Windsurf in St. Maartin

We are trying to plan our flights for the departure day. The itinerary says we arrive at St. Maartin at 6:00 A.M. There is a flight leaving at 9:00 A.M. How long should I expect it to take to get off the yacht after arrival? Anybody know how long it would take to get to the airport by taxi?

it is very tempting to book the 9:00 flight because the next one that works for us is later in the afternoon. Would I be cutting it too close?

We were in port by about 6AM last year. We took the later flight. We were not in a hurry to leave the ship and had breakfast then took a taxi to Sunset bar and went to the airport about 2 hours before flight. We were not the only one with luggage at the bar.

And for your question, you can probably be at the airport for 9AM but if the ship is a bit late or there is an accident on the road, you might not make it. If you haven't been to St-Martin airport, it is quite nice, lots of place to sit or have something to eat/drink. 2 minutes by taxi from Sunset Bar to airport (7$).

Personally, I would take that later flight. Is this the one about 14h30?

Thanks for the info, Dandee. Yes, the next flight is around 14:00.

Just curious, if we chose the later flight and wanted to linger on the yacht that morning, when do they actually make you disembark?

In the past, as on most ships we've sailed, those who had early flights were off first, with all off by 10.

If you wish, you can take advantage of the Windstar excursion called St-Martin Tour and Transfer to the Airport ($59). Just ask Windstar at what time do they bring you back to the airport.

that is a little close, but i have done it in several ports on several lines. windstar will put you on the early departure group and put you right into a cab if you use their transfer. just creates a little anxiety on the last night hoping that everything runs smoothly at arrival.

steve

DW and I took this cruise last winter and had a lovely time.

What we did was take a later flight and then got a room for the day at the Sonesta Great Bay. It gave us a very relaxing extra 1/2 a day and really took the pressure off. It is a decent property and is very convenient to the port and the airport.

Have a great cruise!

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. Very helpful!

For those of you who are considering the early flight, here is a follow up: We decided to book the 9:00 AM flight. Shortly after we booked and paid, the airline emailed us saying the new departure time was 8:45!

When we were on Wind Surf, they were well aware of that flight as several couples book that each week, they said. They said it should work.

We kept our luggage in our room the night before so we could make a quick getaway to the taxi stand in the morning. We were off the yacht a little before 7:00 AM Saturday morning. The taxi driver said it takes anywhere from 15 minutes to 40 minutes to get to the airport, depending on traffic. Traffic was a breeze and we were there by 7:15 and made our flight with plenty of time to spare.

We got off Windsurf a couple of weeks ago. First off the boat was called at 7.00 am with the final call at 8.30 and everyone expected to be clear by 9 am. We also took the St Maarten tour referred by another poster above, to in order to kill time before our 3.30pm flight. It helps to pass the time, especially if you haven't seen anything of the island, but it wasn't great (mainly because there is not much to see!) You sort of get the idea how little there is in St Maarten when the tour operator is reduced to pointing out the islands biggest hardware store and latest used car dealership.... I felt rather sorry for her, she did her best - but there is not much to see. We were dropped at the airport at midday.

Next time we would probably pay extra and just get a day pass to a hotel.

It is wonderful to be able to search on CC and find the information you need.

DH and I have a WindSurf cruise booked in March and scheduled a flight our of St. Maarten at 11:00. I am a bit of a worrywart (he would say much more than a bit!), so was just starting to get a bit anxious about whether that is too early.

Thanks for the reassurance. I will find something else to worry about now. Perhaps how long it will take to clear US Customs in San Juan.