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Great Day! Port and Orient Beach

charlielinda

By charlielinda,
in St. Martin/St. Maarten

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Karysa

Karysa

Posted
Posted
On 11/1/2018 at 9:03 AM, GomezAddams said:

MSC's St Martin excursions list has a note that says all of the beaches on the French side are clothing optional.

 

At Orient beach, I didn't see anyone topless, let alone naked at the area of beach by Bikini Bar. The wife and I walked the quarter mile or so down to the area where the remains of Club Orient are, and past the pile of rocks we did see about a dozen nude sunbathers. However, as we were walking back, we did pass a nude couple walking towards us about 100 yards on the "wrong" side of the pile of rocks.

 

Does MSC use the words " clothing optional "? Topplessness is permitted at French side beaches but I believe that the small stretch at the end of Orient is the only sanctioned clothing optional beach on the island.

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Karysa

Karysa

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, SnorkelAway said:

Cupecoy is C/O on dutch-side.  For cruisers on a port of call who are not familiar with the island, I suggest considering only Cupecoy and the south third of Orient as C/O.

 

The c/o section of Orient is authorized c/o.  Is Cupecoy the same?  I thought that it was more on the line of Happy Bay.  Some people go nude but its not officially recognized as a clothing optional beach.

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SnorkelAway

SnorkelAway

Posted
Posted (edited)

Maybe more than anyone wants.

 

There is no officially sanctioned clothing optional beach on the island - if to be officially sanctioned, there has to be a written "law" that states that nudity is legal on that beach.  Even the Club Orient Beach is not officially designated in a written "law" as a beach on which nudity is legal.  The existing applicable law expressly prohibits nudity on all of Orient Beach except the beach in front of Club Orient - technically, from the road that runs south of where Pedro's was to the southern end of Orient Beach - the clear implication being that it is not prohibited and tolerated in that space.  But, of course, what is called the Club Orient Beach is a clothing optional beach by tradition and practice, and no one questions it. 

 

Cupecoy, on the dutch-side, has been a clothing optional beach on which nudity has been an accepted practice for as long as anyone's memory goes back in time.  Does any law say that nudity is OK on Cupecoy - no.  There have a been a couple times over the decades in which there has been police interest expressed and people asked to cover up on Cupecoy - but so far as I know, those incidents were in response to particular complaints about overt sexual or exhibitionist behavior - which is never OK on any beach. 

 

Happy Bay, french-side, is similar in that it has been treated as clothing optional forever - unless there are events going on there which do not welcome any nudity - businesses and groups often have parties and get togethers at Happy Bay.  There also have been times when the Collectivite police (municipal police) or Gendarmes have come to Happy Bay and ordered anyone nude to cover-up.  Happy Bay seems to attract some people who engage in inappropriate behavior (apart from nudity) and it is that kind of thing which generates serious opposition to the nudity itself.  Indeed, it was some group behavior on Orient Beach considered exhibitionist and disrespectful that probably triggered the specific law in 2006 prohibiting nudity north of the rocks on Orient.

 

I have never heard of anyone being ticketed or charged at either Cupecoy or Happy Bay.  People have been ticketed/charged on Orient Beach if nude north of the rocks, but that primarily resulted from a particular Prefet (no longer the current Prefet) getting severely annoyed at what he felt was people openly defying the rules and him personally.  Plus, of course, Orient tends to attract far more people, including tourists, than either Cupecoy or Happy Bay. 

 

I generally do not and would not recommend Cupecoy or Happy Bay as a good beach for a cruiser on a port of call stop who is not familiar with the island.  If a cruiser on a port of call stop who is not familiar with the island wants to experience a busy clothing optional beach, I recommend that they just go to the Club Orient beach. 

Edited by SnorkelAway
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Karysa

Karysa

Posted
Posted

Ok thank you Snorkel. Since our first visit c/o at Orient was known as clothing optional. That was back in 1992. I have always read that that section of Orient was the only authorized nude beach on the island.

 

I have read of people being asked to clothe at Happy Bay before.Cupecoy is known to be gay friendly as well as c/o expected to those that frequent the island.

 

 

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cathi007

cathi007

Posted
Posted
On 12/3/2018 at 9:06 AM, KK847 said:

We are thinking of going to Orient Beach on our next cruise. This would be our first time and just wanted to find out more about the condition of the beach since the hurricane.

Not sure when your next cruise is, but we will be there in late Jan and I will report back. I am so looking forward to ging, as St. Martin is my favorite Caribbean island 🙂

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  • 4 weeks later...
Lbme

Lbme

Posted
Posted (edited)

 

.Good evening

They say the snorkeling hasn't been good since the hurricane.  I didn't see anyone snorkeling when I was there in December.  The cost for two loungers and the umbrella was 20 dollars.  Drinks were available and were reasonably priced. We will be there on Feb 21st.

Edited by Lbme
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  • 3 weeks later...
cathi007

cathi007

Posted
Posted

Just go back from our amazing 14 night cruise. We went to Orient Bay (Bikini Beach). It was a great day! The water was a little rough that day, but they are open and ready for your visit. Driving to the beach the hurricane damage was very evident. But at the beach it was beautiful as usual. I will add some of my pics. Notice how the mountains are now brown. I will add the photos over the weekend, as I can't seem to find them all, lol

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