Review of our overnight St. Maarten visit on the Equinox

FINALLY wrote and published the last segment of our March Caribbean cruise on the Equinox. Took awhile to get the YouTube video uploaded! https://zest4travel.wordpress.com/2017/06/26/phillipsburg-st-maarten/

Very nice video. Thanks for sharing with us!

Well-written blog! Very nice photos too!

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Thank you!

I can point out a few things from our overnight stay in St. Maarten in March 2017 on the Equinox.

1. The excursions to the French side by Celebrity were outrageously priced.

Even going to the French side on our own for dinner would have cost exorbitant amounts.

2. DW and I went with a couple in 1992 that rented a car and took a day tour of the island.

After that she was terrified to think of a night time ride on the hilly and twisty roads.

3. We decided instead to have dinner at the Holland House Hotel. Verdict? Don't. They messed up our order twice. They did not even serve my order the first time. DW had to send her order back, it was not hot at all and the service took forever (over 90 minutes). Going here to have a few drinks and enjoy the view would work but dinner never again.

4. Most of the stores and restaurants in Phillipsburg close at 5 P.M.

5. We got a taxi back to the ship. On the way the taxi driver asked if he could pick up another couple. A middle aged couple have to be helped out of the restaurant they are in and into the taxi. They are so drunk that when they get onto the taxi the woman gets in the front seat, slumps over and promptly hits her head against the dashboard with a resounding crack.

We get near the dock and one of the golf carts comes out and loads the couple on. They put the woman on the back facing backwards. How she did not fall out I'll never know.

I have no idea how they even walked up the gang plank. It was a totally embarassing display for us and them.

Luckily we got back for our late dinner seating and were able to get something to eat.

On the positive side it was interesting being around the dock area at night with hardly any one else around as all the other ships had left. It was also good that when we headed to the beach the next morning we got a really early start to the day.

We had looked forward to our overnight and were sorely disappointed.

Maybe other people can report successful options.

Enjoy your cruising days.

I can point out a few things from our overnight stay in St. Maarten in March 2017 on the Equinox.

 

1. The excursions to the French side by Celebrity were outrageously priced.

Even going to the French side on our own for dinner would have cost exorbitant amounts.

 

2. DW and I went with a couple in 1992 that rented a car and took a day tour of the island.

After that she was terrified to think of a night time ride on the hilly and twisty roads.

 

3. We decided instead to have dinner at the Holland House Hotel. Verdict? Don't. They messed up our order twice. They did not even serve my order the first time. DW had to send her order back, it was not hot at all and the service took forever (over 90 minutes). Going here to have a few drinks and enjoy the view would work but dinner never again.

 

4. Most of the stores and restaurants in Phillipsburg close at 5 P.M.

 

5. We got a taxi back to the ship. On the way the taxi driver asked if he could pick up another couple. A middle aged couple have to be helped out of the restaurant they are in and into the taxi. They are so drunk that when they get onto the taxi the woman gets in the front seat, slumps over and promptly hits her head against the dashboard with a resounding crack.

We get near the dock and one of the golf carts comes out and loads the couple on. They put the woman on the back facing backwards. How she did not fall out I'll never know.

 

I have no idea how they even walked up the gang plank. It was a totally embarassing display for us and them.

 

Luckily we got back for our late dinner seating and were able to get something to eat.

 

On the positive side it was interesting being around the dock area at night with hardly any one else around as all the other ships had left. It was also good that when we headed to the beach the next morning we got a really early start to the day.

 

We had looked forward to our overnight and were sorely disappointed.

 

Maybe other people can report successful options.

 

Enjoy your cruising days.

Wow....sounds like that was an adventure! The Holland House Hotel has been completely refurbished and appears to be under new management. With any luck, the service has improved!

Yes....the town closes down pretty early. Don't think they are used to ships being there overnight. :) Still...it was nice to get out and walk around without tons of other tourists.

Yes...transportation to the French side is expensive, but if you are only going to be there once, you should make the effort. We tend to avoid ship excursions, as we find doing it on our own is much cheaper and we can set our own timeline....of course paying attention to All Aboard time!

Hope you enjoy your future travels. We are cruising to Alaska again next and are planning to sail from Southampton in October! Happy cruising!