Best St. Maarten beach (or Celebrity excurision) to spend the day at?

[Cruising Divers]

Hello all, I posted this in the "St. Maarten" board/section but I wanted to post it here also due to the "Celebrity Excurions" part of my question:

 

 

Hello, we are cruising to St. Maarten on April 1, 2019 with Celebrity. This will be our only "beach day" opportunity as we will be scuba diving the rest of our itinerary and we are looking for a "sugar sand" beach/day full of fun (we love the sand in Gulf Shores, AL for example). White sand, not overcrowded, good drinks, beautiful water and some fun tourist/souvenir junk shopping would be perfect for us. From what I've read Orient beach was the best but was destroyed during hurricane Maria... 

 

Anyone here recent SM visitors with insights? Are there any "Celebrity-sponsored excursions" that include something else "not to be missed" and also some wonderful beach-time? We'd love to hear all of your experiences and suggestions - Thank you very much in advance! 

[Want2Cruise 701]

What ship?  We will be in St. Maarten on that day with the Summit.  We will be taking the excursion to St. Barts from the ship.  Basically, it's just the high speed ferry that Celebrity organizes for you then you are on your own.  On St. Barts, we will go to Nikki Beach.  It's beautiful there and uncrowded atleast it was when we were there in June.  Sand is nice , water is calm and a gorgeous blue.  There's also a restaurant and bar.  We loved it enough we are going back again.  You won't find however, any junk or souvenir shops.  St. Barts has higher end expensive stores.  They do have a few souvenir shops at the pier in St. Maarten though.

 

Mullet Bay Beach in St. Maarten isn't bad.  We went there in October.  There is a beach bar there.  It would say it's semi crowded.  I guess I don't know what you consider crowded.  You can also get chairs and umbrellas.  It's next to Maho beach in the next cove over but a totally different feel.  Nothing like Maho.  

 

Good luck.

[Ozzmund]

Take the water taxi to Pinel Island.

[Cruising Divers]

1 hour ago, Want2Cruise 701 said:

What ship?  We will be in St. Maarten on that day with the Summit.  We will be taking the excursion to St. Barts from the ship.  Basically, it's just the high speed ferry that Celebrity organizes for you then you are on your own.  On St. Barts, we will go to Nikki Beach.  It's beautiful there and uncrowded atleast it was when we were there in June.  Sand is nice , water is calm and a gorgeous blue.  There's also a restaurant and bar.  We loved it enough we are going back again.  You won't find however, any junk or souvenir shops.  St. Barts has higher end expensive stores.  They do have a few souvenir shops at the pier in St. Maarten though.

 

Mullet Bay Beach in St. Maarten isn't bad.  We went there in October.  There is a beach bar there.  It would say it's semi crowded.  I guess I don't know what you consider crowded.  You can also get chairs and umbrellas.  It's next to Maho beach in the next cove over but a totally different feel.  Nothing like Maho.  

 

Good luck.

 

Thank you very much for your time and reply! Yes, we will also be on the same Summit sailing. Hoping the dry dock work/updates go as planned! 🤞🏻

 

How would you describe Maho beach? I’ve not heard/read about that particular beach before... The St. Barts excursion looked great to us too but A) we didn’t know if it was worth the trouble and time the ferry takes away from the amount of time we have in port and if maybe the beaches in St Maarten were just as nice or better, B) we live within 10 miles of say 50+ high end retailers so that particular aspect is not a strong consideration on this trip (in fact it’s probably more along the lines of what we’re looking to get away from; we’re more looking for “local art shops”/etc, local handmade goods/souvenirs and the like) and C) we’d have a hard time not giving up our purposefully scheduled “beach day” to go diving there because it’s an island we’ve never dove before ha! Still, Nikki Beach sounds wonderful and just might fit the bill... 🤔 Any other suggestions? Thank you again for your help!

Edited January 17, 2019 by Cruising Divers
Typos!

[Want2Cruise 701]

Have you joined the Roll Call yet?  There’s also another site people are using that we’re not allowed to post about. Come join the group. 

 

Based on what you said, I don’t think you’d like Maho Beach. Very crowded and touristy.  It’s where the planes fly over head. Been once and that was enough.  It was hit hard by the hurricane too. 

 

Research Pinel Island like Ozzmund said. Never been but have heard people talk about it. 

 

Jessica

[Cruising Divers]

22 minutes ago, Want2Cruise 701 said:

Have you joined the Roll Call yet?  There’s also another site people are using that we’re not allowed to post about. Come join the group. 

 

Based on what you said, I don’t think you’d like Maho Beach. Very crowded and touristy.  It’s where the planes fly over head. Been once and that was enough.  It was hit hard by the hurricane too. 

 

Research Pinel Island like Ozzmund said. Never been but have heard people talk about it. 

 

Jessica

 

Thank you! Just joined the RC. 

 

Didnt know Maho was the name of the plane flyover beach; definitely not what we’re looking for. I’ll look into Pinel next and appreciate everyone’s time and reply’s!

[cruise47]

How much does the water taxis costs?

[loecki1976]

Sorry to ask here, but does anyone know when the leaving times are for that St. Barth or other Beach Excursions?

Reason is, that I had to promise my wife to let her sleep long despite our last cruise. .-) So we would enjoy to leaving at noon. 

 

THX.

 

[charlielinda]

No doubt, Orient Beach.  

[Ugaaucruisers]

20 hours ago, Want2Cruise 701 said:

What ship?  We will be in St. Maarten on that day with the Summit.  We will be taking the excursion to St. Barts from the ship.  Basically, it's just the high speed ferry that Celebrity organizes for you then you are on your own.  On St. Barts, we will go to Nikki Beach.  It's beautiful there and uncrowded atleast it was when we were there in June.  Sand is nice , water is calm and a gorgeous blue.  There's also a restaurant and bar.  We loved it enough we are going back again.  You won't find however, any junk or souvenir shops.  St. Barts has higher end expensive stores.  They do have a few souvenir shops at the pier in St. Maarten though.

 

Mullet Bay Beach in St. Maarten isn't bad.  We went there in October.  There is a beach bar there.  It would say it's semi crowded.  I guess I don't know what you consider crowded.  You can also get chairs and umbrellas.  It's next to Maho beach in the next cove over but a totally different feel.  Nothing like Maho.  

 

Good luck.

Hi.  We are lloking at the St.  Barts excursion.  How far is Nikki Beach from the pier where we will be dropped off?  Is  there a charge for beach chairs/loungers/umbrellas?

Thanks.

Laura

[George C]

8 hours ago, charlielinda said:

No doubt, Orient Beach.  

We always also go there lots of restaurants very nice beach

[Want2Cruise 701]

1 hour ago, Ugaaucruisers said:

Hi.  We are lloking at the St.  Barts excursion.  How far is Nikki Beach from the pier where we will be dropped off?  Is  there a charge for beach chairs/loungers/umbrellas?

Thanks.

Laura

Hi.  It's about a 5 minute drive maybe a little more.  The island is very small.  The five minutes or more takes you to the opposite coast to give you an idea.  We walked it.  About a 30 minute walk.  Most people would think we are crazy since it's narrow and windy in spots up a hill with no sidewalk but, we're adventurous people.  

 

You can rent chairs and umbrellas.  Can't remember the cost but it was very expensive.  Everything about St. Barts is expensive.  Two basic beers cost $30 plus tip US dollars.  Cotton St. Bart's T-shirts were $40 US dollars.  

 

Closer to where the taxi drops you downtown is Shell Beach.  Most people go here.  I didn't love it.  Have no idea why it's so popular.  The beach is in a little cove that was unimpressive.  The sand has all ground shells which I didn't find enjoyable.  Also, I remember it having a slope to the water also.  They did however, have a nice restaurant/bar.  We got back from Nikki beach a little early so we decided to see what this beach was all about.  Glad we did in a way now so we know not to go there in the future.  

[brockmom]

Check out Mullet bay....it is lovely and quiet with full amenities...

just give yourself enough time to get back to the,ship.

It is right beside Maho beach....give it a google.

we have been twice and love it.

enjoy

Brockmom

😀

[Ozzmund]

16 hours ago, cruise47 said:

How much does the water taxis costs?

If I remember correctly, it was $12.00 pp.

This is more a ferry than a water taxi.

[WallyNDiane]

We really enjoy Dawn Beach. Beautiful view of St Bart's. Nice bar and quiet.

Orient Beach is nice if you like action and watching naked 65 year olds walking the beach.

[The Mommy]

I think Orient Beach fits your requirements.

 

[Cruising Divers]

Thank you so much to everyone - Please keep the suggestions coming! 😃

[SeaTrailer]

Karakter Beach is my favorite!  Nice beach, good food and drink, wonderful staff.  Closer than Pinel which I also do like.