I also posted this request on the Carnival message board, but haven't had any replies so far. We will be leaving on the Carnival Spirit shortly and wondered if anyone had taken any of the shipboard shore excursions.

Just wondering about some of the shore excursions for St. Maarten, Martinique and Barbados and any suggestions for "must sees". I think in Barbados some of our family members will be taking the Jolly Roger shore excursion, but not sure what my husband and I will do.

Also, for snorkelling, which port is better?
Thanks.

We stopped at St. Maarten in 1994, when we sailed on NCL's Norway. I'd done a ton of research about the island, was armed with maps, we rented a jeep-like thing and went out on our own. We went to beaches, ate local crabcakes - yum - drank beer from a souvenir shop/little bar place...went into the water, enjoyed the breeze. Bought Guavaberry Liquer - a local treat - and spent the whole day just moving around the island, stopping and enjoying....It's very easy to navigate. The only bad part was taking the bus to get to the rental car place, urpy, and waiting in line to get the car....that was time-consuming. But once we got the car, and my husband got the hang of driving the stick again, we were OFF to one of our best vacation day memories! Enjoy!
txtraveler