Beaches on St. Maarten

Going to be on the Oasis of the Seas in November and one stop will be St. Maarten. Wanted to know opinions of the beaches there, specifically Orient Beach and the beach near the cruise dock. Also how long of a cab ride is it to Orient Beach? And where is the best point or points on Orient Beach to find a taxi back to the cruise dock? Any other beach recommendations and/or advice? I'd like to be able to swim in some really nice clear waters that are relatively calm. Have a nice underwater camera that I'd want to use there.

Went to the town beach in January and it was fine. We took the water taxi from the cruise ship dock.

Going to be on the Oasis of the Seas in November and one stop will be St. Maarten. Wanted to know opinions of the beaches there, specifically Orient Beach and the beach near the cruise dock. Also how long of a cab ride is it to Orient Beach? And where is the best point or points on Orient Beach to find a taxi back to the cruise dock? Any other beach recommendations and/or advice? I'd like to be able to swim in some really nice clear waters that are relatively calm. Have a nice underwater camera that I'd want to use there.

Also check the port of call forum: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=93

I think oriental beach area is totally destroyed after hurricane Irma

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We took the water taxi to the pier and were instantly accosted by vendors of spots on the beach. When we finally broke down and agreed to let one of these vendors escort us to a spot, he took us down a ways to sit in front of whatever establishment he worked for and assigned us two chairs and an umbrella. It was a decent spot, but the fee we paid per chair was supposed to include WiFi from the adjacent restaurant. That never worked all day despite that my software engineer husband went to the restaurant to work with them to figure it out. But all of that would have been fine if it wasn't for the people walking up and down the beach bothering us every 30 seconds (and that is not hyperbole, we timed them) ALL DAY trying to sell you everything from junk hats, jewelry, hair beading, massages, etc. It made the day quite the opposite from peaceful.

At the end of our beach day, we walked to the west along the beach and discovered that if we had just refused the original huckster and walked as far west as we could have, there was a beach where you could still rent chairs and umbrellas but seemed to be outside the allowable boundary for the merchandise vendors. So, if you are going to stay near the ship, I strongly suggest walking down that far.

We're doing this same itinerary on Harmony in June and we're debating not even getting off the ship this time in St. Maarten.

Going to be on the Oasis of the Seas in November and one stop will be St. Maarten. Wanted to know opinions of the beaches there, specifically Orient Beach and the beach near the cruise dock. Also how long of a cab ride is it to Orient Beach? And where is the best point or points on Orient Beach to find a taxi back to the cruise dock? Any other beach recommendations and/or advice? I'd like to be able to swim in some really nice clear waters that are relatively calm. Have a nice underwater camera that I'd want to use there.

Presently on the Anthem and Orient Beach is not available. Our tour was rescheduled for Simpson Bay's Kim Sha Beach and it is a very nice beach. Much calmer than Orient. Island shows the devastation from the hurricane and our tour guide mentioned that it may take some 3-5 years to fully rebuild the Island.

We were in St. Maarten in August last year, and spent some time on Pinel Island. It took a bit more to get there (some kind of boat ride), but it was very nice and there weren't any vendors. THere is a bar/restaurant and a gift shop (the food is not cheap)...but the beach chairs were reasonably priced, plenty of spots for kids to play in shallow water and just oerall pleasant. We have NO other experience on St. Maarten, so I can't compare. But we really enjoyed it...assuming it still exists!

We will be there in two weeks. We usually go to Orient but this time will try Simpson Bay Beach instead.

I'm going to recommend Grand Case.

No chairs, but calm water, and for the younger ones, it's deep enough to jump off the pier. Lots of food at the end of the pier (shore side).

Going to be on the Oasis of the Seas in November and one stop will be St. Maarten. Wanted to know opinions of the beaches there, specifically Orient Beach and the beach near the cruise dock. Also how long of a cab ride is it to Orient Beach? And where is the best point or points on Orient Beach to find a taxi back to the cruise dock? Any other beach recommendations and/or advice? I'd like to be able to swim in some really nice clear waters that are relatively calm. Have a nice underwater camera that I'd want to use there.

We pay a hair more to reserve a chair at Holland House Hotel on main beach at port. . Great service, chair, drinks, best bathrooms, internet on beach, great folks who followed through hurricane recovery and did wonderful job restoring.....we have loved them for years. Can make reservation on line. Lots of places cheaper but not as good chairs and often really loud music.

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The Dutch side is re-building faster than the French side.

We were just on OA last week and were really surprised at how many people were in the WJ for lunch (we usually only have lunch there on port days). Either people stayed on the ship or did not venture too far on the island and came back for lunch.

Is the Greenhouse Restaurant open on St Maarten?

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Does anyone know if the Beach across from the Airport is back open? Maho Beach?

Does anyone know if the Beach across from the Airport is back open? Maho Beach?

We (DH and I) were just on Maho beach (Sunday Jan 28). It was too rough to swim, but we would have been in the water if not. There's plenty of sand, but more big rocks than before. The Sunset Bar is open for business and has been expanded to include a small sheltered swimming pool with lounge chairs (for a reasonable fee). The beach and bar were quiet (only one ship in town that day) so we had a lot of space to ourselves. The airport is being rebuilt and there aren't as many planes coming in, but I had checked ahead and knew there were a few big ones scheduled that day(including the KLM airbus). It's sad to see the amount of destruction still evident along the route, but there's also a lot of rebuilding and yes- Maho is still there!

I'm looking for a beach on St. Maarten where the water is calm enough to swim. I don't want to be pestered by people selling stuff. I'm also going to be on St. Thomas as well. Last year we were in Nassau staying at Atlantis (BIG mistake) and the beach there was closed every day due to high surf. Never got the chance to swim. I figure I would have a better chance at St. Maarten and/or St. Thomas.

Is the Greenhouse Restaurant open on St Maarten?

 

 

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Yes, it is! Great spot to have a drink after our snorkel and kayak tour! What a BLAST!

We pay a hair more to reserve a chair at Holland House Hotel on main beach at port. . Great service, chair, drinks, best bathrooms, internet on beach, great folks who followed through hurricane recovery and did wonderful job restoring.....we have loved them for years. Can make reservation on line. Lots of places cheaper but not as good chairs and often really loud music.

 

 

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we also enjoy holland house hotel and have gone there for the past 2 years, how do you reserve on line, we just showed up and last year could only get 2 chairs, I would love to reserve ahead of time

St Maarten is a great port stop. I hope that they are able to recover quickly from the hurricane. Maho Beach is amazing for watching the planes. The French side is very interesting. We liked it better than the Dutch side. Marigot was a very beautiful little town with great views from the fort. Not sure about Orient Beach since we were traveling with kids and the clothing optional stuff scared us away.

I'm going to recommend Grand Case.

 

No chairs, but calm water, and for the younger ones, it's deep enough to jump off the pier. Lots of food at the end of the pier (shore side).

 

I don't believe Grand Case beach is open. Beaches etc. on the French side are not moving along as the aid from France has not been forthcoming. I don't know if things have changed in the last couple of weeks, but I have read that only French citizens were allowed on the French side. It's going to take at least a year or more to get things moving over there.

Going to be on the Oasis of the Seas in November and one stop will be St. Maarten. Wanted to know opinions of the beaches there, specifically Orient Beach and the beach near the cruise dock. Also how long of a cab ride is it to Orient Beach? And where is the best point or points on Orient Beach to find a taxi back to the cruise dock? Any other beach recommendations and/or advice? I'd like to be able to swim in some really nice clear waters that are relatively calm. Have a nice underwater camera that I'd want to use there.

I just saw this thread, there is some discussion on the st martin board here and several good Facebook groups of people that are there now. Since you mentioned Orient Beach, it was hit hard, but seems to be improving daily with re-construction of nearby buildings now starting. Transportation to and from is reported good. I'm not worried and will drive there myself in early May, By November this should be even better.

Yes, just as most of the posters have said, the French side is much slower to get rebuilt than the Dutch side. Orient Beach is totally destroyed. Club Orient at the fart end is leveled with what was left in rubbles with no semblance of the once busy (nude) resort area. It's to your advantage to check out the Forums especially for St. Marteen's beaches. Estimates is that it's going to take well over a year or more to get things back in order.

Looks like Adventure of the Seas skipped St Marten today and went to The Bahamas

Looks like Adventure of the Seas skipped St Marten today and went to The Bahamas

I thought Adventure was still in dry dock in Freeport, until tomorrow.

Presently on the Anthem and Orient Beach is not available. Our tour was rescheduled for Simpson Bay's Kim Sha Beach and it is a very nice beach. Much calmer than Orient. Island shows the devastation from the hurricane and our tour guide mentioned that it may take some 3-5 years to fully rebuild the Island.

Not available through the ship, but still available.

I thought Adventure was still in dry dock in Freeport, until tomorrow.

She is. Should be on her way to Miami shortly. Her first stop after dry dock in St Maarten is a week from today.

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