Equinox 10 Day - Overnight in St. Maarten Info

[dandee2]

SXM airport is just about 10 minute walks from Mullet Bay. Very nice indeed.

 

Meanwhile, just sit back and relax watching planes take-off and land: http://mahobeachcam.com/

[dandee2]

Mullet Bay:

 

My vid from January 2016:

 

 

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Thanks for input.so we are too staying in St Marteen overnite on Equinox in November. Is everyone saying they shut the casino onboard down all night?

 

Sadly, yes.

 

Just got off the Equinox this morning... :(

 

Tom

[Jiminy1955]

We will be on this very cruise in March 2017. Soaking up all the info I can about the ship & ports :)

[riredsox]

I for one love the overnights. It makes the first day much more relaxing. As for St Martin it is very safe at night, probably as safe than any US city. The French side has excellent restaurants. As for mosquitos they are on the ship too! Cartagena overnight was a lot of fun and I met lots of folks who went out for dinner. If you need a casino while in St Martin the Dutch side has fun ones!

[Jiminy1955]

I have no time right now to read this. But will later. Am on an overnight there in March 2017

[southernbreezes]

Yep... we're on the Eq and overnighting in St. Maarten this evening. According to the Celebrity Today (for today!), it appears no casino tonight... :(

 

When we originally booked this cruise there was an additional port (Dominica). Within a week, they dropped it and added the overnight here. I would have much preferred the original itinerary and "normal" shipboard nights/activities.

 

Tom

 

Love the fact of overnight in St. Maartin 4 ports in 10 days is perfect. Celebrity is adding overnights to a lot of their itineraries which is nice you can experience the Island without 5,000 to 10,000 plus other cruise passengers in your way in the late afternoon and evening. Why go to the ship's Casino when the island has Casino's 10 times better than the ships? Same with the shopping. As much as we have enjoyed going to Dominica we were in the minority, the 3 or 4 times we have have cruised there. The vast the majority of the passengers said they would never go again or if they did they would stay on the ship? :confused: Dominica is not a very popular port.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Love the fact of overnight in St. Maartin 4 ports in 10 days is perfect. Celebrity is adding overnights to a lot of their itineraries which is nice you can experience the Island without 5,000 to 10,000 plus other cruise passengers in your way in the late afternoon and evening. Why go to the ship's Casino when the island has Casino's 10 times better than the ships? Same with the shopping. As much as we have enjoyed going to Dominica we were in the minority, the 3 or 4 times we have have cruised there. The vast the majority of the passengers said they would never go again or if they did they would stay on the ship? :confused: Dominica is not a very popular port.

 

Well, my second choice (with a new port being the first) would have been make it a SEA DAY (our favorite!) rather than an overnight stay. We're not "out on the town/evening people", but that's just us.

 

Tom

[caladezi]

Well, my second choice (with a new port being the first) would have been make it a SEA DAY (our favorite!) rather than an overnight stay. We're not "out on the town/evening people", but that's just us.

 

Tom

 

An overnight stay can turn into the same thing as a sea day by just staying on the ship. There is no need to get off the ship and go out on the town. Best of both worlds and everyone can have it "their way".

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

An overnight stay can turn into the same thing as a sea day by just staying on the ship. There is no need to get off the ship and go out on the town. Best of both worlds and everyone can have it "their way".

 

While I can appreciate the extra elbow room around the ship, it does come at a cost. The shops onboard are closed (not a biggie). Often, there's limits as to what dining areas are opened too - the MDR, and often suite dining venues are closed for lunch. Also, nothing beats a sea day for sitting out on a shady (hopefully!) balcony enjoying a breeze with a good book. When docked, it's typically less comfortable out there - and your view might be the side of another ship!

 

I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer here, just pointing out what I feel are the pros and cons for us. :)

 

Tom

[NordicPrince]

We've been to Domenica several times and quickly ran out of things that were of interest to us. We enjoyed walking down to one of the falls ( we did this twice, the first time it was going down a wet slippery narrow trail, the second time the trail was improved but took away some of the unspoiled nature of the

whole thing. Plus DW did not care for the hot black sand on the beaches on the island. Once was enough.

 

On the other hand, St Maarten is one of her favorite places in the world and she is looking forward to doing things you can't do when the ship leaves at 5 in the afternoon. We are looking to go to a restaurant in Grand Case. You can look in Trip Advisor for places to go.

 

There are restaurants on the Dutch side which are at the beachfront where you can dine at sunset.

 

All I can say is Go Ahead, Take a chance for goodness sake.

 

The following day she is looking forward to her usual day in the sand at her favorite place of which I am not at liberty to disclose or I will be be in her bad book, and you don't want to get on that list.

 

So all in all I am happy and looking forward to an overnight stay in port. I've never done it before. This was an additional reason to book this cruise.

 

Personally, I will put on DEET spray and not worry and take my chances. I refuse to live holed up in my den worrying about everything that could happen. Of course you will not see me taking a cruise which stops at Turkey at the present time. I do have sanity limits.

Edited July 11, 2016 by NordicPrince

[Duanerice1]

Be grateful. We are in Barbados overnight. As much as I like it during the day not much in the way of nigh life. We too miss Dominica. I am not a fan of the overnight stays.