My opinion is that all of the above comments are way off the mark, and basically short-sighted. St. Maarten is/was essentially the number one cruise ship port-of-call in the Caribbean. It was the centerpiece of most cruises to the Eastern Caribbean. How does bringing more visitors to an island that depends so heavily on tourism impact it in a negative way? Yes, many of the SXM ports-of-call are for just one day, but the cruise ship visitors spend money all over the island when they disembark. 80% of St. Maarten's economy is derived from tourism with four of every five jobs within the labor force connected to tourism. This goes back bit, but in 2013 prior to Irma and COVID, 1,800,000 cruise ship passengers and crew came to St. Maarten and I'm sure they did more than just walk the streets of Philipsburg. It was reported that $423 million in direct income is poured into St. Maarten's economy from tourism.

As for St. Maarten standing as a cruise ship home port, those who come to the island to embark on their cruise most definitely spend money there prior to sailing. Having stayed at Holland House several times in the past, I have met many, many people who have flown to SXM and stayed on the island for a few days prior to their cruise. They stay at the hotels, eat at the restaurants, and shop at the businesses along Main Street. In the past, this has been for smaller yacht type cruises like Windstar. If larger cruise ships that carry 2,000 to 2,500 guests home port here I honestly don't see what the big deal is.

But, the bigger picture is that many cruise ship guests who visit the island for the first time fall in love with it and long to return for extended stays. That's what happen with my wife and I many, many years ago when SXM was a port-of-call on our tenth anniversary wedding cruise. Once we sampled St. Maarten we were hooked, and have returned steadily (more times that I can count) staying at hotels and rental properties on both the Dutch and French sides, dining at the local restaurants, and shopping at the various establishments. And, for those who believe St. Maarten is too crowded with too much traffic to deal with, there are many locations on SXM for those who wish to avoid the crowds (especially on the French side).