Ma Ron

My husband and I are booked on RCL Anthem of the Seas for Jan.28 sailing to the southern Caribbean. I am wondering about the conditions of the beaches in St. Martin and other ports as well. Also what should we do while in San Juan? I care about the islands and have donated what we could towards rebuilding, as most of you have, but we are taking this trip and want to make the right choices for our vacation. I would appreciate any help I could get.

You will get a lot of detailed info on the St Maarten and Puerto Rico pages, but to your question of the beaches - the are 'up and running'. That is for the beaches (sand, water, waves) themselves - not the ammenities that people add to the beaches. In Puerto Rico there were no issues. In St Maarten (Dutch Side), they are recovering - especially in Mullet Bay, Maho, and Simpson Bay and are definitely worth a visit. The French side of St Martin is recovering much more slowly and has even closed parts of Orient Beach to allow for rebuilding.

I would not hesitate for a moment to visit the beaches or any other spot on the island. The people there are so glad to see tourists returning and having them say Thank You for being there over and over again is tremendously satisfying.