Questions about beach excursions in St. Maarten

[cvasto]

Has anyone done any of the beach excursions in St. Maarten? My wife and I have 2 boy who will be 12 and 10 when we are there and we aren't sure which beach excursion to book. Looking for any and all feedback. Thanks!

[LinRon3]

We're curious too for an October cruise on the Symphony.  We've seen vids where umbrella and chair can be rented at Great Bay beach for about $25 or so, some places with a few drinks included.   Other 'excursion' beaches include Mullet, Orient, and Buccaneer, which we know little about.  We like to snorkel, so that's a main consideration if anyone has information on these beach excursions at St. marten.  Good thread.

[LeeW]

Most beaches have poor snorkeling. Mullet is just north of airport.  Fairly sheltered and nice sand.  Many of the snorkeling trips stop here for 45 minutes just before idling near airport approach.  Orient is on windward side of island and typical French beach.

[SG65CB]

This site has a section for "Ports of Call" message boards with a board for each port. Here is the board for St. Maarten and it has tons of info about St Maarten beaches. If you haven't seen it check it out:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/57-st-martinst-maarten/

 

Hope this helps you plan your day. 

 

Also, in St Maarten if you know which beach you want to visit you can just grab a taxi at the cruise port, then you can go on your schedule instead of the tour company's schedule. 

[cruiseguy1016]

If you've never been, I recommend going to Maho Beach. That's the beach at the end of the STX airport runway. The planes fly right over your head. I think the boys (and maybe you) will find it fascinating. There are bar/restaurants at both ends of the beach. There's no need to pay for an excursion that may have time constraints. Grab a taxi and have them take you there. The fares are very reasonable, less than what you'll pay for an excursion.

[John Reid]

I like the ease of going to Great Bay, which you can see from the ship. Sometimes I walk from the ship (about 2/3 of a mile); other times I take the water taxi. My last trip, pre-covid, it was $7.00 round trip. I turn right from the ferry and there are numerous rental vendors, usually associated with a bar right behind offering restrooms. Look for one that looks good to you - decent chairs and umbrellas. The norm was $25.00 for two chairs, an umbrella, five beers or four sodas (or a combination). Some offer two drinks instead; I never found them worth it. If there are not many ships in port, negotiate if you want four chairs and two umbrellas. A "maybe" after getting a price and a "I'm going to keep looking" is sometimes good for $5.00. The east side of the boardwalk has several interesting vendors; if walking. one walks right through them.

 

I like the beach; I like the convenience, and I like the price. And I like that I'll be there in January!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

11 hours ago, cvasto said:

Has anyone done any of the beach excursions in St. Maarten? My wife and I have 2 boy who will be 12 and 10 when we are there and we aren't sure which beach excursion to book. Looking for any and all feedback. Thanks!

do you just want a beach break? Simply get a taxi to one of the beaches. No reason to book an excursion through RCI for that.

[poocher]

Loved Great Bay, a 10 minute walk from the ship, don’t stop at the first chair vendor, price goes down the further down the beach you walk.  Family of four adults, 4 chairs, 2 umbrellas, 2 buckets of non alcoholic beverages, delicious lunch, tip - $130 for the day.

Edited July 31, 2022 by poocher

[LB_NJ]

On 7/31/2022 at 9:54 AM, John Reid said:

I like the ease of going to Great Bay, which you can see from the ship. Sometimes I walk from the ship (about 2/3 of a mile); other times I take the water taxi. My last trip, pre-covid, it was $7.00 round trip. I turn right from the ferry and there are numerous rental vendors, usually associated with a bar right behind offering restrooms. Look for one that looks good to you - decent chairs and umbrellas. The norm was $25.00 for two chairs, an umbrella, five beers or four sodas (or a combination). Some offer two drinks instead; I never found them worth it. If there are not many ships in port, negotiate if you want four chairs and two umbrellas. A "maybe" after getting a price and a "I'm going to keep looking" is sometimes good for $5.00. The east side of the boardwalk has several interesting vendors; if walking. one walks right through them.

 

I like the beach; I like the convenience, and I like the price. And I like that I'll be there in January!

 

We'll be there in January and probably just do the ferry.

[Oskial]

We are 4 adults on a Celebrity cruise with a lot of OBC.  We're trying to use some of it up and are looking at an excursion to Orient Beach with lunch going through Celebrity.   The site doesn't specify that they will provide chairs and an umbrella.  If anyone has taken this excursion before can you tell me if they do provide chairs and umbrellas.  TIA

[LB_NJ]

29 minutes ago, Oskial said:

We are 4 adults on a Celebrity cruise with a lot of OBC.  We're trying to use some of it up and are looking at an excursion to Orient Beach with lunch going through Celebrity.   The site doesn't specify that they will provide chairs and an umbrella.  If anyone has taken this excursion before can you tell me if they do provide chairs and umbrellas.  TIA

 

I would also like to know.

[Oskial]

On 11/8/2022 at 2:36 PM, Oskial said:

We are 4 adults on a Celebrity cruise with a lot of OBC.  We're trying to use some of it up and are looking at an excursion to Orient Beach with lunch going through Celebrity.   The site doesn't specify that they will provide chairs and an umbrella.  If anyone has taken this excursion before can you tell me if they do provide chairs and umbrellas.  TIA

I phoned Captain's Club to get this answered and they gave me the e-mail address for the excursions desk.  I e-mailed the excursions desk and they replied that they will give me an answer to this ASAP.  I will post the answer as soon as I get it.  

[Oskial]

On 11/13/2022 at 12:38 PM, Oskial said:

I phoned Captain's Club to get this answered and they gave me the e-mail address for the excursions desk.  I e-mailed the excursions desk and they replied that they will give me an answer to this ASAP.  I will post the answer as soon as I get it.  

Just got the answer.  The excursion does include beach chairs but does not include a beach umbrella.  They are available for an additional $5 and are large enough to cover 2 people.