KillaFee Posted September 8, 2008 #26 Share Posted September 8, 2008 I would definitely go to Orient Beach!! It's our absolute favorite place in the islands, and there are so many different bars and areas to it that you can go back year after year and always go to a new place if you want - but we happen to really like the Kon Tiki and Bikini Beach areas. The bartenders at Bikini Beach made me a fresh cantalope pina colada and we watched the guy chop up the cantalope and pineapple and make it from scratch....ahhh...it was sooo good. And like others have said - you do not need to book an excursion. Just grab a cab right when you walk off the ship and head to Orient Beach. It's the best. Laura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTyler Posted September 8, 2008 #27 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Yum that Pina Colada sounds like heaven!! Just was wondering is front street where all the stores are close to Orient Beach? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Booper Posted September 8, 2008 #28 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Yum that Pina Colada sounds like heaven!! Just was wondering is front street where all the stores are close to Orient Beach? No. Front Street is the main shopping drag in Phillipsburg, near where the ships dock. Orient Beach is up the East Coast, a 25 minute cab ride from Phillipsburg. The main shopping here are various beach shacks scattered along the beach. There are no vendors allowed in the Club Orient area at the Southern end of the beach, but of course that is the clothing optional part of the beach also. No need to take an excursion to the beach, just get in a van cab with others and pay $7 pp each way. The cruise excursions all dump their pax at Bikini Beach which is the most crowded portion of the beach and the most expensive. The big 5 beach bars are all owned by the same interests and are the most expensive as far as food is concerned. Bikini, Kon-Tiki, Kakao, Waikiki and Coco. Photo-Map of Orient http://home.carolina.rr.com/photos2005/LargeOrientPanorama.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplelife Posted September 8, 2008 #29 Share Posted September 8, 2008 You don't need or want an excursion. There is a cab stand right at the end of the pier with destinations and prices clearly marked. Your cabbie will also return for you, but not really necessary. Go to Bikini Beach Club at Orient Beach. Gal from Baltimore owns it. www.bikinisme.com Print out the free drink coupon. And don't pay to rent chairs/umbrellas at the first place the cab drops you. Walk down the beach a bit and rent on your own at a fraction of the cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTyler Posted September 8, 2008 #30 Share Posted September 8, 2008 thanks for that map, so I think I'll take a stroll to front street before hitting the beach, i know once I get to the beach I dont want to go anywhere after that!! I'm so ready to go, wish it were sooner! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbugohio Posted September 8, 2008 #31 Share Posted September 8, 2008 OK, so where is Maho from Orient?? Isn't that where you watch the planes land and take off?? Can we do both in one day?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Booper Posted September 8, 2008 #32 Share Posted September 8, 2008 OK, so where is Maho from Orient?? Isn't that where you watch the planes land and take off?? Can we do both in one day?? Maho is across the island from Orient. Map of the island - The best way is to head to Maho and get there before the big planes land. Then head on over to Orient for the rest of the day. It is a lot easier to get back to the pier in the afternoon from Orient then Maho since there is a drawbridge at Simpson Bay and there is more traffic in the Maho/Marigot area. If there are no big planes in the morning when are on St Martin then you have to reverse the sequence but leave your self a MINIMUM of 90 minutes to get back to the pier from Maho in the afternoon. There are always big jets in the afternoon coming from the US and Europe. A schedule of big jet activity courtesy of KAL from the St Martin Board. http://www.bywindkal.com/SXMJets.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbugohio Posted September 8, 2008 #33 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Big thanks for the info. If I am reading the schedule right, (we are in St Maarten Nov. 17, monday) I just see one taking off and one landing in the morning. And I don't think we want to allow 90 minutes in the afternoon. It sounds like a lot of travel to and from to watch planes. I think we will probably just go to Orient. Can you give me approx times to get back and forth to Orient? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robtulipe Posted September 8, 2008 #34 Share Posted September 8, 2008 According to my map it is about 7 miles from the cruise dock to the south end of Orient beach and about 1 mile more to north end which is the clothes option area (closest to Mount Vernon Resort). We rented a car for our last three cruise stops here (for less than $60 plus about $10 for gas divide between two couples) and depending on traffic coming out of Philipsburg it took a max of 25 minutes to get there. If driving yourself avoid going through Philipsburg where most of the traffic is. Stay on the road (on east side of the town) going north from the dock area to Oyster Pond and cut over to the main road going to Orient beach about 2 miles north of the town in the Lower Prince's Quarter. What we did was to stop at Orient for a few hours, then continue east 2 miles to Grand Case for a cheap lunch and $1 beers at the beach huts there. Next we drove down to Marigot for a visit to the French Sector capital and around Simpson Bay Lagoon with stops at other beaches like Rouge and Maho followed by an hour or so quick look at and shopping in Philipsburg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KillaFee Posted September 9, 2008 #35 Share Posted September 9, 2008 thanks for that map, so I think I'll take a stroll to front street before hitting the beach, i know once I get to the beach I dont want to go anywhere after that!! I'm so ready to go, wish it were sooner! :) That's what we did recently. Pay the $3.00 (or whatever) to take a water taxi from where the ship docks to Front Street and then once you're done shopping (you might be tempted to just hang at the pretty beach that's right near where the water taxi drops you off near front street....DON'T!!! Orient is 100000 times more beautiful and it's completely different) and then take a taxi to Orient. Make sure you start your day early - you're going to want to spend as much time at Orient as possible. :D Laura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbugohio Posted September 9, 2008 #36 Share Posted September 9, 2008 So then did you buy anything?? Then did you have to drag it to the beach and keep an eye on it all afternoon? Are the beaches pretty safe?? What about letting the camera in the beach bag while going in the water?? That is one bad thing about traveling with just the two of us. We normally are with a group and someone is always around the chairs!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Buffettfan 225 Posted September 9, 2008 #37 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Our concierge recommended Dawn Beach to us- it is crew choice, and closer to ship (less traffic concerns.) We had a teen son so chose the entertainment of Maho Beach where the planes fly directly overhead. YouTube has videos of beach. There is nothing like it. There is also a bar and food right there. It is a small sandy beach- but like I said fun and not too crowded. We did do Orient years ago, found it pleasant but crowded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheffie Posted September 9, 2008 #38 Share Posted September 9, 2008 So then did you buy anything?? Then did you have to drag it to the beach and keep an eye on it all afternoon? Are the beaches pretty safe?? What about letting the camera in the beach bag while going in the water?? That is one bad thing about traveling with just the two of us. We normally are with a group and someone is always around the chairs!! I wouldn't leave my camera in my beachbag. We always take our disposable underwater cameras with us to the beach. We don't have to worry about them that way. There are also waterproof bags you can get for cameras. Better safe than sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbugohio Posted September 9, 2008 #39 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Yeh, thats kinda what I thought. I have a good camera and just always hate to miss that great shot because of not trusting to take it with me. I have a underwater digital on order from Avon, but it has been back ordered for over a month!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Booper Posted September 9, 2008 #40 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Never ever ever leave anything in the trunk of your rental car, the thieves can tell the rental cars by markings. The safest course of action is to hit the Beach first then head on out back down to Philipsburg for shopping. If driving a rental car there is a municipal lot near the Govt building (marked P) The fee is $1 per hour but you may have to wait a few minutes (use your mall skills :) ). Remember that the rental booths at the pier close at 5 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-52 Posted September 10, 2008 #41 Share Posted September 10, 2008 [quote name='S1drfl']When looking at the water, the right end of Orient Beach is clothing optional. Some of us consider this a feature:D , others maybe not:eek: . You'll see signs if you walk along the beach.[/quote] [IMG]http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh22/bmack52/orient2.jpg[/IMG] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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