Seabourn excursions "Gustavia, Saint Barthelemy" ?

[adolfo2]

Has anyone been on a Seabourn excursion RECENTLY while stopping at St. Barts?

Not seeing any offered and wondering if we should plan on doing our own-thing instead.

[Fred arbuthnot]

Never took any Seabourn tours on this island, but have walked around on our own.  Euros are the preferred currency, especially for the taxi drivers, who will give you a really poor exchange rate for dollars when they quote the fare in euros or dollars.

Edited June 18, 2022 by Fred arbuthnot
Better clarity

[galeforce9]

Hi.  Usually not any tours.  We took a taxi tour for an hour which we enjoyed.  Pricey but there were 4 of us.  80 euros if I recollect in Dec 2019.  We enjoyed it and saw a lot more of the island.  

[Fletcher]

If St Martin is downmarket bling central in the Caribbean, then St Barts is upscale bling central.  Gustavia looks pretty from a distance and when you get there it's like an airport shopping mall except that all the assistants are in the doorways puffing on cigarettes.  Gustavia isn't worth a minute of your time.

 

The island has some nice beaches but the best ones have hotels on them and they can be incredibly snooty and sometimes rude - quite right, too. If you are paying at least €3000 a night at Eden Roc or some other joint would you want a load of scruffy Seabourn passengers invading your space?  However, you can book for lunch and if you are prepared to fork out lots of dosh it can be a pleasant experience. 

[rkacruiser]

9 hours ago, Fletcher said:

Gustavia looks pretty from a distance and when you get there it's like an airport shopping mall except that all the assistants are in the doorways puffing on cigarettes.  Gustavia isn't worth a minute of your time.

 

My most recent visit was as a guest aboard the Prinsendam.  A pleasant island tour that proved interesting to see the changes that have taken place since my first visit many years ago as a guest on Rotterdam V.  Our tour was in a small van with an excellent driver/guide whose English was much better than my French.  Following the tour, a brief stroll around Gustavia, doing window shopping (oh, my, the prices we saw!), and a very pleasant lunch in a restaurant with excellent French Bread and an excellent French Rose and French Bread!  My opinion:  Gustavia was well worth the effort to make the tender ride to/from the town.  (My visit was on Christmas Eve and it was nice to see the decorations displayed.)    

[MBP&O2/O]

We went on an undersea 'submarine' tour in St. Barts.

If you are claustrophobic,  or even considering it 🙂 then avoid at all costs.

No motion problems ... just people throwing up left right and centre because of the heat and being so confined. Of course when the first one gips then it is contagious. 🤮

As an aside there wasn't that much of interest to see.

[FlyerTalker]

Just stop and have a beer at Le Select - watch the world go by and have a cheeseburger at the joint that was the inspiration for Jimmy Buffett.  And do it at half to a quarter of what the bar across the street will charge.

 

Is it upscale snooty?  Nope. Is it bare-bones and genuine.  Yep.  So if you want chic, try elsewhere.  But if you just want to relax and still have enough money left to buy another Seabourn cruise....

[galeforce9]

Shell Beach is a nice walk for after lunch, through the town.  A picturesque beach with nice rocks to clamber on, a bar, some loungers and no doubt some beautiful yachts in the turquoise bay, with green wooded hills above.  I also walked up to the viewpoint above in a nature reserve and up the other end looking over Gustavia.   Hot hot hot though 

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

Just stop and have a beer at Le Select - watch the world go by and have a cheeseburger at the joint that was the inspiration for Jimmy Buffett.  And do it at half to a quarter of what the bar across the street will charge.

 

Is it upscale snooty?  Nope. Is it bare-bones and genuine.  Yep.  So if you want chic, try elsewhere.  But if you just want to relax and still have enough money left to buy another Seabourn cruise....

 

My journal keeping for our lunch at Gustavia is lacking.  Failed to record the name of the restaurant where Nadine and I had lunch.  There was an inside/outside seating area.  We chose outside and it was delightful.  Price was reasonable and the Lobster Roll was well prepared and a very ample serving.  Nadine had a Cheeseburger and she was very pleased.  

[Covepointcruiser]

It’s my favorite port in the Caribbean.   Prior to COVID, we took a tour there sponsored by Virtuoso Travel.   Took a small van around the island and had lunch on the beach of a wonderful hotel.  We ate in a screened in cabana and the wines were excellent.   Very upscale shopping but you can buy French perfume actually made in France with wine alcohol.   It is much better than the perfumes shipped to the U.S.    I would never pass on this island but would pass on the rest of the Caribbean.

[nolatravelgirl]

On 6/19/2022 at 7:16 AM, Fletcher said:

If St Martin is downmarket bling central in the Caribbean, then St Barts is upscale bling central.  Gustavia looks pretty from a distance and when you get there it's like an airport shopping mall except that all the assistants are in the doorways puffing on cigarettes.  Gustavia isn't worth a minute of your time.

 

The island has some nice beaches but the best ones have hotels on them and they can be incredibly snooty and sometimes rude - quite right, too. If you are paying at least €3000 a night at Eden Roc or some other joint would you want a load of scruffy Seabourn passengers invading your space?  However, you can book for lunch and if you are prepared to fork out lots of dosh it can be a pleasant experience. 

I have to agree. I felt so unwelcome on the island. The restaurants were incredibly over-priced and it seemed like nobody wanted cruise ship passengers, including the shops. Save your time and money and stay on the ship to make it an unofficial sea day.

[galeforce9]

1 hour ago, nolatravelgirl said:

I have to agree. I felt so unwelcome on the island. The restaurants were incredibly over-priced and it seemed like nobody wanted cruise ship passengers, including the shops. Save your time and money and stay on the ship to make it an unofficial sea day.

I disagree. A pretty island worth getting out and having a walk.  Such a beautiful natural setting 

[princeton123211]

On 6/19/2022 at 8:16 AM, Fletcher said:

Eden Roc or some other joint would you want a load of scruffy Seabourn passengers invading your space?  However, you can book for lunch and if you are prepared to fork out lots of dosh it can be a pleasant experience. 

Thats what we did a number of years ago on Seabourn Pride-- just hired a taxi from where the tender dropped us off to Eden Rock, had an incredibly expensive lunch, and then they were happy to have us mill about and use the beach for a bit. Went back to town for a walkabout and then back to the ship. All in all just shy of $1000 for the afternoon for two of us and not much to show for it, but was fun. 

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, nolatravelgirl said:

I have to agree. I felt so unwelcome on the island. The restaurants were incredibly over-priced and it seemed like nobody wanted cruise ship passengers, including the shops. Save your time and money and stay on the ship to make it an unofficial sea day.

 

Most certainly was not my traveling companion's and my experience!  I don't remember what our lunch cost, but, it was reasonable.  We were in "France" and did not expect Applebee's prices.  

[nolatravelgirl]

32 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Most certainly was not my traveling companion's and my experience!  I don't remember what our lunch cost, but, it was reasonable.  We were in "France" and did not expect Applebee's prices.  

🙄 OMG! Someone has a differing experience than you so it must be false! Everyone's experience will be different. I am relaying MY experience and I had never felt so unwelcome in all my travel. I was not expecting Applebee's pricing but if I am going to chunk down my hard earned cash, I at least want to feel like a welcome guest. All the shop owners looked completely disinterested in us and before you comment, we were dressed in sundresses and leather sandals so it wasn't like we were the Beverly Hillbillies. At that point I was done being treated like a second class citizen so I headed back to the ship and was very glad to enjoy the remainder of the day and evening onboard.

[Catlover54]

I love reading about the myriad of experiences, pro and con, people describe.  That is why a forum is so good (especially if people speak frankly -- thank you).

 

DH and I were in port there a year before Covid.  As I recall one option to book , though expensive, was time on the beach at a luxury hotel, but since we're not beach-baking  addicts and have had multiple skin cancers, and  DH needed something interesting to photograph, we instead just walked through town looking for interesting images.  We window-shopped (couldn't find anything of interest) , passed the yachts and $15 cups of single espresso offered (probably $20 by now), and then went to the hill and the other side of town (less prosperous) for an overview of the area as the sun started going lower.  Hot wind and my fatigue limited our visit to a couple hours.  Dinner reservations were impossible to get short notice at a nice restaurant because locals had them booked up weeks ahead of time for the holidays.

 

I am glad we checked it out, and we had some good exercise, but  do not absolutely crave a return.  I would love to know the name of the restaurant rkacruiser was at with the French bread, just in case.

 

Nolatravelgirl, I think the shopkeepers are used to catering to The Beautiful People who own homes on the island and are regulars, and know that cruisers are unlikely to buy more than a little bit.

 

Our neighbors used to spend 3 weeks around Thanksgiving there, and loved it, but they would mostly cook in the rental.  They stopped going 4 years ago because the rental prices were soaring and it was hard to get there by plane,  and they had started to experience some of the "you're not welcome here" vibe that nolatravelgirl described, even though they weren't cruisers. 

Edited June 23, 2022 by Catlover54
Typo

[rkacruiser]

17 minutes ago, Catlover54 said:

 I would love to know the name of the restaurant rkacruiser was at with the French bread, just in case.

 

I would like to help you, but, as I said, I did not record the name in my journal.  And, I don't have any credit card records that might help.  I remember that I did pay our bill in Euros.  

[Covepointcruiser]

Never felt unwelcome in St. Barts.   Really enjoyed shopping in the town without the usual hawkers trying to pull you into the shops.   We were welcomes into Hermes where we made a purchase and in a cookware shop where we made other purchases.   Guess we must have dressed like the locals.

[ChicagoAlli]

Was in St Barts in January on an Oceania cruise (yep, middle of Omicron,  I survived!). Did an ATV tour around the island. Beautiful day, gorgeous views, super fun. Spent 10-15 min watching the planes land which was entertaining. Agree about wandering over to Shell Beach too. 

[ChicagoAlli]

Said ATVs

[PaulaJK]

An hour in a taxi to visit Shell Beach and some other lovely spots..end up at the restaurant next to EdenRock. Agree about down town unless you really enjoy shopping. Many of the lovely french cuisine restaurants are 

now closed or closed for lunch.

On another line, we took a catamarans snorkel cruise w drinks and snacks as we returned…very pleasant. 

[cruiseej]

I'm just curious if anyone knows why other cruise lines offer excursions in St. Barth's but Seabourn apparently never does. (We were scheduled to stop there earlier this year, but our itinerary was juggled and we didn't. We visited on a previous cruise and just walked around.)

[Shipless in Seattle]

Favorite Caribbean island and have been many times.  Always feels like being in Paris on Gilligan’s island. Restaurants are very expensive but the grocery stores are reasonable and everything is imported from France. The bakeries sell baggetts that taste like Paris. If on a cruise we always try to rent scooters or a Mini Moke in Gustavia and then spend the day driving around the island and hanging out.