tiba99

I will be sailing on the pride of America on August 31. I have been reading reviews and I haven't read anything good! Maybe because I read the reviews in  December 2018 and eveyone

was complaining about the maintenance.

Can anyone tell me the pros and cons on this ship!

Please be honest 🙂

I can’t find any tickets online do you think if I go there I will have a problem getting a day pass?!

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Here are some photos:

 

 

 

Simpson Bay Beach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Karakter Beach Bar and Restaurant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Karakter Beach Chairs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simpson Bay

 

 

 

Thank you for sharing [emoji5][emoji5][emoji5]

Looks great and exactly what I’m looking for

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Simpson Bay - lots of small condos, hotels and BNBs that are sparsely occupied right now - which is a good thing if you want to get away from the crowds. I think there is one public place at Simpson Bay that is open. I was there Friday and can recommend highly. It is called Karakter beach bar and restaurant. Food, drink, free lounge chairs and umbrellas, restrooms, shower. Get there in the morning before lunch, they will fill up. From Karakter you can walk a half mile down the beach and maybe see ten people.

 

Taxi ride is about half hour. Price depends on the number of people, I paid $9 per person for four people (each way).

 

When you go to get a taxi they will know what you want if you ask for "Karakter". Just make sure they don't try to take you to Kim Sha instead, which is a more popular nearby destination (but you don't want to go there).

 

Mullet I have not seen but I have heard that the facilities are basically a porta-potty and a guy selling drinks from a cooler.

Do you have any pictures you can share?

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Has anyone been here after the hurricane?!

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I have come down to these two beaches to visit! Which one would you recommend and why?

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Will be here for a day in April! I’m thinking of going to Mullet beach. Is there a name of a beach hut or club I should look for that has chairs on the beach with food and drinks?

And do you think this is a good choice of beach to go!

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We were in St Maarten last week on the Equinox. We did Mullet Bay Beach. It was open and nice. Not much in the way of infrastructure but it was open and had beer and food. I’m doing a separate post in this forum.

 

Tom

Would love to know more information for bullet bay! Do you have any pics to share and do you remember the name of the place where you got beach chairs,food and drinks?!

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This post (see title of thread) is about Mullet Bay Beach. My first post should provide all the details.

 

There were families there (seemed very family friendly) but there were also several ladies going topless, which is allowed. If this bothers you don’t go there.

 

Also there were old fat guys wearing banana hammocks (speedos) too. Now that was gross! 🤣

 

Cheers

Tom

So if I tell the driver to send me to mullet bay beach I can find beach huts no problem?! That’s all I want nice beach and some where I can sit. For the topless girls and speedos my girls are going to learn body parts very fast LOL LOL

I’m screwed regardless if I go to mullet or Orient for topless I just want to make sure there are some amenities like food, chairs and beautiful water.

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This was our first visit to St Maarten. After Irma we never gave a thought to changing to a different Itinerary. We are glad we had the opportunity to spend a day here on our Celebrity Equinox Cruise.

 

We had no firm plans on which beach we would do, but given the limited beaches that were ready we decided to avoid the crowds that would be at the beaches near the port and go to Mullet Bay Beach (the other side of the airport). We had a great enjoyable day. Not crowded and we had Cheap Beer and reasonably priced food.

 

NOTE: In interests of full disclosure. There are no permanent structures here. Do not expect beach bars and restaurants. That’s not here. What is here are friendly people serving food and beer under tents. There are picnic tables and plenty of beach chairs.

 

ALSO NOTE AND PLAN for traffic. It was horrible both ways. It took an hour to get to the beach and almost an hour and a half back. It’s $9 USD pp. They are doing road construction on the road leading to the cruise terminal. It is down to one lane and caused a major back traffic back up.

 

 

My .02 on IRMA-

 

Irma was definitely a mean old lady to SXM. So sad in many ways. But they are bouncing back. The majority of the homes on the hillsides survived virtually unscathed. The towns and hotels are an entirely different matter. Most of the major hotels suffered catastrophic damage and haven’t been touched while waiting insurance settlements. The tourist area restaurants are all still closed. Some are damaged some not. But it doesn’t matter because the hotels are closed and there are no long term tourists. Another sad sight was the many boats and expensive yachts that haven’t been touched. Just sitting abandoned.

 

The cruise calls to SXM are making a difference. The people are so happy to see us. But alas they need the longer stay visitors to come to the hotels and eat at the restaurants. This probably wont happen for a year or more. They are stuck in a vicious circle.

 

For those going there soon, please.....GO!!!! But, manage your expectations. They are still hurting. The insurance companies and Dutch Government’s failure to help— on the Dutch side anyway—-is borderline criminal (my .02).

 

I took some pics of the damage but decided not to share here. There are plenty to see here in the St Maarten forum.

 

Here are a few pictures of our day in St Maarten

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful pictures! Please tell me which beach did you go to and where did you find those awesome beach chairs! I will be heading there in April and trying to find a place where I can go with my two kids.

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I would get off the ship as soon as you can to get chairs.

 

Keith

 

 

 

Does it matter which direction you should take?

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Yes, there are beach loungers located right there by the pier, to the left or to the right.

 

A lot depends on whether you're the only ship in port, or if you are the second ship in port. If you arrive after someone else, it might be difficult to find a free beach-lounger to the left of the pier (by Margaritaville). If you're first to arrive, or the only ship in port, you shouldn't have too many problems.

Note that while most of the loungers in this area are free (marked "GTCC"), there are about two rows of loungers close to the water where locals can charge for use of them. The loungers by the pool are all free, and they're not too far from the beach, as you'll discover.

 

There are loungers to the right of the pier also. Those are all free and the beach is less hectic. There are no restrooms there but the cruise terminal plaza restrooms aren't too far away.

Which side should I go which it’s more quieter?! Left or right!

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First time at grand Turks and I read once you leave the boat the beach is right there and you will have no problem finding chairs! Is this true?! I have a feeling it’s going to be packed! What’s a good way in doing this I will be traveling with two kids ages 5 and 7! Is there another beach I should go instead that you guys recommend?!

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I don't think that you will get all the way to Aruba and back on a 7 day cruise from Florida.:) Unless perhaps the other days are seadays :) St. Kitts or Antigua perhaps. They are both nice. I prefer Antigua though myself.

 

 

 

You don't think that you will be happier just booking ports that are up and running? Mind you anything can happen between now and then as we all know.

St.kitts is also another stop I'm doing! Oh Antigua that would be wonderful! I went on the carinal vista in April of this year and I did the western side! Actually I have been doing the western side for awhile now! Wanted to do something different and carnival has a great itinerary for 2018 on the Vista it's a 8 day cruise! I'm just going to wait it out! My husband is fine with it I'm the one that is being paranoid LOL

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That is indeed goood news that the cruise ships stopped in Grenada in 2005. There's still hope that they will be back in St. Maarten sooner rather than later. The cruise visitors are easier to accommodate than the land vacationers.

 

I'm glad that you don't mind helping the locals.:rolleyes:

Last time I was there I head to orient beach on my own with my little one she was 2 at that time and I enjoyed it so much! There were a lot of beach huts and I found one that was own by a family which also had little ones from France! Rented some chairs and had some lunch! So yes I'm willing to help but I can only help if we are allowed to go! That's really what I'm thinking about! If the cruise lines can't stop there then for sure they will reroute us some where else maybe Aruba LOL I don't know it's too early to tell! I think by December We will all have a better idea what's happening. I think the cruise lines will have a better chance going then someone wanting to go to a resort!

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This is awesome thank you I like everyone input! I will just go with the flow on this one maybe I am thinking to far ahead! It's sad that one of our fav islands got so demolished. It's sad. I will just keep on reading online and see how things unfold.

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If you can switch without penalty then you should do so. Your post is all about you and these islands need visitors who will give a little thought to them.

I'm traveling with little kids and if it's safe for me to head to the beach I'm there but if it's not safe for me why go on a cruise. I manly picked this cruise because of st.martain. In 2005 I was in Grenada after the hurricane demolished it! The cruise lines still stopped there, there wasn't much us to do. If I can head to the beach in st. Martin I don't mind helping the locals but can we get to it is my question?!

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I've heard Falmouth, Jamaica is very dangerous, but ships still dock there.

I was there and I enjoyed Jamaica very much but I want to do something different!

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Perspective.

 

Even in Florida it may take a few weeks to get all power back up.

 

In Puerto Rico the estimate is six months.

 

This Island was hit worse then Florida as the strength of the Hurricane was weakened in Cuba although obviously a very powerful storm by the time it hit Florida.

 

Keith

Even Puerto Rico got hit bad that is another stop I am doing! This is getting worse and worse for me now! All the three stops that I'm doing next year got hit with hurricane Irma! Turks, Puerto Rico and at. Martain! I'm just hoping if the cruise lines are stoping there I hope there is a beach I can do too!

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You think the cruise lines will change the itinerary?!

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I will be heading there in April! And I'm so close to changing my cruise! Do you think by next year the beaches at orient beach will be up and running?! I pick this itinerary because of st. Martin.

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I'm heading there in April you think we will still be able to go to orient beach?

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Which website did you use? How long were you at the resort?

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If anyone uses these website before April please report back to me! :)

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