Cruise Line St Maarten/St John Info Reqd

[StephenKay]

Hi there,

We are off on our cruise quite soon I was wondering if anyone can give us advice on arrival at the islands of St Maarten and St John. We are travelling as a party of eight although one on my friends has to use a wheelchair. What,s the distance to the town ?
What,s the route to the town like?
Does St Maarten have car hire for vehicles that seat 8.

Any info would be appreciated.

 

[Michigan]

There is a wonderful tour guide for St Maarten that will show you the entire island. She also will make stops or drop off and pick up. Her name is Joyce Prince she has a van that I was able to put both of my daughters wheelchairs in. Her web site is www.joyceprince.com

 

[Belle1997]

Hi there just got of a cruise to St. Maarten and St. Thomas.

You can take a taxi into town at St. Maarten. If it not very expensive. We found 1/2 of the stores not to be fully accessible. A 2 inch step up. Since I was in a scooter I could get off while hubby lifted scooter up.

The side walks are kinda scary. When driving on the scooter, the side walks slant and I also felt like I was going to tip. Be careful around the grates of some trees they move so be careful of where the wheels go.

At St. Thomas there is a mall right off the boat. About a 5 minutes walk that as most of the jewlery stores. We have never ventured into town because the stores are good enough for me.

If you would like any other helpful info about accesibility on the ship please PM or ask I can give some helpful tips.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

St Thomas and St Croix are US Territories. I am not sure if ADA applies in them, but I know it does not apply in St Maarten as that is not US.

 

[CPT Tripss]

You might want to visit another web site - cruisecritic dot com - they have a ports of call area that has topics for both islands you are wondering about. There are a lot of friendly people over there.

You asked about cars for hire for 8 - you might be able to rent a mini van, but I have no direct experience. Do keep in mind that in St Thomas they drive on the "proper" (left) side of the road as compared to the US and St Maarten where driving is on the right side of the road.

 

[Shorty82]

Do keep in mind that in St Thomas they drive on the "proper" (left) side of the road as compared to the US...

No, no, no. They drive on the wrong side of the road. The US drives on the right, as in correct, side of the road which makes the left side the wrong side of the road.

 

[dclfun]

I was able to find a paved pathway that took me into town while "driving" my power wheelchair. Once over by the shops though, most were not accessible. I did get lost though and missed the first turn-off, so Skye and I had a really long trek, including being on the road- quite the adventure!---Kathy