St Maarten on DCL

[dstupper]

Aloha DIS Ohana!! So we will be Cruising in August of 2013 on the Fantasy. We have 4 adults, 6 & 8 year old Girls, 6 year old boy. We would like to do something relaxing and fun for the kids in St Maarten. Any suggestions?

 

[shburks]

Aloha DIS Ohana!! So we will be Cruising in August of 2013 on the Fantasy. We have 4 adults, 6 & 8 year old Girls, 6 year old boy. We would like to do something relaxing and fun for the kids in St Maarten. Any suggestions?

We sailed in Aug with our DS 7. We had a hard time finding activities he could even do and settled on Butterfly Farm because DS really wanted to do it. We had considered just staying inboard that day. In retrospect, I wish we had just stayed onboard. Dh is a pilot and said NO WAY were we going to Maho Beach and nothing else really appealed to us. Good luck.

 

[jjgarv]

We just returned from a Eastern Cruise on the Fantasy. After a lot of research we came upon the Random Wind, a beautiful sailboat with an even better crew. Owned by an american lady- Diane- who lives on the boat with her two great kids- she takes you out sailing for the day with stops at some beautiful bays and beaches to snorkel, swim, and best of all jump off the bow of the boat and use the Tarzan swing. She also will cook you a delicious lunch and it's open bar!
Her infectious spirit is only matched by her gracious hosting abilities.
CAN NOT give a higher recommendation of this tour. We chartered the boat for ourselves (there were 12 of us with kids from ages 8 to 15) but you can pay by the person for open boat trips.

Check out her website randomwind.com!

 

[racingfandj]

Aloha DIS Ohana!! So we will be Cruising in August of 2013 on the Fantasy. We have 4 adults, 6 & 8 year old Girls, 6 year old boy. We would like to do something relaxing and fun for the kids in St Maarten. Any suggestions?

I don't know if zip lining is relaxing to you, but it is a lot of fun. Here's another current thread talking about St. Maarten that I described our zip line experience in.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3006968

If you want to do a beach/water day, Capt. Bob has a boat tour that looked gorgeous. We passed because we weren't sure how we would feel about being on a boat after being on the ship for several days. Afterwards...wish I would have allowed the kids more beach time. We really didn't do that too much.

 

[Loriekins]

We would love to take another cruise going to St. Maarten again. Went in Jan. 2011 when our son was 9 1/2. We did a tour that went to both sides (tour of two flags or something like that). We would not recommend. Afterwards we walked around at all the cool shops & then by the beach (you can see the ships from there). If (WHEN) we go back, all three of us want to just shop & play in at the beach. Enjoy!

 

[TaTa4Now1968]

I would recommend find an excursion to do, we just walked around and we were hawked by the locals every 2 feet or less asking if we wanted rent beach chairs and umbrella (you can try to ignore them, but the do not stop), the taxi guys were only by the one stop where the water taxi dropped us off. Once in the shops off of the main drag off of the alley you can find some good deals and you are not bothered that much, just watch as you cross the street, the cars do not yield for pedestrians. On our next cruise, if we get off in there it will only be for an excursion and not just walk around. I really wanted to walk around more because it is a beautiful island, but I was turned off by the constant hawking. Oh and I forgot, if you DD has long hair you will constantly be asked if they want their hair braided.

 

[dstupper]

I am so grateful for all the advice guys!!! Terrific ideas! I am taking them back with the couple we are traveling with. The ports are just a bonus to us, the ship will be the star!!

 

[kcashner]

We would love to take another cruise going to St. Maarten again. Went in Jan. 2011 when our son was 9 1/2. We did a tour that went to both sides (tour of two flags or something like that). We would not recommend. Afterwards we walked around at all the cool shops & then by the beach (you can see the ships from there). If (WHEN) we go back, all three of us want to just shop & play in at the beach. Enjoy!

We did the "Under 2 Flags" tour--boring. OK for the adults (history, etc) but the teens were crazy bored.

If you want to do an island tour, do Bernard's Tours. If you fill the whole vehicle, they will customize the tour to whatever you want. If you're booking as just a few people, there is a standard tour. It does include Maho beach (where the planes fly over way low!

 

[archx]

St. Maarten is one of the stops on our cruise. Do you think we will have enough time to do the See and Sea Island Tour AND the afternoon beach bash ? I had planned to do the under the two flags tour and the afternoon beach bash but after reading the OP description on the flags tour I'm thinking of changing it since DS is 6.

 

[Embraer]

Or you could sit on the beach by the airport and watch this - WOW - that's what my 5 year old wants to do

 

[LivinADream]

We agree do Bernards Tour you will not regret it. Also when we did Bernards there were 2 small groups in our van but we all decided to skip one of the beaches and spend more time at Major beach.

 

[jackparts]

I also must recommend Bernards Tours. If you can do the private tour, not really that $$ , he will ask what you would like and also recommend things. The $$ includes water, soda and beer.

 

[DisneyOHFan]

I also must recommend Bernards Tours. If you can do the private tour, not really that $$ , he will ask what you would like and also recommend things. The $$ includes water, soda and beer.

I also agree with this. We loved our Bernards Tour and they really catered to the kids.

 

[mammacaryn]

Thanks so much for this post! Got some great info I hadn't seen before Informative and helpful threads like this make me stick around these boards and weed through the other nonsense

 

[carissa1970]

Or you could sit on the beach by the airport and watch this - WOW - that's what my 5 year old wants to do

Omg. Which beach is that? I have got to see this!

http://www.***********************/tickers/kwkz3p9ufbl3koi6.png

 

[Embraer]

Maho Beach

 

[Chelley00]

We did a Bernards Tour. We went to Maho, then left and went to Orient, more to say we had been there, and ALL the kids (even the teens) wished we would have stayed at Maho all day!

My DH is in the blue hat

It's pretty calm and there is enough sand that the kids could make sandcastles

 

[I❤MICKEY]

We did a Bernards Tour. We went to Maho, then left and went to Orient, more to say we had been there, and ALL the kids (even the teens) wished we would have stayed at Maho all day!

My DH is in the blue hat

It's pretty calm and there is enough sand that the kids could make sandcastles

So Orient wasn't that great. We've been debating either doing the tour that includes Orient Beach or leisure morning at hopefully quiet pool and then do the shopping that's a mile away on our own. DS are 3 & 5. Thoughts?

 

[mariechouette]

Hi there !

I live near St maarten, so I know pretty well this island. To my opinion, the best beach to go to is Orient Bay on the French side. You can get a taxi (first a taxi boat from the cruise embarkation to Philiisburg, it is about $7 per person) and then a regular taxi from Phillisburg to Orient Bay. If you have enough time, go the îlet Pinel at the end of Orient Bay, it is very nice. Pay attention to the trafic and take enough time to go back to the ship. Before going back to the ship, there are nice shopping places on front street and back street (nice bargain with cigarettes and alcohol).

The beach where you are able to watch planes landing is Maho Beach (Dutch side).

Hope that helps a little bit.

 

[Dizpinfriend]

Can anyone tell me if there is a DCL excursion that takes you to Maho Beach? I'm thinking my son and Husband would LOVE to be able to see that in person!!!