Questions re: flights from FL to St. Maarten

Interested in your input as to best airports from FL with flights to SXM. I live near Tampa and the flights get in too late. Would like to be in St. Maarten in the daytime the day before our cruise departs.

Returning, what is the earliest time you'd recommend my flight time back to FL? OR should I just plan on staying at a local resort beach area and fly back in afternoon to be less stressed?

Also, if we cruise in December, any recommendations on best times to book our flights? I know there isn't a crystal ball with flights, but any input may help.

Thanks so much.

Barbara

We fly from west coast to Florida and then to St. Maartin (you want the Philipsburg airport), and we do so via American. Since coming from left coast, we stay the night in Miami and fly out in the morning. Works very well. We book about 3-4 months out. Don't know if that is better than earlier or later than that, but that seems to work for us. I usually search weeks in advance, on different days of week and times of day til I find something that seems to "feel" good. Travel sites seem to recommend 3-4 months out for international travel.

We stay at least one night in Philipsburg, pre and post cruise. We love the Royal Pasanggrahan hotel, right on the boardwalk, wonderful open-air bar, with great suites and nice rooms (get beachside, not streetside: noisy!). boardwalk is a blast: funky bars, street entertainers, beach toys for rent, lots of shops, restaurants (We like the open-air Greenhouse Restaurant that is at end of the Boardwalk just beyond Pasanggrahan).

We have done St. Maartin on several ships, but not Windstar, so I don't know Windstar's scheduled return time, post cruise. The port area is about 10-minute walk from Pasanggrahan, but take a cab...narrow, twisty street and not full sidewalks; dangerous, especially dragging bags. But the airport is about a 20-minute cab ride from the Pasanggrahan. By post cruise, you'll have found friends you can share that cab with! I think the cab ride is $10/person airport to the hotel, but $15 or $20/person port to airport...but sometimes you can get better rate with more people.

Do whatever keeps you less stressed, for sure! Once your vacation starts, you just have to focus on being on island time. And why ruin you vacation at the end by adding stress??!!

We just disembarked from the Star Breeze in Philipsburg on Sunday. All passengers must be off the ship by 8:30. You would have no difficulty taking a flight out after 10:30 am.