skipsaur

We were there at the end of January and had a day with 7 ships in port, including the giant Oasis. It was very hectic, tons of traffic, tons of people and we're looking forward to going back on a less busy day.

 

We got to Maho about 1pm and it was CROWDED. First off, the beach isn't what I'd choose for a beach day at all. The drop off is pretty steep right off shore, so the waves are pretty rough and strong. They went very far up the beach and more than once, people were scrambling to pick their stuff up. It's also a very narrow and sloped beach. And when we were there, albeit during rush hour, there was barely room to put a towel down, much less spread out. We didn't even try, we were fine just holding our stuff watching the planes.

 

That said, it was still an amazing experience...for the planes, but not for the beach. We're going to Mullet next time for a beach day and even the beach right in Philipsburg would be much better for laying out, if that's what you want to do. If you tried that at Maho the day we were there, you'd constantly have someone shading you!

Since you're in port 1-8pm, definitely hit up Maho first! Get there ASAP or you'll miss the biggest (most fun) planes, which are usually in the couple hours around noon.

 

As for staying til 8pm..I guess I would just be cautious on planning out the later hours of the day. I've never been in St Maarten that late but we've found at other ports that a lot of shops close by 5-6pm, so I'd make sure to thoroughly research your later plans!

Very easy and nice walk! It's short, there's lots of interesting little shops/stalls along the way. It's right on the water so you get a good view and sea breeze and there's lots of big shady trees. I would definitely recommend walking it unless you've got mobility issues.

 

We try to walk as much as we can on cruises (to burn off the extra courses @ dinner and buffets and so on!) but sometimes I get sorely tempted to take a cheap taxi, like the walk from port to town in St Thomas. But the walk in St Maarten was a pleasure, not a drag at all!

We had very similar plans in St Maarten, we wanted to do Marigot->Mullet->Maho. Marigot was very fun and very french. It was amazing how much of a culture change there was.

 

We lingered too long in Marigot to visit Mullet, and we traveled by bus, so there wasn't a straight shot from Marigot to Mullet/Maho. We skipped Mullet and went directly to Maho, which we didn't regret. Definitely try to be at Maho around noonish...I think we were there 1-2pm and you get the biggest planes around then. You can google the biggest flights for the day though, and plan accordingly. I think they said the big trans-Atlantics, Air France, etc. are usually around 1pm. Don't plan on having beach time at Maho though, we found the beach drop-off to be pretty steep, the waves were pretty strong and the beach was much too skinny and crowded to even lay down a towel. VERY easy to get back to Philipsburg from Maho though, buses/taxis were non-stop.

 

Also, try to leave some time for Philipsburg!! Our next trip to St Maarten (August!) we're planning on just doing Mullet/Maho and then Philipsburg. They had some of the cheapest drinks we've seen (even though we're relative lightweights) and just walking along the front strip/beach in Philipsburg was lovely. No need for a car in Philipsburg either, it's a very easy walk along town and back to the ship.

 

Word of warning: BRING MOSQUITO REPELLENT!! I'm sure you'll hear all about it, but having been there a few months ago at the end of January, don't ignore all the warnings you'll see of Dengue fever and Chikunguya. They're mosquito-spread viral diseases and you'll see signs for them all over St Maarten, so don't realize too late that you should've brought bug spray. Pack it! I stupidly decided to save room and left it at home, I'm not making that mistake again! I read all the warnings and ignored them because I'm young and stupid and invincible haha. I REALLY realized my error when we did a "back-stage" tour on our ship the last day of the cruise and we saw little stations in crew areas with bottles of mosquito sprays and signs warning of the disease for the crew. It MUST be serious if they're giving the crew free mosquito repellent! I got bitten a few times in St Maarten and did feel a little under the weather for the last couple days of my cruise and the following week, but I count myself lucky. From what I read, it could've been much worse. Please take the warnings seriously! Don't let it keep you from enjoying St Maarten, just be smart and bring bug spray!

Different cruise line, but we were flying down to port, so they had to go into our checked luggage for the flight. I put the bottles separately into big 2 gallon ziploc bags (in case of breakage/leaking) and made these cardboard carrying tubes that fit them pretty tightly. The whole bundle then went into a big trash bag in the middle of the suitcase. I made sure the top of the trashbag was near the surface of the suitcase, where the zipper opened, so it was super easy to pull the whole thing out of the suitcase once we got to port. Transferred the bottles to our carryon and they were fine. Cheap, easy and secure way to transport them, and we could just throw out the bulky cardboard packing after we got on the ship so it freed up lots of room for souvenirs. We'll probably use the same method next time.

 

We were definitely paranoid that they'd get smashed by airport baggage people though.

Don't be paranoid about getting sea-sick. EVERYONE will be super worried about it before their first cruise and most people come off the ship never having felt wobbly. The ships are mostly just too big to feel anything. If you're worried, either get the prescription seasickness patch from your dr (Scopolamine) - it's a little round dot patch that goes behind your ear that you change every 3 days. Or just go the easier route and get Bonine/Meclizine over the counter to have "just-in-case". Chances are you won't neither either unless you go through really rough seas or you're constantly hanging out in the back of the ship.

 

If they're drinkers, DO check your bill often. Not sure how much they'll indulge with their kids there, but we always get a kick out of people who get their bills on that last day and just go pale from seeing the grand total. You can easily spend more than you anticipated, even for light drinkers, because it's just EVERYWHERE.

 

For the women: pack light on shoes! I have trouble with this one myself and always have at least one pair that I wonder how I convinced myself I needed. BUT on that same note, I do pack for multiple outfits in a day. On port days, I'll usually have a port outfit that's good for whatever excursions/plans we have, a dinner outfit/dress, and another bumming-around outfit to wear after getting back on the ship and cleaning up, or to change into after dinner (hate wearing formal clothes around). Sea days are simpler, just swimsuit and coverup/sundress.

 

Ports: we pick cruises based on the ports, not the ship. I know some people are completely different and love staying on the ship and being pampered, but we travel to see new places, experience different cultures, etc. If that's their thing, tell them don't be afraid to explore for themselves. Most of the best times we've had were taking local taxis/buses, exploring places that excursions don't go to, trying new foods, and getting away from the main strip. Get up early (it's a LOT different to get up with a view of the sunrise on the ocean, flying fish, an island pulling into view, and the idea of a whole new fun day ahead of you, than getting up to go to work in the morning, trust me. You might just turn into a morning person for a week), get off the ship early, don't be afraid to explore and get the most out of your day and your time there. But in the end, it's their vacation and they should do whatever makes them happiest!

We go everywhere and eat everything! We do usually stick with bottled water though (for convenience, and we like to make sure we always have water, because we walk [I]everywhere[/I]; and because we like bottled water at home, too) We also try local sodas, etc which I guess count as packaged/canned beverages, since we avoid them at home and vacation is good opportunity to indulge and try new things!

Best of both worlds, I suppose, because we've never had any stomach issues (knock on wood). I do bring along some extra antibiotics (your dr can prescribe some for traveler's diarrhea, usually just a 3-4 day course, use if you have to) just in case, and I'll bring along some pepto, immodium and zantac just-in-case, too.

The roll call board for Radiance of the Seas is here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=269

 

 

 

But it looks like there's already a roll coll for your itinerary here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2019820

 

 

Hope that helps! :)

We went to one that was held in the Atrium area for cake-decorating. They had a older gentleman go up and decorate a cake side-by-side with the cruise director. It was pretty hilarious! At the end, everyone got to sample some cake. There was a virgin cake for the kids, and the cruise director had one he soaked in rum for everyone else who wanted a free drink for the day, because it was SOAKED, dripping in rum and delicious. The older gentleman got to keep his cake for his dinner table that evening. During the demo, they tried to sell their Royal Caribbean recipes cookbook, but it was pretty unobtrusive, they just passed the book around and let people flip through it.

 

I don't know how the volunteer got picked though, I would have loved to try it! :D Sadly, that's the only one we went to. I wish it would have had more courses/variety of dishes (like Carnival's Chef's Art demo that we attended last cruise) or more opportunities for more audience involvement/more volunteers.

 

Hope that helps! I don't think there were any others, but I'd be happy to be proven wrong, as we love that kind of thing!

Sorry for missing you. I actually do remember reading your story and was actually hoping you would come back. No see ums can be a nuisance. They leave me alone when I put skin so soft by Avon on. Did you wear mosquito repellant while on the island? You actually think that you got bit by a mosquito on the ship? Wow that is indeed a first. I have never seen a mosquito on a ship on any of my cruises.

 

Edit: I got my answer from your other post- you did not use mosquito repellent

 

Yep, definitely got bitten on the ship overnight. It wasn't there after all-aboard, evening shows or dinner, but showed up the next morning.

 

And nope, I didn't use mosquito repellent. It was a pretty stupid decision, haha, but I guess I was lucky that none of the mosquitoes that bit me were disease carriers. I really shouldn't have been so thick-headed, but I had to do some quick unpacking in the morning after my checked bag was hovering around 50 lbs. I knew we'd be spending a few hours on the French side. Even being bitten though, I wouldn't discourage anyone from going to St Maarten (it was my favorite stop!) or going over to the French side, just be smart and bring spray. I've seen way more mosquitoes just on an evening walk, and we've got plenty of West Nile outbreaks, etc right here at home in the US. Don't buy into fear mongers, just be smart and get out there and enjoy it! :)

 

St Maarten was full of stupid decisions for me. I said I wouldn't be one of those people to crowd the fence for a jetblast on Maho beach, but once I was there, I went for it anyway, haha. I don't regret that decision, though, it was awesome to check that off the bucket list! ;)

The "mosquito" reports have been really good from cruisers and also from a couple that visited the island for a week recently, and not one cruiser has reported seeing mosquitos on the ship.

 

A couple posts above yours, I just said that I was recently in St Maarten and DID get a mosquito bite after getting back on the ship, actually sometime overnight, after our ship had already left port. It's true, I didn't see mosquitoes on the ship, but I think a lot of the bites are caused by "no-see-ums" anyway. You won't see clouds of mosquitos in St Maarten or on the ship, but you might still get a few mosquito bites, like I did.

 

Was just there 2 weeks ago.

Where are all of the pay toilets? Orient I am aware of. Is the port-o-potty at Mullet pay as you go ;)? Where else?

 

Hmm, I remember for sure there was one that was 50 cents when we got off the bus in Marigot and were on the way to the market. Then, BF paid $1 at the fancy mall on the waterfront in Marigot. We were surprised such a ritzy place had pay-to-use bathrooms, but apparently theirs were very nice. They even had a real guard in a neat uniform. The restaurant we went to had restrooms for customers only, so that was okay.

 

I remember the free restroom I found was on the beach in Phillipsburg, near the police station on the boardwalk area, but it was terrible, probably due to the heavy traffic in town that day. The toilet wasn't flushing right so you had to throw your toilet paper in a trashcan (that was really disturbing) and the soap felt very watered down and there was no way to dry your hands. The hand sanitizer outside was also completely empty. Next time, I'd definitely just pay the $1 at the fancy mall!

Even if you are staying on the ship, I would also recommend spraying yourself down if you want to avoid all mosquito bites! After we left St Maarten, I did get one other mosquito bite overnight. I'm not sure where that mosquito came from, since we were well out to sea by then, so I can only guess that it hopped aboard the ship.

 

Also, we did a behind-the-scenes tour, and did notice that in the crew areas, every so often, they'd have little stations on the wall with just a couple bottles of mosquito spray, so if they're providing it for the crew, I'd definitely suggest bringing some for yourselves! It was also mentioned on our Daily for St Maarten.

I'm only paying for 4, the other 3 are on their own lol. Where is the ziplining? I'm sure they would want to do it. My DH & I may want to as well. We already have a couple of beach days planned so this would be a nice change.

 

Here's the website for the Ziplining place:

 

http://www.ziplinestthomas.com/

 

Again, the guides really make the tour. Ours were two young guys, one was Noel or his nickname was Capt Crazy (haha!) and the other guy, I don't remember his name, but he was an aspiring American Idol singer/dancer haha. Both were hilarious! Very professional too, we always felt like we were well-informed about what was going on (they'd tell you exactly what to expect, which was great for us newbies), very serious about safety (no cutting corners anywhere, from beginning to end), etc. Since you have kids coming along, I'll also mention that it even though our group was all adults, everything was very family-friendly, too, nothing the least bit objectionable.

 

One of my favorite parts was actually on the 2nd lookout point, I think they said it had the best views, so they were great about giving us plenty of time to snap photos, take some for us, etc. One of the guys pointed out and named off all of the islands that we could see on the horizon, which was very interesting!

 

Again, highly, highly recommend it!

If you can afford it for that many kids, we had a BLAST zip-lining! I'm sure the teenagers would love it and depending on the 8 year old, he/she might even enjoy it with the older kids. The views are amazing (we were planning on going to Paradise Point, too, but saved our money since we felt the views we got were as good or better) and it was super fun. The guides that they have really make the experience, they were hilarious and very good! It doesn't come cheap, though, expect to pay at least/around $100/pp.

I loved St Martin! It's one of my favorite ports now, after our recent visit.

 

We loved:

• The ease of getting from port to town (VERY short, scenic walk)
  
• Maho beach (will definitely revisit every trip here)
  
• French side (I love France and thought it offered a good "taste" of France. Be warned though, some people don't speak English and not all signs are bilingual)
  
• everywhere was very nice, very clean, didn't look rundown or unsafe at all, etc.
  
• the people (all SUPER nice, very helpful. There's a lot of sales offers, but when you say "no, thank you", they don't glare at you like some places, instead they'll just say "ok, have a nice day!" or "enjoy your day!") There were tons of vacationers from Europe too
  
• CHEAPPPP drinks! (we're not big drinkers, we'll have maybe a drink a day on vacation, one a week on land, but don't pay over $1/beer here, for example! We also got STRONG 2-for-$6 mai-tais and other frozen mixed drinks around the $4 price, all along the beachfront in Phillipsburg.)
  
• beautiful beach, right in town, literally no effort to get to
  
• great bus system, tons of buses so you don't wait long and easy to use, cheap!
  

 

We don't really shop, so can't speak on that, but the goods were cheap (i.e. beach bags were around $5 that they'll charge you $15 elsewhere, etc) and same quality, the strawmarket type souvenir stands that they have everywhere were all nicely kept, etc. Can't speak to the jewelry/etc because we don't go to those, boring.

 

Only thing I dislike is for-pay bathrooms, but I guess I can't complain, since they're everywhere. And after finding and using a free bathroom...I'll take the paid ones!

 

We can't wait to go back!

Seven ships scheduled for both Wednesday and Thursday.

 

Hey, it's 'Season'.

 

gary

 

Was there that Wednesday and boy, was the traffic ridiculous! I remember we also had the giant Oasis of the Seas with us that day.

 

Despite that, it was still our favorite stop of the trip and I'm looking forward to visiting when it's not so crowded. Maho beach is definitely a place we'll revisit, I might rank it up there with Redwood National Park as an experience that's hard to describe, that you just HAVE to experience at least once in your life and I'm so thankful to have had the opportunity.

We did the bus-route and going from Phillipsburg to Marigot was SUPER easy! Our transportation bill for two people the whole day was $11 TOTAL and we went Phillipsburg to Marigot, then Marigot to Maho, then Maho to Phillipsburg, all on our own timetable, because we could stay as long as we wanted at each place and just hop another bus. We definitely wanted to make the trip to Marigot because I love France and jumped at the chance to practice my french and wanted BF to try escargot and try out a french cafe dining experience.

 

We walked a couple streets back from the beach, still well-within safe, touristy areas and there was bus after bus. Drdewrag is right, they're actually vans, not what you normally think of as buses. They're all those 14-passenger vans and they show their destination in the windshield. So some say Phillipsburg or P'Burg or Phils'Burg, etc. Plenty say Maho or M.Beach. We found one that said "Marigot" after less than 5 minutes of waiting. The buses and taxis often use the same size vehicle so look at the license plate! Buses will be labelled "BUS" and taxis will be labelled "TAXI". Easy enough, right?

 

Fares are $1-$2 depending on how far you're going. No tipping is necessary/expected and you WILL ride with locals! From Phillipsburg all the way to Marigot, we paid $2/pp. MUCH cheaper than a taxi! You pay when you get OFF the bus; when you get on, just take a seat.

 

To request a stop, just tell the busdriver "Stop, please." All the ones we had spoke English and were able to help us get where we wanted to go. To find a bus, you either find a bus or wait at a bus stop or "bushalte", BUT do not wait at the ones on congested roads! I don't know how set their routes are, but it seemed like bus drivers would avoid the main road by the market/pier in Marigot due to the terrible traffic there. There were numerous bus stops there but we never saw a bus, only taxis.

 

Thankfully we were already use to such a loose "bus" structure after Aruba, but there really aren't many designated bus stops or timetables, etc. There are plenty of buses (they probably come more frequently than buses here at least in the Midwest, because more people use them) and you just wave them down. It's a nice system once you get used to it, but very different from our rigid one.

 

Only thing if you're travelling in a medium/larger group though: on our way back to Phillipsburg later in the day (we're the first of the boat, last back on type of people) our bus passed a group of 4-5 tourists who were very obviously trying to wave us down for a ride. The bus driver breezed right past them without even slowing because we simply didn't have room for that many more people. You can bet they were probably confused and disappointed, but those smaller vans fill up fast just with locals, so if you want a bus for a group near back-onboard time, plan accordingly! Luckily we were just two people, so it worked out fine.

 

We'd definitely use the bus system again because of how easy/convenient it was and the price is unbeatable!

Was just in St Martin a week ago today and we went all around the island, french side Marigot, Maho, Phillipsburg, etc via local bus and walking and I did not use mosquito spray. I got about a half-dozen mosquito bites, mostly earlier in the morning when we were on the French side, before I put sunscreen on. I think the sunscreen helped deter the mosquitoes a little, but I should have brought mosquito spray. A couple of the bites are small but I have one large one that's probably the size of a ping-pong ball.

 

A few days later, I did start getting flu-like symptoms, but I think that's just the norm of the season and my part of town (freezing Michigan) although the timing was funny.

 

They do have warnings posted everywhere, and for Dengue fever, which is apparently also endemic in the region. I didn't feel very worried about it during my trip, but I would pack mosquito spray next time just to avoid the nuisance of mosquito bites, disease or no. You often forget, living in the US, that other countries just seem to have more mosquitoes. When I went to China once, I remember counting about 50 bites on one ARM!

I'd pick the first itinerary because we love exploring ports and would pick a port-intensive itinerary versus more sea days on any ship. I'm also a sucker for cruise lines' private islands, I love the relaxed atmosphere and convenience!

 

Both sets of ports sound fun and I'm sure you'll have a great time either way! :)

Another question about packing! This time camera vs phone camera. Since I've gotten an iPhone I tend to use it as my main camera because it has more megapixels than my digital camera. However, phones are more expensive nowadays and more fragile. What do you prefer to use when taking photos? Camera with slightly less quality or phone?

 

Also, what do you ladies do for purses? I don't want to be carrying bag around at all times, but they are convenient to hold things. I was thinking for days in port, just a backpack instead of a purse? That way it can hold my wallet, sea pass card, passport, camera, etc. Plus if I go to the beach and want to swim I can have my cover up/change of clothes in it if we go shopping after.

 

Mm, if your digital camera has fewer megapixels than your phone, it's time to get a new camera! Haha, we usually bring two cameras on each trip and leave the phones in the safe, we kinda love the idea of being unplugged from phones for a week. We have a waterproof camera that we'll bring on beach days and a nicer one for everyday use. I would really recommend getting a good camera, because it's not just megapixels that matter. If you have ~8 MP or so, you're pretty much set unless you want to print posters. But one thing that cameras have over phones are nicer lenses and better zoom. You can easily find digital cameras with double-digit optical zoom now, and it's wonderfully useful!

 

As for purses..I'm still trying to figure that out, honestly! =( Last cruise, I'd usually carry at most a wristlet on the boat, sometimes not even that. In port, I'd usually go with a big bulky purse, which is very annoying. I got sunscreen and sand all over my nice purse and even without all the stuff I pack into it, it's HEAVY dragging on one shoulder all the time. I find that crossbodies aren't big enough for all the stuff I need, because I want at minimum to be able to carry our bottled waters (it's important to stay hydrated!) and sunscreen (the BF burns like a lobster, so it's important to reapply throughout the day). I feel like a boyscout, trying to be prepared for everything and carrying it all with me! So I'm kinda in the same boat, scratching my head trying to figure out what to do, too. I DID buy a giant beach bag for beach days, because there's no way our change of clothes, wet swimsuits, towels and snorkeling gear is going in my purse.

 

I may just do what you do and give in and buy a backpack. It sure would be nicer to my shoulders after a day or two!

Good to know that the attire for shows is casual. I was worried if we were wearing shorts we would be turned away. I have nice shorts and tops and sundresses but my bf loves his shorts and graphic tee's.

 

Not to worry, my BF would always wear shorts and graphic tees to shows, too, and we never felt the least bit uncomfortable. He'd get dressed up for the couple hours of dinner and change out of that ASAP!

 

I guess it depends what line you're going on. When we were on NCL, we never dressed up for dinner, I think he went to dinner in (nice) khaki shorts most of the time and maybe a polo shirt. I usually wore sundresses. On RCCL, he went with black pants or khaki pants and a polo shirt because any less dressy than that would have felt weird, and I went with more cocktail-type dresses.

 

Also depends what you're doing that day. I'm not usually the type to shower and redo my hair/makeup for dinner, but after a long port day, you'll probably want to shower when you get back on the ship anyway, or if you've been in the pool, so since you're showering anyway, you might as well put on something a little nicer afterward. Nothing to stop you from heading right back to the room and changing after dinner, before heading to a show! (Just don't do what we did and make the mistake of laying down "for just a little bit" after a long, full dinner...we kept falling asleep and missing the shows! :()

Mugs - we get them from places that are special and try to find interesting/unique-looking ones. They're usually pretty cheap (<$10) and you'll always find a large selection of them to browse through and they're useful, not just things that'll sit and collect dust. We have a growing, very mismatched collection and we're coffee/tea drinkers, so we use them a lot. It makes your day instantly happier when you grab a cup that triggers fun vacation memories and it's easy to rotate through them. They each have their own stories.