Leaving an Excursion

[chrismakris]

Hello all,

 

I've tried asking this question last week in the Ports of Call section, but have gotten no answer as of yet.

 

We will be in St. Maarten and are planning on taking the America's Cup sailing excursion. We also want to go to Maho beach to hopefully see the big planes. Unfortunately by the time the excursion ends, we get back to the ship and take a cab to Maho beach the big planes will probably be over.

 

My question is can you instead of taking the Celebrity bus/van back to the dock, just grab a cab from the excursion spot and go on your own?

 

I figure this will save us time about an hours to an hour and a half depending on where the excursion takes place.

 

Thank you

[GeorgesGal]

We took a party bus tour with a stop at Maho. Lots of fun! Don't remember the name of the outfit, but google Party Bus, St. Martin.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

As long as you can get a cab after your sailing excursion there should not be any problems leaving the excursion to go to Maho beach. Just make sure your tour guide and/or bus driver knows this is what you are doing so they don't hold up the other passengers looking for you, and be back in port at boarding time.

 

Mary Lou

[Yumagal]

We did as CHEZMARYLOU posted. We were on an Alaskan cruise and land tour which included an excursion to a gold mine and a river boat ride. We went on the river boat and then called a cab to take us to the University of Alaska Museum. We just let our tour director know what our plans were. However since this was on the land portion of our trip there was no ship to miss.

[dabear]

You can do it but advise the tour guide that you are leaving so that they don't wait for you.

[blueteam]

Please budget a HUGE amount of time to get from Maho to the ship. Like 90 minutes, no joke. When I tried to cab it from Maho:

 

1. I found a cab.

2. The cabbie looked for more people to take with us.

3. The cabbie parked and walked around looking for more people.

4. The cabbie got back in the cab and waited for more people.

5. We drove slowly back to the ship through mind-blowing traffic.

6. We sprinted like Olympic athletes and stepped on the gangway as they were pulling it in.

[Lsimon]

While I've never taken the America's Cup excursion we once babysat for friends on a cruise who took it. I know they sail on Great Bay which is the bay where the shop docks and where downtown Phillipsburg is located (a little over a mile from the ship's dock). You could see the America Cup boats both from the ship's dock and from downtown. I know the excursion operators met them on the dock and they might have left right from the dock, either that or from some point along the way between the dock and downtown which are not too far apart. So there might not even be a bus involved. You can call the operator (Google them) to find out for sure. Even if isn't right from the ship's dock I can't imagine you'd have any issue catching a cab immediately afterwards rather than backtracking to the ship. Do give the operator a call or email and let them know what you want to do and I'm sure they'll give you the answer.

Edited November 18, 2014 by Lsimon

[chrismakris]

Thanks all for the information

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[illiniwahoo]

Limon is basically right. At the cruise port you board a ferry boat which takes you out to the racing boats. After the race, the ferry takes you to their office and shop which is between downtown and the port. We walked downtown, so I don't actually know how people got back to the ship. It is about a 10 min walk to either ship or downtown.

[vtcruising]

If I remember correctly it was at least 20 minutes to walk back from the shop to the ship. I would ask the shop if you could call a cab from there. The America's Cup race was awesome, by the way!

[chrismakris]

My timing for that day is as follows:

 

10:15 a.m. Excursion starts

12:45 p.m. Leave Excursion (Excursion is supposed to end at 1:15 with drinks etc. Gonna skip that)

 

1:15 p.m. Arrive at Maho Beach

4:00 p.m. Leave Maho Beach

5:00 - 5:30 p.m. Get to Ship

6:00 p.m. Sailaway

 

Does that sound doable?

 

Also how much would a taxi cost?

[eddiethekub]

A couple of tid bits of info

There is a place called Sunset Bar that sits right across the road from the end of the runway. Great place for drinks and lunch. Planes will land just off to the side of this place. Or you can sit on the beach and watch then fly over your head....be careful of the jet blast.

 

As to returning to the ship, getting a cab at Sunset Bar could be tricky. But walk down th road to the Casino Royale, and the hotels, and you should find taxis. You can't miss them, it will be obvious once you are there. As to timing, the shortest way involves a drawbridge that opens on a set schedule. The opening can be quite lengthy if there are a lot of boats going into and out of Simpson Bay. Not sure of the precise opening times, but the locals will know. Alternatively, there is a new causeway that avoids the drawbridge, but it is longer. A good cab driver should know which way is best at the time.

Without any traffic, you could get to Phillipsburg in about half an hour.......but there is rarely NO traffic in SXM!

As to cost, can't help you. We have a timeshare there and always have a car.

 

Google "Sunset Bar SXM" and you can see where the bar is in relation to the airport and to the DrAC Whatley cruise terminal in P-burg.

Edited November 21, 2014 by eddiethekub

[bouhunter]

My timing for that day is as follows:

 

10:15 a.m. Excursion starts

12:45 p.m. Leave Excursion (Excursion is supposed to end at 1:15 with drinks etc. Gonna skip that)

 

1:15 p.m. Arrive at Maho Beach

4:00 p.m. Leave Maho Beach

5:00 - 5:30 p.m. Get to Ship

6:00 p.m. Sailaway

 

Does that sound doable?

 

Also how much would a taxi cost?

 

That is closer than I'd want to cut it, but I guess it sounds workable. As others have said, don't be to certain about taxi times from Maho to port, traffice can be BADDDDDD.............

[bouhunter]

We took a party bus tour with a stop at Maho. Lots of fun! Don't remember the name of the outfit' date=' but google Party Bus, St. Martin.[/quote']

 

Well, that did absolutely nothing to answer the OP's question.............:rolleyes:

[Wj420]

Reflection and many other ships too will make the traffics worse than usual. I'd give myself more time to get back to the ship. No stressing on vacation!

[phoenix_dream]

I definitely would do a quick look to see how many other ships are in town that day. If there are many and/or some of the huge ones, I would allow twice the time you think you would need. We gave up renting cars in St. Maarten because driving was just so horrible due to traffic.

[cle-guy]

Another issue with getting back from MAHO, we stayed for the planes, and took a taxi back, Took a while, but we got there. However the taxi driver left us off at a shopping village near the port (we assumed the ships were right at the waters edge we could see from the street...), we got out and started walking to the water to realize we had a 2 mile walk (er, uh jog) still to get to the ship.....We were the last 3 to get on board - the gangplank came up behind us. We had 5 minutes to spare :D Lucky, as it was a transatlantic sailing, and next stop to meet the ship was Southampton 9 days later!

 

They stop traffic at the street at the airport/beach when planes leave, so factor that traffic jam into your plans as well.

 

Traffic was a bear near the port, so the taxi driver clearly didn't want to deal with it, also if we sat in the taxi, it may have still taken that long or longer to get there.

 

Have you checked flight schedules yet? We found most big planes came in way after it was safe time to get back, but your times may vary.

[eddiethekub]

They stop traffic at the street at the airport/beach when planes leave, so factor that traffic jam into your plans as well..

 

We've been going there every year for the past 20 years, and have NEVER seen anyone stop traffic at the street/beach. Actually, the street by the beach where the planes touch down is not a main thoroughfare and has very little traffic. It is not a factor in the traffic flow around the airport. The other end of the runway is close to the main drag, but usually planes are already pretty high in the air....unless there is an unusual wind condition and they take off from that end.

 

If you want to see the jumbo jets, check the flight schedules for Air France and KLM, plus other European airlines. They do not fly on a daily basis either, so you may be lucky, or not. Otherwise you will see a bunch to RJs and 737s, 757s, AB 320s etc from the U.S. carriers.

[chrismakris]

I definitely would do a quick look to see how many other ships are in town that day. If there are many and/or some of the huge ones, I would allow twice the time you think you would need. We gave up renting cars in St. Maarten because driving was just so horrible due to traffic.

 

There are two other ships in Philipsburg that day. The Eclipse and Regal Princess. Total capacity of 8400 pax that day. I looked into what was available on both ships and I'm gonna assume that there are 7000-7500 booked for all three ships.

 

Another issue with getting back from MAHO, we stayed for the planes, and took a taxi back, Took a while, but we got there. However the taxi driver left us off at a shopping village near the port (we assumed the ships were right at the waters edge we could see from the street...), we got out and started walking to the water to realize we had a 2 mile walk (er, uh jog) still to get to the ship.....We were the last 3 to get on board - the gangplank came up behind us. We had 5 minutes to spare :D Lucky, as it was a transatlantic sailing, and next stop to meet the ship was Southampton 9 days later!

 

They stop traffic at the street at the airport/beach when planes leave, so factor that traffic jam into your plans as well.

 

Traffic was a bear near the port, so the taxi driver clearly didn't want to deal with it, also if we sat in the taxi, it may have still taken that long or longer to get there.

 

Have you checked flight schedules yet? We found most big planes came in way after it was safe time to get back, but your times may vary.

 

I checked some of the websites that tell you what comes in and seems fairly consistent for what flights come in each day. The big AF/KLM is scheduled to arrive at 3:05 pm that day after looking on Expedia. If that is the case then we would leave right after it comes in. So 3:30 at the latest. Should give us plenty of time.

[Seabourn Pearls]

We wanted to experience Pinel Island and see the planes coming in. These are on opposite sides of the island. With more than a few ships in port we were knew traffic would be problematic. If you're sold on the Americas Cup experience this will be of no help to you but we opted for a trip with Captain Bob of Soualiga Tours. It's a boat tour that includes lunch, snorkeling and caps off the day with a stop at Maho. It's all done on a boat so no traffic to worry about. Pick up and drop off is a 15 minute walk from the ship. It might take some of the stress out of your day. Very highly rated on Trip Advisor. $109 per person includes lunch and beer/soft drinks.

[Adidas4fun]

I cannot relate to your specifics but have left a number of tours prior to the final point, we always inform the tour guide. We first got the idea from our travel agent who suggested we depart a 3 day tour just a few hours early and remain on the island of Capri for the night before continuing on the itinerary we wished to follow.

[michaelsop]

There are two other ships in Philipsburg that day. The Eclipse and Regal Princess. Total capacity of 8400 pax that day. I looked into what was available on both ships and I'm gonna assume that there are 7000-7500 booked for all three ships.

 

 

 

I checked some of the websites that tell you what comes in and seems fairly consistent for what flights come in each day. The big AF/KLM is scheduled to arrive at 3:05 pm that day after looking on Expedia. If that is the case then we would leave right after it comes in. So 3:30 at the latest. Should give us plenty of time.

 

I was at Maho Beach last week. All the big planes were on the ground by 3pm. It was awesome btw. You can't walk 15 feet without being accosted by taxi drivers looking for fares back to the port area. We left sunset bar at 3:15 and were shopping downtown by 3:45. Then we just took the water taxi back to the ship. Your schedule looks fine to me. We had 3 ships in port and over 12,000 pax.

 

[chrismakris]

Thanks all for your information.

 

I think we will leave the excursion early but instead of Maho Beach we will go to Orient Beach instead. We will be sailing on the Summit from Bayonne in October and Philipsburg will be one of the stops.

 

There will only be two ships in port that day will a total of 5500 pax The Summit will be in port for an extra hour over the one we're currently on. I think that will be the better choice.

 

That being said will there be any issues to consider getting back to the ship from Orient Beach? It looks like it's about a half hour taxi ride. Is that correct?