Question for those that have used Soualiga Destinations

[carrielouhoo]

I'm one of the many Eastern Caribbean cruisers now scrambling to change their Tortola excursions to St. Maarten. I was able to book with Captain Bob and Soualiga Destinations, but am not totally clear on the specifics of the excursion. His website and Trip Advisor reviews list general tour destinations and activities, but I'm hoping someone that has done this excursion in the past could chime in with more specifics? We're really disappointed about the change from Tortola (where we had a private charter booked), so I'm just trying to gauge what our day will be like in St. Maarten, or if we even want to proceed with Soualiga.

1.) How much were you on the boat vs. off?
2.) When "off" the boat, is it mostly swimming/snorkeling/beaches, or is there opportunity to see other sights close by? (I realize we won't have time to venture far, but one sentence on his website mentions a nearby market, so I'm trying to gain a little more clarity).
2.) Do you get a "flavor" of both sides of the island and the cultures? (For example, at any point do you see the Dutch and French flags flying next to one another?)
3.) The Trip Advisor reviews are phenomenal, but I can't figure out what makes it so good. Pictures posted by reviewers appear to contain mostly boat/beach/water shots, but not much else. What made the trip good/worth it for you?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

 

[Dug720]

1. Some parts you are snorkeling, others you are in the boat. I was not looking at my watch to get a breakdown of the times because I was living in the moment and enjoying the trip too much.

2. Swimming/snorkeling and beaches. Your driver will point out some things as you are going by.

3. The majority is in the boat and water. That is pretty much the same regardless.

4. It is an amazing water and boat tour. Great guides, a fantastic lunch. Beautiful scenery. Best excursion I have ever done.

But it is not a land-based tour and does not cover land-based things. So if you are wanting land-based stuff, this is not the tour for you.

 

[oakleycat]

1. Some parts you are snorkeling, other said you are in the boat. I was not looking at my watch to get a breakdown of the times because I was living in the moment and enjoying the trip too much.

2. Swimming/snorkeling and beaches. Your driver will point out some things as you are going by.

3. The majority is in the boat and water. That is pretty much the same regardless.

4. It is an amazing water and boat tour. Great guides, a fantastic lunch. Beautiful scenery. Best excursion I have ever done.

But it is not a land-based tour and does not cover land-based things. So if you are wanting land-based stuff, this is not the tour for you.

Thank you for this! We also were just switched and booked with Soualiga, and it sounds like exactly what we're looking for!

 

[Dug720]

Thank you for this! We also were just switched and booked with Soualiga, and it sounds like exactly what we're looking for!

I hope you have a wonderful time!!

 

[kkayluvsdis]

We just returned from an Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy (2/24 sailing). Like you, we were very disappointed to not be able to visit Tortola as we had a tour booked with Aristocat Charters. After all the great reviews here and on TripAdvisor we booked the St. Maarten tour with Soualiga. I'll answer your questions based on our experiences:


1. I would say more time was spent ON the boat than off but that was also dependent on each guest. There were multiple stops and you could basically get off and snorkel (at two locations) or swim to the beach at each stop. Some people were in the water more than others. The day we went out was the first day in a while (according to Capt Bob) that they had been able to go out because of the weather on the island. The winds had been high and therefore the water was too rough to safely take people out. Our driver/captain/tour guide decided to stop at the snorkeling area first because he figured this timing would give us the smoothest possible water for snorkeling. It definitely wasn't ideal (which we were warned) and I was actually a bit nervous having my kids in the water at this location as there was no beach-it was just open water. They ended up doing okay, though we all were having to fight the water pulling us away from the snorkeling area. I would say that if the snorkeling were better people probably would have stayed in the water longer. This was true for each subsequent stop-the driver based the length of time at each location on what the guests were doing-in other words, we weren’t ever told “time to get back in the boat”. It was more once everyone was onboard we headed to the next stop.

2. Mostly swimming and beaches (all of which you had to swim to). There was only the opportunity to snorkel at the first two stops-at least in our experience. Any sight seeing we did was only from the boat.

3. I would say the local “flavor” really would be dependent on the guides. Our guide was French and from the French part of the island. He pointed out things as we went along and answered questions. Naturally, there was much inquiry in regards to the hurricanes as we saw A LOT of devastation both in the water and on the land. I wouldn’t say there was much focus on the Dutch vs. French side except that it was evident that the French side got hit much harder than the Dutch from the hurricanes.

4. The pictures are mostly boat/beach/water because that is the tour-like Dug720 mentioned it is definitely NOT a land-based tour. You will be in and out of the water all day. For us, being on the boat and speeding through the waves was the best part. Since the water was quite rough it made for a very adventurous ride. We were sitting in the back and kept getting soaked from the spray. The kids loved it. At one point as we were “flying” over the water my six year old turned back to me and said, “Now THIS is a vacation!”



Hope this helps! Have a wonderful cruise!

 

[carrielouhoo]

1. Some parts you are snorkeling, others you are in the boat. I was not looking at my watch to get a breakdown of the times because I was living in the moment and enjoying the trip too much.

2. Swimming/snorkeling and beaches. Your driver will point out some things as you are going by.

3. The majority is in the boat and water. That is pretty much the same regardless.

4. It is an amazing water and boat tour. Great guides, a fantastic lunch. Beautiful scenery. Best excursion I have ever done.

But it is not a land-based tour and does not cover land-based things. So if you are wanting land-based stuff, this is not the tour for you.

We just returned from an Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy (2/24 sailing). Like you, we were very disappointed to not be able to visit Tortola as we had a tour booked with Aristocat Charters. After all the great reviews here and on TripAdvisor we booked the St. Maarten tour with Soualiga. I'll answer your questions based on our experiences:


1. I would say more time was spent ON the boat than off but that was also dependent on each guest. There were multiple stops and you could basically get off and snorkel (at two locations) or swim to the beach at each stop. Some people were in the water more than others. The day we went out was the first day in a while (according to Capt Bob) that they had been able to go out because of the weather on the island. The winds had been high and therefore the water was too rough to safely take people out. Our driver/captain/tour guide decided to stop at the snorkeling area first because he figured this timing would give us the smoothest possible water for snorkeling. It definitely wasn't ideal (which we were warned) and I was actually a bit nervous having my kids in the water at this location as there was no beach-it was just open water. They ended up doing okay, though we all were having to fight the water pulling us away from the snorkeling area. I would say that if the snorkeling were better people probably would have stayed in the water longer. This was true for each subsequent stop-the driver based the length of time at each location on what the guests were doing-in other words, we weren’t ever told “time to get back in the boat”. It was more once everyone was onboard we headed to the next stop.

2. Mostly swimming and beaches (all of which you had to swim to). There was only the opportunity to snorkel at the first two stops-at least in our experience. Any sight seeing we did was only from the boat.

3. I would say the local “flavor” really would be dependent on the guides. Our guide was French and from the French part of the island. He pointed out things as we went along and answered questions. Naturally, there was much inquiry in regards to the hurricanes as we saw A LOT of devastation both in the water and on the land. I wouldn’t say there was much focus on the Dutch vs. French side except that it was evident that the French side got hit much harder than the Dutch from the hurricanes.

4. The pictures are mostly boat/beach/water because that is the tour-like Dug720 mentioned it is definitely NOT a land-based tour. You will be in and out of the water all day. For us, being on the boat and speeding through the waves was the best part. Since the water was quite rough it made for a very adventurous ride. We were sitting in the back and kept getting soaked from the spray. The kids loved it. At one point as we were “flying” over the water my six year old turned back to me and said, “Now THIS is a vacation!”



Hope this helps! Have a wonderful cruise!

Thank you both so very much! This is very helpful!

 

[Stacey1980]

Thanks so much for this post and the reviews! We have recently booked with Soualiga, as well, so this is very helpful!