St. Maarten/St Thomas--first trip back for DCL

[NAB]

Definitely shops open with a far amount closed still in the main town. We were there last week.

Like someone said DI is working on new buildings and have a smaller version open where they always were. Desole and the bamboo places is open just smaller place. McDonald's is definitely closed and doesn't look like it will reopen. There is still lots of shopping open. Some places moved from where they were but still there.

We bought some stuff at Tommy Bahama's . The guy in there said people are getting there but some stores were vandalized . He said stores that were owned by Indian people and Chinese people. He said that was more scary then the hurricane. You can see a few shops with broken windows. But they are working on other shops to open soon.

 

[Beth D]

Just off the Feb. 24 Eastern sailing, here is what we found...

St. Maarten - we did NOT do a Disney Excursion here. We were only on the Dutch side, not on the French side at all. Dutch side has gotten millions from their government, French side - almost nothing in support.

We departed the ship and caught a taxi at the port. We went to Mullet Bay Beach. Beach was in excellent shape, lots of sand. Chairs and umbrellas were plentiful and easy to rent. The snack bar opened around 11 am or so. We only purchased drinks. Only a porta-potty was available here. Many vendors walking the beach to sell you things or massages. (Tip - if you're not going to buy, just tell them a polite no thank you. One person in our group kept saying "maybe later". They remember, and they WILL come back later). We did massages (foot) and so did our traveling family. Very nice.

We then taxi'd to Sunset Bar & Grill at Maho Beach for lunch. This is fully up, but is now truly "open air" all the way around except for the shops, kitchen & restrooms. Food and Guavaberry colada's were excellent. The DJ announced when planes were coming in and everyone got their phones/cameras ready. We saw 1 large jet, and several smaller jets/prop planes land while we ate. (Watch out for the little guys - the FedEx prop plane knows just how low he can go, and was the excitement of the day) Gift shop was also open, and singer Shaggy was performing there this weekend. Maho Beach looked like it had lost some sand, but there were still tons of folks on it.

We then taxi'd to Phillipsburg. About 1/2 of the shops were still closed, much damage here. The Guavaberry liquor shop was open and well stocked! Taxis were plentiful all day. Our drivers did say many tour buses were damaged.

Driving to each area, there was much visible damage in the town and surrounding areas. In Simpson Bay there were probably 30 boats overturned or still sunk from the hurricane. Most hotels are NOT open, many are very heavily damaged. The port itself was just about back, very little damage left here, other than all the damaged shipping containers that still need removed. Lots of debris around in town and around the buildings. Much signs of rebuilding, lots of tarps, temporary tents, and still tons of traffic.

The locals also said this was the busiest day it had been since the hurricane. Fantasy, Harmony of the Seas, and another ship were all in port this day. They were quite happy for the crowds!

St. Thomas - we did the KonTiki barge tour and Honeymoon Bay Beach excursion through Disney

We boarded the boat right by the ship, some small but visible signs of damage from the boat (lots of tarps on roofs). The beach was excellent, but not as shady as it was last time I was there (6 years ago). The trees had definitely not recovered all their foliage. Both snack bars were operating normally.

After our excursion we shopped for a bit at the Haverstock mall area by the port. Most everything was open there. We did not go into town.

From the Fantasy we could see that Senor Frogs was still closed, and several of the warehouses by the port were damaged - we could look down into them from the top decks of the ship.

St. Thomas is well on its way to recovery. St. Maarten will need more time, but it's getting there!

 

[Sergel02]

Just got off the one on the 24th as well and it's pretty much similar to what others have said. As damaged as st thomas is st maarten is worst, though you can't always tell just by a quick glance.


People have mentioned about feeling guilty about coming off our luxury ships, and I agree to an extent, and I also feel it is important as cruisers to understand the impact we have on the ports we visit, both positive and negative. Cruisers sometimes have a rep of coming into ports not spending any money, making a mess, and then leaving. That's why I tried on every port I visit, especially these two, to buy something from a souvenir or clothes or food. You have thousands of people coming every week that can really help some ports out, but only if we contribute as cruisers.