St-Maarten post cruise

[Misty Morning]

We will be disembarking from the Surf in St Maarten and our flight does not leave until 5pm on same day.  Any suggestions (day passes or luggage storage places) so we can explore St Maarten on our own (not looking to do any Windstar Tours)?

 

 

[mgirvin]

Holland House has luggage storage and a day room with shower if you rent chairs and umbrella on the beach. They will also arrange a taxi to take you to airport. $25 and includes wifi and 4 non-alcoholic drinks.

[Astalarasta]

Misty Morning,

 

Mgirvin has a good suggestion in the Holland House.  We bought a day pass there for out port visit.  Just an FYI you might want to check with Holland House on the shower/towel situation.  We were offered the use of an outdoor shower that was open to the bar/sidewalk... more for rinsing sand than cleaning up for a flight and our beach chair rental did not include towels.   Happy sailing

[Misty Morning]

Just contacted Holland House and they confirmed the same thing as Astalarasta mentions that it’s an outdoor shower and that there are no changing rooms. So much for that option!

[Bleu Azur]

Hello Misty Morning ,

I am in the process of booking my flight from Montreal to  St.Maarten for the March 30th Wind Surf cruise. :-)

On April 9th , the return flight is at 2:55 . Based on your experience can you please tell me how long it takes to disembark and clear any customs when coming out of the ship scheduled for 6am. 

Did you have any delays ? Did you  have plenty of time to get to the airport ?

We really do not want to stay another night but I was somewhat nervous to book before addressing this .  

Thank you for your help. Suzanne 

[Strenz]

The ships gets in early to St.Martin, you go through customs on the ship when you pick up  your passport, takes 5 minutes. Then you are free to leave the ship starting about 7:30. Walk off ship pick up bags and cabs are waiting plenty of time for a 2:55 departure. At the airport they open check in for your departure 2.5 hours ahead. 

 

Holland House does give you towels when you rent a chair. The shower is outside, there is an inside bathroom to change on the bottom floor after your shower. Very clean, new and roomy. The Divi Little Bay also has fine facilities to a day pass. Do not know price. 

Happy Sailing.

[GGS]

How difficult is it to get a taxi to the cruise terminal from the airport in st Maartin?

we have not booked any transfers.

[minidonuts85]

1 hour ago, GGS said:

How difficult is it to get a taxi to the cruise terminal from the airport in st Maartin?

we have not booked any transfers.

 

Plenty right in front of the terminal. We walked out and pretty much walked into a shared cab/van to the airport.

[GGS]

Thank you!! And in reverse, plane to cruise terminal? Just as easy? 

[minidonuts85]

43 minutes ago, GGS said:

Thank you!! And in reverse, plane to cruise terminal? Just as easy? 

 

Exactly. When you first walk out of the airport terminal, there will be people holding signs w/names on them. Walk on by and you'll see the taxi vans lined up to the left along a curb less than 100 yards away. Just walk over and let them know where you want to go.

[ridethetide]

There are plenty of taxis at the airport.

[Misty Morning]

Just got off the Wind Surf yesterday in Sint Maarten and went with  Holland 

House day pass. $25 gets you 2 chairs, 4 drinks (Sodas, juices or beer), wifi and use of outdoor shower and clean renovated bathrooms to change in the basement.  No towels included but if you go to front desk and ask for them they will provide.There were plenty of taxis at the terminal and it was almost instantly.  This being said, there were a lot of people waiting for cabs for other, I assume, further destinations.  We had lunch at the Hotel (very good and nicely renovated  outdoor patio. With a flight at 5pm, we left Holland House at 2h30 (ask bellman to call taxi to airport 10 mins ahead ) and got to airport at 3pm. $40 incl tip for the 4 of us. On the way in we were with another couple going from the airport to the ship and cost the same.  We were flying same day and got in fairly late. We landed at 4h30, left airport at 5h15 and got to the ship at 5h45.  Windstar actually called home and sent email just as we were boarding.

 

hope this helps

[Bleu Azur]

Thank you Strenz and Misty Morning - this was very helpful. We will stay at the Holland House and take advantage of the day pass before getting on the cruise 🚢 on March 30th. 

 

Misty Morning - you just came off the Windsurf - How was it ? Accommodations, weather, dining,  and excursions ? Were the sails up? Will you write a review? 

Merci 😊 

Suzanne 

[Strenz]

Bonjour Bleu Azur,

If you stay the night before at the Holland House and you do not want to get to the ship early and want to spend much of the day on the beach, just check out, they will safely hold you bags and spend the day at their beach no cost. 

I wrote a review of my recent Wind Surf trip 1/5-1/19. It was great. The review is under Strenz, Wind Surf the best way to experience the Caribbean. We had a fabulous trip: weather, food, beaches, sails ( we are not excursion folks ) 

Bon Voyage, Susanne

Mon époux es un Montréalais. 

[Bleu Azur]

Thank you Strenz - truly appreciated ! 

I will look for your review.

Did you have a BBQ on an island or is that another ship ( Spririt) ?

My friend and I have just about enough of the Montreal winter this year and

can not wait for the wind, the sea , the beaches  and the sails! 

Too bad you were not on the same cruise ! 🙂 

Suzanne 

[Joolsverne]

Bleu Azur, we came off Windsurf 10 days ago and enjoyed the cruise very much.  She is in good shape and the crew were as great as ever.  We checked our luggage in early at the port with Windstar (about 12, but you could go earlier) then were  free to get the water taxi back into town and do the whole embarkation thing later that afternoon.

unfortunately the beach BBQ was not on Prickly Pear Island this time round,  it was at a small hotel  on Virgin Gorda, which was not as much fun.  Food as excellent as ever, however.

[Misty Morning]

Blue Azur,

 

We are also from Montreal and this was our 7th Windstar cruise (4 on sail ships and 3 on yachts) and it was great as usual. Ship is old but well maintained save for the tenders which would need a total overhaul (Club Med 2 which was in port with us at Pigeon Island had much nicer Tenders) but tender service was frequent and we never had to wait too long for them.  Weather was great with no rain during the week and seas were the calmest we have seen on any cruise.  Did not do any ship sponsored excursions as we tend to organize our own. Took a taxi to deserted Princess Diana Beach in Barbuda,  took a taxi to Trafalgar Falls and Ti-Tou Gorge (not to be missed) in Dominica with beach bbq in Pigeon Island.  Rented 4 person electric golf cart in Les Saintes (make sure you reserve in advance as they get taken up early.  Took taxi to Cockeshell beach in St Kitts (wanted to go Nevis but we were too tired). We rented a mini-cooper and drove around St Barth.

 

Food was amazing and continues to improve.  Only caveat as I mentioned in other post was the recent increase in drink package price combined with a reduction in the quality of the wines included.  Sails were up most of the time but I don’t think we were ever solely under sail, but this did not matter as long as they were up.  Will write a review in the coming week.

[suzannehurst]

Great information Misty Morning ! 

We are looking at a different itinerary (Perfect 10 ) but some destinations are the same - the golf cart at Les saintes sounds great 👍 How did you reserve that ? WS excursion or other? 

You’ve are right about the new Beverage packages ( now only 2 choices $49 -$59 ). With the exchange, it is practically unattainable. We will look at other ways.

Next trip may be a charter of a sailboat around the Grenadines - ⛵️any interest from you , Montrealers ? 

Looking forward to the sail ! 

Suzanne 

[Misty Morning]

For those of you interested, just posted detailed review of our cruise

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=648850

[Joolsverne]

I enjoyed this review - we were on your cruise for the first 7 days, but we did do the full 14 days of the same cruise about 4 years ago. Very interesting and helpful,  thank you.   I didn't know about the excursion you did in Dominica - its on the list for next time.   We weren't offered the Dining under the Stars either - don't know why.  I think I may have had a chat with your friend about gluten free ice cream at lunch one day - I was checking for a friend of mine who is also gluten free.   Also agree that 2 hours for lunch is not long enough.  An extra half hour would be good. 

 

As ever,  it was all over all too soon!

Edited February 19, 2019 by Joolsverne

[CruiseOrLand]

I think of myself as a big drinker, but there is no way I could "make money" on the drinks package without feeling ill and risking a fall on the stairs. Two drinks a day are a bargain compared with NYC bars, although Windstar's pours are lighter.

 

I don't believe that Dining Under The Stars requires an invitation. It requires intent reading of the Daily Schedule, and a quick call or trip to the Reception Desk before it's all booked up. If you are on a cruise with an overnight in a scenic port (like Hong Kong or Shanghai, for instance), it's especially likely that the option will be offered. Alas, that's also when you might want to eat ashore. It can be hard to see your food at the Deck BBQ, so I would think it's the same for Dining Under the Stars.

[Bleu Azur]

Hello MISTY MORNING , 

 

How are you liking the return to winter in Montreal ? A bit of of walk on the wild site with our road and sidewalk conditions ! 

 

I was hoping to get some info from you on the GOLF CART rentals at LES SAINTES that you mentioned.   I have found these 2  companies and wondered if you can recommend them.   Captheo 2 and Archipel Location - but neither of them have  the ability to book on line but rather by phone. 

Thank you for your assistance. Suzanne 

[Misty Morning]

Blue Azur, we booked our carts with Green Car Rentals. You can find them online and can book via email.

 

Misty

[Bleu Azur]

11 hours ago, Misty Morning said:

Blue Azur, we booked our carts with Green Car Rentals. You can find them online and can book via email.

 

Misty

 

Thank you do much Misty Morning . Will follow up with them. Suzanne 

[Misty Morning]

Blue Azur,

 

Did not not realize you were on Perfect Ten itinerary.  This looks like an exciting cruise.  It won’t be too busy in Les Saintes as you will be the only ship in town.  We had Seaboard Odyssey which added 450 pax on the island, it was a bit hectic in the am watching people trying to secure transportation.  Always best to reserve in advance here as there is also a ferry from Guadeloupe that drops a few hundred people around 9h30 every morning.