Martinique-excursions?

[angel23321]

Has anyone taken the Carnival excursions in Martinique? Are they any good? Should we just do the island on our own? Any ideas would be welcome as there doesn't seem to be much on the board about Martinique. We're going on the Legend in January and are trying to decide what to do at the ports. Thanks!:cool:

 

Sandy

[hstrybuf]

We sailed the Legend to Martinique in April. Their most highly touted tour is a bus tour that goes to St. Pierre and a rum factory then through the rain forest. On a clear day you're supposed to be able to see Mt. Pelee. Don't take it! There were four busloads of people on this tour and I heard more complaints than I've ever heard when we returned to port. The tour was too long with infrequent stops for photo ops and the guide, while friendly, was extremely boring. Best bet, take a taxi and tell them where you want to go. Just be sure you're back to port before the ship sails. Taxis are readily available at the pier. :)

[KELGIRL]

I went to Martinique on the Destiny in Octber 2002 and had a horrible experience. Our taxi driver tried to charge my fiance and I $75 for a 5 minute cab ride (we didn't pay it) and then the people weren't particularly friendly so we just went back to the ship. It actually turned into a nice day because the pool area was practically empty and we had a great time. Also, everyone that we talked to about their excusions and experiences in Martinique had bad things to say. I don't want to ruin your fun and I really hope that you have a better time than we did but be careful and check out your exursion carefully before commiting to it.

 

Kelly

[steveNcindy]

Sandy - we are looking at the Calypso Boat tour when we are there - have you seen that one through Carnival?

 

I noticed another post about horseback riding - I remember reading somewhere about a horseback riding tour in Martinique but still have not found the info again. If I can find it again I will post the link.

[cruztime]

Hi,

 

We were in Martinique last January. We didn't take a tour because none of them interested us. We just got a cab to the downtown area and just walked around. Some of the folks we knew took the rain forest tour. None were impressed. One thing they did say was to bring old sneakers with you for the tour. They got full of mud. I don't want to sound down about it, but if I ever go there again, I'll just stay on board the ship. The people there were not friendly at all. Hopefully, I just hit a bad day and it's not always like that. The upside was the Cuban cigars were very reasonable in the shops where the ship docked.

[DreadPirateRobert]

I know it wasn't the question but you might want to think about it.

We didn't take an excursion. We got off the ship and explored a little on our own. Cabbies were overpriced, and aggressive with us and each other. Shop keepers were not service minded. Prices were in Euros and every store seemed to have it's own exchange rate. Change was in Euros, not dollars. Fortunately there was not much of interest to buy anyhow.

My oldest son and I took a ferry over to what seems to be the expatriot European side of the island after DW and younger son headed back to the ship. RT is $10-12. I didn't see locals paying that but oh well. For a few dollars we were able to get chairs on the beach at a nice hotel. Beer was cheap and the swimming/snorkeling is good.

Tops are optional on this beach so just keep that in mind if it is a problem for families.

Going to that beach pretty much salvaged the day for me but there have got to be better islands to stop at.

[finoky]

We had heard not so good things about Martinique as well but we still wanted to get off the ship. We settled on the Calypso Party Boat tour and was a pretty good time. They take you to a decent beach and dock for a few hours. They also sail up to the bat caves and have free flowing rum punch. We were pleased overall with this excursion and it isn't all that pricey either. If you like to shop there are only a couple stores at the dock with mostly booze and perfumes.

[steveNcindy]

We had heard not so good things about Martinique as well but we still wanted to get off the ship. We settled on the Calypso Party Boat tour and was a pretty good time. They take you to a decent beach and dock for a few hours. They also sail up to the bat caves and have free flowing rum punch. We were pleased overall with this excursion and it isn't all that pricey either. If you like to shop there are only a couple stores at the dock with mostly booze and perfumes.

Did this excursion book up fairly quickly? There is a large group of us planning to do this an am wondering if we should buy some extra passes for those who may not be able to board early.

[judyjbest]

We took the "Fun, Sun, and Sailing" ship excursion. A catamaran picked us up on the dock right by the ship, we cruised across the area to an island. Some snorkeled, some took a small skiff to the island to hang out on a black sand beach. Then we went to see a bat cave, before returning to the ship. It was about a 2 1/2 hour excursion, great fun, with punch non/a and full of rum following snorkeling. We really enjoyed it. Slept in, caught the catamaran, got back to the ship right before it sailed. A great way to spend a day in Martinique.