We didn't do any excursions; didn't feel the need. It was our first port of call and first day after embarkation. We just enjoyed the beautiful beach. Lunch was provided by the crew, and it was a great day.

We had planned on taking a ferry over to Virgin Gorda to visit the Baths. However, we didn't make the 9 am ride, and were concerned that we might not have the necessary time to make the trip. So, we hired a taxi and went to Cane Garden Bay and enjoyed the beach and snorkeled. Next time!

There's a fair amount of shopping near the dock (where the shuttle takes you), but there really isn't much to see in town. We didn't venture out of town there, so can't speak to that.

We joined a taxi tour at the dock and drove around part of the island, seeing the sights and hearing our driver's commentary. Not nearly as good as that on Grenada, but good nonetheless. Near the end of the tour, several of us asked to be dropped along Carlisle Bay. We enjoyed some time there, rolling in deep waves. It was lovely.We then caught a taxi to drive us back to the ship.

Although I enjoyed visiting the open air markets in Point-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe was rather a disappointment for us. The port there is at the little bridge of land that connects two large areas (think butterfly), and it's a city, and not a very clean or well kept city. They are French-speaking, and their dollar is the Euro. They typically don't wish to speak English with you, and are even less inclined to accept your US dollars. So, we just visited the market for it's amazing sights, walked around town for a bit, and returned to the ship.

We took a taxi out to Maho Beach, which is next to the international airport on the island. The approach to the runway for incoming aircraft, is over the ocean, the beach, and a small road. It is rather amazing to see a full size plane right overhead, moments before it touches down. But, really, the beach is awesome. Yes, it is noisy with those planes coming in, but the beach was fantastic.

Some of our group went back into Phillipsburg to do some shopping after going to the beach, but were disappointed. It was a Sunday, which I understand that not all shops would be open, but from what we were told by some shopkeepers, the ship's published embarkation time was 3 hours earlier than it was in reality. And, we were the only ship in port that day (amazing for St. Maarten), so basically the red carpet was rolled up and the doors were locked. Even the water taxi service ended early, so I ended up walking up the road all the way to the dock (not a short distance, mind you!).

We took a taxi tour to a nice beach and spent a few hours there, then walked a bit through town.