St Maarten excursion SM56

[FigmentSpark]

From what I've read, Orient Beach has no facilities- no bars, food or restrooms.

That must be why DCL removed those excursions. It is a good case for sticking with ship excursions, or at least well reputed excursions.

 

[phinz]

Oh yeah. Getting there with a family outfitted for beach time and finding it not available would not be very good. Good point.

For what it's worth, the Sunset Beach Bar (the place where most people go to watch the planes without being on the beach itself) posted video this morning and they are open. They have also posted video of planes coming in in the past 24 hours, as well as a video that shows there is a beach there, though it's not as much beach as there used to be.

 

[Bella29]

I continue to kind of side-eye the whole "we will skip Tortola and go to SXM because it's in such better shape" when reports really suggest otherwise.

Agreed 100%. Tortola is posting video of their restaurants, shops and beaches, open and ready for business. Charter boat captains are ready, including the one we had booked. Meanwhile I can't find any evidence that St. Maarten is ready and nothing to do there except the overpriced booze cruises. What a disappointment.

 

[phinz]

Agreed 100%. Tortola is posting video of their restaurants, shops and beaches, open and ready for business. Charter boat captains are ready, including the one we had booked. Meanwhile I can't find any evidence that St. Maarten is ready and nothing to do there except the overpriced booze cruises. What a disappointment.

I've seen plenty of up-to-date and ready-to-go videos and posts by SXM businesses, but I'm also keeping up with Tortola establishments (since we were supposed to go there in February, and the BVIs are my favorite chain of islands) and, other than right around the port, they're desperately trying to get back to some kind of normalcy but aren't nearly ready. Their charter fleet was *devastated*. I guess it's all about what bubble you surround yourself with.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Yeah. I think there is some of SXM that is not ready - the National Nature Reserve and most of Loterie Farm are both yet closed (pool is open at Loterie, but not the zippiness or other amenities). Rockland Farm is open.

But several of the beaches are okay and the boat fleet is intact. The level of destruction of the Tortola fleet was pretty bad, and I guess the dock area is still a work in progress to the point there is hesitancy to try to tie up a big ship there.

 

[hardis5]

You are right. I did watch some videos. I don't really think there's much beach to speak of, even now. Maybe Simpson Beach (which would be safer, but still near the airport). I saw videos of Orient Beach and Grand Case, as well. Nothing looks good, even now. It makes me wonder how much worse Tortola must be that DCL chose St. Maarten as the alternate.

When we were there in August 2015, there was little beach to speak of even then (not like the 2013 photos). You were either on the Darwin (airport fence) side of the road or standing on rocks on the water side of the road.