French Riviera Beach Rendezvous in St. Maarten

[vbarry]

Has anyone done this? Was it worth the money?

 

[mostyn17]

We love this excursion. It's our favorite beach. However, it is a clothing optional beach and once and a while you will see someone walk by. Disney does have chairs reserved just for their excursion so no one nude will be sitting next to you. They are much further down at the one end of the beach. We have been there maybe 5 times and have only seen a handful of topless women come by.

It's a beautiful beach. Some people may choose to have a taxi take them to Orient Beach. I'm sure it's cheaper, but then your stuck closer to topless tanners. They told us this on our last trip to that beach.

 

[vbarry]

Are lunch and drinks included?

 

[Soccermom-Cheri]

Our bus drivers/tour guides told us that we might see some "wrinkly people in need of a good ironing". Boy was she right I thought my kids would be drawn to stare (like a traffic accident) but my son just looked up, said,"that's just gross" and went back to his iPod. No big deal in other words.

The beach was nice and having reserved beach chairs was great.

 

[mostyn17]

Yes, lunch is included and they give you either a fruit punch or some other drink when you arrive and then they give you a ticket that is good for a mixed drink or a lunch.

 

[vbarry]

One last question...if the weather is bad, do they let you cancel or do another excursion?

 

[mostyn17]

You can't cancel due to weather or just decide to book another excursion because it might look cloudy out...ect. The only way you get your money back is if the vendor Disney uses cancels due to weather or for some other reason or you don't end up making that port. (which is very unlikely unless your traveling in the middle of a hurricane) Then Disney would likely make it right by offering another excursion to you.

If your a beach person, I think you and your family would like this beach. There is a little for everyone there including water sports, water trampoline, ect.

I'm not sure of the exact cancellation policy, but I think you have a couple days before sailing to cancel any excursions, PALO, or spa treatments without any fee.

Any other questions, Ask away.

 

[vbarry]

Well...I do have another question. This excusion starts around 9:30 and is 5 hours (including lunch). The afternoon beach bash starts at 1:30 and is 3 hours. If we go to the longer one...can we stay if we want or do we have to find our own transportation back??

Thanks for all the help!

 

[disneypoor]

My kids had a blast at this beach! It was beautiful, and the waves were just the right size for them to have fun in. However, I would caution you about the nudity though. We saw several totally naked men and quite a few topless women. I wasn't expecting it (especically the men being totally naked), but it didn't ruin our trip in any way. My DH said there was only one woman that should have been naked.

 

[mostyn17]

Well...I do have another question. This excusion starts around 9:30 and is 5 hours (including lunch). The afternoon beach bash starts at 1:30 and is 3 hours. If we go to the longer one...can we stay if we want or do we have to find our own transportation back??

Thanks for all the help!

You can stay for as long or as little as you want. Sometimes we take a taxi back and sometimes we go back with the rest of the group. You just have to get your own transportation back and let the tour guide what your plans are so they don't wait on you. The taxi ride back is pretty painless and not that much money. I'm sorry though, I don't remember the amount.

 

[aprince&princess]

Does anyone know what is included for lunch? My concern is because of a food allergy. Thanks.

 

[becka]

Thanks for the reviews. I think we have decided to do this excursion in December. I assume there are restrooms, a place to buy some bottled water, etc.. close by? Also is the water drop off gradual or pretty steep. My kids are still little so a more gradual drop off is best.

 

[mostyn17]

The water drops off gradually. There are several bars to buy drinks from. They have a little shop there also to get tanning lotion or a local shirt. There are restrooms, changing rooms, and outside showers to rinse off.

For the other poster, we were there last week and I forget the food selection. We never eat the lunch...we would rather lay on the beach the whole time. If I recall one was fried fish, but I forget the other 2 selections. They were normal food and heard people saying the food was good. If you decide not to eat, you can use your little ticket for a mixed drink or water.

Travis

 

[owensjro]

Note that you can also very easily get a taxi to the beach, get your own chairs, and get your own lunch if you so desire.

We spent $7/person for the three of us ($6/person for 4 and the rate keeps going down the more you have in your group) for the taxi each way. No wait for the taxi at the port, no wait for a taxi on the way back from the beach. The taxi drops you off at Orient Beach just outside the Bikini Beach club which is pretty centrally located.

We walked down to the right (facing the water) to move away from the crowds (Bikini is in the more crowded section) and got 2 chairs and an umbrella for $10 at Chez Leandra. We ate lunch at the Pirate which was very good and inexpensive.

Some links for the curious:
http://home.carolina.rr.com/photos2005/LargeOrientPanorama.htm
http://www.sxm-orientbeach.com/pirate/menu.html

As for nudity, we saw more topless sunbathers towards the center of the beach as we walked around than by us. The topless and/or totally naked people appeared to be walking the length of the beach so all locations got the same view.

Our 5 year old daughter was not traumatized however I may have been

Jim

 

[dan708]

Note that you can also very easily get a taxi to the beach, get your own chairs, and get your own lunch if you so desire.

We spent $7/person for the three of us ($6/person for 4 and the rate keeps going down the more you have in your group) for the taxi each way. No wait for the taxi at the port, no wait for a taxi on the way back from the beach. The taxi drops you off at Orient Beach just outside the Bikini Beach club which is pretty centrally located.

We walked down to the right (facing the water) to move away from the crowds (Bikini is in the more crowded section) and got 2 chairs and an umbrella for $10 at Chez Leandra. We ate lunch at the Pirate which was very good and inexpensive.

Some links for the curious:
http://home.carolina.rr.com/photos2005/LargeOrientPanorama.htm
http://www.sxm-orientbeach.com/pirate/menu.html

As for nudity, we saw more topless sunbathers towards the center of the beach as we walked around than by us. The topless and/or totally naked people appeared to be walking the length of the beach so all locations got the same view.

Our 5 year old daughter was not traumatized however I may have been

Jim

Great post Jim,
I think my group is going to do what you suggested.
There are 5 of us in my group and 11 altogether.
Doing some quick math I figure that, based on your figures,we can save quite a chunk of $$$ by going on our own instead of booking through DCL
Thanks again.
Dan
4 days and counting

 

[ols386]

We did this last time we went on a 7-night Caribbean Cruise. The beach and water are beautiful. Was a fun and relaxing time. There is a clothes optional area way down at the other end of the beach, and we saw many of those people walking down to the part of the beach where we were, it wasn't a problem for us, although since we are not used to seeing this in the U.S., it made us feel just a bit uncomfortable....but it wasn't a big deal. I might feel differently if I had younger children, but my daughter is an adult now.

 

[ps17]

We also do this on our own every year. I think it is cheaper and you have more flexibility. We go to Bikini Beach which I think is right next door to the one the official DCL excursion goes to. We'll rent an umbrella and pretty much hang out for a good part of the day. Some notes:

- Ask to be dropped off at the middle section near Bikni Beach. If you are dropped off at the area around club Orient, there is more nudity.

- The area around Bikini always has Taxis waiting.

- There is also a watersports rental facility near there. We always get the boogie boards for our kids and one year, we rented a waverunner for an hour.

- As far as food and cocktails go, we order the tropical drinks and beers from Bikinis. They also have good appetizers with a seafood/oriental theme. Last time, we had grilled lobster for lunch. Yes, spendy, but how often can you get served up grilled lobster in a tropical setting, feet in the sand, right? I understand that accross the bay an Pinel Island, there also a food place that serves lobsters.

- Nudity - our boys did some doubletakes but really just went on their own ways.

 

[DisneyCruiseFansMc]

We did this excursion on the 1/19 Eastern. LOVED it, so easy, on the bus, little mini-history of the island (JUST painless enough so my kids didn't think they might be actually LEARNING something ) & dropped off at the beach w/ the special DCL area. A welcome drink (non-alcoholic & alcoholic available) and off to relax in the sun. Lunch was served at 11:30 with a choice of fish, grilled chicken & ribs. We all had the chicken, it was a good size piece, no skimping b/c it was included, a plate full of fries, coleslaw & a drink. Back to the beach for GREAT bodysurfing in waves my kids could only dream about here on the East Coast. The one thing (other than the occasional "clothing optional" sights) that bugged me was if my DD11 got asked ONE MORE TIME for hairbraiding, I was going to flip. LOTS of vendors walking among you all day, I understand it is their living but enough is enough. My kids did get a cool henna tattoo & a nice interchangeable beach towel/backpack beach bag. Actually a VERY useful souviener for a change.
Hope this helps!!!

 

[dan708]

We also do this on our own every year. I think it is cheaper and you have more flexibility. We go to Bikini Beach which I think is right next door to the one the official DCL excursion goes to. We'll rent an umbrella and pretty much hang out for a good part of the day. Some notes:

- Ask to be dropped off at the middle section near Bikni Beach. If you are dropped off at the area around club Orient, there is more nudity.

- The area around Bikini always has Taxis waiting.

- There is also a watersports rental facility near there. We always get the boogie boards for our kids and one year, we rented a waverunner for an hour.

- As far as food and cocktails go, we order the tropical drinks and beers from Bikinis. They also have good appetizers with a seafood/oriental theme. Last time, we had grilled lobster for lunch. Yes, spendy, but how often can you get served up grilled lobster in a tropical setting, feet in the sand, right? I understand that accross the bay an Pinel Island, there also a food place that serves lobsters.

- Nudity - our boys did some doubletakes but really just went on their own ways.

The way I figured,
it was going to cost our family of 5 (3 adults and 2 kids)
$251.00 by booking thru DCL

If we can get the round trip cab rides for 5 @ $60.00
2 chair's w/umbrella for $ 10.00
Lunch for 5 roughly $ 50.00
or
pack a lunch from the ship $00.00

High end doing it on our own= $120.00
Low end = $60.00

Either way,there are some great savings to be had

Dan
Almost 3 days to go and counting!!!

 

[vavalynn2]

Dan,

We are considering the same excursion one year from now. We would be interested to hear a trip report of the excursion when you return.

Enjoy your trip!! Have a great time!