We'll be on a Princess cruise in January. Need recommendation for an excursion here. We did the semi-sub once and toured the French part--enjoyed both aspects of this tour. We want to do something really different this time. Other half doesn't want to snorkle. We've never been to Grand Turk. We've been told by some cruisers that it's a private island with a Margaritaville atmosphere. We're fun loving but not the Buffet type. Any comments will be appreciated.

Try an excusion to Loterie Farm for a hike or a Flyzone experience. Definitely a different side to SXM...

grand turk is most certainly not a private island. the island is about 6 miles long & is the seat of government for turks & caicos. originally settled by salt rakers.
http://www.turksandcaicos.tc/grandturk/photogallery.htm

apparently "some cruisers" got off the ship and went no where...the margaritaville was built a couple years ago when the cruise world decided to install a pier on the island - in my opinion a hideous blight on a quiet island.

But the beach next to the cruise pier is amazing in Grand Turk. There are a lot of adrenaline-pumping excursions offered on the island, but my favorite thing there is the beach.

I definitely second Loterie Farm. It's a very different kind of destination on St. Martin. If you don't want to take the ship's excursion, you can easily rent a car and drive yourself there and back. It's easy to find.

Loterie Farm also has a wonderful restaurant: The Treehouse. when you go spend the day there be sure to factor lunch in your plans. Also wonderful is the Butterfly Farm at Le Galion beach. Right next door you can also arrange horseback riding along the beach which is terrific. What about going to Pinel Isle for the day? There is also a great restaurant, and full beach services. Orient Baie? 2 miles of beachwalking and fantastic restaurants (Wakiki is good also COCO beach). You can parasail, banana boat, or have a divine massage right on the (clothing optional) beach there.

the 12 meter challenge is a fun thing to do.
you don;t have to know anything about sailing to do it either.

Try kayaking. I just got back from SXM and had a fantastic time on the excursion. You can book it through ShoreTrips or contact Tri-Sports directly.

Other options- the company Aqua Mania does day trips to Saba, St. Eustatia and St. Barths. Hiking and exploring on the first two, more shopping on the second. You can go parasailing in Orient Bay if you don't mind clothing optional beaches. Tri-sports apparently also does hikes around the island on certain days.

Contact any of the companies directly or check out options out at www.shoretrips.com or www.viator.com. I have booked excursions around the world with them with great success. My only warning is to avoid the wave runner tour on Shore Trips. The company that runs it did not perform up to expectations at all. You can try the "rock and Roll" excursion through Aqua Mania if something like that sounds appealing though. Inflatable boat that has seating like a wave runner. Everything I did through Aqua Mania was well organized. Just a warning though, they do have you check in well before the excursion actually starts. For some trips it is due to port and immigration requirements. For others there didn't really seem to be a reason.

http://www.12metre.com/

This is the wesite for the America's Cup, 12 meter sailing. What a blast!..It was one of the best things we did in St.Martin.