Georgiagirl Posted March 22, 2019 Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 My husband and I will be on the HOS in June. The itinerary includes a stop at St. Thomas/Charlotte Amalie and St. Maarteen. Are there beaches at each of these ports that are close by? I really do not want to spend a lot of money on shore excursions for each port so was curious as to what are our options if we do not choose a shore excursion. TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaArsonist Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 I have been on st Maarten but never on a cruise, saying that I believe the cruise port is basically right at philipsburg which sits directly on Great bay. There is a boardwalk with quite a few bars and restaraunts that r right on the beach they run specials like a bucket of beers and 2 lounge chairs for 15 bucks. The beach is very nice and there are some great restaraunts. On the road side of the boardwalk is basically a large shopping area with rows of stores. tiny260 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiagirl Posted March 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHobbys Posted April 22, 2019 Report Share Posted April 22, 2019 St Maarten has a nice beach that you can swim / snorkel on that is right on the main shop-drag. The ship will dock a little ways away, but there is a shuttle ferry you can get on or you can walk. St. Thomas, don't recall a beach that close as we only did our walk around shopping there. on the left side, is the main drag where all the shops are - on the right side, just outside the frame is where the ships are docked. Behind me is the ferry dock that shuttles you to and from the boat dock. The beach on the other side of the ferry dock is similar to this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fonemanbob Posted April 25, 2019 Report Share Posted April 25, 2019 Have been there several times. We do the beach and then hit the boardwalk and have a great place to go and get a bite to eat. Can`t remember the name, but it is on the second floor. It`s a husband and wife place. Lovely couple. We have never done an excursion there. We simply love St. Maarten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetHomeLady Posted May 2, 2019 Report Share Posted May 2, 2019 In the Caribbean we usually just get off and walk around a little bit, then go back and enjoy the quiet on the ship. (Lived in Hawaii and Florida for years, so the beach is not a particularly point of interest for us.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotleyCruiser Posted May 2, 2019 Report Share Posted May 2, 2019 Going on cruise number 25 in August. I've done maybe 5 excursions total over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2mybugs Posted May 3, 2019 Report Share Posted May 3, 2019 Both ports are totally doable without an excursion. Magen’s bay in st Thomas is a taxi/short bus away and beautiful...though it can get crowded. We took a ferry to St. John’s that we did an excursion but you could just ferry and St. John’s was an amazing beach. We were in st Maarten in March, walked to the beach and had a great free time. We could have gotten chairs or buckets of beer but didn’t need to. Have a great trip!!! Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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