Familyof4

Don't laugh, but we've done Bernard's tour 3 times. DH and I did tour #2 together. Then traveled to St. Maarten two other times with different family members for tours #1 and #2 again. We debated not doing it that third time when traveling with our cousin, but the tour is really comprehensive and the free rum punch and beer doesn't hurt. Highly recommend. As other poster mentioned, there is not a lot of time in Marigot, so if you are eating there, be quick about it if you want any time for shopping. 

I haven't used them but I have heard good things about them.

I have and really enjoyed it. However, you're on their schedule and with a large group of people. My biggest disappointment was that we had so little time in Maragot as we were running late.

In OSJ there is a tradition of flying kites on the grounds of El Morro that is really neat.  There is always a breeze.  We plan to do it with our kids (18, 15, & 9) when we are there in June.  The 18 year old may roll her eyes at her old dad, but I think she will remember doing it with us.  The 15 & 9 year-olds will think it's neat.  Pretty sure the CVS located by the Sheraton has kites.  It's a pretty wholesome thing to do with teens, and maybe one day they'll do it with their kids.

Thank you everyone for your feedback. We are booked at the Sheraton Old San Juan.

Thank you everyone for your feedback. We are booked at the Sheraton Old San Juan.

We also stayed at the same hotel and I agree with Matt......it was great!   Old San Juan has a free tram system.  One that is inside the city and one that skirts the outside of the city ( the forts etc).  One of the bell hops at the Sheraton explained how to use the tram system and also told us about some very good local eateries just a few blocks from the hotel.

San Juan is a noisy city and not having gotten a lot of sleep the first time I was there, I looked for a quiet hotel. Found one - the Howard Johnson Centro Cardiovascular San Juan. As you might guess from the name, it is located in a hospital. An entire floor of hotel rooms, but they are run by Howard Johanson. A little out of the way and some of the taxi drivers (and dispatchers) don't know where it is (so be sure to take along the address). I found it blissfully quiet. Also for the budget minded. If you want a hotel that's in the middle of everything, this probably isn't the place for you.

We rented a car and drove to Orient Beach last April.  There was a lot of seaweed.  We asked and were told it was a recent problem.  I don't know if it's cleared up as of now.  That was a year ago.  Really, there is a nice, but busy, beach right of the ships in St. Marteen.  Not many trees, but you can rent shade.  Lots of shopping, drinks, food and snacks right there.  For families, Orient beach is topless and clothing optional in sections.

We did Zip lining in St. Lucia . We went to Tree Top Adventure Park. It was such a great experience . Got great reviews on Trip Advisor.

While I have not done it personally, my next door neighbor cruises and they did zip lining in St. Lucia and enjoyed it.
 
(The reason I know this is because we were on Jewel, they on Adventure on the same week, and we met in port to have a drink after his excursion.  Funny thing is I hadn't met his wife until that day, so I can honestly say I travelled 2,400 miles to meet my next door neighbor).

All my excellent Southern Caribbean excursions have involved catamarans. Last year in St Kitts we were on a catamaran named Adventurer, was really nice.

Hello,
 
Our flights are now booked so I can move on to the fun planning :) for our first cruise.
 
Our ports of call are St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Antigua, Saint Lucia and Barbados. I will be travelling with my hubby and two teens (16 and 15). Please let me know what you've enjoyed and would recommend. We love a great beach so for sure will be doing Boatyard and the kids have expressed an interest in zip lining.
 
Thank you

We have stayed at the embassy suites which was very nice. For the budget minded, we have found best western plus condado palm to be a great alternative. Half the price, interesting and safe area and we kept. We have now had three good experiences at best western plus locations.

Sheraton OSJ was great!  

Ritz Carlton - great beach, awesome hotel.  

Sheraton OSJ is awesome.  We are staying there in June before boarding the Adventure.  It has great access to OSJ, restaurants, forts, great walking.  But it has no beach and an pool isn't that great.  I've stayed at the Caribe Hilton which was really nice for beach and pools.  It's more expensive, and it's been a few years since I've stayed there.  There is also a Sheraton near the Pan American Pier.  However, they don't call it the "nothing to do Sheraton" for nothing.

I stayed in the Sheraton Old San Juan and it was great

I have stayed at the Marriott in OSJ and the Ritz Carlton (EXCELLENT government rate if you qualify) and the Inter Continental - all were great.  I have also stayed at the Condado Beach Resort (which I think has since been renamed) which I cannot recommend.

I stayed at the DoubleTree and really enjoyed it. They had a shuttle to the beach, a huge grocery store across the street, and plenty of restaraunts nearby. It was also easy to catch a bus into Old San Juan.

Orient beach in St Maarten is one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been to in the Caribbean. Here's a review I wrote: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2013/10/08/excursion-focus-bikini-beach-st-martin

Super easy to do - hope you get it all worked out and welcome!

These instructions should be helpful: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2012/08/16/cruising-101-linking-reservations

Yes, the TA will need to handle linking the reservations.

Cafe Promenade is Always our last stop of the evening. Pizza and desserts on the cabin balcony perusing the next day's compass. SIGH......