(A lot of!) St. Maarten questions (Race, Delft, Great Bay)

Hi, Husband and I are cruising in October with 2 friends. We booked Adventure St. Maarten The Race (showing as noon-4p). We are in port from 8-6. We have never gone into 'town' (aka Front Street area by Great Bay I believe?); we've catamaraned to Maho/Mullet, and on other stops we've just shopped at the pier. I would really like to do a beach while here. Sounds like too much traffic/time for Mullet so I thought about Great Bay. Several questions:

Has anyone recently done The Race? Looks like it was canceled for some people earlier in 2018.

Where does the Race start/finish? I cannot seem to find this info. Sounds like we get water taxi wristbands, and it sounds like we taxi back at our leisure after the Race, but not sure where we end. This is important to know as it helps us determine whether we try to swim at Great Bay beforehand.

Is Delft Blue still there? Looks like 37 Front Street (same as Voorstadt?) but I"m not sure with the hurricane damage if it's still there or whether it moved. Is it like the one in Curacao? Do any giftshops have some Delft? I love to collect the small cats and figurines.

Would you recommend Great Bay for just a little swim? We've dealt with people hassling us to buy so that's not an issue and it sounds like it's not the nicest beach (in terms of clear/calm water, snorkeling,etc.). But with the Race taking up the middle of the day I don't think we want or can go any further from port to swim. Are there chairs for rent?

(Anyone know where you swim for the Race? Sounds like ocean - Great Bay maybe?)

We considered a day pass at a Great Bay Resort. But looks like Sonesta is closed from hurricane? The one by Maho is opening in Jan but I"m not sure about the one at Great Bay. We'd probably have to do it early : 8a to 11, before the Race starts. Worth it?

Finally: The Race ends at 4 and we have prob 1.5 hours til we have to be on the ship. Anywhere near Great Bay (again, assuming the Race ends around there) you'd recommend for a bite to eat? We may want to save money and eat on the ship, but still curious.

Thank you in advance!

You can check with your cruise line to see if the 12 metre challenge excursion is back up and sailing. They take you out into Great bay and then bring you back. On a ship excursion they pick you up from near the ship piers but they bring back to their base in Bobby's Marina, which is a relatively short walk or quick taxi ride back to the pier. It's right along the water front and you can easily walk all along the water front/ board walk to the far water taxi pier and catch that water taxi back , if you'd like. There are a number of places along the stretch to grab a bite to eat or a drink. But a treat is the Gelato place just at the bend a few steps from Bobby's Marina. You can sit outside and people watch or just continue you walk down the boardwalk.

Can't help you out on the Blue Delft Gallery. Some shops have closed, other moved but many stayed where they were.

The Dutch Blue Delft Gallery on Front Street is open - I do not know specific hours - I would guess that it is always open when cruise ships are in port and cruisers are in Philipsburg. Dutch Blue Delft is found in other souvenir shops.

You can check with your cruise line to see if the 12 metre challenge excursion is back up and sailing.

The Race is not the 12-metre challenge. It is a scavenger hunt type activity like The Amazing Race. The 12-metre challenge is America's Cup Regatta and is in the morning.

The Race is not the 12-metre challenge. It is a scavenger hunt type activity like The Amazing Race. The 12-metre challenge is America's Cup Regatta and is in the morning.

Thanks you.

Thank you everyone, that is helpful!

We did the Race in Cozumel on a Carnival ship a few years ago and it was so much fun!! Definitely worth it. We were a family of 4 so we were our own team. We were back in Coz last September on a RCCL ship and happened to come across the restaurant where they ended the Race. We had so much fun cheering the teams on as they finished, we so wanted to do it again.