Will the Dutch Style Coffee Shop make you choose St Maarten?

[Karysa]

I know it’s April 1st but apparently the government of St Maarten has approved an Amsterdam like coffee shop project for 12 months. It will sell light or soft drugs such as marijuana and hashish and the drugs will need to be consumed on the premises. This is an apparent attempt to increase tourism. Would you choose to cruise or vacation in St. Maarten because of this? 

 

They do mention the recent legalization of marijuana in Canada as a reason that it was passed as a pilot project at this time.

 

 

[leaveitallbehind]

Assuming this is not just something associated with April 1, then no, it will have no affect one way or the other.  Have been to St. Martin many times already so it really is moot with me.  If that port of call is on an itinerary I choose, then fine.  But I would not look for one with it on it as a result of this.

 

Again if legitimate, as I side note I find it interesting that St. Martin, already one of the busiest ports of call in the Caribbean, frequently with six ships in port, would feel this is a necessary strategy to increase tourism.  Maybe they're targeting stay vacationers.

Edited April 1, 2019 by leaveitallbehind

[Karysa]

They did mention in the Daily Herald Newspaper dated March 31, 2019 that the reason that you would need to use the drugs on the premises during the test period would be due to the potential problem of cruise passengers trying to board the ships with drugs.

I am sure with Jamaica as a port that people smelling like marijuana  prior to getting back on the ship is nothing new.😂

Edited April 1, 2019 by Karysa

[Mike981]

...what to do in St. Marten next January, check.

[evandbob]

Well no.  Not with being clean and sober for the last 35 years.  

 

But I haven't heard of such a place, and as far as I know, it's still illegal in St Maarten.  Was there in February and didn't hear boo about weed except from a few privateering beach vendors.

Edited April 1, 2019 by evandbob

[simplyrubies]

Not particularly, I'm not interested in sampling drugs, particularly because I live in Canada, where I can walk down to my local dispensary and purchase any if I'm interested. Plus, as more competition increases within the city, prices and quality will become much more competitive if I was truly interested in sampling.

 

It seems awfully expensive to book a cruise solely to partake in this when if you live nearby, you can cross the border into Canada and have the same experience for a much cheaper price. If you're interested and already heading to St. Maarten, sure, but I don't know if anyone would book a specific cruise trip for this. Maybe a land vacation?

[marco]

Would not affect our decision to go or not go to St. Martin.

[sverigecruiser]

7 hours ago, Karysa said:

I know it’s April 1st but apparently the government of St Maarten has approved an Amsterdam like coffee shop project for 12 months. It will sell light or soft drugs such as marijuana and hashish and the drugs will need to be consumed on the premises. This is an apparent attempt to increase tourism. Would you choose to cruise or vacation in St. Maarten because of this? 

 

They do mention the recent legalization of marijuana in Canada as a reason that it was passed as a pilot project at this time.

 

 

 

I will not choose St. Maarten because of it and I don't care about it a lot. If I shall choose between two cruises with similar itineraries I may choose the non St. Maarten cruise because of that project because I prefer places with less drugs.   

[OCruisers]

2 minutes ago, marco said:

Would not affect our decision to go or not go to St. Maarten.

 

Same as above!  

No more so than having clothing optional beaches on the French side, St. Martin, does.

 

[Karysa]

7 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I will not choose St. Maarten because of it and I don't care about it a lot. If I shall choose between two cruises with similar itineraries I may choose the non St. Maarten cruise because of that project because I prefer places with less drugs.   

Just because St Maarten has one place that sells drugs legally it does not mean that there are more drugs than other islands. Again I referrance Jamaica here. We do not partake but I have never been asked to purchase drugs in all of the visits I have made to St Maarten over the last 25 years but I sure have on my 4 trips to Jamaica.

[Karysa]

7 hours ago, marco said:

Would not affect our decision to go or not go to St. Martin.

I am of the same mind here. I am a little surprised that the government thinks that it could be a big draw for tourists though.

[sverigecruiser]

1 hour ago, Karysa said:

Just because St Maarten has one place that sells drugs legally it does not mean that there are more drugs than other islands. Again I referrance Jamaica here. We do not partake but I have never been asked to purchase drugs in all of the visits I have made to St Maarten over the last 25 years but I sure have on my 4 trips to Jamaica.

 

I said that I don't care a lot but I prefer places where drugs are illegal. I know that there will still be much more drugs on Jamaica.

[donaldsc]

If I planned to go to St. Maarten which I do not, the availability of drugs would make it less likely form me to visit, not more.

 

DON

[Karysa]

7 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I said that I don't care a lot but I prefer places where drugs are illegal. I know that there will still be much more drugs on Jamaica.

Interesting. I wonder if Canada gave a lot of thought to tourism prior to legalizing marijuana and if tourism has gone up or down since legalization.

 

My thinking is that it’s the dollar and how low it is to the US dollar and the Euro that will affect tourism in Canada more so than people agreeing or disagreeing with legalization. 

[Karysa]

16 hours ago, simplyrubies said:

Not particularly, I'm not interested in sampling drugs, particularly because I live in Canada, where I can walk down to my local dispensary and purchase any if I'm interested. Plus, as more competition increases within the city, prices and quality will become much more competitive if I was truly interested in sampling.

 

It seems awfully expensive to book a cruise solely to partake in this when if you live nearby, you can cross the border into Canada and have the same experience for a much cheaper price. If you're interested and already heading to St. Maarten, sure, but I don't know if anyone would book a specific cruise trip for this. Maybe a land vacation?

 

It must be land vacationers that they are targeting. I agree with others that mention how busy the port is with cruiseships already. Personally I have no idea which islands if any have legalized marijuana or which states other than Colorado have for that matter.   

 

[navybankerteacher]

The availability of drugs in the Netherlands never was part of my decisions to travel there, so there is  little reason to think about it in considering going to St. Maarten.  

 

Of course, I suspect that there was some tourist attraction in the local authorities’ decision:  any ministry of tourism anywhere is likely to at least consider virtually any enticement —— it is their job, after all.

[sverigecruiser]

1 hour ago, Karysa said:

Interesting. I wonder if Canada gave a lot of thought to tourism prior to legalizing marijuana and if tourism has gone up or down since legalization.

 

My thinking is that it’s the dollar and how low it is to the US dollar and the Euro that will affect tourism in Canada more so than people agreeing or disagreeing with legalization. 

 

The price of the dollar probably affect tourism more but that wasn't the question.

 

My answer to the question is NO, I will not cruise to St. Maarten because of the Coffee shop project. 

[sverigecruiser]

8 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 the availability of drugs would make it less likely form me to visit, not more.

 

 

This is what I was trying to say!

[Karysa]

2 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

This is what I was trying to say!

Ok, got it😊

[Karysa]

2 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

The availability of drugs in the Netherlands never was part of my decisions to travel there, so there is  little reason to think about it in considering going to St. Maarten.  

 

Of course, I suspect that there was some tourist attraction in the local authorities’ decision:  any ministry of tourism anywhere is likely to at least consider virtually any enticement —— it is their job, after all.

Yes they did say that Amsterdam has increased tourism due to this. 

 

The Canadian tourism prediction for 2020 seems like a normal modest increase from 2019 and not a huge spike due to the legalization of marijuana.  Perhaps there are those that changed their travel plans because they are not happy about the legalization. To be honest, other than the first day you would never notice a difference in our city. 

[sverigecruiser]

4 minutes ago, Karysa said:

Yes they did say that Amsterdam has increased tourism due to this. 

 

 

Did they say if it's good or bad with increased tourism because of Coffee shops?  

[Karysa]

17 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

Did they say if it's good or bad with increased tourism because of Coffee shops?  

Since they are thinking of replicating it I would think that they believe the positives outweigh the negatives in their minds.

Edited April 2, 2019 by Karysa

[Karysa]

3 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

The availability of drugs in the Netherlands never was part of my decisions to travel there, so there is  little reason to think about it in considering going to St. Maarten.  

 

Of course, I suspect that there was some tourist attraction in the local authorities’ decision:  any ministry of tourism anywhere is likely to at least consider virtually any enticement —— it is their job, after all.

 

I am not sure if marijuana is legal in other Caribbean islands and they are seeking out a niche. Perhaps they want to be ahead of the curve on this.

[sverigecruiser]

8 minutes ago, Karysa said:

Since they are thinking of replicating it I would think that they believe the positives outweigh the negatives in their minds.

 

I prefer less drugusers and less tourists but the authorities in the Netherlands may disagree with me. 

[Karysa]

Just now, sverigecruiser said:

 

I prefer less drugusers and less tourists but the authorities in the Netherlands may disagree with me. 

 

You must cruise the more luxury lines that go to smaller less touristy Caribbean Islands. Mainstream cruiseships are catering to those that are willing to travel with 2000-6000 passengers and visit places like PR, Barbados, St. Maarten and Jamaica for example compared to St. Vincent, Virgin Gorda and St. Bart’s.