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»	Cruise Talk » Ports of Call and Destinations » st. martin questions

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Topic: st. martin questions

luv2cruz
First Class Passenger
Member # 1129

posted 02-29-2000 06:52 PM

I am going on the grand princess in May
and have never been to St. Martin. We were
thinking about renting a car and just
exploring. What can anyone recommend to
do there, and is it safe to rent a car there?
Any suggestions would be helpful!

Posts: 12 | Registered: Feb 2000 | IP: Logged

DianaD
First Class Passenger
Member # 1010

posted 02-29-2000 07:40 PM

We own a timeshire in St. Maarten (Dutch side). We always rent a car there, we have never had any problems driving. Suggest if you do that to drive over the Marigot on the French side.

Posts: 308 | From: Whitby, Ontario, Canada | Registered: Jan 2000 | IP: Logged

sympatico
First Class Passenger
Member # 797

posted 02-29-2000 09:45 PM

If you have never been there before, I would take a shore excursion. If you do rent a car, just make sure you get back to the ship on time. If the ship is tendering into the port, make certain you leave plenty of time to take the tender back
Enjoy and have fun.

Posts: 3305 | From: Toronto, Ont. Canada | Registered: Jul 99 | IP: Logged

gizmo
First Class Passenger
Member # 972

posted 02-29-2000 10:10 PM

We had a taxi take us to Marigot on the French side and ran into lots of traffic. There were some tour buses that had the road jammed up pretty bad. We still had plenty of time to walk around and have lunch and get back to the ship. The next trip I stayed on the Dutch side. I preferred the Dutch side.
Lots of shopping, places to eat, and a casino. Have a good trip.

Posts: 686 | From: Kennesaw Ga. (origianlly from Philly) | Registered: Dec 1999 | IP: Logged

10X
First Class Passenger
Member # 2

posted 03-01-2000 11:42 AM

It was raining on our last stop in St. Martin so he got a cab with a driver from the end of the pier. We took and island tour from him for about $17 each. This was quite long and we went completely around the island. There were stops for pictures at places with great views, shopping in Marigot, a stop at Orient Beach, and great information about the island. I even found out how to save on tours by booking my own rather than through the ship. We will be in St. Martin in February next year and I know I can go snorkeling at Pinel Island for half what it costs through the ship. You might want to locate a good taxi driver and hire him for the day.

Posts: 51 | From: Lansing, MI USA | Registered: Mar 99 | IP: Logged

tg_lindo
First Class Passenger
Member # 806

posted 03-10-2000 03:19 PM

This isn't for everyone, but there is also a jitney that runs from Phillipsburg near the tender pier to central Marigot. These large vans have a sign in front indicating their destination. At $1.50/person, it's a lot cheaper than a cab. And since it takes the same route, probably not much slower. It isn't that I can't afford the cab, but I like rubbing elbows with the residents and there's no better way to do that than in a full maxi-van. One of them was air conditioned and had a VCR playing a gospel concert on the TV. Other riders were tapping their feet and humming along.

Posts: 349 | From: San Francisco, CA | Registered: May 99 | IP: Logged

Ascendancy
First Class Passenger
Member # 840

posted 03-23-2000 02:57 PM

I bought a baseball cap there and thought it was great until I realized St Maarten was spelled wrong on the front. A sucker is born every minute. It was spelled the same way you spelled it Luv2cruz.
My biggest beef about this island are the nude beaches. However, the Every Ting Cool Party just off the peer is perfect for us. No strippers there.

Posts: 354 | From: Aurora, CO | Registered: Oct 1999 | IP: Logged

topgun
First Class Passenger
Member # 928

posted 03-23-2000 05:17 PM

Isn"t this all the same island.
St Maarten in the south is dutch and St Martin in the north is french.
Where are these nude beaches? I didnt know they existed.

Posts: 759 | From: Burlington ont,canada Cruise center of North America | Registered: Nov 1999 | IP: Logged

DianaD
First Class Passenger
Member # 1010

posted 03-23-2000 08:57 PM

For starters try Orient Beach, that is a nude beach. Remember this is a half French (St Martin) and half Dutch (St Maarten) island, the Europeans are not as prude as the North Americans and nude beaches are quite acceptable. Jamaica has quite a few nude beaches and so do most of the islands. My suggestion is if you dont like these beaches check out first which ones are nude and dont go near them or just stay in the US where you wont be offended.

Posts: 308 | From: Whitby, Ontario, Canada | Registered: Jan 2000 | IP: Logged

sympatico
First Class Passenger
Member # 797

posted 03-26-2000 05:57 PM

topgun - I'm back - had a great cruise and the weather couldn't have been better. Orient beach is divided into 3 sections, nude, topless and bathing suit beaches. The sections are designated by the colour of the umbrellas. We have been to the 3rd one beach, although the topless folks walk by all the time. The men really like this!!! Both times we were there, there was an undertow so we could not swim.

Posts: 3305 | From: Toronto, Ont. Canada | Registered: Jul 99 | IP: Logged

first timers
Just Boarded
Member # 1139

posted 03-27-2000 08:01 PM

We found St martin/St marteen really pretty. We didn't shop much but we did browse. If you want to buy gold , diamonds Etc this is the place to be. I had a ring on my finger that cost $6750 but it was on sale for half that [still too much for my pocketbook] it was fun trying it on though. Lots of people from our boat [the Bolero] were buying, this was one of the reasons they were on the cruise!

Posts: 6 | From: London.Ontario.Canada | Registered: Mar 2000 | IP: Logged

Pete n Earl
First Class Passenger
Member # 1301

posted 05-24-2000 11:00 PM

We rented a car at the pier last November. The guy led us to the cars, $50 + $10 Ins. for the day. He office was in a briefcase. The car wasn't the best but it worked, the roads are rough, can rents jeeps for not much more. Drove up to Paradise Peak,beautiful,But the road was recently washed out at the last mile, so we walked it.Went to Orient Beach, Marigot and Grand Case. Should've spent more time at Orient Beach. After returning the car, we paid the guy $60 cash & got our credit card slip back, it felt safer.

Posts: 19 | From: Maple Grove Mn 55311 | Registered: May 2000 | IP: Logged

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