Hi everyone. I was just wondering if I should book a shopping excursion in St. Maarten or if I should just go at it ourselves. It's just that the excursion only allows two hours for shopping and I know that we'll need more time than that. What do you suggest?
There are shops where the ships dock but it you wanted to go to Marigot I suppose a taxi would be the best bet. It would give you more time to shop but the cost might be prohibitive. There are shuttle vans that operate on the island (at a lower cost than an independent taxi) but I couldn't tell you where to catch one near the ship.
From a web site I found (Wikitravel) "Taxi cabs are usually vans, which are geared towards servicing the cruise ship traffic. To go completely around the island will cost about $25 USD with a taxi.
Saint Martin has a bus system using small minivans. If you are not in a hurry you can get most anywhere on the island for just a few dollars."
The minivans are slower than a taxi since they stop almost anywhere for passengers.
As RichC stated, there are shops right where you dock. I guess it depends on what you're shopping for. We've been able to find what we wanted right at the dock, but I'm not an avid shopper. Plus, taking a cab to Marigot would give you a little taste of the island. I think the cab fare to Orient was about $20. I don't remember, but it wasn't too bad. St. Lucia was expensive, but I don't remember thinking that St. Maarten was. Of course, that was before gas was over $5/liter.
Originally posted by mell: Hi everyone. I was just wondering if I should book a shopping excursion in St. Maarten or if I should just go at it ourselves. It's just that the excursion only allows two hours for shopping and I know that we'll need more time than that. What do you suggest?
Ok is that the one where you travel on a boat on the bay after shopping?? Is that the one I took it on the AOS, is a good one since the island is divided in two jurisdictions.
You can shop in one part of the island on that tour, and take a taxi to shop in the other. So you know there are a few duty free shops near the ship I bought a nice neckless for my wife there on Diamond international and RCCL even certify it if you buy from them. For me two hour, on that part of the island, was more than what I needed.
Mmmmm....shopping in St Maarten....just the thought warms me up for spring ! I LOVE the shops in St Maarten !! One still sends me Christmas cards for 15 years ! The ships right at the dock are wonderful, if you want to go to the other side, the ship tour sounds ok. I have never shopped on the other side, just went to the beach, shopped at the beach stores. But if major shopping is your choice, just walk off the dock and ENJOY !!
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Posts: 203 | Location: Warren, MI | Registered: February 01, 2007
Hi we went there a couple of years ago and loved the shopping on the island its our second favourite after St.Thomas we just got in one of the mini vans and did loads of shopping it was not expensive a lot cheaper than the tour so meant more money and more time for my fav pastime shopping so unless there is something you particular want to see thats the way I would go really jealous wish i was going oh well have a great time whatever you decide I know you will love the place
Mell, when are you going to ST Maarten? We are going 4/26 on RCI, Liberty of the Seas.
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Originally posted by mell: Hi everyone. I was just wondering if I should book a shopping excursion in St. Maarten or if I should just go at it ourselves. It's just that the excursion only allows two hours for shopping and I know that we'll need more time than that. What do you suggest?
We stopped there in Jan 2007 and went to the French side by taxi, I think it cost about $20.00. The traffic was so bad it took forever both ways. If you have never been there, I think it is worth the time just to get some lunch if nothing else. We like the shopping right by the docks better, we think its better then ST. Thomas. Great shopping, great beach and who can complain about $.99 beers. Take the water taxi from the dock into town.
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The last time we were in Marigot the traffic was so bad I gave up & we went for a ride along the shore. Time was to short to fight the crowds on this beautiful island.
If shooping is your thing, just go ashore and wander to your hearts content. We were in St. Maarten last Wednesday. More than enough shops to keep my wife busy. We did do an Island Tour (private) and the traffic was absolutely horrible. Travel time from French to Dutch side had to be at least an hour.
Found a lot of shops with signs that said "1 Euro = 1 Dollar." Try as I did, I never found one that would give me 1 euro for 1 dollar. At least I tried!!
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We've been traveling to St Martin for years & although they've been constantly working on the roads the traffic never seems to improve. The last time we were there, we were at Maho Beach (which isn't that far from the ship near the airport) & it still took 45 min to reach the ship area. The biggest traffic jams were at Marigot & Phillipsburg.
Does anyone know exactly how long it takes to get from Marigot to Orient Beach? Thinking about doing three stops the day we are there and Marigot would be second then Orient Beach. Looks like traffic is a killer and I don't want to spend all day in traffic if the shopping is just as good where the ship docks.
We went from Orient beach to Marigot on a scooter & as close as I can remember it took maybe 20-30 minutes. Of course I didn't really know where I was going & the roads aren't labeled that great. There wasn't all that much traffic going from Orient beach to Marigot, only when we hit Marigot did it get heavy & even in town it wasn't to bad. (parking seemed to be hard to fine) We decided that it wasn't worth the trouble to park & shop anyway so we headed to Maho beach to see the planes take off & land. We did hit heavy traffic on the way back to Phillipsburg on the way back to the ship. Luckily we had the scooter so we could get around lots of the traffic but if you were in a car or cab you're forced to wait you turn at all the traffic lights & construction. I suppose the cab drivers might know a shortcut that to me wasn't obvious. The shopping by the dock area was OK for what we needed since we get to the Caribbean often & we don't buy that much stuff anyway.
I'm so jealous...we just got back from our cruise at the end of January and St. Maarten was our absolute fave... I can't speak of the French side as we didn't make it over. Should you opt for taxi service to any of the beaches (i.e. Orient Bay, etc), when you walk up the pier, walk past the main tourist building on your right and veer to the right. There is a nice, covered taxi stand with benches...they're clearly marked where they're going and you wait for the next van/car to arrive. OR, if you veer to the left across from the tourist building there's a long pier/bridge type deal you can walk across. The authority at the beginning of the boardwalk said it would take 15 to 20 minutes to walk and it was HOT, so we opted for the $3.00 cab ride. We shared a ride with two others in a small compact car and it was $3.00 for them to drive us downtown where all the shopping/boardwalk is. The shopping is wonderful, drinks are cheap. You can rent 2 NICE, cooshy beach lounges, an umbrella and a bucket-o-beer (to the RIGHT of Sonnys' picture where you see the blue chairs...) for $22.00!! It's absolutely WONDERFUL...my next destination vacation for sure!! Have a wonderful time...
Hey SonnyV: I was on the same "Water Taxi" and I have a similar photo:
And here is looking from the other end of the Water Taxi towards where the cruise ships are docked: There were four cruise ships docked and the fifth one was the "Sea Princess" (to the right) which was anchored off-shore.
Hi Big Indy, welcome to Cruise-Chat. I'm sure we've been in there on a Sunday since we've hit that port so many times. I never remember the stores being closed, especially if there's a ship in port. That's their major source of revenue. Hope you have a fantastic cruise and once again, welcome aboard!
We landed at St Maartin on an early Sunday morning once years ago & landed at the dock in the center of town & most everything was shut down until the people returned from services at around 11 AM or so. We haven't visited on a Sunday since the new pier has been open but I suppose a lot of the smaller stores still remain closed for services.
