20000 people on the island!

[ZackWillis80]

Hi,

 

We will be cruising to St. Maarten next January and I just learned that there will be 6 ships docking that day, including some of the biggest ones: Allure, Anthem (ours), Breakaway, Regal Princess, Eurodam and Silver Wind.

 

On our last cruise, we were the only ship (Oasis), and everything was very smooth. I would like to know what should we expect this time. Is there going to be a long line for taxi, water taxi, getting a lounge chair or public restroom? How about the traffic? We're planning to go to the french side of the island on taxi, is it going to take forever getting there? Should we book an excursion instead to secure our transport? Would really appreciate people sharing their experience!

 

It's just a matter of planning accordingly and trying not to waste the day jammed in traffic. :) Thanks.

[navybankerteacher]

A good idea to do homework like this. yes, the thousands of passengers will definitely clog the roads and crowd the beaches. You simply must adjust your plans to anticipate their impact.

 

I would strongly advise you to get a head start on the day: get your party organized to get off the ship early rather than late - taxis should be generally available. The worst traffic will hit around 3:00 PM or so, because so many will be looking at sailaway - pretty much simultaneously. You might want to finish your Beach time early, and get back to Phillipsburg perhaps two hours before your sailaway- then do your shopping knowing that you can walk back to the ship without sweating traffic.

[ABQrobin]

I would book an excursion, then you are guaranteed transportation to and from.

[blissfulgirl]

Where do you find out what other ships are in a port when you are?

 

 

Brandy & Rod

Sent from my iPhone

[ZackWillis80]

Unfortunately, our ship is the last to dock(!!). We'll be arriving at 10h30 and departing at 19h00. Even if we would be the first ones out of the ship, we'll still be late! At least, we'll avoid the "morning rush hour". ;)

 

I think the excursion is the way to go, to secure some "guaranteed" activity. I think the best would be to have a boat waiting for us not far from the pier. I guess the traffic is much better on the water than on land.

 

Does anyone know if that kind of tour exists? Like, private-water-transport-between-cruise-port-and-wherever-we-want-to-go-with-snack-and-drinks-and-brings-us-back-safely? It's like a taxi that follows us all day, but on water. :D

[ZackWillis80]

Where do you find out what other ships are in a port when you are?

 

 

Brandy & Rod

Sent from my iPhone

 

Google cruise time table. :)

[blissfulgirl]

Google cruise time table. :)

 

 

Thank you so much!!!!

 

 

Brandy & Rod

Sent from my iPhone

[OCruisers]

St. Maarten often has LOTS of ships in port on the same day so are use to dealing with it!

Things go lots smoother than you might think. :)

[lovevacadays]

We had seven ships when we were there including some of the big ones. We did a private tour so didn't seem to experience excessive crowding. Even when we returned to port it wasn't bad. Sure, lots of people but we still found a nice little bar on the boardwalk to have a drink and a snack. :):)

[Karysa]

Unfortunately, our ship is the last to dock(!!). We'll be arriving at 10h30 and departing at 19h00. Even if we would be the first ones out of the ship, we'll still be late! At least, we'll avoid the "morning rush hour". ;)

 

I think the excursion is the way to go, to secure some "guaranteed" activity. I think the best would be to have a boat waiting for us not far from the pier. I guess the traffic is much better on the water than on land.

 

Does anyone know if that kind of tour exists? Like, private-water-transport-between-cruise-port-and-wherever-we-want-to-go-with-snack-and-drinks-and-brings-us-back-safely? It's like a taxi that follows us all day, but on water. :D

 

 

You can hire a boat and driver for the day. It wouldn't be cheap though.😊

Look into afternoon excursions that other cruisers may not be able to go on. I think popular beaches like Orient and Maho will be crowded by the time you get there so I would skip those on this visit.

[navybankerteacher]

You can hire a boat and driver for the day. It wouldn't be cheap though.😊

Look into afternoon excursions that other cruisers may not be able to go on. I think popular beaches like Orient and Maho will be crowded by the time you get there so I would skip those on this visit.

 

Given OP's later port arrival and sailing times, this makes sense - most of the 20,000 passengers will be heading back to the port between 2:00 and 4:00 PM - so he could just schedule things a bit later, and head back at 5:00 PM.

[ZackWillis80]

I found a boat for charter at 1400$ for 5 hours. The price includes the crew, meal and open bar. I can see it to be totally worth it if Iwas with some of my college buddies, if you see what I mean... :cool: But with 2 elders, 2 small kids and older versions of me and my wife, it just doesn’t seem right.

 

I think a half day private tour would be just the right thing for us. Thanks Karysa for the tip of afternoon excursions, I never thought of it. This way we can have lunch on the ship, tour and come back at around 5 right after the “back to ship” rush hour.

 

Thanks everyone, and blissfulgirl you’re very welcome! :D

[ZackWillis80]

Given OP's later port arrival and sailing times, this makes sense - most of the 20,000 passengers will be heading back to the port between 2:00 and 4:00 PM - so he could just schedule things a bit later, and head back at 5:00 PM.

 

Hey that's exactly what I'm planning right now! :D

[Karysa]

I found a boat for charter at 1400$ for 5 hours. The price includes the crew, meal and open bar. I can see it to be totally worth it if Iwas with some of my college buddies, if you see what I mean... :cool: But with 2 elders, 2 small kids and older versions of me and my wife, it just doesn’t seem right.

 

I think a half day private tour would be just the right thing for us. Thanks Karysa for the tip of afternoon excursions, I never thought of it. This way we can have lunch on the ship, tour and come back at around 5 right after the “back to ship” rush hour.

 

Thanks everyone, and blissfulgirl you’re very welcome! :D

 

I may have found something that would work for you even if you have to buy the last couple of seats out if you want a private excursion. It's a smaller boat that does snorkeling excursions from the Simpson Bay Area. The afternoon tour starts at 2 and I would think that it's 3 hours but you would need to confirm that. It goes to Creole Rock and the snorkeling is quite good there and the scenery is beautiful along the way as well. It's $45 pp so for the price I think that this would be a good place to start. If you bought all the seats perhaps you wouldn't even need to stop to snorkel if you didn't want to. I'm not sure how old your kids are but the snorkeling is in deep water and it can get rough out there. These are all things you would need to consider and discuss with the company before booking. To me it looks like 8 people would be all that boat could hold for a snorkel trip so even at $45 pp you are under $400. I have used Aquamania many times over the years for excursions around St. Maarten and to other islands from there for day trips so I feel comfortable referring them to use.

 

Location wise it's a good choice for you. I would think the taxi would cost about $8 pp each way and that will give you different views of the island than the area you would be visiting by boat. It's also on the near end of Simpson Bay which alleviates any concern about bridge openings slowing down your transit times in the taxi. I think it's worth a look.

 

Here is their website. Look for the information on the Sand Dollar.

 

www.stmaarten-activities.com/

[ZackWillis80]

I may have found something that would work for you even if you have to buy the last couple of seats out if you want a private excursion. It's a smaller boat that does snorkeling excursions from the Simpson Bay Area. The afternoon tour starts at 2 and I would think that it's 3 hours but you would need to confirm that. It goes to Creole Rock and the snorkeling is quite good there and the scenery is beautiful along the way as well. It's $45 pp so for the price I think that this would be a good place to start. If you bought all the seats perhaps you wouldn't even need to stop to snorkel if you didn't want to. I'm not sure how old your kids are but the snorkeling is in deep water and it can get rough out there. These are all things you would need to consider and discuss with the company before booking. To me it looks like 8 people would be all that boat could hold for a snorkel trip so even at $45 pp you are under $400. I have used Aquamania many times over the years for excursions around St. Maarten and to other islands from there for day trips so I feel comfortable referring them to use.

 

Location wise it's a good choice for you. I would think the taxi would cost about $8 pp each way and that will give you different views of the island than the area you would be visiting by boat. It's also on the near end of Simpson Bay which alleviates any concern about bridge openings slowing down your transit times in the taxi. I think it's worth a look.

 

Here is their website. Look for the information on the Sand Dollar.

 

www.stmaarten-activities.com/

 

I have a 5 yo and a 8 yo, and neither are good swimmers. For us is more sightseeing than snorkeling. If we do the tour with other people, I guess we can simply chill on the boat while other do their thing. :) The price is definitely reasonable. I'll see if my parents want to come with us, as they are more like ipad/lounger kind of people. If they come, I'll definitely consider booking the whole boat for us. Hey thank for the recommendation!

[Karysa]

I have a 5 yo and a 8 yo, and neither are good swimmers. For us is more sightseeing than snorkeling. If we do the tour with other people, I guess we can simply chill on the boat while other do their thing. :) The price is definitely reasonable. I'll see if my parents want to come with us, as they are more like ipad/lounger kind of people. If they come, I'll definitely consider booking the whole boat for us. Hey thank for the recommendation!

 

There are two beaches near the snorkeling spot. Maybe if you arranged for it they would drop and pick up your parents and the kids to/from the beach and you and your wife could snorkel. I really enjoy snorkeling there at Creole Rock.

 

It would definitely provide you with a nice boat ride.

[gtaylor]

karysa, great suggestion.

 

We really liked the Aquamania Sand Dollar excursion.

 

First time in 2005, and I have been posting about her here ever since. Last post was in 2015, apparently.

 

There were 10 on our boat.

 

See this prior post.

 

gary

[fielddreamer]

We will be there in Dec again. The great part about our cruise is that its a 10 day with overnight in St. Marrten . The first day we will also have 6 ships and the 2nd 3 . We are the last to dock at 10 a.m. so we will have all day and night to do what we want without worrying about being back the first day! The port handles a lot of ships and people very well !