St. Thomas or St Marten - which would you skip

[Jo-Anne]

Just thinking about possibly staying on the ship and relaxing and swimming during one of the stop overs on our Nov trip. We have two kids 7 & 4, and with the 4 year old, it really limits us on any of the excursions. If we had to miss one port of call, which stop is a must see over the other? thanks, Jo

 

[disneyeveryyear]

My Dh and I cruised 13 years ago (BC) and we did an Eastern on NCL. I much preferred St. Thomas over St. Maarten. We dropped anchor on the Dutch side and tendered in. It was less than pleasant. We had to walk through areas that were garbage infested and filthy. Never felt comfortable walking through shopping area. Didn't go to French side. It was lunch time and we were told everything would be closed for 2 hours and weren't interested in nude beach (lol).

Were back on ship in time for lunch.

Loved St. Thomas. Felt very comfortable in shopping area, took a private van on an island tour, birthplace of banana daiquiri, saw Megan's Bay (sp?). The driver even took my DH to grocery store to pick up soda. (Never free on that ship. $1.50 + 15% for each 6 oz. bottle) Had a great time!

Didn't do any "arranged excursions". May be different now, but that was my experience.

 

[Cruise]

I would second the above. If I was choosing one to skip, it would be St Maarten.

Julie

 

[WDWLVR]

I think both ports have a lot to offer and personally I wouldn't skip either one unless you've been there before. However if I were to choose one it would be St. Martin.

St. Thomas has a lot more to offer I think between sightseeing, shopping, etc.

 

[4myguys]

I would skip St Martin between the two.

 

[kajohn]

Jo-Anne

Although I enjoy both islands, if I had to skip one, it would be St. Maarten. However, don't think you cannot enjoy the islands if you don't do excursions. We travelled with a just turning 5 DS and DS's 7 and 9. We went to the beach on each stop on the Eastern. St. Maarten is actually the easiest, just take the water taxi from the pier to the first stop. Get off and go to the beach right there, Great Bay Beach. It is very pretty and you can see the ships in the harbor the whole time while enjoying the beach. We rented some chairs and the kids played in the water for hours. When we were ready to go back, it was a very short trip back. It is also very reasonably priced.

Water taxi - $5pp for an arm braclet that lets you use the taxi all day long, and children under 12 were free.

Chair rental - rented two chairs and umbrella for $10.

Couple of suggestions

1. pack life vests for your kids. I know they take up some room, but they made me feel more comfortable with my kids playing in the sand right near the water.

2. Stop at a store near the port and buy some sand toys. My kids were entertained for hours.

You also might be interested in reading my trip report, which deals with travelling with kids of similar age, and the types of things we did in port etc. Here's the link.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=332407

Have fun no matter what you choose!!!


disneyeveryyear

You might want to give St. Maarten another try. I was there 13 years ago as well (Nov 1990), and they had had a very large hurricane come through 6 months to a year before (don't remember the name, but it was a well known hurricane!). Anyway, the streets had been washed out in the town by the port, and the pier I believe was damaged as well. Everything was very muddy, etc. While the town is not that great now, it is much better than it was then for sure. They have a very nice new pier, and the beach as stated above etc.[

 

[PiperG]

We were with DS 5 3/4 on our Eastern this year and choose not to any excursions. However, we did take the water taxi into St. Maarten just to look around. The actual water taxi ride was very fun and beautiful, but next time around we will play on the beach as suggested by a previous poster. The downtown area was very dirty and crowded. We picked up a few quick souveniers and headed back to the ship where we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon without any crowds. The beach idea is great and the view really is beautiful. (FYI, we bought some sand toys from Target and used them on CC. I highly suggest that)

We docked in the bay in St. Thomas and took a tender in for a quick trip. The city was much MUCH nicer than St. Maarten, I presume because its a US territory.

After our quick trip into town, we again headed back to the ship. Because of the early immigration deal, DS was wiped out and fell asleep in the cabin. As our verandah overlooked the bay and city, DH and I enjoyed a quiet afternoon on the verandah sipping cocktails. DS woke up as we pulled out of port, which is also fun to watch.

 

[dianthus]

St. Martin- Phillipsburg is very dirty, although the French side is nice! There are more things to do in St. Thomas & a St. John excursion to Trunk or Cinnamon Bay is well worth the trip. On your own is better, as you have much more time. Cruz Bay also has some really cute shops there. If they did two days in St. Thomas - everyone could fit an excursion to St. John, and do other things on St. Thomas.

Two days at Castaway Cay would be even better!

 

[disneyeveryyear]

Kelli,

We went in January or February of 1990 and actually saw much more hurricane damage on St. Thomas than St. Maarten. Somehow I just didn't feel comfortable (could have been me {probably was}).

Hurricanes can decimate (sp?) these islands as every piece of raw materials has to be brought in by ship at exhorbitant prices. When we went up to the birthplace of banana daiquiris, it was still completely destroyed. We very quietly snuck up to the old viewing platform to take pictures. It was amazing.

We are scheduled for the Western this November. I am not sure what it would take to get me back on an Eastern path. Maybe if I fall in love with the sea days, I will do it just to get an extra day at sea!

 

[Bev J]

Do a nice beach tour in St. Thomas or go to hilltop it is a beautiful view of St. Thomas and the surounding islands. You don't need to pay for a tour for it and it is a short walk or quick taxi to it. You can see the tram from the ship.
AS far as St Marten goes it would be a shame to skip the island all together. At least get out to a beach with the kids. We are in land-locked Nebraska and would not pass on the chance to play at the beach, just be aware that you will be asked many times to buy stuff from walking beach vendors. Take a soft side cooler with you and pack it with soda or water. I am sure there are nicer beaches elsewhere, you could work out a deal with a taxi driver for something it you want, you don't need a tour for that . Just make sure and get the price for the taxi up front.

 

[NCRedding]

There are so many at sea days on the Eastern that we wanted to get off the ship for just a little at both ports. Of the 2, I'd say that I would skip St Marteen.

 

[lctinkerbell]

Out of the two i would have to skip St. Maarten. St. Thomas seemed more relaxing for me at Magens Bay. At St. Maarten every second someone would ask you for you hair braided. Also St. Thomas was more cleaner..