I'm very surprised by some of the comments being posted here. Without the return of the cruise ships I very much doubt St. Maarten would ever bounce back. Yes, some passengers will stay on the ship during a port-of-call. That's their choice. But, the vast majority of people will exit the ship and explore their new destination. Many will take shore excursions that pump money into the local economy. And, when they get to their destinations they will spend money on drinks, food, chair rentals, watersports, and some on shopping. Not everyone will, but many people do. Without this in-flow of new visitors all that revenue would be lost.

If one out of every ten cruise ship visitors discovers this is 'the place' for them they will return and on a future cruise, or better yet come to St. Maarten and stay for a week or longer. How else would they ever discover SXM?

My wife and I have been on many cruises and not once have I heard personnel on a ship discourage people form going ashore. That would be crazy, because both the cruise line and the destination profit from visitors who come ashore and sign-up for shore excursions. For anyone who has never been on a cruise, each evening you receive an itinerary about activities on the ship for the following day, as well as the different things to see and do at tomorrow's destination. For St. Maarten multiple destinations are explained in such brochures including Orient Beach, the boardwalk in Philipsburg, Maho Beach, and even Loterie Farm. It's then up to the passengers to decide where they want to go the next day. I cannot even begin to count the number of cruise ship passengers that I have met over the years on the boardwalk or on the various beaches of St. Maarten who ask me questions about the island, and I always finish my conversations with them by encouraging them to "now take a week's vacation on SXM so they can truly live the experience."