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Few pics from our recent St. Maarten visit

harryfat1

By harryfat1,
in St. Martin/St. Maarten

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Ragdollbd

Ragdollbd

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I just received an email from Jo Junie last week and he assured me that the tours are moving forward. I have used his tour group the last time I was in St. Maarten and we had a great day. Look him up on the web, you will find reasonable prices, a full tour of the island stopping at various beaches, shopping, etc. http://www.jojunietours.com

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Karysa

Karysa

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Friar's Bay looks pretty nice. We're headed to St. Martin/Maarten on Anthem of the Seas on February 25th. I was considering going to Karakter Beach on Simpson Bay but there have been recent reports of waste water going into that Bay from Kim Sha Beach so I'm a bit hesitant. Friar's Bay is a bit further. I'm wondering if you saw any taxis at Friar's Bay at all. Just wondering what the chances are that I could get stuck there without transportation back to the ship.

 

Cindy

 

Kim Sha beach is not on the same beach as Karakter. I have never heard or read or seen any pollution issues at Karakter on Simpson Bay beach. They had an issue a year or so ago with the health department but that was once and a long while ago from what I recall.

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Karysa

Karysa

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Bernards Tours look solid . . . But I think the time spent at Maho is a deal breaker. 30 minutes . . . .ehhhh. Gonna bus it and make this a DIY port day.

 

Thank you for the pics.

 

30 minutes these days might not be enough because the air traffic is significantly less than pre hurricane Irma. Timing is everything for Maho.

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harryfat1

harryfat1

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What facilities are there at Friar's Beach? I had heard the restaurant was destroyed. Did they rebuild already? Also, what was the cost to rent chairs/umbrellas? Thanks so much for the great pictures!

 

Assuming my old man memory is correct, I want to say the waiter quoted me 2 chairs for $18 dollars. But as we were just there for a brief 90 minute stop, we passed on renting the chairs and just plopped down on the sand with the ship’s beach towels.

 

Where were we dropped off, there is a working restaurant with menu in French and English. They operate the beach chairs and umbrellas.

 

On the other end of the beach, there may be a restaurant in that building but we never made it down to that end. But from the picture below, it looks like it was closed that day.

 

One last disclaimer is that we were there on Christmas Day so maybe they were closed just for that day. I can’t vouch for that.

 

Here is the restaurant that was open by where we were dropped off:

 

enhance

 

Here is the building on the other end of the beach that doesn't look like it's opened

 

enhance

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harryfat1

harryfat1

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For those that are interested to see a fairly detailed walk through of our tour with Bernards last month, I uploaded the info on the Royal Caribbean forum as part of my overall trip report.

 

Since not everyone is interested in the Royal Caribbean experience if you are sailing on another ship, here is the link to the page where we started the tour from post #654. So just start there and skip all the RCI related discussions.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2579338&page=33

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DJLDRUMS

DJLDRUMS

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Harryfat1...but any chance did you happen to notice if Sharkey's is still there, or been rebuilt. It's on the left side as you walk down the main area towards the larger buidling. A great little "watering hole" type of place to stop and get an ice cold "Amstel Brite" beer and other brands.

Thanks in advance.

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Karysa

Karysa

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Lovely pics of the beach. At Friar’s Bay was the restaurant open and the beach chairs available for rent?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Friars keep coming up here since Irma. The fact that it's relatively remote and there are no taxis waiting nearby hasn't changed. Until that does please be certain you have a ride back to the port.

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harryfat1

harryfat1

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Even with the destruction the beauty of the island shines through. I can't wait to be back there next week. As many times as I have been there I always love returning.

 

It's a beautiful island. The hurricane damage is to the building structures but the island itself is still a nice place to visit.

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harryfat1

harryfat1

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Harryfat1...but any chance did you happen to notice if Sharkey's is still there, or been rebuilt. It's on the left side as you walk down the main area towards the larger buidling. A great little "watering hole" type of place to stop and get an ice cold "Amstel Brite" beer and other brands.

Thanks in advance.

 

Sorry, didn't notice any place called Sharkey's. Where is it? By the cruise terminal?

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harryfat1

harryfat1

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Lovely pics of the beach. At Friar’s Bay was the restaurant open and the beach chairs available for rent?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

One restaurant was open and you can rent beach chairs. See my post #47 for picture of the restaurant and chairs.

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  • 2 weeks later...
melski

melski

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Thanks for the great pics and info. We will be heading there in Feb on oasis and yours is the first post I’ve seen that shows the condition of island. We also hired a tour guide because she will know better what parts of the island are best to visit now. Spent a week here a few years ago, loved it!!! Did you go to grand case at all? Wondering if anything open. We want to spend our money on this island to help those in need get their lives, businesses, and homes back in order! Thanks again!

 

 

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Do you mind sharing how your tour went? What is the name of your tour guide and if it was a private tour? Headed there next month and this port stop is the one place I can't decide on what to do.

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  • 2 weeks later...
nelblu

nelblu

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how far away is Bernard from the ship? for a person with issues walking long distances, do you recommend it? The last time i used him, he told us to meet him in a parking lot outside of the cruise terminal area.

 

On our Jan. 28th Anthem cruise stop, we noticed a tram that charged $1 per and took those Paxs with mobility issues to the bus depot.

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