Has anyone been there while on a cruise? If so, what is the best thing to do while you are there? We have heard that we can rent a taxi out for the entire day and have them take us wherever we want... we want to try and see both sides of the island... is that possible? Also, what is the best beach (besides Orient and Pinel Island) to visit as far as "breathtaking" views?
2007-02-14 13:04:08 · 3 answers · asked by RzrLens 3 in Travel ➔ Cruise Travel
St Maarten has a french and dutch side. The cruise ship docks in Philipsburg, on the dutch side . In St Maarten, you have to take a water taxi or taxi to get anywhere, from what I remember there is not much just off the ship. So we took a water taxi over to the main shopping area. It was around $5 a person and if you got a pink wrist band you could come and go on the water taxi as many times as you want throught the day. So from there we took a cap to a beach on the french side, Orient Bay. It is 2 miles long, but be aware it is a clothing optional beach, BUT the nude part is at one of the ends of the beach, so there are not nude people all over the beach. We did see 1 or 2 topless women walk by, but not a huge worry. Orient beach was beautiful but not calm due to numerous water sports going on. Jet skis etc. The snorkeling was not bad. There were washrooms and showers also.
Again not really an excursion, but we didn't want to pay a huge amount of money for an excursion booked through the cruise so we did out own thing. I would get some info on other beaches on St Maarten. A few other things about Orient beach I forgot to add above is that there are quite a few venders that walk the beach selling necklaces etc, but they are not overly pushy. It is much quiter in the morning, but as the day went on it became quite busy.
If you like email me and I will send you a few of the pictures I took on St Martin.
But yes for sure you can see both sides of the island. I'm not sure about the taxi for the day, but that sounds possible.
Enjoy your cruise!
2007-02-14 16:58:19 · answer #1 · answered by dandanthecranman 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We spent two weeks there and could easily have stayed for another month. But that wasn't on a cruise. I would imagine your time would be greatly limited on a cruise. There are actually two St. Martin's - aside from the fact that the island actually is split in half as far as nationality goes, but there is the nighttime St. Martin and the daytime St. Martin. When the sun goes down, and the cocktail hour begins, it's a prelude to time spent in the casinos - of which there are plenty - and that goes on until sunrise the next morning. If you're one of the casino crowd, you'll toddle home at daybreak to sleep.
That's when the 'other' people come out to play - the ones who enjoy having those wonderful unspoiled beaches almost entirely to themselves. And if you are interested in swimming, snorkeling and other water sports, St. Martin is a wonderful site.
Enjoy!
2007-02-14 13:15:40 · answer #2 · answered by old lady 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Here are some ideas and information regarding cruisers on St. Martin. Hope you have a nice time!!
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=93
2007-02-15 18:53:27 · answer #3 · answered by arecibena_ausente 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋