Gustavia, St Bartholomy

[Yodalicious]

I see that is the Eurodam'snext stop. I don't see that on any itinearies. Is this a special cruise? Do you know where this is?

[sailinglisa]

St. Bart's (St. Barthelemy) is a small French island SE of St. Maarten. It is very small, very French and very very expensive! But it is a beautiful island with warm people. And a really neat airport to watch the planes fly in,,,the third scariest airport in the world according to some websites.

 

Since it is so small, the island does not allow many large ships to call there....I was there on the Pacific Princess Januarty 2013 and we had 680 passengers and our guide said we were the largest ship in quiet a while to stop there...they just can't handle a lot of cruise ship pax at one time.

Edited February 25, 2014 by sailinglisa

[Copper10-8]

I see that is the Eurodam'snext stop. I don't see that on any itinearies. Is this a special cruise? Do you know where this is?

 

As Sailinglisa said! Be advised that Gustavia, St. Bart's is a tender port; the marina can not handle large cruise ships. The tender ride is a relatively fast 10 min or so. They'll drop you off at the ferry terminal from where the ferries to the French part of St. Martin depart from. The terminal is run by a guy by the name of Jerome, as harbor master/HAL port agent. Nice island but expensiveeeeeee ;)

[sail7seas]

We stopped at St. Bart's two or three cruises and loved our days there. It is very beautiful with gorgeous marina for the sensational yachts of the rich and famous. :) We hired a car and driver for a tour of the island and had a wonderful time. Great lunch; terrific and EXPENSIVE shopping. :D The least costly t-shirt DH saw was something like $70. We decided he really didn't need another tee all that badly. :eek:

 

Edited February 25, 2014 by sail7seas

[mamaofami]

When we visited St. Barts from the Maasdam a few years ago, there were 4 of us and we hired a taxi at the tender landing. She took us all around the island and then we stopped for lunch along the water. beautiful, clean, and expensive island.

[Richie2pies]

Make sure to bring your wallet.

[POA1]

We were there in 2012 on the Maasdam. Our friends were the guest chefs for the Collector's Cruise and we took a car up to Eden Rock and ate at On The Rocks, Jean-Georges Vongerichten's waterfront restaurant. It was really outstanding, and I highly recommend it. (I do have to warn you that it's not inexpensive. We spent a little over $220 per person for food, wine and tip. This was for lunch. Dinner would be more.)

 

We'd go back in a heartbeat. Great island, but as everyone else has mentioned, it's not cheap. Our friends picked up the best vanilla rum we've ever tasted. I'm kicking myself that I didn't buy a few bottles because they don't export it.

Edited February 25, 2014 by POA1

[Sopwith]

We were there last month, had a great time just wandering around the town, and made a quick pass by their so-called beach. It is an interesting

place, but just like France in some respects: very expensive, they will abandon their cars anywhere, and they will not stop for pedestrians. ;). I got the clear impression that hosting cruise ship passengers arriving thousands at a time is not their favourite pasttime.

[Hlitner]

St Barts is an amazing island, which is easily accessed from St Maarten (there are several ferries every day). The island is popular with many jetsetters and other folks of "excellent means" since it is a very expensive island. We have found that you can sometimes find a decent price on rental properties (for a week) but then the issue of eating is a budget breaker. The island has many world-class French and International restaurants and even having lunch (for 2) for under $80 can be a challenge.

 

As to a port day, this is a great island to turn into a beach day. One long time visitor told us he felt safe leaving his wallet laying on the beach because nobody on the island needed his few dollars/Euros. Its actually a good place to have a rental car...if it is possible to arrange for one to be delivered near the tender pier.

 

Hank

Edited February 25, 2014 by Hlitner

[mafig]

 

 

We were there last week on Celebrity Century. Before we tendered the ship made the announcement that St. Barths was working on their water treatment plant and that there would be no working toilets on the island (including restaurants and bars). Don't know if this happens freqently or not, or if the water was turned ON as soon as Century departed.

 

Very expensive. However, many of the stores were closed .... because of the water? because it was mid-day? ...... because of the cruise ship?

 

Who knows?

[Spire2000]

We visited St Bart's in 2012 aboard the Maasdam. St Bart's was an island that always intrigued me. I am a big fan of David Letterman, and he would often discuss his vacations on the island. My impressions before visiting it were that it would be a clean, modern island in the Caribbean, which we all know is the exception rather than the rule.

 

To say I was disappointed is an understatement. Tendering was an ordeal. For whatever reason, the tendering operations that day were a giant hassle. The weather was fine, but everything just went slower than usual.

 

Once we arrived on the island, we discovered that the people who live there really don't care for the cruise ship passengers. I've been to France and I fully understand the way the French behave toward strangers, but this was something else. The rudeness was almost cartoonish in its stereotype. There isn't much to see in Gustavia other than boutique shops selling gem-encrusted jeans or watches made out of pure platinum, and even those places were only perhaps even open and even if they were, there was no one in them. If you did find a place that was open, your act of simply walking through the door seemed to be an affront to the salesperson on a scale that he or she has never before encountered. On two occasions we surprised the surly salespeople who would mutter insults in French with responses. You would think they would have been embarrassed to find out we speak French, but they didn't care.

 

There is a very nice bakery in town, easily the most popular spot around. We had lunch at a restaurant located right across from the tender dock and were sorry we made the mistake. We ordered three hamburgers and fries and one club sandwich. I had a coke, my dad had a beer. The bill was $125. The food was good, don't get me wrong, but that price is insane. We were each charged nearly $3 for water, plain water, for example and no one actually asked for it. Cummon.

 

Granted, we didn't see any more of the island, but that is what you can expect if you plan on just getting out and walking around. I've been to exactly 20 ports in the Caribbean and St Bart's is the only one where I would not leave the ship should I ever found myself returning.

Edited February 25, 2014 by Spire2000

[Hlitner]

Have to smile at some of the posts. Why would the folks on the island like cruise ship passengers? They are just more bodies invading their little paradise and they often look silly with their little fanny packs, bottles of water (could not resist), etc. And St Barts is not a place to "walk around" since the best parts of the island are not at the tender pier. But I guess the reality is that this island (like nearby Anguilla) does not roll out the red carpet for cruise ships. Many of the folks on the island probably "turn up their noses" at mass market cruise ships... and feel that large ships will ruin the atmosphere of this beautiful place.

 

Hank

[Skipper's Mom]

The last time we were in St. Barts was in 1974...on a Windjammer cruise. It was very lovely and we enjoyed our day at the beach with lunch. I'll not be surprised when I hit the dock to find it's changed, probably not for the better.;)

[sail7seas]

We visited St Bart's in 2012 aboard the Maasdam. St Bart's was an island that always intrigued me. I am a big fan of David Letterman, and he would often discuss his vacations on the island. My impressions before visiting it were that it would be a clean, modern island in the Caribbean, which we all know is the exception rather than the rule.

 

To say I was disappointed is an understatement. Tendering was an ordeal. For whatever reason, the tendering operations that day were a giant hassle. The weather was fine, but everything just went slower than usual.

 

Once we arrived on the island, we discovered that the people who live there really don't care for the cruise ship passengers. I've been to France and I fully understand the way the French behave toward strangers, but this was something else. The rudeness was almost cartoonish in its stereotype. There isn't much to see in Gustavia other than boutique shops selling gem-encrusted jeans or watches made out of pure platinum, and even those places were only perhaps even open and even if they were, there was no one in them. If you did find a place that was open, your act of simply walking through the door seemed to be an affront to the salesperson on a scale that he or she has never before encountered. On two occasions we surprised the surly salespeople who would mutter insults in French with responses. You would think they would have been embarrassed to find out we speak French, but they didn't care.

 

There is a very nice bakery in town, easily the most popular spot around. We had lunch at a restaurant located right across from the tender dock and were sorry we made the mistake. We ordered three hamburgers and fries and one club sandwich. I had a coke, my dad had a beer. The bill was $125. The food was good, don't get me wrong, but that price is insane. We were each charged nearly $3 for water, plain water, for example and no one actually asked for it. Cummon.

 

Granted, we didn't see any more of the island, but that is what you can expect if you plan on just getting out and walking around. I've been to exactly 20 ports in the Caribbean and St Bart's is the only one where I would not leave the ship should I ever found myself returning.

 

 

Wow,,,,,

 

I guess we should count ourselves lucky.

We were well taken care of in Longchamps. I spent a bit of time making my choices as we were buying gifts for 3 ladies in addition to the purses I wanted. The salesperson didn't rush me, was helpful with my questions asked in English and polite to my patient DH who sat waiting for me to show him my choices. :)

 

The car and driver tour we took was wonderful. He was polite, honest, gave us exactly the door we agreed to advance (including Eden Roc ;) ) and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

 

Subsequent visits, we loved walking around the Marina at the tender dock and seeing the beautiful vessels docked.

 

Our friends had use of a fantastic yacht for a week a few years ago and they anchored off St. Bart's for a week. They loved it!!! :)