2012 St Maarten Carnival - April 19-May 2

[TxKroozer]

We'll be docked in St Maarten on April 30th from noon to 8pm. Just found out Carnival will be in full swing with the Grand Parade that morning. Has anyone on the boards ever been to St Maarten during Carnival? Appreciate any information about it you might care to share. Thanks.

[cherylroslyn]

We'll be docked in St Maarten on April 30th from noon to 8pm. Just found out Carnival will be in full swing with the Grand Parade that morning. Has anyone on the boards ever been to St Maarten during Carnival? Appreciate any information about it you might care to share. Thanks.

I was there last year and will be there the same day you are there this year. The Carnival did not really seem like it was geared for the tourists, which is fine. I did see a staging area for floats and vans with people getting costumed right around the border of the Dutch and French sides on my way to Orient.

 

The main thing I am here to post about is make sure you allow a lot of extra time to get back to port that day. The parade route will block your passage back and it is possible to miss the ship if you are not careful.... My cab driver recommended that we head back to the ship an hour earlier than we had intended....and I was glad he did....because when I turned around after I drove through the traffic circle on the border of the Dutch and French side I could see the floats piling onto the street and if you got caught behind it you may have been out of luck.........

[TxKroozer]

Thanks for the tip on heading back to port extra early. We'll definitely keep that in mind. Since we're in port from noon to 8pm, hopefully the morning carnival parade won't tie up the late afternoon traffic too much. Enjoy your stay.