What do Families do in St Maarten?

[njtwinmom]

We will be traveling with 2 boys age 11, boy 15 and boy 7 so we don't want to go to any clothing optional beaches with them. What is there to do for families? We will be on the Crown Princess Nov 2. Thanks!

[bwohlgemuth]

11 & 15, you would probably nominated for parents of the year if you went to a clothing optional beach. :D

 

It's our first cruise as well and after reading through this board, I'm just preparing my two boys for what they might see. The five year old won't understand, but the 12 year old might be in heaven.

 

It may happen, and if it does, just deal with it in a decent matter.

[Natmar]

We know exactly what you mean - we will be in St. Maarten this summer and our oldest is a 15 year old boy so we opted to contact Bernard with Bernard's tours and have decided to spend the extra money and take a private tour of the island with him. He knows we do NOT want to go to a nude beach because of the kids so he will take us to one that is fully clothed instead - we will also go to Maho Beach to see the planes land right overhead (hopefully all the women will be fully clothed while we are there but no guarantees - crossing our fingers on this one).

[FloridaLaura]

At Maho Beach there is a bar "Sunset Beach Bar" and a sign says topless women drink free.

 

When we were there in April 07' there was no women taking them up on the offer. The beach area at Maho is on the small side so if someone were topless at Sunset you may see them from the beach, hopefully for your sake there won't be though.

 

The planes are so cool coming in for a landing or taking off, your kids will probably be more interested in the planes :)

[itsjb1]

Your 15 year old would enjoy Orient, as there is so much to do. There are jet skis, parasailing and for $10 for the whole day he can go on a water tramp.

 

There is toplessness on the beach, but it is really no big deal. I would be shocked if a 15 year old has not been exposed to naked breasts before, in movies or tv.

 

The first time we went to Orient our oldest was 9 and we just went back this year when he was 16. The first time we explained that there are different customs in different areas of the world and that some women sunbathe without a top. There was absolutely no problem. Go to Orient and enjoy your day.

[GAcruiser417]

Go to Divi Little Bay resort - you can do this on your own or through an excursion with the ship. The resort is nice, wholesome, clean and BEAUTIFUL!!!

[redroses27]

i was in st maarten in july little bay is beautiful if i ever go back to st maarten for a week thats where i want to go

[poohbear]

We were there last week. We took our 13, 7 year old snorkling. We did the 3 islad snorkel tour with Captain alan. It was excellent. they were great with the kids. It was a lot of fun. They arranged transportation from the port to the marnia and back. It is a half day trip. We were back at the port at around 1:30. Plenty of time to do some shopping. On the way back the driver would have dropped us downtown, but we opted to go back to the ship first. Captain Alan was great.

[calgarygary]

We just got back from our cruise and did go to Orient Beach. It may be a great opportunity to discuss different cultures and their approaches with your boys as we saw women of every age and build enjoying their day at the beach in a non-sexual manner. Orient also has great facilities to keep the boys so busy that although they will notice the topless women, it will be unlikely that the women will be their main memory of the day.

[njtwinmom]

Thanks for all of your responses. I think Divi Little Bay resort looks like a great place for us. I'm all for them experiencing different cultures, but I'm not ready for them to be exposed to nudity at this time. 11 years old is too young for that.

[cooganbs]

What about a Segway Tour? Here is a great guide..he also does island tours geekmo@hotmail.com. Tell him Brenda sent you and I promise your kids will love him. Just spent 1 week on island and my 13yr and 15yr old want to return becuase of him! Lots of fun!

[drogerm]

FWIW, we were there last year and I only saw 1 topless sunbather. The beach is not just one big topless free-for-all. Honestly, I saw more topless sunbathers in Miami.

[beachchick]

FWIW, we were there last year and I only saw 1 topless sunbather. The beach is not just one big topless free-for-all. Honestly, I saw more topless sunbathers in Miami.

 

Are you referring to Orient Beach? If so, you need to know that all of Orient (and all the beaches on the French side of the island) follow the French custom of topless (optional) sunbathing for women. Just because you only saw one topless woman, doesn't mean that it is the typical thing. The beach is in fact "one big topless free-for-all" for women. How many women will be topless on any given day is the only variable.

 

I cannot advise njtwinmom's family to visit Orient based on your specific experience. When we were there, about 30% of the women were topless with the percentage getting higher the closer the area was to Club Orient (which is the completely clothing-optional, not "nudist," resort). I cannot advise them to visit any beach on the French side simply because toplessness (and some full nudity) is the normal and allowable custom.

 

Little Divi should be the perfect choice. It is on the Dutch side, where there is much less (not none) toplessness/nudity. The reports we hear frequently are that there has been no toplessness or nudity at all. Of course that's not necessarily a 100% guarantee; let's call it 99%.

 

beachchick

[VIKINGCRUISER]

Thanks for all of your responses. I think Divi Little Bay resort looks like a great place for us. I'm all for them experiencing different cultures, but I'm not ready for them to be exposed to nudity at this time. 11 years old is too young for that.

 

 

We have a 10 year old and I agree with you 100%.

[drogerm]

Are you referring to Orient Beach? If so, you need to know that all of Orient (and all the beaches on the French side of the island) follow the French custom of topless (optional) sunbathing for women. Just because you only saw one topless woman, doesn't mean that it is the typical thing. The beach is in fact "one big topless free-for-all" for women. How many women will be topless on any given day is the only variable.

 

beachchick

 

Yes I am referring to Orient Beach. I am just reporting what I saw which was a nice beach with good food, cold drinks and very little nudity. Doesn't mean that the next time I go I won't get bad food, warm drinks and a lot of nudity. Just reporting my 1st hand experience.

[beachchick]

Yes I am referring to Orient Beach. I am just reporting what I saw which was a nice beach with good food, cold drinks and very little nudity. Doesn't mean that the next time I go I won't get bad food, warm drinks and a lot of nudity. Just reporting my 1st hand experience.

 

I completely understand and wasn't doubting your specific experience at all. It's just that I can't adivise someone who absolutely wants no toplessness (or nudity) to go there or to any beach on the the French side (or Cupecoy or Sunset Beach Bar on the Dutch side, which follows the motto of "topless women drink for free").

 

There are many people who prefer not to have any toplessness or nudity, either for themselves or for their children. There's not a thing wrong with that. We do not feel that way and don't think that toplessness is inappropriate for us or our family, but it's always a personal preference.

 

We think Orient is one of the top beach days anywhere.

 

beachchick

 

p.s., Although there are places on Orient where we don't care to eat (that's the "bad food" for us) and bars we like better than others, I have no doubt that you'd be able to find good food and cold drinks no matter when you visit.

[Fun@C]

njtwinmom we have the same question! We have 2 dd's and they said they don't want to see topless either. It makes them uncomfortable. I have heard good things about Divi and I think we will end up going there!:)

[lovetheislands]

We are just back from spring break cruise with our family...

 

In morning, we did zip-lining which we really enjoyed at Loitterie Farms through RCCL excursion.

 

In afternoon, we went to Divi and had a wonderful time. Nice beach, nice people, no nudity and cheap...

 

Would highly recommend both zip-lining excursion and Divi. Have Fun!

[ElvisandTracey]

I just booked a cruise for next April that stops in this port, and even though at sailing my sons will be 12 and 4, boobies are the last thing that could possibly worry me. My 12 year old has cable in his room , and my now 3 year old still walks in without knocking at times, so I assume they have both seen boobies before.:eek: :eek:

 

I am much more concerned about the beauty of this island, and how much fun we will all be having, boobies or no boobies.

[cruiserami]

Whatever Elvis,

 

You know you'll be pissed if you don't see any boobies.

[ElvisandTracey]

Whatever Elvis,

 

You know you'll be pissed if you don't see any boobies.

 

Uh, I'm a straight woman (Elvis is my husband's name), if I wanna see boobies I'll look in the mirror....

[mysparky]

We went to orient beach last April with our three kids (11DS, 11DN and 8DD) and prepared them that they may see nudity. Within 5 mins, a few older guys strolled down the beach, completely nude. The kids were all a little shocked (ok, my daughter was really shocked). There were a few topless women several chairs away, but it wasn't until about 3:00 that (as my son so eloquently put it) "all the boobs came out". At first it was shocking, then it was "whatever, let's go swimming." Actually, my kids told me that as long as they weren't going to bump into anything while swimming, they were fine.

 

Fast-forward to this year and I was happy that they had this, um, exposure, because there were quite a few topless women on Labadee! We went to Hideaway beach and quite a few of the European women took their tops off right away to sunbathe (they put them back on when they went into the water). The men had on very skimpy thongs as well. We had several topless women and thong-clad men around us and again, I was pleased that after the initial shock wore off, this quickly became a "been there, done that, whatever" moment.

 

The other thing I should say is that I think the kids were actually more embarrased by the very skimpy bathing suits on the ship. They found many of the women's thong bottoms and tiny-triangle tops to be more inappropriate and out of place. In their own way, they seemed to comprehend the difference between sexuality and "it's just nature, man".

[dstar96920]

Orient beach, at least one side of it, is completely nude. I don't know what part of Miami Beach some people go to where they see more nudity, but I find that highly unlikely. Unless you are completely ok with the kids seeing at least one completely nude man/woman, skip Orient Beach. It's beautiful, and we had a great time, but I would not take my nieces (ages 5 and 8) there. Too much explaining to do, and I want to vacation. We did hear that Bikini Beach, which is part of Orient Beach had less nudity.

[war_eagle99]

If you don't feel like getting out on an excursion this is a good place to hang out close to the ship. My Mom and Brother (17 at the time) were with us when we went so not wanting to go see topless babes with my mother we decided to stay close to the ship. There is a fairly decent beach close to where the ferry takes you with a few little beachside bars where you can sip a drink and watch the kids play in the water. You can also visit the place where they make the Guavaberry Liquor. I can't remember the story behind the house but I'm sure there was one. We even stopped by a couple of the casinos and they didn't have a problem with my Brother going in there.

 

 

[Disneycrazymom]

We are leaving in 9 days! :D My DH and son are booked on the America's Cup but DD 8 and I don't have a plan yet. Is it easy to take the ferry to the beach? Will I get lost? OK I should admit I do get lost a lot at home! So it would really need to be simple. If it is DD would enjoy a little time to play in the sand and water. Thanks!