Your perfect day in St. Martin

[Sharkmedic]

Sorry, but the Reggae Cafe is long gone.

 

gary

 

Bummer......Last visit was Nov 2005 :( Thanks for the update/downdate.

[gtaylor]

<snip>but we know Gary is suffering from terminal "Get a Round Tuit" disease.

 

?????

 

gary

 

p.s. I do have one.

[burrma]

We were just in St. Maarten (although we were supposed to be in St. Martin!, but SeaDream switched that on us too, along with many other stops) around November 20-24. We went shopping in the morning, and then took a cab to Orient in the afternoon (plan on spending $20 for two, one way). It was fun to visit Orient, but it is very crowded, lots of activities (jet ski, parasailing, bars right on the beach) and the water is not as nice/beautiful as other places. If you want to be where everyone is and engage in water sports, good choice. If you want nice beach/water and a bit more privacy, somewhere else is probably better (we didn't go anywhere else, so can't recommend). We hung out on the nude side just because there were less people, but it was still crowded.

 

For anyone going to St. Thomas and St. Maarten, the liquor and perfume prices are much better on St. Maarten. If you buy six or more bottles, they deliver to your ship -- every store offered this, even the small ones. And most will give you the best prices, don't pay "sticker" because they all go lower without too much bargaining effort.

 

We were supposed to anchor in Marigot, but they took us to Philipsburg instead (and on Friday instead of Wednesday as we were scheduled, first supposedly because the port would be crowded on Wednesday and then made the change to Philipsburg because of the weather). But then, we left Philipsburg early because of the weather there -- yet the weather on Orient was just fine. Needless to say, we were not happy with SeaDream's frequent itinerary changes. But, that's another post . . . :)

 

Can someone tell me the difference? How far is downtown St. Martin where ships dock from St. Maarten?

Thanks

[The Big Booper]

Can someone tell me the difference? How far is downtown St. Martin where ships dock from St. Maarten?

Thanks

 

Actually, most of the big and not-so-big cruise ships dock on the Dutch side (Sint Maarten), at Phillipsburg's A.C. Wathey pier. St Martin, the French side, is only 15-20 minutes away from the pier area by cab. The entire island is only 37 miles, so nothing is far away, as the crow flies. Driving, during high season in the Maho / Marigot area, can be likened to as the turtle lopes :eek:.

 

Only very small ships (such as the late Windjammer ships, etc.) can tie up on the French side.

[gtaylor]

<snip>

Only very small ships (such as the late Windjammer ships, etc.) can tie up on the French side.

 

Of all the Windjammers we've seen while on-island since we first sailed the Poly out of Philipsburg over 20 years ago, and that has been a number of them, they have all ported in Great Bay, Philipsburg, not on the French Side.

 

Marigot hosts many of the 'Up Scale' lines. We have seen Seabourn, Wind Star and Sea Dream ships anchored over there. We may have seen a SilverSea, but I can't remember explicitly.

 

gary