Late Docking - Questions

I am on the MSC Divina and will be in ST Maarten on Tuesday October 11th. It will be our first time there. We are docking at 1:30pm and leaving port at 9:30pm. I am looking into Booking with Bernards Tour (no beach stop) and have been in touch.

Now my concern is if the Market, shops, etc will stay open late? Can anyone let me know since I thought that I read they close early even with ships in port.

Thanks you so much.....

Generally store hours in Philipsburg are 9:00 to 6:00. I suppose if there were a lot of ships in port late, there might be an exception, but Oct. 11 is a slow day - I think only a Disney ship will be in Port with you, and that one not staying late.

Perhaps if shopping is a big item, you should do that first - then have the tour. With so little traffic, your tour providers are more likely to offer flexibility.

We had an overnight in St. Maarten on our last cruise. Things did not stay open late, even though we were there all night. Even the water taxi closed at it's regular time. Just be prepared to find that things are mostly closed.

Enjoy!

Thanks for the responses. I was worried about this happening. I wanted to see a quick overview of the island then some quick shopping. Looks like I will have to modify it if the market is closed as well as the shops. I will contact Bernard tours and see what I can do.

If you are still looking for some shopping the Blue Mall in Cupocoy is open until 7 pm and there is street shopping on the road through the Maho entertainment area. The Blue Mall is a rainy day activity for me but I wouldn't waste a nice day on it. Maho has a great Sunglasses store, bathing suit shop, an all white clothing shop and some souvenir type places and a jewelry store or two. It's a fun place to shop for an hour or so but its no Front St.

You could take a tour and get dropped off in the Maho entertainment area and have dinner at one of the many restaurants, do some shopping ( most stores close at 9 or after most nights) and taxi back to port from there. It's a great place to spend an evening. There's even the Sky Bar with its beautiful view to go and have a drink while on the rooftop.

Thank you. Maho entertainment area sound exactly what I looking for after my tour.

Thank you. Maho entertainment area sound exactly what I looking for after my tour.

You are welcome. Have a nice cruise.:)