aseyrick Posted October 22, 2014 #1 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Hello! We're heading to St. Maarten in early Dec via Celebrity Reflection. Can someone please tell me if there is a decent beach that's within walking distance of where our ship will be docked? We have a little one with us who still naps in the afternoons, so we'd prefer walking somewhere nearby in the morning and be able to walk back to our ship after lunch. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribsun Posted October 22, 2014 #2 Share Posted October 22, 2014 20 minutes to Great Bay Beach, you can see the beach from the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschoolmama Posted October 22, 2014 #3 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Can take a ferry from the pier to a great beach and the town for shopping. It is about 6 dollars per person roundtrip and is a short 5 minute trip. Ferry runs back and forth all day. You can see the ferry, beach and town from the pier where the ships dock. Sent from my SCH-I915 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aseyrick Posted October 22, 2014 Author #4 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Oh, awesome! Trying to stick closer to the ship b/c we've a little guy who still naps in the afternoon. Thank you!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCruisers Posted October 23, 2014 #5 Share Posted October 23, 2014 As others have said ... Great Bay Beach! You sound like wonderful parents. Wishing your family a great morning at Great Bay Beach! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aseyrick Posted October 23, 2014 Author #6 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Awww .. thank you so very much! The truth of the matter is when he naps, we all nap, and everyone is happy. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karysa Posted October 30, 2014 #7 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Awww .. thank you so very much! The truth of the matter is when he naps, we all nap, and everyone is happy. :D Little Bay beach is about a 10 minute taxi ride from the pier. It has a couple of family friendly resorts on it and I read about, but have never seen the resident parrot. It is a clean beach, has a very good record when it comes to water testing and it has fresh water showers and clean bathrooms. There are chair and umbrella rentals and food and drinks for purchase as well. It's a very good choice of a beach for a family if you want to stay near to the port. It would take you longer to walk to Great Bay then it would to taxi to Little Bay. LeGalion is my faviorite beach for children. It is nick named baby beach. It takes about 25 minutes via taxi to get to Le Galion Beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aseyrick Posted October 30, 2014 Author #8 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Ah. Perfect! Great to have choices .. will check with DH tonight. Can't wait! Thank you!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karysa Posted October 30, 2014 #9 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Ah. Perfect! Great to have choices .. will check with DH tonight. Can't wait! Thank you!! You are very welcome. I hope that you enjoy your day on the island.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
familycruise2009 Posted January 1, 2015 #10 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Curious what you ended up doing and how you got there? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aseyrick Posted January 2, 2015 Author #11 Share Posted January 2, 2015 We went to the Great Bay Beach and had a great time. We were able to rent beach loungers, water trampoline and a jet ski right on the beach. There's a ferry that goes from the ship directly to the beach. It runs every 10-15 minutes. It was perfect. We had a fantastic time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masim17 Posted January 10, 2015 #12 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Was the beach clean, especially the water? I've read that the water not good due to the ships so close by. I would love to go to this beach as well because we have our 6 year old granddaughter and would like to go back to the ship and clean up, then return for some shopping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karysa Posted January 11, 2015 #13 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Was the beach clean, especially the water? I've read that the water not good due to the ships so close by. I would love to go to this beach as well because we have our 6 year old granddaughter and would like to go back to the ship and clean up, then return for some shopping. The problem with the pollution issues at Great Bay beach stem from overflow into the bay and not from the ships. When I saw the brown sludgy water seeping into the bay it was in August which is a time when very few ships visit St. Maarten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aseyrick Posted January 12, 2015 Author #14 Share Posted January 12, 2015 We had no problem with the water. It was fairly clear. In fact, we rented a jet ski, a paddle board and a water trampoline, and we didn't see anything that looked sludgy. For most part, we can see all the way to the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aseyrick Posted January 12, 2015 Author #15 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Btw - our son is 7, so it was super easy to do exactly what you're saying .. hop back to the ship, get cleaned up and go right back for the shopping. Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubamommy! Posted January 12, 2015 #16 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Can you tell me if Great Bay beach had chairs to rent, a place to get food and any snorkel rentals? Thanks you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribsun Posted January 12, 2015 #17 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Can you tell me if Great Bay beach had chairs to rent, a place to get food and any snorkel rentals? Thanks you Plenty of chairs and umbrella's to rent along with food and drink to purchase. You may be able to rent snorkel gear but very poor snorkeling in the bay for a lack of of coral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karysa Posted January 13, 2015 #18 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Can you tell me if Great Bay beach had chairs to rent, a place to get food and any snorkel rentals? Thanks you No snorkelling at Great Bay beach which is a blessing really as folks that don't know about the pollution issues would be snorkelling. That is frightening to me. Don't care if the one's in the know do it at all. Try Little Bay. Other than shopping it has all that you are looking for and it always passing the water safety tests. You can ask the cabbie to drop you in town for shopping post beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubamommy! Posted January 13, 2015 #19 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Oh wow! That is VERY good info to know, I think we will skip Great Bay then. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runner15km Posted January 13, 2015 #20 Share Posted January 13, 2015 (edited) No snorkelling at Great Bay beach which is a blessing really as folks that don't know about the pollution issues would be snorkelling. That is frightening to me. Don't care if the one's in the know do it at all. Try Little Bay. Other than shopping it has all that you are looking for and it always passing the water safety tests. You can ask the cabbie to drop you in town for shopping post beach. Do you have any documentation that confirms people getting sick from swimming in Great Bay. I have searched but come up empty. I'm thinking on the few days per year that the contaminates reach the bay the sheer volume of clean ocean water would greatly dissipate the contamination to parts per billion. One would have to swallow copious amounts of sea water to get sick. IMHO I say enjoy Great Bay unless there are posted signage not to swim. Edited January 13, 2015 by runner15km Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karysa Posted January 13, 2015 #21 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Do you have any documentation that confirms people getting sick from swimming in Great Bay. I have searched but come up empty. I'm thinking on the few days per year that the contaminates reach the bay the sheer volume of clean ocean water would greatly dissipate the contamination to parts per billion. One would have to swallow copious amounts of sea water to get sick. IMHO I say enjoy Great Bay unless there are posted signage not to swim. If the locals chose to swim in Great Bay then there would be records to trace illnesses but as we all know this is a cruisers beach and cruisers would blame something they ate if they got sick or perhaps picking something up on board and not equate it back to swimming in Great Bay Beach. IMHO you know about the issues and choose to swim there anyway so enjoy.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upshaw Posted January 14, 2015 #22 Share Posted January 14, 2015 There are 7 ships in port the day we will be there... Please give opinions on choosing either Great Bay or Little Bay for chair/umbrella rental (and cheap beer for the ones in my party) - Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life is Good Cruising Posted January 14, 2015 #23 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Do you have any documentation that confirms people getting sick from swimming in Great Bay. I have searched but come up empty. I'm thinking on the few days per year that the contaminates reach the bay the sheer volume of clean ocean water would greatly dissipate the contamination to parts per billion. One would have to swallow copious amounts of sea water to get sick. IMHO I say enjoy Great Bay unless there are posted signage not to swim. You won't see any signs posted not to swim. This beach is mostly used by tourists and not where the locals go to swim with their families. http://www.thedailyherald.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=51418:great-bay-not-safe-to-swim-kim-sha-okay-&catid=1:islands-news&Itemid=54 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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