When the port is overcrowded with too many ships

I seem to have booked a cruise where both ports are very overcrowded with ships. 6 ships in at St Maarten (Phillipsburg) including the gargantuan Quantum OTS. UGH!!!!! I wish I had done more research to discover this issue and booked something else. Too late now :mad:

I'd like to know things like where do they put all these ships, I don't recall the port (Phillipsburg) being very large. Do some ships have to tender? I am reading horrible accounts of crowding at Maho Beach, Marigot and anywhere the tours take you basically. I have a private (group) tour booked, but considering cancelling due to this.

Any suggestions for some not so well known about potentially less crowded things to do when on St Maarten/St Martin

We rent a car and head north when we know that the island will be busy. We stay away from the Maho side in the afternoon as well.

It pays to do the research - we are headed to St. Maarten for a couple of weeks, and part of preparation is checking cruise schedules. For example, on Tuesday 1/20 there will be six ships in carrying more than 18,000 passengers, while on the day before there will be two ships with under 4,000. Knowing this helps in planning activities.

I seem to have booked a cruise where both ports are very overcrowded with ships. 6 ships in at St Maarten (Phillipsburg) including the gargantuan Quantum OTS. UGH!!!!! I wish I had done more research to discover this issue and booked something else. Too late now :mad:

 

I'd like to know things like where do they put all these ships, I don't recall the port (Phillipsburg) being very large. Do some ships have to tender? I am reading horrible accounts of crowding at Maho Beach, Marigot and anywhere the tours take you basically. I have a private (group) tour booked, but considering cancelling due to this.

 

Any suggestions for some not so well known about potentially less crowded things to do when on St Maarten/St Martin

Believe me, Quantum is not gargantuan at all, we've been on her already and will be on her again in a few weeks. Gargantuan would be Allure and Oasis of the Seas. Don't be mad at yourself, we've been to St. Martin many times with 6 ship in port. I would personally stay away from the town of Philipsburg as the streets will be packed with people. I would stay with your private tour as tour guides know very well how to deal with 6 ships in port for their guests.

Believe me, Quantum is not gargantuan at all, we've been on her already and will be on her again in a few weeks. Gargantuan would be Allure and Oasis of the Seas. Don't be mad at yourself, we've been to St. Martin many times with 6 ship in port. I would personally stay away from the town of Philipsburg as the streets will be packed with people. I would stay with your private tour as tour guides know very well how to deal with 6 ships in port for their guests.

Allure and Oasis with 5,400 passengers may outdo Quantum's 4,900, -- but Quantum remains gargantuan. Anything over 3,000 remains huge - and 4,900 is well beyond huge.

The island will be busy, but it shouldn't be a problem at the port.

The Cruise Facility can handle two mega-size ships at the 'new' pier, and four regular size at the older pier, adjacent.

No tendering, I suspect.

gary

BTW, when we're staying on-island, we LOVE Orient on the days that there are a lot of cruise ships, as it can get VERY interesting. :)

Do Captain Bob's tour.

About a 15 minute walk to the marina then you are on one of his boats all day and don't have to worry about traffic. In addition, you get let off right at the phillipsburg pier.

An excellent day.

We just spent an awesome day at the beach at Little Bay using the Divi resort facilities. There were only four ships in port the day we were there and Divi was not at all crowded. The beach was awesome with a gradual slope and we rented lounge chairs and umbrellas. They have a beach bar, restaurant & washroom facilities, and was not too far by cab. We'd go back again in a heartbeat.

It pays to do the research - we are headed to St. Maarten for a couple of weeks, and part of preparation is checking cruise schedules. For example, on Tuesday 1/20 there will be six ships in carrying more than 18,000 passengers, while on the day before there will be two ships with under 4,000. Knowing this helps in planning activities.

How do you find out what other ships will be in port?

cruisetimetables.com

Another one to use is

http://www.cruisecal.com/portal/ItineraryLookup/tabid/2918/Default.aspx

Here's one for St. Maartin

http://201.220.14.28/sxm/MainMenu.aspx?ShipScheduleType=2

Swann5, glad you had a great day, we're still trying to decide which beach to go to since there will be 7 ships in port.

How long was the cab ride and the price to and from? Also how were the prices at the resort for rentals, food and drinks?

Thanks for any info.

Swann5, glad you had a great day, we're still trying to decide which beach to go to since there will be 7 ships in port.

How long was the cab ride and the price to and from? Also how were the prices at the resort for rentals, food and drinks?

Thanks for any info.

Cab fare $6.00 US per person, approx. 30 minutes (a little less on the way there as we went fairly early, a bit longer on the way back as we had to drop someone else off downtown which was quite congested) $7.00 per chair or umbrella rental, $5.00 per Corona. Sorry we didn't eat at Gizmo's the beach bar/restaurant, but I'm sure if you do a little searching you can probably find some more info. There is another café (The Gingerbread) at the further end of the beach past the Belair beach resort, but we didn't eat there either. When doing my research I learned that you can walk from the resort to a nearby fort and even into town if you are so inclined; we did neither as we were too busy enjoying the fabulous beach and beautiful clear water. Happy planning, I hope you have a great time in St. Martin.

For a taxi to Little Bay, I'm surprised to hear that the fare was $6.

The last I heard it was $4 per person, each way.

$5 per beer, Corona or not, also seems very steep. We usually drink Presidente on the beach, and the price (not at Divi) is usually $3.

A walk back into town would be quite a feat, and not recommended, in my opinion.

gary

LOL, single Coronas were $4.25 but no change was ever given back. Later we bought two Coronas for $8.00, so guess they are cheaper in pairs. :p The prices for beers or cabs didn't have a big impact on our day; we were there for the fabulous beach and spent most of our time in the beautiful clear water.

Believe me, Quantum is not gargantuan at all, we've been on her already and will be on her again in a few weeks. Gargantuan would be Allure and Oasis of the Seas. Don't be mad at yourself, we've been to St. Martin many times with 6 ship in port. I would personally stay away from the town of Philipsburg as the streets will be packed with people. I would stay with your private tour as tour guides know very well how to deal with 6 ships in port for their guests.

We visited in December on the Quantum and there were 6-ships in port that day and it certainly never felt crowd. We went downtown walked around the port and Maho Beach. Don't let Lady Q scare you she is not nearly as big as the Oasis and Allure.

That's nothing for st Maarten. In a week we cruise from Miami and for our stop in st Thomas there are well over 20,000 passengers in port that day. That is crowded!!

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

How do you find out what other ships will be in port?

Google "A. C. Wathey cruise terminal - St. Maarten". Then hit "cruise ship schedule". It will show ships in port by date.

Do Captain Bob's tour.

 

About a 15 minute walk to the marina then you are on one of his boats all day and don't have to worry about traffic. In addition, you get let off right at the phillipsburg pier.

 

An excellent day.

That's what we did in December. There were a lot of ships in port--at least five, but by doing Capt. Bob we missed almost all the congestion. They are very fast and thrilling speed boat rides, though, so be prepared! We loved it and a great lunch.

Cruise Ship Schedule.

gary

Cruise Ship Schedule.

 

gary

We are there next week on Reflection, the port website shows us leaving at 5pm, Celebrity shows us leaving at 6pm.

I hope the port site is wrong!

The two times that we've been to St Maarten, we went to Pinel Island. It's a distance from the port so you should be away from the crowds. http://www.sint-maarten.net/St-Maarten-Beaches/PinelIsland.html You can catch a taxi at the port which would take you to the area where you catch a small boat to the island. There is at least one or two restaurants on the island, umbrellas with chairs to rent, a protected area to snorkel (with equipment to rent), etc. We LOVE it there!

Cab fare $6.00 US per person, approx. 30 minutes (a little less on the way there as we went fairly early, a bit longer on the way back as we had to drop someone else off downtown which was quite congested) $7.00 per chair or umbrella rental, $5.00 per Corona. Sorry we didn't eat at Gizmo's the beach bar/restaurant, but I'm sure if you do a little searching you can probably find some more info. There is another café (The Gingerbread) at the further end of the beach past the Belair beach resort, but we didn't eat there either. When doing my research I learned that you can walk from the resort to a nearby fort and even into town if you are so inclined; we did neither as we were too busy enjoying the fabulous beach and beautiful clear water. Happy planning, I hope you have a great time in St. Martin.

Thank you for the info... much appreciated. Glad you had a great time! :)

Check out Randomwind.com. We were in St Maarten last year with 7 large ships in port... It was the best day. We went with them again this year ( 5 ships in). It's a fabulous day on a beautiful sail boat with a great crew, wonderful food and plenty of drinks.

Just wanted to second the recommendation for Pinel Island! We spent a day there in December and loved it. I wrote about it in my Valor recommendation and posted a few pictures - the link is below.