St. Maarten Overnight

[Johnnyocean1959]

We are booked on the Nov 18, 2016 Equinox sailing, which has an overnight. Looking forward to it! Been to Island as a cruise stop numerous times and stayed at Caravanseri Resort on the Dutch side twice, but stayed around the resort generally. Can I hear recommendations for dinner on the island that night? Also, any bar recommendations?

 

Thanks!

 

 

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[Wine-O]

I would also post this on the Ports of Call board.

[Johnnyocean1959]

Thanks, only received one reply. Thought I'd post it here as well.

 

 

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[Xport]

At Trip Advisor [okay to mention them here; same company as Cruise Critic]?

 

You'll get a far broader array of restaurant reviews/rankings there than you are apt to get here...

 

Overnights in the Caribbean are a relatively new concept for Celebrity and, of those done during this past cruise season, only a few were done in Sint Maarten...

[Redtravel]

I have stayed in St. Martin many times. The mosquitoes are terrible at night. With the Zeka virus, I wouldn't get off the ship at night. I wouldn't be surprised if Celebrity discontinues overnight stops in the Caribbean and South America. I am not staying St. Martin this year. Not worth taking the risk.

[123linz123]

Check out the Lazy lizard, it was awesome last year.

It looks like a regular cafe/bar, but all the food is made from scratch, owner works there and was great.

[florence11]

I wish we could have stayed in St Maarten overnight we had Curacao:(

[Chewbecca]

I'd go over to the French side for dinner, to Grand Case where there is the most amazing row of restaurants. Take a look on TA to see which are the top rated and which menus appeal most to you. L'Estaminet is our favourite, quite modern cuisine but it's not the most popular so I think it is a personal choice!

 

Lucky you, we've spent many lovely gourmet breaks in GC.

 

(By the way, the advice we've had is that the mosquitos carrying zika are day biters, not night time & only pregnant women/women planning to conceive need to be concerned. Either way, we found that using a mossie spray kept us bite free, we noticed bites on occasions we forgot & would recommend using it day and night).

[zoncom]

I would take the ferry over to St. Barts.

[jksinc]

Grand Case is definitely the area with the best restaurants. Our favorite is Bistrot Caraibes. Pick a lobster out of the tank up front and enjoy! Fabulous!

[LuAnn]

Is that a neighborhood? We were planning on doing this very thing..going over to the French side for dinner so appreciate the suggestions of restaurants but not sure what GC is? Also...if we have a group of CCers who want to go what is the best way to go from Phillipsburg over to the French side...several taxis or ??? Thanks for any help!! LuAnn

[jksinc]

Grand Case is a town on the French side of the island. It consists of restaurants and shops along a beautiful beach and cove. At no get it is busy with tourists enjoying fabulous food. The roads in St. Martin are not for the faint of heart. I would suggest a taxi or van. You should be able to get one at the pier. Also, reservations at the restaurants are highly recommended.

[jksinc]

Sorry - I meant to say " at night it is busy with tourists".

[LuAnn]

Grand Case is a town on the French side of the island. It consists of restaurants and shops along a beautiful beach and cove. At no get it is busy with tourists enjoying fabulous food. The roads in St. Martin are not for the faint of heart. I would suggest a taxi or van. You should be able to get one at the pier. Also, reservations at the restaurants are highly recommended.

 

Sounds like the place to go for sure!!! LuAnn

[Johnnyocean1959]

LuAnn what's the date of your cruise? We're going 11/18

 

 

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[LuAnn]

LuAnn what's the date of your cruise? We're going 11/18

 

 

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starts 12/19....sorry we'll miss you!! :( LuAnn

[awhfy]

We have an overnight the end of Mar on Equinox. Getting really good hints here. Thanks!

[Karysa]

I have stayed in St. Martin many times. The mosquitoes are terrible at night. With the Zeka virus, I wouldn't get off the ship at night. I wouldn't be surprised if Celebrity discontinues overnight stops in the Caribbean and South America. I am not staying St. Martin this year. Not worth taking the risk.

 

I do not know where you stayed but I have not found the mosquitoes an issue at all. From May of 2015 through November I spent about 30 days/nights on the island. I remember getting 2 mosquitoe bites and both were in the daytime and both were in Marigot.

 

Noseeums are sand fleas and there have been times that these have bothered us and that was usually at the beach at sunset. Perhaps these little buggers are what you encountered.

 

Since Dengue and Chickungua many and several years ago, I have to wonder why you continued to go there if you believed that there were so many mosquitoes?

[Jiminy1955]

DH & I will be there overnight on a March 2017 cruise. We typically don't go to beaches. Any recommendations for other things to do will be greatly appreciated.

[Ski Mom 2]

We spent one week on the beach in Grand Case in January prior to our Wind Star cruise that left out of St Martin. The restaurants in Grand Case are amazing and I would highly recommending catching a cab and go for dinner if you're there on an overnight. There are many French restaurants but also some wonderful Italian restaurants. While reservations are recommended we never did make them and never had trouble getting in.

 

Our favorites were:

 

L'Auberge Gourmande was one of our favorite French restaurants. I had the best duck I've ever had while my husband had a wonderful Dover sole. They give everyone a complimentary glass of champagne to start and the owner is right there on the floor working. It was wonderful!

 

Spiga Restautant was an amazing Italian restaurant that had homemade pasta and delicious desserts. It's off the beaten path and so yummy!

 

Bistroit Caraibe was also a very good French restaurant where you picked a lobster and they grabbed it with a big flourish out of their tank. I believe lobster termador is a specialty.

 

You won't be disappointed in Grand Case for dinner!

[Jiminy1955]

We spent one week on the beach in Grand Case in January prior to our Wind Star cruise that left out of St Martin. The restaurants in Grand Case are amazing and I would highly recommending catching a cab and go for dinner if you're there on an overnight. There are many French restaurants but also some wonderful Italian restaurants. While reservations are recommended we never did make them and never had trouble getting in.

 

Our favorites were:

 

L'Auberge Gourmande was one of our favorite French restaurants. I had the best duck I've ever had while my husband had a wonderful Dover sole. They give everyone a complimentary glass of champagne to start and the owner is right there on the floor working. It was wonderful!

 

Spiga Restautant was an amazing Italian restaurant that had homemade pasta and delicious desserts. It's off the beaten path and so yummy!

 

Bistroit Caraibe was also a very good French restaurant where you picked a lobster and they grabbed it with a big flourish out of their tank. I believe lobster termador is a specialty.

 

You won't be disappointed in Grand Case for dinner!

 

All of them sound great!! What is the dress code for these places? DH prefers on the more casual side.

[Ski Mom 2]

Everywhere we ate I wore a sundress and my husband wore khakis and either a polo shirt or "Hawaiian" shirt. Some folks were more dressed up but we felt quite comfortable.