the bus.

 

The first stop is just minutes from the port at the Amsterdam cheese shop. We stood around a table (actually a Dutch delivery cart) and did our wine and cheese tasting. We tasted 5 different cheeses. Let's see if I remember: young Gouda, sheep's milk cheese, aged Gouda, pepper flavored Gouda and Amsterdam cheese. We had both a white and a red wine. We were all given a bottle of water before leaving, too. At the end of the tasting they showed us a specially packaged gift bag that could be purchased for $55. It had several cheeses, crackers and a cheese knife. Several purchased this set and it helps move the shoppers along quickly.

 

Then we went to Captain Oliver's, where the tasting was various tidbits of fish. We sat down at a linen covered table, but there wasn't really a presentation. We all had water and for $4 you could purchase a rum punch.

 

The lolo we went to was called Sky's the Limit. We had plates with small amounts of barbecued chicken and ribs plus potato salad, coleslaw and a Johnny cake. It was all fabulous! The place was packed, but we had tables saved for us. The owner was there and was very friendly.

 

Our last stop was at the Carousel, where we could choose 2 flavors of gelato to try. The pistachio was a favorite! Anyone desiring to could take a spin on the restored Italian carousel. You can't do that every day! By this time I was ready for a restroom break, and the bathrooms here were very nice.

 

We booked the noon tour, and our all aboard was 4:30. We got back on board at 4:25! Ankie was in contact with Celebrity several times advising them about our location and the traffic situation.

 

I'd recommend this tour, but I think I'd go for the 11:00 tour rather than the 12:00. Even though you know the ship will wait for you it felt a little stressful.

 

 

Thank you for reporting back on your experience! Sounds like a good day, I think we booked the 11:00 tour.

[Jiminy1955]

I agree with thebutlerdidit. I thought the tour was very good, and I was glad to be on the Celebrity tour as we were late getting back (after all aboard time). Our tour, however, was 22 people and it was too many.

 

I wrote a review on my blog of our tour: http://floridakeysgirl.com/2016/12/12/flavors-of-st-martin-an-island-food-tour/

 

 

Nice review on your blog. Thanks!