Would love to try to answer as many St.Maarten questions as possible...

[cntrydncr1]

I was wondering which beach would be the best to either parasail or jetski? Thanks for your advice!

[Ms.Fixit]

[quote name='Urban Chic']I enjoyed a day at "Every Tings Cool" beach during my most recent visit to St. Martin, and really enjoyed their beach atmosphere & many flavors of Pina Coladas. (Especially liked the fact that they were SO close to the ships & shopping) I have since read that "ETC" has been sold:-(

Can you tell me if the beach is still open, or if it is now under a new name?

Thanks for your help.

Chic[/QUOTE]

I was there in October 2004 and the beach/bar is all boarded up. There really isn't much open, just the beach and water sports!

[carbon]

Is the shopping better on Front street or Marigot?

[sandybeach121]

If you needed to be in the Philipsburgh dock by 5:30 - what time would you need to leave Marigot??

[gram4sam]

[quote name='snoopy_leogirl']Fire away. I have been living in St.Maarten for 21 years and know the place pretty well. I will try to help as much as possible, because even though I know a lot, I don't know everything. ;)[/QUOTE]

[font=Comic Sans MS]Would really some good info about some GOOD jewelry shopping, maybe even a diamond ( just don't tell my husband ) we will there next week ( can't wait ) I'll be checking in again a little later I really need to get back to work. [/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][/font]

[kathi29]

We'll have the usual one day in St Martin off the cruise ship. I'm thinking Divi is our choice for beach / water stuff. We are traveling with kids 6 and 12. My 6 year old would love love love the Butterfly Farm. What is our best bet for doing this stuff? I don't want to book through the ship..... so can we take a taxi/tour from the pier to the Butterfly farm and then have them drop us off at Divi (and either have them come back or catch another taxi back to the ship?)

Thanks for your help!

[Disneycruiser#1]

Divi sounds like a good option for our sons who are 3 and 6.....I am just trying to decide if we should grab a cab and do it on our own like we normally do or do it through the ship :)

Take care!
DC

[OC Mom]

We are planning on hangin out at Orient Beach. Where should we go to get some local, casual, and inexpensive eats?? Thanks:)

[FlyingPhotog]

[SIZE=3][COLOR=DarkRed][B]Snoopy_Leogirl:[/B] What time would you recommend leaving Maho Beach to get back to the ship for a 5:00pm departure? I hear traffic can be bad.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[judyzoo]

I think that snoopy leogirl has left this thread. Haven't seen a post from her here in a l-o-n-g time.

[bandpthoma]

about 6 weeks ago, she stated that she would not be responding for awhile as she was going to be vacationing. Hopefully, she will return soon.

[judyzoo]

Long vacation. Maybe she's doing a world cruise.

[snoopy_leogirl]

OMG...sorry everyone...I just checked the board today after months! My dad was in the hospital for a month and he was home resting for another month and a half after that and things have been hectic. He's doing better now and started work about 2 weeks ago. I have barely had time to get on here and try to answer more questions. I will start now. Sorry again for the longggg delay.

[snoopy_leogirl]

[quote name='jenny368']Can you take the water taxi to Orient Beach?[/QUOTE]

Nope, you can't. Orient Beach is too far away. You can only take a taxi or rent a car and drive there but the taxi is the easiest.

[snoopy_leogirl]

[quote name='SethCLevin']Do anyone have any idea how much it costs to take the Explorer to Marigot from where the ships dock? Or by taxi Phillipsburg to Marigot? Thanks
[email]Sclevin@aol.com[/email][/QUOTE]


Not sure about how much the explorer costs but a taxi shouldn't be more than 15-18 dollars.

[snoopy_leogirl]

[quote name='Marcylynn']We are in port from 10:00am-11:00pm. We are going to do the beach thing during the day and would love to know how late we could shop. Also, we will be looking for a great bar/rest.for that night. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.[/QUOTE]

All stores on Front Street close at about 6 p.m. After that, you can go to Greenhouse or Reggae Cafe, which are close to the ship port and are great casual places which include bar/restaurant. Also, there are several casinos in town which you can visit if you like to gamble.

[snoopy_leogirl]

[quote name='jkl67890']Hi,

Do any car rental companies have ramp or lift equiped vehicles? Thanks for the help.[/QUOTE]

Aggh, not too sure about this one. I have never rented a car here but I don't think so.

[snoopy_leogirl]

[quote name='stones902']Snoopy,

Thanks for providing all your information.

Don't know if you covered this one earlier but I was wondering about the status of the construction on Front Street. We visited in November and the street was pretty torn up down near the Guavaberry shop and Coloseum Casino.

We are scheduled to visit your island again at the end of June and am anxious to see the finished product.[/QUOTE]

I am happy to tell you that Front Street was finished a while back and looks great.

[snoopy_leogirl]

[quote name='keywest22'][font=Comic Sans MS][size=3]it sounds like orient beach is the best is there a good place near by to get drinks and also what can you tell us about the shopping (jewerly etc..)?[/size][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][size=3][/size][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][size=3]thanks so much you have been so informative[/size][/font][/QUOTE]

Yes, there are several bars/restaurants which serve drinks on the beach. The best place to go shopping is on Front Street. T-shirts, souvenirs, jewelry, electronics, perfumes, anything you can think of, we have it.

[snoopy_leogirl]

[quote name='POOHISME2']I'm sure you have answered this question a hundred times, but I have to ask again..lol


We are taking a shore excursion from our ship to Orient 9:30-2PM. We would like to then go to the bar at Maho.
1. How far is it from the ships pier
2. how much do you think it would cost for 2 adults to get there?
3. also, what times do the stores open and what is the closest to our ship?

What time would we have to leave the bar to get back to the ship by 5:00?

Thanks again for all your useful info[/QUOTE]

Maho is about at least 20 minutes away from the pier. If there is traffic, it could take upto 40 minutes.
Two adults to Maho could be about $15-20 from the pier. About $20 from Orient as well.
Store hours in town are mostly 9am - 6pm.

To get to the ship by 5, you should leave the bar by about 4:20 p.m.

[snoopy_leogirl]

[quote name='DebLeonard']Our boat tour in St. Maarten does not begin until 11:00, however we arrive in St. Maarten at 7:00 a.m. I read on this post that the bus fare from Philipsburg to Marigot is $2. Is that correct? Is it difficult to get a bus? What time do the busses start? Would we have enought time for a quick visit to the French side?[/QUOTE]

Yes, fares to the French Side should be about $2.00 per person.
Fairly simple to get a bus. Busses start pretty early, like maybe 5 or 6 a.m. It is enough time to visit the French Side but the only problem is that most stores there don't open till 9 or 9:30 am. But if you aren;t really into the shopping, you can go there and get breakfast, take a walk, go up to the fort in the morning which has a very promising beautiful 360 degree view. Then, you can browse some shops and at 10:15 a.m. or so, you can get back to Philipsburg to catch your tour.

[snoopy_leogirl]

[quote name='POOHISME2']The day my ship pulls into port, there are 7 other cruise ships in Port the same day..I am figuring thats 14,000 extra people on the island. How hard will it be to catch taxi's and will traffic be really bad due to all the ships in port?[/QUOTE]


I think that you were already here by the time I reply to this message. sorry. :o

[snoopy_leogirl]

[quote name='Urban Chic']I enjoyed a day at "Every Tings Cool" beach during my most recent visit to St. Martin, and really enjoyed their beach atmosphere & many flavors of Pina Coladas. (Especially liked the fact that they were SO close to the ships & shopping) I have since read that "ETC" has been sold:-(

Can you tell me if the beach is still open, or if it is now under a new name?

Thanks for your help.

Chic[/QUOTE]

I heard that they closed down a while back. That's too bad because I heard that numerous people have enjoyed that place.

[snoopy_leogirl]

[quote name='Cruisingbear']We will be in St. Martin for one day from a cruise ship. We have planned a
shore tour that tours both sides of the island, shopping in Marigot, and time
on Orient Beach. My question is about the shopping in Marigot. Could you
recommend a French wine shop or maybe a sweet red wine from Marigot??
Thanks for your suggestions.[/QUOTE]

Wine is not one of my strong points. However, on the French Side, there is a wine shop in the alley next to Beauty and Scents on Rue General De Gaulle. Try that place out.

[snoopy_leogirl]

To all the people that posted questions for me to answer and I didn't, its because I realized that by now you all already must have been here and back home by now. Sorry for that. I will try my best to keep up with the questions. But I do hope that you all enjoyed your visit to SXM (St.Maarten).