One Stop Excursion Question

[Countrygurl]

Four "older" ladies cruising to San Juan, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten (Grand Turk as well, but we've been there).  We've looked at Carnival excursions and nothing jumps out at us.  Any recommendations?  We are not interested in snorkeling or strenuous activities because we have 2 in our group who aren't physically able.  With that said, short distance walking is ok.

 

I know I could post on each individual port's board, but that's way too much for me to keep up with!lol

[purplephenom]

In St Maarten, take a look at Bernard's tours.  He offers them with or without beach time, and it's a full island tour where you see both sides of the island.  It's fairly easy to get in and out of the van, and drinks are provided, with lots of stops to look around, take pictures, and stretch your legs.

[1025cruise]

While not what you want hear as a suggestion, I suggest you look at the individual ports of call forums for your ports.

[HillBilly Bob]

2 hours ago, Countrygurl said:

We've looked at Carnival excursions and nothing jumps out at us.  Any recommendations? 

We feel the same way and have "resorted" (vbg)....to tripadvisor.com for all our excursions.  

[coevan]

we love https://www.shoreexcursioneer.com/ have used them numerous times. They have the same guarantees as the cruise ship, port cancelled, no charge. 

[Countrygurl]

8 minutes ago, HillBilly Bob said:

We feel the same way and have "resorted" (vbg)....to tripadvisor.com for all our excursions.  

I've been on 6 cruises and never thought about Tripadvisor!  I'm going to take a look!  Thanks!

 

2 hours ago, purplephenom said:

In St Maarten, take a look at Bernard's tours.  He offers them with or without beach time, and it's a full island tour where you see both sides of the island.  It's fairly easy to get in and out of the van, and drinks are provided, with lots of stops to look around, take pictures, and stretch your legs.

I've noticed they are highly recommended on the St. Maarten forum.  I'll check them out!  Thanks!

[Host Carolyn]

4 hours ago, Countrygurl said:

Four "older" ladies cruising to San Juan, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten (Grand Turk as well, but we've been there).  We've looked at Carnival excursions and nothing jumps out at us.  Any recommendations?  We are not interested in snorkeling or strenuous activities because we have 2 in our group who aren't physically able.  With that said, short distance walking is ok.

 

I know I could post on each individual port's board, but that's way too much for me to keep up with!lol

 

I'm leaving this here since you are getting suggestions but strongly encourage you to also post or at least check ports of call boards.  There will be so much more information there

[TMR2]

also check with https://stmaartencruiseexcursions.com 

[WhyIsTheRumGone23]

We booked with Bernard's Tours in September and really enjoyed the tour of St. Maarten. We had an air conditioned van with a very knowledgeable driver and tour guide. She gave us the history of the island along with multiple stops for shopping, pictures and sightseeing. We would highly recommend them. They also were easy to find outside the port, just look for the large white tent and provided our own personal photographer! Rum punch, beer, soda and water were also complimentary.  

Edited October 3, 2019 by WhyIsTheRumGone23

[my kids mama]

For San Juan you can do a walking tour of Old San Juan. If it's too much for some in your party, there is a park with benches and a little bar to have a beer literally in sight of the boat at the port. After we did a day at the Fort in San Juan, we just had a beer and people watched until it was time to go back on the boat. 

[Countrygurl]

11 hours ago, WhyIsTheRumGone23 said:

We booked with Bernard's Tours in September and really enjoyed the tour of St. Maarten. We had an air conditioned van with a very knowledgeable driver and tour guide. She gave us the history of the island along with multiple stops for shopping, pictures and sightseeing. We would highly recommend them. They also were easy to find outside the port, just look for the large white tent and provided our own personal photographer! Rum punch, beer, soda and water were also complimentary.  

Did you book in advance?

[WhyIsTheRumGone23]

On 10/3/2019 at 8:20 AM, Countrygurl said:

Did you book in advance?

I did. It made it easier to reserve in advance.

[summersigh]

Benards in St Maarten
Free trolley in San Juan (google for info)

 

In St Kitts we booked a private tour with Rose & Jim's Taxi & Tour Service .  Rose was a delight and helped us decide where we wanted to go.  Reasonable price.  Favorite part was the batik factory was my favorite stop.

[summersigh]

We've found that it's not much more to book Private Tours and they can be tailored to suit your interests.  My DH has mobility issues so we like to book 3 -4 hour afternoon tours.

I research in places like the Ports of Call boards here and Trip Advisor to find companies I feel good about that do Private or Van or SUV tours.

 

I email the companies with exactly what I'm looking for and can most often get what I need regardless of  my restrictions.  From the replies I decide which one we like best and book directly with them. 

[Countrygurl]

Thank you.  We are booked with Bernard's Tours!