aliska

There are 3 of us and the 3 ports of call are Barbados, Martinique and St. Maarten. We would really like to just lie on a beach and maybe do a little shopping. Do we have to make arrangements in advance? We have never been on a cruise. Will taxis just miraculously be at the dock and we can hire a driver? I hate the idea of spending $150 for a 2 hour tour of a rum factory, don't really care about this. I have done some reading and nothing really jumps out at us, we just want to go to the beach, have a little lunch and do some shopping. We leave March 17, so I guess I better figure this out soon. Any advice?

maryann

Get a taxi at the dock, tell them when to pick you back up, drop you in town and go back to the ship in time to sail.

Carib. is easy if you watch the time.

Have fun.

jacketwatch

Agree with maryann. We did just that in Martinique and Barbados. Cost around $50.00. Cheers, Larry

Hold

Many seasoned tourist do exactly what you're thinking about and we have often had far better (and much cheaper) tours by doing this. It also helps avoid that "cattle car" tour bus feeling you get from many ships tours.

Yes, there will be taxi's everywhere at the cruise ship ports. They'll be happy to take you to a beach or, even give you their own tours, but here are some tips we've found.

A. Make sure they REALLY speak english. Some have learned enough to get you into their cab and it's only then that you'll learn that your conversations must be very simple. That makes it tough to ask questions, etc.

B. Make sure you get the full price and agree on what you're going to pay in TOTAL before you ever get in the cab. For example, make sure that the price they quote is for all 3 of you UP FRONT. You don't want to think you got a good price only to find out you have to pay 3 times that amount. I have seen cabbie do things like that.

C. Make sure you're comforable that they can get you back to the ship on time for departure. If you book your tours through the ship they are responsible for getting you back in time. This is especially true if they take you to a beach. Make sure either they'll come back, or that there will be other cabs in the area to get back on.

In short, try it, I think you'll like it and I know you'll save a lot of money.

Have fun!

Dejais

I vacation in St Maarten every year and can tell you that the cruise docks right near the main street for shopping. This is called Front Street and it is located on the Dutch side of the island. There is a beach located directly in front of that street which rents chairs and umbrellas to the cruise passengers. We usually get to the beach thorugh a side street near The Holland House.

Also, there is plenty of shopping to do there. The street is probably about 1/2 to 1 mile long (I'm not teribly good with distance).

As for lunch, I would HIGHLY recommend The Kangaroo Court which is located halfway down Front Street on a side street directly across from where the pier is. You could ask anyone for directions as the street is not that big.

I know you can take a cab but truly if you are able to walk it is not that far. And everyone in St Maarten speaks English.

strand48

The shops on Front Street are wonderful, as are the people who own them and work in them. We ended up there in 9/04 when our itinerary was changed because of the approaching hurricane. We simply got off the ship and found that there were many "jitney" drivers, having a vehicle that accommodated ten. The one we chose gave us a fabulous and complete tour of the island for $20 each. You'll love it!

bonniejns

When we were in St. Maartin last month, we took a local bus to Marginot (SP?) for $1.50@ vs. $6@ for a cab. We loved it and are doing it next week when we will be there again. Think this is where we took the water taxi into town from the pier. The 'buses' are white, mini, window vans. You just flag them down when you see them- don't have to go to a bus stop. You pay when you get off. From Marginot we took another bus to Braie Rouge, a nice beach with about 50 people on the beach.This was $1. We had a wait getting a bus to take us back to Phillipsburg but the busses just come along. Don't think they really have a schedule. They have a white wooden sign on the dashboard saying where they are going to end up. We just asked if they went to that beach and he said yes. They go to other beaches, Mullet Bay, etc.In Marginot we stopped a bus but he only had 2 seats and there were 4 of us. Two men said no problem and got off the bus so we could have their seats! School children got on as did two ladies who were driven in to the hotel where they worked. Can't wait to do this again!
When we were at Orient beach last year, only saw one nude old man with an old topless wife. The cab dropped us Americans off at this beach because there really wasn't any nudeity here.
In Barbados we signed up with Stephen Tryhane at thriller-ocean-tours@ caribsurf.com. You can email him and he will answer any questions and send pictures of his tour. He has a swim & feed turtles then takes you snorkling. One place has two ship wrecks 75' apart. His boat has triple 250's so he can get to more places than the ship's tour. He limits the number of passengers and is $45@. think the ships tour to turtles was $89@! And ship's tour has lot more people.
Can't remember what we've done in Martinique. Last year it was New Year's day so not much was going on.
If you have any questions, just let me know!
And, .....Keep Smiling!.............

LLindaC

Never been to Barbados, but I hear the beaches aren't that great. ? We wanted to really have a fabulous beach, so we took a cab to Marigot and then took a water ferry over to exquisite Anguilla. Talk about night and day different! They were so friendly, even the cops came up and talked to us. The cab driver there gave us a free tour of the place and took us to a nice beach restaurant where they let us store our stuff while swimming. The cab driver had to send another person to pick us up, but came to the dock before we left to say good bye and thank us for the tip! It's beautiful over there, just give yourself an hour and a half each way because the traffic in St Martin is terrible, especially in downtown Phillipsburg.

aliska

We just got back from the Carnival Legend which departed March 17 which stopped in St. Maarten, Barbados and Martinique. I wanted to thank everyone's support for doing our own shore excursion. We did them ourselves, had a fabulous time, and saved lots of $$ in comparison to what Carnival excursions would have cost for all of us. In St. Maarten, we boarded a 9 passenger van to Orient Beach, this is touted as being the most beautiful beach in the Caribbean and it was. We had a fantastic time. The price was $9/pp. We were not aware this was a clothing optional beach, which was an eye-opening experience for our 2 teenage girls who quickly observed parts of the male anatomy they had not previously seen (or so they claimed). It was $7/pp to rent a beach chair with umbrella & rum drink. We spent a few hours on the beach and then went into town to do some shopping. We got terrific prices on liquor and fake designer items (purses, wallets, sunglasses). Make sure you dicker with them, even in the shops. In Barbados, we went to the tour desk in the Cruise Terminal and rented a taxi driver for $80 for 3.5 hours. He took us around the island at 60-70 mph, a little too fast on winding roads. This was the same day as the tragedy in Chile and we were very creeped out when we heard about it. Harrison's Caves ($15/pp) was amazing. We also saw St. John's church, Salisbury plantation, and orchid garden, we really covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time. The shops close between 4-5 p.m. so we couldn't do any shopping. In Martinique, we were only there from 7 a.m. - 2 p.m., not a lot of time. We took a taxi to the Ferry in the downtown area ($8), then $15 roundtrip on the ferry to an island (St. Pierre??) and rented beach chairs and umbrellas from the Sofitel Hotel ($20). This was a total investment of about $50 for all 3 of us versus $210 for a similar excursion from the ship. Everything was arranged spur of the moment and there were many choices of adventures available. I do suggest some reading in advance to know what sights you want to see. Thanks again!

jacketwatch

Good for you. In the Carib. you can do it easily OYO.