Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

There was Hurricane Gonzalo

gtaylor

By gtaylor,
in St. Martin/St. Maarten

 Share

Recommended Posts

Karysa

Karysa

Posted
Posted
Thanks to you and ALL others for reporting back.

LuLu

 

 

I hope that we can get some first hand reports about how things are post hurricane Gonzalo soon. We definitely could use some updates on beach conditions and the progress of rebuilding at Orient and Pinel especially and the St. Maarten Park (zoo) as well and which excursions are still operating. Hopefully those visiting soon will come back and update us.

 

My sister will be on the island from Oct 28- November 11 so I will ask her to post from there or at least fill me in so I can pass the info along.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gtaylor

gtaylor

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I just got an e-mail from my friend Joyce, who has posted an update on her Website.

 

Short version:

 

The people of St. Maarten are vigilante and the situation will not stop us from welcoming our tourist back to our shores with a warm smile and offering the wonderful service that we are known for.

 

All hands are on deck cleaning up to restore normalcy

 

Just one week later our port was open to cruise ships and our airport has been up and running two days later.

 

We are ready to serve you and give you the experience of a lifetime.

 

 

What I find amazing is the set of photos from a French side photographer that she links to.

 

I've spent literally hundreds of days on Orient Beach, including during a two week visit earlier this year, and many of these bars/restaurants are destroyed beyond recognition.

 

gary

Link to comment
Share on other sites
merinski

merinski

Posted
Posted
I just got an e-mail from my friend Joyce, who has posted an update on her Website.

 

Short version:

 

The people of St. Maarten are vigilante and the situation will not stop us from welcoming our tourist back to our shores with a warm smile and offering the wonderful service that we are known for.

 

All hands are on deck cleaning up to restore normalcy

 

Just one week later our port was open to cruise ships and our airport has been up and running two days later.

 

We are ready to serve you and give you the experience of a lifetime.

 

 

What I find amazing is the set of photos from a French side photographer that she links to.

 

I've spent literally hundreds of days on Orient Beach, including during a two week visit earlier this year, and many of these bars/restaurants are destroyed beyond recognition.

 

gary

 

Thank you for the link , that is devastating!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gtaylor

gtaylor

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I hope that we can get some first hand reports about how things are post hurricane Gonzalo soon. We definitely could use some updates on beach conditions and the progress of rebuilding at Orient and Pinel especially and the St. Maarten Park (zoo) as well and which excursions are still operating. Hopefully those visiting soon will come back and update us.

 

My sister will be on the island from Oct 28- November 11 so I will ask her to post from there or at least fill me in so I can pass the info along.

 

FYI, the Zoo has already reopened.

 

gary

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Life is Good Cruising

Life is Good Cruising

Posted
Posted
FYI, the Zoo has already reopened.

 

gary

 

 

That's great the zoo reopened, I'm happy for them.

 

We're going to Orient Beach next month. Thank you for sharing the pictures. It's very sad to see the damage done to Orient Beach, it will somewhat of a somber day when we go. This island is one of our favorites.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gtaylor

gtaylor

Posted
  • Author
Posted

The following information that I have gathered from many island sources has been generally confirmed by my friend Joyce.

 

This is not intended to be all inclusive by any means, and any info that I've seen posted here earlier is not repeated.

.................................

 

Simpson Bay resort (Pelican) up and running.

Cheri's café up and running.

Summit Resort up and running.

Calmos Cafe up and running.

(Many others not identified by name)

 

 

Most of downtown Philipsburg up and running (still cleaning up)

The Cruise Facility is fine.

 

There was a ban on swimming at Orient, possibly lifted on Thursday, but it had not been enforced. Reports are that the 'reef' and the water are fine after a period of discoloration and smell, possibly from Saragasso seaweed and not sewage/pollution. Lots of fish.

 

Lots of debris in the water and on the bottom. People retrieving bottles from the bottom, open and unopened. Some heavy debris. Orient was hit badly, but other parts of the island are near fine, and Orient Beach is already coming back at many locations, others probably not so soon.

 

Some Heavy Equipment was on the Orient clearing debris and getting ready to rebuild. A few locations that were not completely damaged put out chairs and umbrellas and opened up their Bar; La Playa, Wakikki, and Coco's opened around the issues and people began hitting the beach.

 

Palm Beach is closed.

 

Dawn beach is open and clear except for some Sargasso seaweed.

 

OBBR facilities are available including: Spa, Shop, Gym, the Marina and the water sports. Captain Alan back at work.

 

The restaurants near Oyster Pond have all reopened including Busby’s, Big Fish, Canoa, Daniel’s By The Sea, Mama’s Pizza and others.

 

There are many other beaches that appear safe to swim in already.

 

gary

Link to comment
Share on other sites
snowbird1

snowbird1

Posted
Posted
Orient Beach and all of its businesses look absolutely devastated. Those pictures are sad.

 

Thank you for the imformation gtaylor.

 

 

I was just there and lots of damage but they are trying hard to rebuild. Our party still had a nice beach day. I heard the beach by the AP did not have as much damage

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

Link to comment
Share on other sites
My Mattie

My Mattie

Posted
Posted

We spent the week of October 18th to the 26th at OBBR in Oyster Pond. We have spent a week each year, the same week of October on St Maarten for the last 5 years. When we arrived on Saturday the 18th, most of the cleanup had already been done in Phillipsburg. There is quite a bit of vegetation damage, but for the most part, will grow back. Things that will take longer will be at Orient Beach, from Pedros to about 150 yards north of there. Most of those beach bars were severely damaged, if not destroyed including Pedros. However, some were in the process of cleaning up, and some already were setting up chairs in front of their location while repairs were being made. The water at Orient was returning to normal and we swam every day. Water sports activities were back in operation and being used. The debris from these beach bars were for the most part about 15 feet deep in the ocean. As stated earlier, most of the good things were being pulled out of the water, but debris will probably remain for some time, but should not affect any normal swimming activities. The sand in the Maho area in front of Sunset Beach Bar actually was wider than it has been in past years. Also, as stated earlier, there were many boats sunk or grounded in Simpson Bay, but efforts were under way to salvage the remains of the boats. We had an enjoyable week while there and the weather was great. We wil be back in port on a ship for a day during the first week of December, and will probably see what progress has been made since we left. The island spirit is alive and well, and the people of St Maarten are resilient people.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
krisa20

krisa20

Posted
Posted

The damage in the photos is so devastating. :(

 

Does anyone have an update on how the clean up is progressing? We are going to be there on November 12 and we were wondering what beaches will be cleaned up enough to visit. Orient Bay, Le Galion? And does anyone know if the LoLos in Grand Case were completely ruined or whether they are up and running?

 

We are hoping to frequent some local businesses while we are there, not only to experience what the island has to offer, but also to support local tourism.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Karysa

Karysa

Posted
Posted

My sister is on the island and was at Orient Beach today and said that there was not much beach by where Orange Fever is but it is up and running. She said that Kontiki looked good and the beach there was ok. Apparently the water was "awesome" today with no seaweed and very calm.

 

She's visited Karakter Beach Bar on Simpson Bay a couple of times. She did not comment on the beach or water but it looked good to me in the picture that she e-mailed me.

 

She had been to Friars beach a couple of days ago and said that Friars Beach "Club" was closed. I think that she means the beach bar and said that it should be open in 3 weeks. She didn't mention Kali's so I have no word on that.

 

She also said that "people should be reassured that the island has rebounded and is very open for business." She commented that you would never know by visiting Phillipsburg that there was a hurricane.

 

I will post more if she sends me another update.:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
Karysa

Karysa

Posted
Posted

This past Friday/Saturday brought lots more rain to the island. My DS told me that there was a no driving curfew on Saturday during the day so that the roads could be tended to. The pictures from the newspaper were awful. There was someone rowing a dinghy and you could actually see the yellow line of the road beside him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
Lily14

Lily14

Posted
Posted

We had a great day at Orient Beach on November 11th. Most of the of the businesses were up and running. We saw more damage on the end where Pedro's is and the beach had eroded a lot on this end. As we went left from Pedros 's, things started looking more normal. We camped out at Kon Tiki and enjoyed it very much!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...