St. Martin with kids

[Quincella]

Has anyone done this port with kids? Mine will be 3 and 8 when we sail, but we haven't decided yet between Eastern or Western Caribbean. Have done Western, would love new scenery, but I've read that the Eastern Caribbena, specifically St. Martin and St. Thomas, aren't as interesting for little ones.

 

Thoughts?

[gtaylor]

I bet they would both love St. Martin's Butterfly farm.

[Quincella]

The butterfly farm looks great...thanks!

[TrentS]

The beaches are awesome as well, the kids in my family and friend's kids all love them better than those on the Western. You don't say if you have boys or girls, but well, at least the boys in my family would NOT like a butterfly farm! They do however LOVE Maho Beach on St. Maarten, where the jets land just a few feet over your head.

 

Links to a couple of pictures... http://www.airliners.net/open.file/741126/L/

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/741041/L/

[Quincella]

Thanks for the great pics...I think my girls might like it, but I think I would have a heart attack! :eek:

 

Quick question for you...you mentioned in a reply to my post on another board that your kids like RCI's program best, but then someone else said that a parent has to be present at all times with the 3-5 crowd. Has that been your experience?

[TrentS]

No, that's not true. They have to be at least 3 years old and potty trained (no diapers) to participate, but the parents don't have to be with them all the time.

[balibeachboy]

I highly recommend the "Pirates of St. Maarten's" trip to families with children (or without). It was the highlight of our cruise. Information is available at http://www.lordsheffield.com/. I can't say enough about it--our kids are still talking abou tthe boat.

[Quincella]

Thanks, Balibeachboy! That ship looks like a blast!

[L_T]

TrentS - Maho Beach is a blast (for real), we were there three times this week! Really do get a kick out of the jets coming in over the little beach, plus all the smaller prop airliners. Also great swimming for experienced swimmers in that area. For families - there probably will be topless women sunning on the beach. The Sunset Beach Bar has good basic beach food and drinks and is a great spot to watch the planes from - also they have the air traffic control radio set up to listen in on. Ladies who take off their tops at the bar can drink for free - and often there is a couple taking advantage of the opportunity, so don't be shocked. One day I noticed one in line for her food at the grill, then she sat at a table to eat. No one seemed surprised or offended.

[cruiserwith2kids]

I went on a Western cruise last year and an Eastern this year with my two girls ages 4 and 9. The Eastern is 10 times more beautiful in my opinion and the kids loved it. If you stop at St. Thomas they have a place called Coral World where they have built a building under the water in a Coral reef so you can look through the windows at the reef. They have all sorts of other things there for the kids to do. My kids loved it, especially the 4 year old who is too young to do much snorkling. There is a beautiful beach right next to it. We spent the whole day there, aside from an hour for shopping.

 

We never got to see a lot of St. Maarten but even from the ship you can see that it is more beautiful than any of the stops on the Western cruise (except Labadee).

 

With respect to RCCL's children's program it is fantastic! My youngest was 3 or her first cruise on the Explorer and 4 for her second on the Serenade. She loved it so much I couldn't get her off the ship to see the islands. The first two days I dragged her out. On the third day I let her stay onboard while I took the 9 year old on the Jolly Roger pirate cruise in Antigua. The 9 year old really appreciated the freedom of not having a 4 year old along (to tell you the truth, so did I) and the kids can stay in the supervised playroom the whole time you are in port. They even take them to a special room in the restaurant for lunch.

 

Aside from the supervised playroom there is so much more to do, mini golf, rock climbing wall and, my kids favorite, the waterslide.

 

Our next cruise is booked on the Caribbean Princess because they had a good deal for the week we want to go (Xmas holidays) but I'm dissappointed I couldn't get RCCL; I don't think Princess will be able to beat it.