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Just Back from Saint Martin


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We are just back from our cruise aboard the Allure of the Seas. First stop was Saint Martin. I know I have seen a lot of questions here about the status of the island.

Philipsburg is coming around at a fast rate. You hear a lot of hammers and saws working. From being there in the past it looks about 75-80% recovered. All the shops have come back. They are really happy to see tourists. Was told by the locals that Norwegian has dropped Saint Martin as an itinerary.

We talked to a few cab drivers who told us that no one will take you to the French side of the island. Roads were still under construction and resorts still being rebuilt.

Caught a ride with Denzel who took us to Mullet Beach and Maho. They were in good shape but on the way you can still see a lot of damage. They are just now rebuilding the 5 star resort and the casino there by Maho Beach. Which you can see were completely blown away. The bays right around the airport must have had about a dozen good sized boats still half submerged with big holes in the hulls.

We were told that the Dutch government has sunk 550 million dollars into Saint Martin’s recovery, the French govt. nothing which is why the slow recovery on that side of the island.

 

 

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We talked to a few cab drivers who told us that no one will take you to the French side of the island. Roads were still under construction and resorts still being rebuilt.

 

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That may have been true in January, but not now. We saw plenty of taxis going to orient, which admittedly is not far inside the French side. We rented Can Am Spyders and drove to and from Orient. You can still see some damage, but thee roads are good. There is damage to Orient that is just now getting started on repairs, but its easy to get there and the beach is open and still beautiful. In the Cam An Spyder thread in this forum, I posted two videos of my drive to and from Orient.

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That may have been true in January, but not now. We saw plenty of taxis going to orient, which admittedly is not far inside the French side. We rented Can Am Spyders and drove to and from Orient. You can still see some damage, but thee roads are good. There is damage to Orient that is just now getting started on repairs, but its easy to get there and the beach is open and still beautiful. In the Cam An Spyder thread in this forum, I posted two videos of my drive to and from Orient.

 

Yea pretty much this.

 

Was at Grand Case Beach last week which is deeper into the French side. Certainly not 100% but we drove without issue all over the island.

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Thats great just telling you what the cab drivers in Philipsburg told us.

About our day—hit the shops when they opened about 10am. Found my Cuban cigars and we bought stuff for the grandkids, got lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe then took a cab to Mullet Bay about 25 minutes. Beautiful beach, almost had the place to ourselves. Umbrellas and beach chairs to rent—$15 for two and a lady cooking bbq and selling drinks right there on the beach. Other than that just two port-a-johns to change clothes.

I love this island. God speed to them.

 

 

 

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Thats great just telling you what the cab drivers in Philipsburg told us.

About our day—hit the shops when they opened about 10am. Found my Cuban cigars and we bought stuff for the grandkids, got lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe then took a cab to Mullet Bay about 25 minutes. Beautiful beach, almost had the place to ourselves. Umbrellas and beach chairs to rent—$15 for two and a lady cooking bbq and selling drinks right there on the beach. Other than that just two port-a-johns to change clothes.

I love this island. God speed to them.

 

 

 

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Not faulting you, the cab drivers have been misleading for quite awhile trying to keep dollars on the dutch side.

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Just got back, I thought the Dutch side was getting kind of seedy, and absolutely HATED the aggressiveness of the skin care salespeople. Took a bus (2$ per) to the French side. Still devastated, marketplace way down in number of vendors, and mostly towels, cheap shirts, and dresses. Food places don't have the variety, or quality they used to have, VERY disappointed!

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Just got back, I thought the Dutch side was getting kind of seedy, and absolutely HATED the aggressiveness of the skin care salespeople. Took a bus (2$ per) to the French side. Still devastated, marketplace way down in number of vendors, and mostly towels, cheap shirts, and dresses. Food places don't have the variety, or quality they used to have, VERY disappointed!

 

Those skin care people have always been aggressive. I didn't find them any different post hurricane myself.

 

The island was really hit hard. I wonder how much research you did prior to this past visit. Marigot and Sandy Ground are two places that I don't think that I would visit myself just yet.

 

At least you only spent $4 for your tour and not $40. There is always a bright side.;)

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Good to see this update. I'm on the Allure of the Seas next January so have been wondering how the recovery was going. I hope by then I can get over to Marigot as I loved my visit there some years ago. I wouldn't mind going to Maho again, either.

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Does anyone know if there is any places open on Orient that serve food/drinks? We will be there at the end of June. Would prefer to go to Orient and help stimulate the recovery if we can.

 

Just returned from cruise on June 2nd. Nothing open at Orient, all buildings were destroyed and not yet rebuilt.

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Just returned. Had a terrific day. Did the Rhino tour at Simpson Bay and then took a cab to Grand Case for lunch at The Rainbow! The french side is pretty beat up, but the roads were driveable. We basically had The Rainbow to ourselves. Delicious lunch and then spent the afternoon on the gorgeous beach in front of the restaurant.

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Just returned. Had a terrific day. Did the Rhino tour at Simpson Bay and then took a cab to Grand Case for lunch at The Rainbow! The french side is pretty beat up, but the roads were driveable. We basically had The Rainbow to ourselves. Delicious lunch and then spent the afternoon on the gorgeous beach in front of the restaurant.[/quote

 

Do you know what the beach in front of the Rainbow is called? Was traffic bad? I'm worried about getting back to the ship on time.

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Went to Mullet Bay in mid-May. Beach and water in great shape. Dont know what it was like before but there are only two portajohns to change into. A lady cooking great food, selling drinks and a lot beach chairs and umbrellas to rent.

 

 

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Went to Mullet Bay in mid-May. Beach and water in great shape. Dont know what it was like before but there are only two portajohns to change into. A lady cooking great food, selling drinks and a lot beach chairs and umbrellas to rent.

 

 

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Not much has change at Mullet. Beach looked better in January than it did in August go me. Far less palm trees on road through the golf course though.

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Just returned. Had a terrific day. Did the Rhino tour at Simpson Bay and then took a cab to Grand Case for lunch at The Rainbow! The french side is pretty beat up, but the roads were driveable. We basically had The Rainbow to ourselves. Delicious lunch and then spent the afternoon on the gorgeous beach in front of the restaurant.[/quote

 

Do you know what the beach in front of the Rainbow is called? Was traffic bad? I'm worried about getting back to the ship on time.

I do not. When we told the cab driver we wanted to go to Rainbow he knew right where to take us. The beach is gorgeous. Soft sand and calm, turquoise water perfect for floating. If you eat at the restaurant (highly recommend!), you can use the beach chairs and umbrellas for no extra fee. There were no more than 10 people on the beach!

 

The worst traffic was leaving the cruise ship in the morning. We left Rainbow around 4:20 pm and were back on the ship before 5. Best day ever!

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