We recently advised a friend to visit Anse Marcel when in port on a cruise. They encountered burned out cars and buildings. Hard to believe the cruise line did not warn against this. Their words not mine.

Just how bad is it on the French side? Also, we usually dine in GC at least once (staying on Dutch side) but have learned Piazza Pascal was sold so that's out. What GC restaurants survived IRMA and are recommended.?

Granted the cruise line could issue precautions but the protests and aftermath were widely publicized.

Just how bad is it on the French side?? As of now, no protests and all roads have been cleared, including Sandy Ground, which was the last blockage. Did your friends drive themselves or get a cab? If they got a cab, I am surprised that they would have seen any evidence of burned out cars between the cruise port and Anse Marcel. When did they go?

As far as Grand Case, most of the LAND side restaurants are open and great, as always, such as Bistrot Cariabes, La Villa, Le Cottage, etc. On the water side, Ocean 82 is open and wonderful. There is still construction going on in Grand Case on the streets and parking is sometimes hard to find. And there are some buildings still in a state of disrepair, especially on the water side, as a result of several factors. For ME, personally, right now, I prefer Orient Village. Tons of great restaurants there, great parking, no destroyed buildings still evident from Irma. And if you go on Friday nights, they have music and vendors in the square.

Fully agree with Carol about visiting the French side and focusing on Orient Village. As you now, GC is just a short jump from Orient and there should be no issues driving from one-to-the-other. Bistros Caraibes and Ocean 82 are two of my favorite restaurants on French St. Martin, and their quality from the past should still be there. Both had/have outstanding staffs that are eager to please, and I recommend both places very much. Personally, I wouldn't spend a whole lot of time hanging out in Grand Case (not sure what I would do there), but Orient Village is bouncing back and we'll be there in early March. After our visit I'll post a report on this forum that hopefully others will find helpful, but our time on the french side will be focused around Orient.

We have been everywhere on the island pretty much except Sandy Ground. It's cleaned up but we don't need to be there anyway. La Villa highly recommended in grand case. We didn't go to ocean 82 but busy & Barranco is also on water side. Grand case was busy at night & for what it's worth we are told new sewer lines going in then replacing of some sort before next high season.
Le petit bistro in orient village very good. Wai' plage on beach very good (Christelle from le piment). Luc at orange fever hopes to have water & electrical soon. You can get chairs drinks & Florence said some kind of wrap.
Le petit casino well stocked. Water price crazy though may want to get at super u or Carrefour. They still have chickens roasted with potatoes. You can order in morning pickup leaving beach. Also in orient village is a fabulous Italian shop with different fresh pasta & different sauces to take home to cook or lasagne they made was Great! Sometimes they have foccacia bread & lots of neat jars of stuff! Nice addition to the village.
Sole meuniere at Tropicana with lemon butter sauce fantastic! It went really well with the grand marnier souffle!😁

Feel safe wherever we went. People gracious & some of the most courteous drivers anywhere.
Love being here even when it rains!! So much fun!

Just got back. I did not feel unsafe anywhere including visiting the French side. Orient village is very nice, as noted, Marigot and Grand Case need more work.

Can you elaborate on why you didn't feel safe anywhere on St. Martin? Even during the daylight hours? In all honesty I have never felt unsafe there, but always tried to use good judgment regarding our night time endeavors. What sort of things did you observe that would lead to you feeling this way, if you don't mind me asking. Or, was this just a general feeling you had during your entire visit?

“Unsafe”

I too would like more info on "unsafe" feeling even in daylight on French side. We leave in about 35 days and just yesterday hubby was asking where we'd eat upon arrival and I said toss up: Be Cool, La Main et Pate, both Marina Royal, or Nice in Grand Case, or O'Plongoir Marigot. We always drop off luggage then drive for a full lunch then early to bed after a long travel day so we'd be driving during the afternoon. We do plan to avoid Sandy Ground. But is there more we should be aware of?

I am not who you are asking but I can tell you I felt VERY unsafe back in Nov. in the French Quarter area with the 12-15 scooters/motorcycles charging at the cars, doing burnouts causing gravel to be thrown at the cars, riding wheelies at the cars and almost daring them to hit them.

I’m still trying to figure out who said they felt unsafe.........not the OP as far as I can tell. And another poster said they never felt unsafe.

The only time I felt unsafe during our last trip was while driving on the Maho Beach Road with all the would-be airplane watchers all over the road and standing in and on the median and the sea wall with beers in their hands. And unsafe only in the respect one might slip and fall in front of our car.

Of course, we tend to not wander as much as we used to and stay pretty much on the beaten paths these days.

I do see your point(s) above, but my personal history with St. Martin has been to not put oneself into situations that could become precarious. Using good judgment after dark and avoiding areas that are known to be problematic (the french quarter, the dutch quarter, etc.). Those areas have ALWAYS been a concern in the past. Even if you rent a car, taking a taxi at night to-and-from your destination (restaurant) was always a safe way to go. Whether staying in Orient Village, or in Philipsburg, or in Maho we would take our evening walk while there was still daylight. And, I've never felt unsafe when on Orient Beach, Mullet Bay Beach, Friar's Bay or even walking the trail to Happy Bay. I am hardly an expert on fear and how this impacts many people, but if we let fear control us then life's adventures will be very limited. The alternative, I suppose, would be the all-inclusive resorts in Punta Cana, Mexico and Jamaica but those get old after a while and in reality it's not much fun feeling that your are 'confined' to only the resort property. There are may areas within the cities where we live that are deemed unsafe, and our approach is to not frequent them at night. I have used the same approach for many years on SXM and have never had an incident in the past.