6 ships in port

[lynn247]

I knew there would be 6 ships in port on Dec 12th, but if I am reading this correctly there might be almost 18,000 tourists coming off these ships:eek:

 

http://www.portofstmaarten.com/decschedule.pdf

 

How does the island handle so many people at one time???

 

I'll be with someone in a wheelchair, think we'll be OK just taking the water taxi and doing some shopping in Phillipsburg. We wanted to do some sort of a tour. But I'm not so sure now.

[Langley Cruisers]

Wow. Well, we've been there twice and it is a beautiful place, however I feel that the water taxi and shopping might be difficult. We found the streets and sidewalks to be extremely narrow, and imagine how many thousands of others will be doing the same thing. Wait... I'm sure you have already imagined. :eek:

 

My hubby just came into the room, and when I read him your post, he agreed with me about the sheer volume of people, and we both suggest either staying in the direct vacinity of the pier, or taking a cab or excursion to a destination. There is shopping at the cruise ship dock, but not that much. There are taxis and rental cars also, but perhaps you might look into an excursion or a private taxi for maximum comfort.

 

Have a great time. I'm sure you'll be more comfortable in December than we were in August. It was HOT!!

[kal]

Six ships shouldn't be a problem especially when one of them departs at 2:00pm. The total passenger loading for those six ships is about 14,000. Things will be crowded but workable.

 

Carib. Princess = 3100

Carnival Glory = 2974

Carnival Miracle = 2124

Costa Fortuna = 2716

Costa Mediteranea = 2114

Maasdam = 1258

[gtaylor]

Have to agree with kal again.

 

Six ships and 14,000 passengers should be fairly easy to accomodate on the island during season, even including an estimated 2,000 crew who will go ashore. Many of those will (from my personal experience) head straight to the casinos on Front Street and/or the current Long Distance Phone Call facilities.

 

If you plan to hit the beach, earlier would be preferrable to later if you want a choice of primo location for your loungers.

 

Now NINE ships was more of a challenge. From my PhotoBucket:

 

 

 

 

gary

[The Big Booper]

The water taxi is not a good choice for someone in a wheel chair, because of step ups and downs. Better to take a cab from the pier or a private tour.

[lynn247]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. With so many ships, I was afraid we might have a hard time getting a cab. I thought the water taxi would have been a good choice.

 

I didn't know that there was a casino there, thanks for that bit of info.

 

9 ships...WOW:eek:

[gtaylor]

Here's a photo of the steps on the Water Taxi.

 

(click)

 

There are a number of casinos across the Dutch side of the island. I can think of at least 5 along Front Street.

 

gary

[lynn247]

Here's a photo of the steps on the Water Taxi.

 

(click)

 

There are a number of casinos across the Dutch side of the island. I can think of at least 5 along Front Street.

 

gary

 

Thanks for the photo of the Water Taxi. It's good to get an idea of what to expect. As much as I would like to do the water taxi, I think we'll have to take a private cab.

[RogerandChris]

We'll just hop a cab to the beach $6 pp pretty early. Actually, I like a vibrant port.

[mom23guys]

How many ships can dock in St Maarten? I know that sometimes people have to tende because of so many ships.

[gtaylor]

Currently the maximum ships docking is four, but a new pier is on the drawing boards, if not already in pre-construction.

 

gary

[flyeaa]

Just wondering when you dock, which bay are you docking at-Simpson or Great Bay. Can't find this answer anywhere. Thanks

[gtaylor]

That would be at Great Bay.

(click)

 

For a sense of scale, the straight-line distance from the foot of the Cruise Facility pier to the Little Pier is just under 3/4 mile.

 

gary