Jazzgal, I'm not saying everyone will take this approach but I would bet money that a significant number of folks will look to arrive one or two days in advance of their cruise departing date if not to explore St. Maarten, but just to assure they reach SXM in plenty of time to make the cruise. That should help boost tourism revenue even if its just for a day or two. Same approach that so many people use when taking cruises departing from Ft. Lauderdale or Miami. My wife and I never chance making a cruise departure by flying in the same morning of embarkation. Not with the (un)reliability of today's airlines. We always arrive a day or two in advance, stay at a hotel in the vicinity of the cruise port that provides a shuttle to the port, and dine at local establishments in the area. My guess is that a high volume of people will take this same approach on SXM (and hopefully return to the island in the future for a longer visit after experiencing it for a few days).