Sonesta Great Bay All Inclusive Day Pass

Down to 99 days before cruising from San Juan on the Carnival Fascination to Southern Caribbean and have never visited any of the Islands on my Itinerary. I like finding private relaxing beaches away from the crowd and found this option in St. Maarten. Is anyone familiar with St. Maarten to know if the Sonesta Great Bay Resort is near the cruise ship pier?

It's in the town of Philipsburg. A half hour or so walk from the pier or a 7 or so minute walk from the water taxi drop pier in town or a less than 10 minute taxi ride from the cruiseship pier. There are pollution concerns at Great Bay beach. I have not visited the resort so can not help you there.

While staying in St. Maarten for 2 weeks we did the day pass at Sonesta. The breakfast was edible, lunch was not. There is almost no wait staff, so if you want a cocktail you do need to get up and go the bar yourself. The only bar open that we found was the swim up bar. We ended up leaving after being there about 3 hours. The best way to describe it is, that it's a 3 star( I'm being generous) resort filled with 2 star people that are really happy with the resort. (That does sound pretty elitist doesn't)

If you want to stay close to the boat & away from the crowds, take the water taxi when you get off just to your right is the Sea Palace Resort find Bevin, he will set you up with chairs, umbrellas & get drinks for you. Also right there is a great little outdoor bar Laid Back Beach Bar, Marina is a wonderful bartender but be careful she does pour strong ones.

Yes that description does differ quite a bit from hotel guest reviews. Perhaps service isn't as good for day visitors as it is for hotel guests. The property is older but is being refurbished and the staff is rated very highly.

Different strokes for different folks as the saying goes. Compared to the many places, resorts, ships we have been to through the years it just didn't come close to our expectations and was giving the OP my opinion of the resort. We did get a tour of some of the rooms while were there. As I said at best I would rate it as a 3 star resort, the staff that we did encounter was excellent, it is just that we didn't see nearly enough for the volume of guests they were trying to serve. There was only 1 waiter on the beach for 75-100 guests, 2 bartenders at the swim up bar. The bar pool was perhaps 20' X 50' and was 3/4 full of guest. The other pool was almost entirely empty, but with no bar service & very little shade it isn't too surprising that it was empty.

Understood. The reviews are somewhat mixed as with all of the beach properties in that area as they are older. Recent reviews have been very positive regarding the current staff and improvements throughout. So we chose to stay there later this year for the location and we will see! We'll be active so if not up to snuff we'll spend less time there!

Thanks :)

Divi Little Bay, a short taxi ride beyond Sonesta, offers better service for a day pass - and is on a beach without the pollution concerns of Great Bay.

Divi Little Bay, a short taxi ride beyond Sonesta, offers better service for a day pass - and is on a beach without the pollution concerns of Great Bay.

Whilst I enjoy Divi Little Bay, it doesn't offer the OP the same facilities since it is not AI and doesn't provide a pool for day use. It depends what the OP wants as to whether it would be a suitable alternative.

Understood. The reviews are somewhat mixed as with all of the beach properties in that area as they are older. Recent reviews have been very positive regarding the current staff and improvements throughout. So we chose to stay there later this year for the location and we will see! We'll be active so if not up to snuff we'll spend less time there!

Thanks :)

Meant to add that this is a quick "budget" getaway between closing on a new home in Mexico and a Panama Canal cruise. Otherwise we'd be splurging more to stay at a higher end spot. But this actually looks perfect for the quick week we're looking for, and the location is great.

Regarding the pollution, I read the report and since I'm not an expert on that subject I won't comment further. But I don't have any concerns as we don't tend to swim off the beach and will be spending time on other beaches and other islands as well...