timhoke

All of the ships will be docked so you can easily get on & off as you want. St. Maarten does seem to do pretty well with the large crowd. When we stayed on the island there were 5 ships on one day. While Philipsburg was bustling you could still walk around, get help in a shop, find a place to sit, eat & get a cocktail.

If you are looking for a quieter area you might consider heading up to Grand Case, nice beaches, shops & tons of LOLO (locally owned, locally operated) restaurants with some great BBQ.

Different strokes for different folks as the saying goes. Compared to the many places, resorts, ships we have been to through the years it just didn't come close to our expectations and was giving the OP my opinion of the resort. We did get a tour of some of the rooms while were there. As I said at best I would rate it as a 3 star resort, the staff that we did encounter was excellent, it is just that we didn't see nearly enough for the volume of guests they were trying to serve. There was only 1 waiter on the beach for 75-100 guests, 2 bartenders at the swim up bar. The bar pool was perhaps 20' X 50' and was 3/4 full of guest. The other pool was almost entirely empty, but with no bar service & very little shade it isn't too surprising that it was empty.

While staying in St. Maarten for 2 weeks we did the day pass at Sonesta. The breakfast was edible, lunch was not. There is almost no wait staff, so if you want a cocktail you do need to get up and go the bar yourself. The only bar open that we found was the swim up bar. We ended up leaving after being there about 3 hours. The best way to describe it is, that it's a 3 star( I'm being generous) resort filled with 2 star people that are really happy with the resort. (That does sound pretty elitist doesn't)

If you want to stay close to the boat & away from the crowds, take the water taxi when you get off just to your right is the Sea Palace Resort find Bevin, he will set you up with chairs, umbrellas & get drinks for you. Also right there is a great little outdoor bar Laid Back Beach Bar, Marina is a wonderful bartender but be careful she does pour strong ones.

With ten people you might want to consider contacting a local boat charter. You could end up with a better price, go the places you want & not have to deal with the cattle boat feel thats so common on a cruise line excursion. We've done this in multiple ports & always had a good time.

Sept in the Caribbean is hot & humid. The nice thing about being on a ship is that it moves! If a hurricane or tropical storm is in the path of the ship, they will reroute the ship to a different port.

The average rainfall is only about 1" more in Sept than other months. The rain whether a downpour or a gentle rain is usually warm. We were snorkeling during a rainstorm that pelted us while we swam. We were already wet so what does it matter?

So you will get sunny days, rainy days, and days of mixed weather. Just relax and enjoy honeymoon.

Nope, you have right, there aren't any really "suite perks" with Carnival especially compared to the other lines.

Here is a link to the taxi rate chart.

http://taxistmaarten.com/zones-rates/

There are tons of shops along Front St. Everything from jewelry, liquor, tourist stuff, boutique clothing stores, island made crafts. The shopping is extremely varied.

If you want to do any shopping in Philipsburg you are not going to have much time at the end of your day. On ship days most of the shops are closing around 5-6.

Compared to what is my first thought. If it were me and my wife, I would consider Philipsburg generally, and the boardwalk and path all the way back to the ship, as safe in the evening - particularly if there is a ship or ships at pier. But, I would not want to be walking in a dark deserted area - and the wife would not be wearing her good jewelry or carrying a purse. My basic answer is "yes," it is safe but obviously there are no guarantees anywhere.

We just there for 2 weeks & often walked around the town in the evenings. Front street & the Boardwalk are pretty good, after 5 there isn't a whole lot open mostly just the bars & restaurants. In the words of one the locals not wear your good jewelry because we do have necklace snatchers. When in doubt stay on the Boardwalk it's well lit & traveled because of the bars.

Does he have an email address?

Michaelgriffith1970@hotmail.com

Contact Michael Griffith VIP Transportation 721-522-4611, we spent 2 weeks in St. Maarten & he took excellent care of our transportation needs.

Great bay because it is a busy port is not as crystal clear as other beaches. And as with any beach there is pollution, but we just spent 2 weeks in Philipsburg and went swimming almost everyday with no issues. And there are lots of locals that swim there, so I wouldn't be too concerned.

But if you want crystal clear water, little, surf & some beach bars you might want to check out Grand Case.

We were just there in April, not a whole lot of sand left right now. The beach is maybe 50'wide. There is still a pretty big dip as you get into the water. You go from ankle deep to waist deep in one step.

Even with bad traffic it's not more than 1.5 hours around the whole island. So yes you could do it but it seems like you are trying to cram a lot into a little bit of time. Most of shops in Philipsburg will be closed up by 5pm. Not much stays open late, a few restaurants will be open but not much else in the touristy parts of the island.

Cruiseport to Maho is 30 mins.

Maho to Orient is 1 hour

Orient to cruiseport 30 min.

So do to this you eat up at least 2 hours just driving around, of course you would see the whole island that way but you are going to mostly be seeing the roads, shopping area some residential areas etc.

I'd go to Maho have a cocktail watch the big planes & leave. ( The beach kind of sucks here lots of waves)

Go to Grand Case & Lolo's for dinner great BBQ nice little beach with gentle waves & some shopping near by.

Then head back to Philipsburg stroll the boardwalk before heading back to the ship.

I think it depends on the server. I have asked before & told that if I wanted one I could have one, I never have ordered a 2nd because as it is by the time we have gotten to the main course I have a hard time finishing it.

Just off the Breeze & I couldn't find a machine that would pay more than 1/10th of what I put in, of course the do call in gambling & not winning.

Sail & sign cards since it is owned by CCL.

At each of those ports you will need to take a taxi to a beach. If you want to do a beach in Mo Bay I would suggest that you spend the dollars for an all inclusive beach day either through Carnival or through a private excursion company. Jamaica isn't the safest place to just hang at a random beach.

Grand Cayman you have the 7 mile beach which is beautiful & great shopping not far off the boat.

Cozumel does have shopping in the cruise port but the good beaches are about 15-20 minute cab ride away.

Just off the Breeze & we went Falmouth. I booked an all inclusive day the Royalton hotel. Very nice place good food and drinks nice beach & excellent staff. It was 88 pp for the day & 10 for the trip each way pp.

I love it, I use it for my toiletries. I can get everything I need to 2 weeks & then some it.

We used Fury Charters in St. Thomas for a snorkeling trip. Nice boat, great crew I highly recommend them.

The steak house, Italian restaurant & sushi bar were all excellent. The Huevos Rancheros at the Blue Iguana are a great choice for breakfast.

We were on the Breeze in Nov. & got the premium plan. Speeds are quite good. Our friends did lowest plan & they said that it worked fine for them. Hope this helps.

At any of those port you can take a cab to the beach that will have all of those activities available. The best choices are G.C & Cozumel.