Review - Orient Beach with Young Kids

[figgyva]

Prelude:

After using CC extensively for planning our July 10 cruise on Allure of the Seas, I figured on giving back with some thoughts on suggestions given and how they worked out for our family. I'm breaking up the tidbits into the appropriate forums and then I'll probably put links to all of them in an aggregate review (once they're all done, of course).

 

Background:

We were a Latin family of six, with two grandparents, two parents (DW and myself), and two kids (DD1 is nearly 8, DD2 is just over 2). DW and myself have been on several cruises, the grandparents were on one a lifetime ago, and this was the kids' first venture on the sea. We're comfortable international travelers based in the US (ex: DD2 has been out of the States three times now), so we're OK with adapting to local customs.

 

Review - Orient Beach:

After fantastic experiences in Nassau and St. Thomas, we were definitely looking forward to St. Martin and Orient Beach. DW was extremely happy with the research I had done (thanks CC!), and a happy DW means a good vacation, right? The kids were loving the beaches, with DD2 constantly wanting to know when we were going to the next beach. Alas, we were probably due for a little bit of a let down, and Orient Beach provided it (though, just a little bit).

 

Everything started out great. DD2 once again slept like an angel and didn't wake up until around 8 AM (yes, our sleep schedule was all dictated by DD2). We watched the ship pull into the port, headed up to the Solarium Bistro yet again for breakfast, and got off the ship at around 9:30 AM. After our final game of "dodge the tour groups and guides," we went to the helpful taxi dispatcher to get a ride out to Orient Beach (with a swing through downtown for another group in the van with us).

 

They had apparently had a torrential rain the night before (we saw the lightning while on the sea...it was a beautiful sight), and the roads were a bit flooded, which slowed things down a bit. But, the ride was pretty long, maybe around 30 minutes to get out to the beach ($6 pp, I think, I lost count of how much we spent on taxis). The kids did well with it, but they were definitely getting a bit worked up by the time we got there. The driver dropped us off at Pedro's, and we made our way out to the beach (without looking South...well, maybe a quick glance).

 

As with the past stops, the water looked gorgeous and clear; the view spectacular. But, then we got out on the beach and saw a whole other ocean...of tightly packed beach chairs. Sure, this may be a public beach, but on the south end, you could barely walk much less find some space to throw down a towel. I couldn't help be feel a bit stressed by how crowded the beach felt, and that was without a lot of people on a day with only one ship in port (albeit, one monstrous ship). We set down at Orange Fever ($7 per chair with drink) and got on with our last beach day.

 

There's a steep drop of a foot or two down to the water line, and there were some small waves coming onto the beach, maybe about 1-2 feet. Nothing for DD1, but intimidating for DD2. I went out with both of them and the water was noticeably cooler than at our past two stops, but refreshing, not cold. They were loving it. Then, one of our fellow cruisers and CC M&M participants, ape_huva, showed up with his family and we hung out for a bit while all of the kids played in the sand. Ape agreed with my assessment of the beach and felt that it was all a bit "rude." But, he also acknowledged being from Spain and not exactly having an affinity for French manners. I couldn't help but laugh about the sentiment.

 

DW and I took a walk up the beach (North, not South to the skin club), and found that things were a bit better as we moved on. The beach got wider and started to feel more like a beach than a tourist resort. I took a deep breath and again felt like I was on vacation. Yeah, I'm a bit of a stress case sometimes, but family vacations can do that to a guy.

 

We wrapped up with a meal and some drinks at Orange Fever. The kids loved the fact that they got fries for the first time all vacation (maybe the Windjammer had some...we never really felt the need to go there) and I got a pretty good burger with a bit of salad and their rum punch. I wouldn't say that it was anything special, but it was decent, very comfortable, with excellent service. The restroom was clean, but small and dark, so changing might be a bit of a challenge in it.

 

After getting ready to go, we walked back to Pedro's where a driver offered us a ride back to downtown. He was a great driver, gave us a little perspective on the island and dropped us near the open-air market in town. It was too darn hot to really go down and walk Front Street (the kids were reaching their limits and I was definitely moving at a snail's pace), but our taxi driver back to the ship drove down it for us while remarking about how it represents "the most money in the Caribbean." Yes, my friend, that's why we're not stopping. Drivers were constantly calling to us to give us rides while in downtown, but it really wasn't as persistent or in your face as I found in St. Thomas. It felt more like a courtesy that was available should you need it.

 

Now, a note on the inevitable question about nudity and topless girls. On Orient Beach, I saw a total of two topless women and a few nude little girls (including my own while changing on the beach). One of the women was sunbathing in a chair right behind us, much to the appreciation of the group of frat boys who were sitting in chairs nearby. Another was frolicking in the surf nearby with a child. It was no big deal. DD1 didn't even notice despite the fact that she played with the topless mom's child in the water with mom there. I think that we put too much baggage on our children sometimes and forget that kids just don't care much. Nor should we, really. I would think more people would have a problem looking at my ugly and hairy bust than at topless mom's smooth shapely one (DW agreed with me on that one), so I say anything that helps beautify a beach that I make uglier is all good in my book.

 

We got back to the port, waited in our final long line to get back on the ship, and again appreciated the blast of A/C that you get the moment to cross the gangplank. Thank you, RCI, for small favors.

 

The day was a good day, not fantastic, but I think that everyone felt better about it than I did. If I were to make it back to St. Martin, I would probably opt out of Orient Beach and head somewhere a bit less crowded with stuff, but I'm not sorry about the decision to go. If there were more ships in port, I would definitely suggest having the driver take you a little further up the beach and start from there as I'm sure the south side would get mighty crowded pretty quickly.

[Essexlass2]

"DW and I took a walk up the beach (North, not South to the skin club), and found that things were a bit better as we moved on. The beach got wider and started to feel more like a beach than a tourist resort."

 

 

Can you recall the name of any of the bars in this area where it wasn't quite so crowded and a bit better please? :)

[figgyva]

Check out this photo posted earlier this year:

 

http://edsandra.com/photos2005/SmallOrientPanorama.htm

 

You can see that the wider beach really begins at around Bikini. I understand that prices get a little higher around there, as well.

[thompsongunner06]

The human body is that,,,just enjoy your time on the beach and dont look for nudity,,then you will have a better time. Orient beach is a great place,,,if you walk onto the nude beach just turn around or get in the water and swim back. It is no big deal. We dont do nude but we dont look for it,,we found ourselves on the nude part and just went back to "our" side. No one said a word to us.

[figgyva]

Just for full disclosure, my wife pointed out that I didn't see one nude male when we arrived and two older topless women walking the beach after we arrived. It goes to show what you don't see even when you're looking to post on CC. :rolleyes:

[Karysa]

Check out this photo posted earlier this year:

 

http://edsandra.com/photos2005/SmallOrientPanorama.htm

 

You can see that the wider beach really begins at around Bikini. I understand that prices get a little higher around there, as well.

 

Last week when I was at Orange Fever the ladies beside us said that they used to hang out down the beach around Bikini but they said that at that end they were being charged in euros and that it was costing them significantly more for the same "day at the beach" so now they stay at O.F. or places around that end of the beach that are 1:1. Something to keep in mind if you are planning to spend the day at Orient.