St Maarten

[Tovnick]

Hi, does anyone know what the current situation is with St Maarten. Sorry for being naive, but struggling to find much info, Is the island open for cruise passengers?. I’m really keen to support the islanders but would hate to go ashore if it wasn’t what they want or need at present. Thanks

[Traveling Library]

We were there in Feb. The port is open. Water taxi is running. Beach area still shows hurricane damage but stores and restaurants are open. We were told by the cruise line that the French side was still heavily damaged. We "helped the economy" by enjoying several beers at Sharkey's.

[Tovnick]

We were there in Feb. The port is open. Water taxi is running. Beach area still shows hurricane damage but stores and restaurants are open. We were told by the cruise line that the French side was still heavily damaged. We "helped the economy" by enjoying several beers at Sharkey's.

Great, we are more than happy to ‘help the economy’ in exactly the same way!

[TCBFlash]

We were there in Feb. The port is open. Water taxi is running. Beach area still shows hurricane damage but stores and restaurants are open. We were told by the cruise line that the French side was still heavily damaged. We "helped the economy" by enjoying several beers at Sharkey's.

 

We were just there first week of April. This pretty much is still the case. We rented beach chairs for the day and did some shopping and enjoyed it very much.

[Cruising Princess]

We were just there first week of April. This pretty much is still the case. We rented beach chairs for the day and did some shopping and enjoyed it very much.

 

Renee, where did you rent beach chairs?

[leaveitallbehind]

Yes it is reopened to cruise ships as a regular port of call, but from what I understand the Dutch have done a better job at getting their side back up and running than the French. Fortunately the cruise ships dock on the Dutch side.

[chemmo]

We visited three weeks ago on the Reflection.

 

Like others we didn’t want to be a burden but did want to support the economy. We chose a trip that visited both sides of the island. The French side is a mess but in true Caribbean style some cafes and bars were open (despite only having half a roof) and their owners were keen to get some cruise passengers back. Heartbreaking to hear from our driver that many of the hotels will need full reconstruction and that waiting for insurance to come through is an issue for many businesses.

 

There had been some information on board warning about health issues re food and drink in St Maarten (I assume there are still some water purification issues) so we stuck with bottle drinks.

 

We are not big shoppers but if you are there is not much to buy on the French side yet although most shops seemed open on the Dutch side.

 

People friendly and chirpy as ever! Puts ones own small issues into perspective....

[Azulann]

We did a bus tour excursion around the island on March 28 from the Viking Sea.

The traffic out of the port area was at a snail pace due to work on the road.

Our guide was outstanding. He was from the French side. We learned the history of the island salt trade. Now those areas are fillled in by hotels and developement. He talked aobut the night of the hurricane and the two week aftermath in trying to clear the roads.

We did two stops near Marigot. The area is open and folks were so friendly despite the evidence of the damage from the hurricane. I bought lovely cotton items from the "flea market" set up near an indoor mall. Did not even haggle over the price.I was happy to contribute to the local economy.

Guide said it would take until winter season of 2019 for many places to be rebuilt and back to normal.

Enjoy your port time on St. Martin .

[TCBFlash]

Renee, where did you rent beach chairs?

 

We went to the Holland House Hotel. We have gone there in the past and really liked them. It is $25 for 2 beach chairs, an umbrella and a bucket of beer (4 Coronas or you can mix in bottled water). You also have use of the restrooms and they gave us a wifi password. There were several areas of the beach that were also offering chair packages, but we like the Holland House. It's not a far walk from the water taxi.

[dx052]

We did an overnight-er on the Reflection at Easter just gone and I had a pretty good idea what to expect before we even got there and I wasn't far off, the main shopping street I think is called front street is nothing like it was pre Irma and it has a long way to go with lots of construction going on, the main beach front was nice and there was a few bars set up behind it with drinks and some food, went to the Maho beach and had a few drinks at the bar and some food and that was about it. Personally I don't think it justified and overnight port visit as there isn't much going on to get of the ship for other than the beach.

[gerelmx]

We was there March 21 On board the Eclipse, we do a shorex to Kim Sha Beach on the Simpson Bay, The restaurant & bar were open, nice and clean area. The island still recovering from the Hurricane. Many areas are open on both sides of the Island.

[Hydrokitty]

We were there with Gerelmx on March 21....having been there before we didn't do any shore excursions, but we did visit our favorite restaurant, the Blue Bitch, which is right on the beach. Unfortunately, the restaurant (upstairs) isn't ready yet so we went next door to the Pink Flamingo and had a great lunch on their outdoor porch. The beach by the BB is up and running and the concessions that rent umbrellas, chairs, etc. are as well. Many of the shops have reopened and many of them haven't.....but they do appreciate our coming and spending money and one shop was actually selling homemade cupcakes to raise money for a local family that lost everything. The Dutch side is recovering faster than the French side for two main reasons: French side was more heavily damaged and Dutch has poured more money into island than French have...Holland is much wealthier than France.

[Ittybitty2014]

We were just there two weeks ago on the Equinox. Traffic is slow, but the people are happy to have us back. We went to Kim Sha Beach with a taxi. It was clean with chairs to rent and a nice beach bar. The water was pretty and we enjoyed our day. Still lots of empty hotels and lots to clean up.

[mrpie90]

We were just there two weeks ago on the Equinox. Traffic is slow, but the people are happy to have us back. We went to Kim Sha Beach with a taxi. It was clean with chairs to rent and a nice beach bar. The water was pretty and we enjoyed our day. Still lots of empty hotels and lots to clean up.

 

hi.

how much was a taxi to kim sha beach?

were taxis readily available both sides?

[earn]

Last time we were in St Martin we did a Bernard Tour but think we might just get a taxi to Maho Beach. So also interested to find out whether taxis are easily available to come back to the ship.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

We were there on April 4 on Eclipse. We did a sailing on the two-masted "El Dorado". It was a lovely coastal sail. We saw hotels that were badly damaged. One was an actual skeleton...just bare concrete supports.

We sailed past Maho Beach, but the captain told us not many big planes are flying in yet. Several smaller island jumpers did fly in or out, however.

 

Also in past years the sailing company sends a square-rigged tall ship for shore cruises named "Mercedes", but they didn't sail to St Maarten this year because they didn't think there would be enough tourists.

 

I'm hoping the next time we are in St Maarten the "Mercedes" will be there because it looks like it would be a fascinating experience.

[cltnccruisers]

We were there in March on Silhouette. Most of the Boardwalk was up and running. About 75% of Front Street was good. Back Street not so much. Old Street, if you remember it with the Yellow Roadster, is pretty much destroyed with only a couple of shops open.

 

BUT - the people of Philipsburg are working their way back. There was the constant background of hammers and saws. The water taxis guys and pretty much everyone were upbeat. We ate at Lizzy's for lunch on their first day back - very good.

 

Unfortunately, compare that to St Thomas where we saw damage everywhere and almost no recovery work going on. Folks seemed to be waiting for their entitlement. Oh, at least Old San Juan is in really go shape. Eat at Marmalade for a really unique experience.

[Texed]

One negative I did observe, personally. The hurricane did get the mosquitoes stirred up, and they are now on the Dutch side.

I had never been bitten on the Dutch side prior. But, confirmed by a local, after the hurricane, they are a nuisance. :cool:

[phoenix_dream]

We were just there last month. We are not big beach people so generally just walk around town. Very disappointed - it is not at all the enjoyable experience it used to be. We expected some damage and there was - I would say maybe 70% back to 'normal'. That we expected so that did not bother us at all other than to feel bad for the people. But the shopping experience itself was very unpleasant. Barraged constantly by people hassling you as you walked past their shops. More than once was followed down the street by hagglers who do not want to take no for an answer, almost to the point of an altercation to get them to leave me alone. Of the shops back, the great majority are jewelry shops of which I have little interest. There are some others, but a much higher predominance of jewelry shops by comparison than before the hurricane. Not looking forward to going back there anytime soon, and this used to be one of my favorite ports.

[ronews]

We were just there last month. We are not big beach people so generally just walk around town. Very disappointed - it is not at all the enjoyable experience it used to be. We expected some damage and there was - I would say maybe 70% back to 'normal'. That we expected so that did not bother us at all other than to feel bad for the people. But the shopping experience itself was very unpleasant. Barraged constantly by people hassling you as you walked past their shops. More than once was followed down the street by hagglers who do not want to take no for an answer, almost to the point of an altercation to get them to leave me alone. Of the shops back, the great majority are jewelry shops of which I have little interest. There are some others, but a much higher predominance of jewelry shops by comparison than before the hurricane. Not looking forward to going back there anytime soon, and this used to be one of my favorite ports.

 

Agree about people badgering you. Many unemployed have migrated to the Dutch side. They have no social welfare so are aggressive. Having been there many times I found it sad. Just not the same and think it will take them AT LEAST another year or so to get back. The one thing that bothered me was that we were there for 2 nights (Reflection) the second day was "Good Friday" I understand that this a religious holiday but everything was closed on that day! We wanted to spend more $$ to help them out but....just a few bars open. Not all water taxis operating. Think when you have ships in port (only opened the month before) and you have a short tourist season and need $$ you should open up all stores bars casinos etc. Not a good move by St Maarten and not a good move by Celebrity to have us there for 2 days when one of them was a holiday. Made the best of it and had great time. Wish we were back there instead of being in all this freezing rain and snow!

[cltnccruisers]

We were just there last month. We are not big beach people so generally just walk around town. Very disappointed - it is not at all the enjoyable experience it used to be. We expected some damage and there was - I would say maybe 70% back to 'normal'. That we expected so that did not bother us at all other than to feel bad for the people. But the shopping experience itself was very unpleasant. Barraged constantly by people hassling you as you walked past their shops. More than once was followed down the street by hagglers who do not want to take no for an answer, almost to the point of an altercation to get them to leave me alone. Of the shops back, the great majority are jewelry shops of which I have little interest. There are some others, but a much higher predominance of jewelry shops by comparison than before the hurricane. Not looking forward to going back there anytime soon, and this used to be one of my favorite ports.

 

Taking the Boardwalk, Front and Back Streets as a total 70% may be a good estimate. Back Street drags it down a bit. But at least the locals are trying. We honestly didn't see the same effort in St Thomas.

 

 

We didn't really have any problem with the hagglers, though. They are on all the islands as well as most of the European cities we've visited to some lesser degree. It's rare that we are interested in what they are hawking so we just don't make eye contact.

[NordicPrince]

Was there on March 21 on the Eclipse. DW and I stayed on the ship. The place we usually go to was totally destroyed (Divi Beach Little Bay) and we didn't see the point of making ourselves targets (tourists with obvious money).

 

I think it's a shame that Celebrity was contractually obligated to go there. At least passengers in previous cruises got to go to St, Kitt's or Martinique and not waste vacation time.

 

Personally I didn't feel obligated to contribute to an economic solution. How much can one person accomplish after all. That's the role of the Dutch government and large private enterprise to resolve a crisis situation that they're experiencing.

 

I do feel for the situation of the islanders.

 

I would rather remember all the good visits we've had there over the years until such time as the island is truly ready to receive visitors.

 

Just MHO

[dazey]

We were there April 12 or 13th and went on the Chef's Market Discoveries tour which included(among many others) a stop at a food market and lunch at a "wonderful restaurant on the water". The food market was gone and we stopped at a spice table(maybe two tables) and the restaurant was not on the water and had to walk through debris and broken cement to get to it. The area(especially on French side) was a mess. All the islands we visited(if you left the areas close to the ports) was so damaged that it ruined the atmosphere. I would not take this cruise again for quite awhile. I thought the ship should have advised us of the situation as we paid "lots" for this tour.

 

But more than anything, we had a greater sympathy for the island people. We were told our purchases help the people on the island but government needs to do more(French, American, Netherlands).