Just back from FOS. BEST DAY EVER IN ST MAARTEN

[albones456]

Just back from first cruise with GF. Loved it. I'll spare all the details but will gladly answer any questions. We're 32 and from NJ. Bought (and used) premium drink package. Thought it was worth it. We did 7 night eastern itinerary. St Maarten was the highlight. Coco Cay was a nice beach day, which is important to my other half. Actually that would be our biggest criticism of cruising. If you don't make sure to schedule beach time while in port you don't get much of it. Obvious I know, but the Mrs needed to be "convinced" to cruise and this was the biggest hurdle. St Thomas was gorgeous but was completely shopping oriented and neither of us are big shoppers. St Maarten was hands down our favorite day of the week. Probably because of the way we spent it. After taking advice from some CC members we planned on renting a Jeep and seeing the island at our own pace. Plan was 1) few hrs at Orient beach 2) see Marigot 3) go to Maho beach. We inquired at the info desk at the end of the pier where the jeep rentals were and the suggestion was made "why not rent ATV mon?" You drive it on the road just like a car or take it down any side trail you see that leads to the beach! Hit downtown traffic? Go native and pass everyone on the shoulder while they're sitting still! Not nearly as dangerous as it probably sounds lol. Definitely one of the coolest days of our lives. We got to do everything we wanted and on our own time. Was $120 for the whole day after insurance. Not sure if I'm allowed to name the company but the rental was "solid". MDR was excellent. Windjammer was very good, for a buffet. Ship gorgeous and clean. Rock wall cool. I suck at flowrider. Comedian funny. Magician very entertaining. Ice show good. GO TO THE GAMESHOWS!! Funniest parts of the trip. Felt obligated to post after all the help I received here. Any questions about FOS feel free

[Jsim2011]

Thanks for the review.

 

Glad you had a great time, we are on this cruise in about 6 weeks.

[CrusieToy]

Just back from first cruise with GF. Loved it. I'll spare all the details but will gladly answer any questions. We're 32 and from NJ. Bought (and used) premium drink package. Thought it was worth it. We did 7 night eastern itinerary. St Maarten was the highlight. Coco Cay was a nice beach day, which is important to my other half. Actually that would be our biggest criticism of cruising. If you don't make sure to schedule beach time while in port you don't get much of it. Obvious I know, but the Mrs needed to be "convinced" to cruise and this was the biggest hurdle. St Thomas was gorgeous but was completely shopping oriented and neither of us are big shoppers. St Maarten was hands down our favorite day of the week. Probably because of the way we spent it. After taking advice from some CC members we planned on renting a Jeep and seeing the island at our own pace. Plan was 1) few hrs at Orient beach 2) see Marigot 3) go to Maho beach. We inquired at the info desk at the end of the pier where the jeep rentals were and the suggestion was made "why not rent ATV mon?" You drive it on the road just like a car or take it down any side trail you see that leads to the beach! Hit downtown traffic? Go native and pass everyone on the shoulder while they're sitting still! Not nearly as dangerous as it probably sounds lol. Definitely one of the coolest days of our lives. We got to do everything we wanted and on our own time. Was $120 for the whole day after insurance. Not sure if I'm allowed to name the company but the rental was "solid". MDR was excellent. Windjammer was very good, for a buffet. Ship gorgeous and clean. Rock wall cool. I suck at flowrider. Comedian funny. Magician very entertaining. Ice show good. GO TO THE GAMESHOWS!! Funniest parts of the trip. Felt obligated to post after all the help I received here. Any questions about FOS feel free

 

I can feel your excitement! Nothing like that first cruise and a great choice in FOS.

 

That was our exact itinerary on our first cruise in 12/2008 and we also fell in love with St. Maartin. A great Island.

[helen haywood]

Please tell me more about your ATV rental! I want to go to Maho and the traffic can sometimes be terrible. Where did you go and did you need to leave the roadways?

[albones456]

Please tell me more about your ATV rental! I want to go to Maho and the traffic can sometimes be terrible. Where did you go and did you need to leave the roadways?

 

You don't HAVE to leave the road at all. Treat it like a car. Also feel pretty cool on a quad while the rest of the tourists are driving around in tiny white prius' and smartcars. They give you a map and show you the course to take. Really only one main rd which travels the perimeter of the island. We actually left our map on the counter (brilliant) and had no problem navigating. I was bragging about getting us everywhere, but cheated. The island is so small and your just doing a counter clockwise lap around it. Just keep the water on your right the whole time and you'll do a big circle lol. Leaving the rd is part of the adventure tho. There are certain small villages where common sense would dictate not to pull over and hassle dirt poor locals, but there are many areas intended as scenic overlooks. We even found a few of our own by just saying "hey, that trail leads towards the water". More then once I said "SEE! THIS IS THE KIND OF PLACE WE WOULD NEVER SEE ON A TOUR!" For instance the cliffside beach we stopped at just south of Marigot or the abandoned hilltop chapel which had an UNBELIEVABLE view of the marina. We took a few intentional detours off the beaten path to enjoy some of the islands herbal refreshment purchased from a vendor at Orient beach (wink). Don't want to start a debate on that topic but sitting cliffside, with your woman, on a beach you just rode thru the jungle to get to.... tough to beat

[maureencruiser]

Hello, My name is Albones 456 and I'm a cruiseoholic! :D I hope you post some pics at some point. Sounds like you had a great time! Welcome to my addiction! :p

[nearnorthcruiser]

Your atv day sounds amazing!

Dh and i are headed here in jan 2014 on the allure.

Dh loves to ride, so this could be a perfect tour for us.

What kind of atvs did you ride, were they in good shape and reliable?

Also, do u just park them where ever u stop and leave it unattended?

 

Glad u had a great trip!

[Eriksgarden]

We will be on this cruise in 4 weeks. Woohoo!

[ibcnusoon]

Sounds like fun! DD has been BEGGING me to take her back to St. Maarten! She loved Maho Beach, out of all the island we went to!