theporglife

Just. Do. The. Math.
Seriously, am I the only one who has a spreadsheet to do the break even anaylis on all the beverage packages? ?

I've been to St. Maarten five times since the hurricane.  My first return was on one of the 1st ships to call on St. Maarten post-hurricane.  
I've done excursions including a bus tour, catamaran and self explored such as taking a taxi to Maho Beach.  I thoroughly enjoyed every stop there.
In all cases they were very happy to see tourists return and welcoming.  It's bad enough a storm devastates your community but the loss of employment is like salt in the wound.  Tourists mean jobs, a sense of purpose and reason to get up in the morning.  Anyone who has lived through storm damage will know there is a funk that hangs over everything day after day.  Having a job to do breaks that monotony, provides a distraction and a sense of normalcy, that everything will work out.  
On my visits I went out of my to buy things and didn't haggle on the price, sometimes giving more than they asked.  
This isn't their first brush with devastation.  In the 90's they had a similar experience and lots of resorts, homes and businesses were lost.  Some never rebuilt.  Most did.  It will be the same this time as it will in some future decade when it happens again.  Very resilient people.  
Be kind and understanding when you visit, but do visit and do something there.  

I was in St.Maarten on Oasis in September but only did a beach day in Phillipsburg, Great Bay Beach.  Yes, you could see upper floors still without windows but the street level stores and restaurants along the beach were humming with activity. 
I can give you a much better report as I am back there January 21st on Freedom. This time we have a car rental for the day and plan to go around both sides of the Island. 

We were at St. Maarten last week.  While there is still plenty of visible hurricane damage, no facilities or services were interrupted that I noticed.  We did not go to Maho but I heard tour operator hocking excursions to go there so I think it’s open for business.  They definitely took a hard shot.