Cruising vs 6 day visit to St Martin

[Cruzin RN]

We are frequent cruisers with at least 30 cruises under our belt over the last 18 yrs. This summer we decided to pick our favorite island, find a hotel and stay put! Thought I would post a PROS VS CONS review of our decision!

 

Pros:

 

1)

The best pro was the pre-planning. We were able to choose our own dates,..and plan our trip around less expensive airfare...with a cruise, you are locked into when the ship goes!!!

 

2). Length of trip..we decided we wanted to leave on a Sunday and return on friday..this gave us a few days post trip to chill before returning to work.

 

3). Since St Martin is our favorite port, we were able to spend all of our time at one place..no rushing to get back to the ship at the end of the day. We met a few cruisers on Orient beach, and remembered how tough it is to leave the beach at the most beautiful time of the day(3-5).

 

Cons:

 

1) Dinner!!! Cruising wins...much easier to have a nice meal onboard with no thought involved. Although we had restaurants within walking distance, it was still hard to decide and spend the extra $$$

 

2) entertainment: the orient bay area had zero to do at night. We were in bed most nites by 10pm. Missed the music, shows and dancing onboard.

 

3) social-- this actually is a pro/con. While we missed the conversations/chats we have in the CL sometime it is nice to know NO ONE or not tochat with anyone[emoji12]

 

So what will we do in the future...both!

[DaNana]

Sounds great! Sometimes it is nice to take a land vacation. My favorite spot is Hawaii and am wishing I was going there soon! Thank you for this information

[Karysa]

I would change the pros / cons a little myself.

 

Food would be a pro for St. Maartin for me. You can get just about any type and if you do your research you will find the perfect places for you.

 

I would put weather as a con or potential con. I would rather have a rainy day on a cruise than during my island vacation.

 

For us the cost of a cruise is cheaper because of the PRO of choosing great restaurants to eat at in St. Maarten but I don't usually go with the most expensive cabin so that might not be the case for you.

 

Since you have done 30 cruises this will be an adventure and that's a big pro to me:)

[navybankerteacher]

We spend a couple of weeks at Dawn Beach every January - totally different from cruise experience: more like being "at home" - in a great place, buying groceries, cooking most of our own meals (in kitchenette or using provided gas grill), eating out occasionally, trying different beaches, just enjoying not being in the Northeast for a chunk of January. Planning ahead makes it possible to get flight using frequent flier miles. Checking cruise ship calendar makes it possible to avoid Phillipsburg on busy days - and trying Grand Case restaurants in evenings when the mobs have gone.

 

Being on the island without the tens of thousands cruise passengers is a whole different experience - it does not replace cruising per se - but it is the best way to experience the Caribbean.

[Medtech2]

Well, this is an exciting thread for me as we are doing The Atrium near SXM (timeshare) for 2 weeks in September! So far I can say a cruise would most certainly be cheaper as airfare has already been a big chunk of money coming out of Charleston. Since Cruise Critic is my favorite place to go for information I have been perusing this board for info on our land-based adventure. (Can't seem to find a comparable timeshare web site)

 

Do we really need to rent a car or should we just use the buses as we will have the time? The first week we will be by ourselves and the second week our grown kids will be joining us.

 

In the past we have done the Orient Beach excursion and I loved it. What else should we do? Last time we did Mullet Bay and walked over to Maho...We'll actually be staying near there. On the map it looks like The Atrium is a mile or so down the road.

 

When you talk of restaurants which are the must do's?

 

Do I need to check a bag on the airline, which would end up costing $50 overall or can we save money buying those pesky liquid items like sunscreen there?

 

All of your advice and recomendations would be SO appreciated!

[Karysa]

Well, this is an exciting thread for me as we are doing The Atrium near SXM (timeshare) for 2 weeks in September! So far I can say a cruise would most certainly be cheaper as airfare has already been a big chunk of money coming out of Charleston. Since Cruise Critic is my favorite place to go for information I have been perusing this board for info on our land-based adventure. (Can't seem to find a comparable timeshare web site)

 

Do we really need to rent a car or should we just use the buses as we will have the time? The first week we will be by ourselves and the second week our grown kids will be joining us.

 

In the past we have done the Orient Beach excursion and I loved it. What else should we do? Last time we did Mullet Bay and walked over to Maho...We'll actually be staying near there. On the map it looks like The Atrium is a mile or so down the road.

 

When you talk of restaurants which are the must do's?

 

Do I need to check a bag on the airline, which would end up costing overall or can we save money buying those pesky liquid items like sunscreen there?

 

All of your advice and recomendations would be SO appreciated!

 

You are in a very saturated area with many things in walking distances including restaurants,grocery's stores and even tour departure sites so you really don't need a car for the two weeks in my opinion. With that said we rent a small car for about $150 per week in the summer so since September is the slowest month on the island you should not have to pay more than that. Its always nice to have a car when you need it so for the price we pay its just parked and if we use it we use it and if we don't we don't. More often than not its used fort even a short time on most days.

Many of my favorite restaurants close for vacation in the September/October timeframe so I won't mention which ones I would suggest for you. If you love live music though go up to LA Vista resort which is a 12 or 15 minute walk from the Atrium on Thurs to Sat ( I like the guy on Thurs and sat). Its a very nice spot and you can even get a few dances in under the stars. I enjoy having dinner here BUT this is a place that I recommend for the ambiance (casual but old style Caribbean) and not necessarily the food. My husband actually hates the fact that they serve frozen vegetables if truth be told. Its called the Hideaway restaurant and its open for all 3 meals and the view during the day is especially lovely.

I only like Simpson Bay beach around where you are staying but many people enjoy Kimsha beach at your resort. I do like the Bucchaneer beach bar though and you should also check out La Bamba beach bar especially on Tuesday night which is Latin night.

 

There will still be many restaurants open in September its just that we go to some small family owned and run places and since that's a slow time on the island they take as well deserved rest then.

 

Enjoy!:)

Edited June 9, 2015 by Karysa

[Meekofigaro]

We went to St Maarten on a cruise our 1st visit.

Since then we have been back three times for a week to ten nights!

We just went in May for ten nights and decided to go back in June for four nights did my birthday!!

It was a good deal and any day on the island is a great day!!

We love the Maho area and try to stay there. But we get a car also so we can drive around also.

 

 

 

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[gtaylor]

Well, this is an exciting thread for me as we are doing The Atrium near SXM (timeshare) for 2 weeks in September!

 

<snip>

 

 

All of your advice and recomendations would be SO appreciated!

 

I have several recommendations, but may I suggest that Medtech2 post the questions as a new thread instead of in this thread, which looks to be a general comparison of cruise vs. stay-over visits?

 

gary

[Medtech2]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and hints!