First things first, please do not make the mistake we did when we arrived at the cruise. We didn't know much what to do in each country and we had to settle for less when it came to doing the excursions in each country.
I would say, the first thing you need to do as soon as you get to the entrance of the cruise is to go to the Shore Excursion station and book ALL of your activities in advance. You can even do this from the comfort of your phone so make sure to download the app before you even board. Many of these excursions have a limited space which makes it very difficult to get to do much but there is enough to do. Since we didn't know much of what to do the first day by the end of the day we went to the shore excursion station and many of the activities we wanted to do were already booked. We were very upset but we still were able to join other activities.
In St. Marteen, we were a little spontaneous - from the very beginning, there was this specific excursion in which you were able to drive a Jeep throughout the whole island in a tour with a guide. This was something we wanted to do but since it was fully booked we decided to explore the island for ourselves. Our excursion was at around 1pm and we were out of the cruise at around 9am which was a lot of time in between for us to do something adventurous. Right outside of the cruise port there was a rental car shop where you can get a car and drive around for as long as you want for a flat fee. I believe it was not more than $100 which we thought about it and the shore excursion offered by Royal Carribean was a little bit over the price. It is a risky move because you never know what could happen.
In our way to explore the city, we only had a map which was the ONLY guide for us. However, there was only one main road which would bring you back to your destination whatsoever. Tip: We would take pictures of some related places to know when we were going back that we were going the right way.
One advice from me is DO NOT RENT SCOOTERS OR FOUR WHEELERS. We saw many accidents of tourist on the streets. People drive very bad and even the tourist would throw themselves to the cars - the least you want is your body street burnt or a concussion. You are safer in a car.
So - since the very beginning we wanted to check out the Maho Beach. We got lost and did a few rounds but we were able to make it. They have a nice little bar and shop for you to enjoy the view of the airplanes. There was one that was so low we thought it was going to hit the car lol.
Tip: Make sure you leave on time to your excursions, they will leave you behind if you do not make it on time which it almost happened to us. This is a reason why many cruise lines and excursions rather tourist to do their own excursions because they will not leave you behind. There was a lot of traffic on the way back and if we would have left just 5-10 mins late we would have lost the money for the excursion so do leave on time.
Since we didn't have much to choose from we decided to do the horse ride and to be honest it was one of the most beautiful rides I have ever had in my life. I wouldn't lie to you but I was very scared the horses would go another route or fall down the mountains but they are so well trained to which I was very surprised - the views we got from this tour was amazing and we even got into the water with the horses - they were laughing because they enjoy the water so much!
We were at ease because if you are on a tour with the shore excursion provided by Royal Caribbean they would not leave you. Our excursion ended right on time and we had enough time to get back and get on the cruise with no issues. Cruises are very punctual and they will leave you if you are not there right on time - so make sure you have the time right (on the app, it would show the cruise time and that is the one you need to guide yourself with).
I wish I would have had more time to experience in St. Marteen but with all the rush, the traffic, and the timing we weren't able to enjoy the country as much as we wanted to. But we should come back very soon!
If you do stop in St. Marteen make sure to visit the Maho Beach, also if you can make sure to get the most out of the excursions, if you can get the Jeep experience the whole day I would say DO IT! and make sure you have your time set right and always have extra time with you in the case something happens.
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