Mike T Posted October 21, 2022 Report Share Posted October 21, 2022 For those that have set up their own taxi/shuttle/driver/transportation or whatever you wanna call it (for sake of conversation, a NON RC purchased excursion) in St Thomas and St Maarten....How difficult was it? Are they hanging out at the port? Are their rental cars or even UTV rentals available for half day right at/near the port? I like the idea of RC purchased excursion because I know they will get us back to ship. My biggest fear is going off on our own and something happening and we don't make it back to ship! LOL! What I would like is a little more freedom to explore and maybe see more than one or two spots. While I think Maho Beach watching the plane come over would be cool, I don't think I wanna spend money on that RC excursion and that be the only thing we see/do while there. I would love to hear from those that have set up their own and I'd also entertain your thoughts on the RC provided tours if you have one that you really liked and gets you to some good sight seeing spots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monicaicg Posted October 21, 2022 Report Share Posted October 21, 2022 There were taxi stations at both St Thomas and St Martin. We didn't make any reservations in advance, just walked up to the taxi areas. They would ask where you were wanting to go and would pair you with a driver and others going to the same place. You just needed to wait until the vehicle was full before they'd leave. We did Maho beach in St Marten and Magen's Bay in St Thomas this way. There was also a $5? per person fee when you got to Magen's Bay. It seemed that the other people in the vehicle were people from our ship (Symphony of the Sea). We made sure to watch our time and gave ourselves plenty of time to get back. ChessE4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TessOR Posted October 22, 2022 Report Share Posted October 22, 2022 We have booked ahead three times with Joyce Prince. She talks with you about your hot spots and gives some great history information about the island throughout the day. We have done different things each time. Never worried about making it back to the ship, she is very aware of the times and has been doing this for a long time. ChessE4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted October 22, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2022 1 hour ago, TessOR said: We have booked ahead three times with Joyce Prince. She talks with you about your hot spots and gives some great history information about the island throughout the day. We have done different things each time. Never worried about making it back to the ship, she is very aware of the times and has been doing this for a long time. @TessORdo you have a website or email for this person? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TessOR Posted October 22, 2022 Report Share Posted October 22, 2022 On 8/10/2022 at 1:25 PM, WAYNO said: 93 days! We are on this cruise too! I am excited to see how much easier the logistics will be on a L.A. originated cruise. And as much as I will miss the Caribbean, I'm excited to broaden my horizons and see what I've been missing on a Mexican Riviera cruise. Interestingly, we have this same itinerary booked three times in the next 7 months. So we better like it. 11 hours ago, Mike T said: @TessORdo you have a website or email for this person? @Mike T [email protected] The website is joyceprince.com WAYNO and Mike T 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAYNO Posted October 22, 2022 Report Share Posted October 22, 2022 I don't know how or why I was quoted and implicated in this thread, as the quote was from the Mexican Riviera thread. Anyway, this will be a good excuse for me to join in... I love seeing the islands, how the people live, and talking directly to the residents. For me, there's no better way than to get on a tram train, shuttle, taxi, whatever, and when we push the tour guide to engage us in conversation, most of them do so. Before we know it, they're telling us about their families. It's a very lazy excursion, but it's become my favorite activity, especially the first time we visit a place. St. Thomas? That was an exception. The tour guide did not like her job. St. Maarten? Probably our best tour and interaction ever. And that tour was completely sold out from the ship. We walked thru the port and found the tour on our own. There are lots of opportunities to design your own tour. Further, I am an aviation buff. Multiple times in St. Maarten, whatever tour we were on always stopped at Maho Beach, long enough for us to see and nearly touch the belly of an airliner on final. If that's not a persons thing, I would think just hanging on that beach, listening to music and watching people would be icing to a great day. Mike T 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonesy Posted October 30, 2022 Report Share Posted October 30, 2022 You can watch planes at Maho.... which is cool Or... you could do the ill-advised thing and hang on to the fence and ride out the jet blast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vancity Cruiser Posted November 15, 2022 Report Share Posted November 15, 2022 One of my favorite tours of all time was on St. Maarten. We walked off (a group of 6) and found a van driver willing to do an all day island tour for $25 per person. We toured the entire island hitting all the popular spots and some lesser known spots. Our driver was amazing! P.S. Worrying about making it back on time and booking a ship excursion is something I used to do all the time when I first started cruising. I never book through the ship anymore as they are overpriced and packed. Its cheaper (and much more relaxing) to purchase good travel insurance and find independant tours. Mike T 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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