Timing Issue

[Streydog]

I have an excursion booked for 2-19-15. It is suppose to end by 3:45 pm at Kim Sha Beach. My ship sails a 5 pm so I will have to be onboard by 4:30. I have never been to St. Maartin so I have no idea how bad traffic will be. On Google Maps without traffic it states it should take 17 minutes. It looks like it will be the busiest day of the month as far as cruise ships go on the island with 7 and they all are scheduled to leave at 5 pm. For those familiar with the island, is this cutting it too close?

[Karysa]

I have an excursion booked for 2-19-15. It is suppose to end by 3:45 pm at Kim Sha Beach. My ship sails a 5 pm so I will have to be onboard by 4:30. I have never been to St. Maartin so I have no idea how bad traffic will be. On Google Maps without traffic it states it should take 17 minutes. It looks like it will be the busiest day of the month as far as cruise ships go on the island with 7 and they all are scheduled to leave at 5 pm. For those familiar with the island, is this cutting it too close?

 

The good news is that you are on the ship side of the Simpson Bay Bridge. The bad news is that 3:45 is a very busy time for traffic on the island and if 7 ships are set to leave at 5 the traffic on the way back to the ship will be heavy. You should make it in 30 minutes but 15 minutes buffer on that route is not enough time for me. If your excursion is 15 minutes early then you most likely will be fine but if it's 15 minutes late then you just may miss your ship IF they stick to the 4:30 all aboard time.

 

What is the excursion? If it's paddle boarding by the beach or something like that you would have more control about when you leave for the ship compared to a boat tour. Also, is there a ride arranged to get you back to the ship or will you have to get a taxi? Is this a ships excursion or a private excursion?

 

It will be close and to be honest, unless this was a ship's excursion or the tour operator guaranteed to get me back to the ship in time or make arrangements to get me to the next port I would not take this excursion personally.

Edited January 29, 2015 by Karysa

[Streydog]

It is a diving trip with Ocean Explorers, 11 am-3:45. Transportation both ways is set up with Twin Island Excursions. This is not a ship excursion. My ship does not arrive until 9 AM which is too late for most of the morning dive trips.

[Karysa]

It is a diving trip with Ocean Explorers, 11 am-3:45. Transportation both ways is set up with Twin Island Excursions. This is not a ship excursion. My ship does not arrive until 9 AM which is too late for most of the morning dive trips.

 

I'm wondering if they could drop you at the beach in town instead of Kim Sha beach. You can walk back to the ship in 15 minutes from there. It would be worth emailing the company and asking. Honestly when I look at the time of this excursion it is not set up for cruisers like some excursions are. If it was I think that it would run 10-2:45 instead.