ST. Maarten, that bad??

[jkovick]

I have read some negative things about St. Maarten lately, both on these boards and other places concerning safety, lack of interesting activites, etc. I would really appreciate some info from fellow board member's experiences. Should we stick with excursions offered by DCL, should we venture out on our own or is it better to just not get off the ship? Thanks for your help!

 

[Favorite Auntie]

I think St Maarten is a beautiful Island. True, there is not as much "money" there as St Thomas, and there are more "Locals", but it is gorgeous! I have never done any excursions there, I like to get off the boat and take the water taxi to the main street for shopping and then hang out on the main beach right there. You should definitely get off the ship - but I can't help you as fas as excursions go. The liquor is cheaper there than on St Thomas too, and the further you go down the main street - away from the ship, the cheaper the liquor gets!

 

[disney6]

We love St. Maarten too! We did the catamaran excursion in the afternoon and were kinda sorry we did - less time for browsing the town! (we LOVED the excursion but next time I'd do it in St. Thomas instead). We will be going back on the Eastern in 2004 mainly for St. Maarten! (although I'll take ANY island - or just anchor the boat!)

 

[preb]

Favorite Auntie,

Can you tell me anything about the beach right at the watertaxi? What is the name of it? Do they offer chairs/umbrellas for rent? What about restrooms? Food and bar service?

I think that is our plan for the day...just take the water taxi over to the beach and veg out for awhile. Then, if the mood strikes us, do a little shopping.

I have a 4yo DD who is perfectly happy with a beach, shovel, pail and juice box.

Thanks for any input you can provide!

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

preb,

The beach in question is called Great Bay beach. I think it would be perfect for what you've described. The water taxi is $5 pp (less for kids, I think) and is good for unlimited trips back and forth between downtown and the cruise ship pier.

There are chairs to rent on the beach, and the main part of downtown is right behind the beach, so there are plenty of places to grab something to eat or use a restroom.

I have also seen some negative comments about St. Maarten, but I personally like it. There is a lot to do and some great beaches. Also, the French capital, Marigot, is a nice place to visit for an afternoon.

 

[jfeasel]

We were on the June 14 Eastern and did the French Rendezvous excursion offered through Disney. It takes you to Orient Beach. We had 4 kids with us 6, 8 10 and 12. The waves were good and the kids loved it. There were topless sunbathers that should have had their tops on, but the kids really didn't catch on that it was a topless beach. The excursion sets you up with your own chair (umbrella's are $3), a drink and a good lunch. There are restrooms there that are OK (I've been in worse) and outside shower facilities for washing off the sand. There are also hairbraiders walking up and down the beach so my girls had their hair done. We liked the beach area and would do that again.

 

[ThreeCircles]

We enjoyed St. Maarten much more than St. Thomas. It seemed as if there was actually a lot more to do on St. Maarten and then it was much cleaner.

There were topless sunbathers that should have had their tops on

Why?

 

[rae519]

Three Circles -----hahahhaahahah!!! Sometimes it's best if they don't!!!! AHAHHAAH!


Also, we did the Sea and See excursion there - very nice tour of the island and the underwater part was very interesting. It's an okay place but St. Thomas is just so much prettier - I can understand why pirates stayed there!!!!

Rae

 

[Towncrier]

Don't forget to have a Guavaberry Colada while visiting St. Maarten. You have to cut the island some slack as they have been hit by several hurricanes in the past few years. It takes time to rebuild. We did the Golden Eagle Catamaran excursion on our cruise in January 2002 (with about 30 other DISers) and had a great time. My wife and son were content to lounge around in the waters of Great Bay Beach.

My first impressions of St. Maarten were not very favorable, but having had the opportunity to visit there a second time, my opinion has changed. I would like to have more time to explore there as we've never made it over to the French side of the island.

Did I mention Guavaberry Coladas???

 

[holly dolly]

I didn't love St. Maaten when we went in October. We did the French Rendezvous at Orient Beach excursion and that was nice but I didn't like the shopping area that was close to the ship. We enjoyed St. Thomas better. Am I missing something guys? Where is the best place to go to enjoy St. Maaten?

 

[jilljill]

DH liked the cheap beer to buy along the street. Did I see that someone mentioned a Guavaberry Colada?!? Yummy!
I look at jewelry there but chose to wait until we went to St. Thomas to buy some, I didn't feel right about the sellers in the jewelry shops. Something about buying good jewelry and t-shirts in the same shop makes me feel very uneasy.

 

[Pugdog007]

I really enjoyed shopping on the Dutch side... Guavaberry Emporium, belguim chocolate shop, among others. Don't go too far past the 2nd taxi drop off or it gets seedy. Stay to the area closest to the ship.

I was not all impressed with Marigot and regretted spending the taxi money to get there. The island folks are very poor. I felt guilty even haggling with them over taxi fare. I talked him down then paid full rate anyway.

 

[Buckaroo's Dad]

Hi holly dolly.

Where is the best place to go to enjoy St. Maaten?

Apparently St. Thomas.



Good morning disney6.

although I'll take ANY island

Me too. Especially Manhattan...

 

[disny4ever]

DW and I were in St Maarten last year. I loved the feel of the island. The architecture. the colors, it really has the carribean feel.
It is just like any other area that has a large tourist base...people try everything to get you in their shops. We never feel threatened
in any way.
These people rely on tourism for their livlihood. It's all a matter of personal choice, and I would have no problems if DCL keeps this stop on their agenda.

 

[jlawall]

We visited St. Maarten last summer and we really liked it! We did the Pinel Island tour thru Disney and we liked that too. It was a nice island. I wish we had checked out Orient Beach. Other than that it was fun! The shopping was just OK.

 

[dianedisney]

I agree with the above posters....shopping on a whole is cheaper. And the Guava Berry Lady makes the best smoothies in town. But......when we visited in January the town smelled. There was not a trash can in site, so everyone had just thrown down their garbage. They had beautiful flower planters and they were filled with soda cups, uneaten food and other gross stuff. Maybe they have gotten trash cans put up by now, I hope so. But that was the only grip I had on St. Maarten.

 

[Buckaroo's Dad]

Hi dianedisney.

that was the only grip I had on St. Maarten.

And I trust it was a strong grip...

 

[jbeck]

We like St. Maarten and went to Orient Beach on the 6/14 cruise as well. The water was terrific, the food so-so (but we like our barbecue a little spicier here in Texas). My 9 yr old daughter only saw one woman in a thong that shouldn't have been, but she pronounced it "gross" and that was that. We'd already had the discussion about being in a foreign country, etc... before we left. St. Maarten is a lot poorer than St. Thomas and not as clean, so if you're not used to it, some people could be less impressed, but then again, it's no worse than some parts of NYC on any given day. I thought the people were friendlier than St. Thomas and would bargain. No one bargains in St. Thomas at the market. We like Phillipsburg, haven't made it to Marigot after 2 trips yet. I think the jewelry prices are cheaper there as well. They also have these great wrap around pants & tops (hard to explain) great for tropical night really cheap and I've gotten raves on them when I wear them here as well.

 

[rae519]

Originally posted by jbeck
My 9 yr old daughter only saw one woman in a thong that shouldn't have been, but she pronounced it "gross" and that was that.


That happens a lot.......everywhere! At least she just said it was "gross" and didn't burst out laughing!!!!!!!! (Some of us may have to control ourselves - especially those of us who can't wear one and wouldn't wear one if we could!!!!)

Rae

 

[ruvidu]

We found the island to be very trashy. Our tour guide on our trip over to Orient Beach said that everyone has taken the money they got for hurricane damage and bought jewelry. Very little greenery and a lot of rusted out cars on our way across the island. The Quavaberry Emporium was the highlight of this stop.
By the way, Orient Beach is not just topless. It is clothing optional. We saw lots of folks with no clothes at all.
We are considering the Eastern cruise next year that goes to Antiquia for this reason.
Some like it and some don't but we don't plan to go back there again.
Russ