TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Celebrity to have some overnight stays in SXM

Daily Herald story I would love a cruise that stayed overnight in SXM!! Of the other ports, I'm sorry, Cartagena?? I haven't been there for a long time, but as of the last time I was there, I would not want to be there overnight, as I wouldn't feel safe going anywhere after night..

Judging from my one and only cruise which introduced me to Sint Maarten 20 years ago, I have to say the only place I wished we had overnight-ed was Sint Maarten. It was the Gem of my cruise and I didn't want to leave. I was back in two weeks for a weeks vacation!

As far a the Bahamas, St. Thomas, St. Croix, one day was more than enough for me!

Of the ports mentioned in that story, it would be neat to have an overnight in Aruba or in Cozumel, but otherwise, not sure I'd be too interested, other than SXM, of course!

There are some ports we stay on the ship. Believe it or not you have the ship to yourself, very peaceful.

Oh, we often did that on Caribbean cruises, at ports we had been to a million times, or places I didn't care for, like the Bahamas..

The only thing we would do in STT is visit friends. We had our boat there for 2 years, all too familiar.

I welcome this as many cruises in the 70s did stay late. They didn't have the casinos onboard to get open asap. SXM has a great potential. Other places just give you more time to relax knowing you can enjoy the beach to the end and make your way calmly to the boat. Some ports however will lead to more victims of crime and missed boats.

As for celebrity, they need all the help they can get to get us onboard. And something like this could help sell an itinerary.

Have to admit, although we have done many Caribbean cruises we have never had a "sleep over". Knowing cruise lines as I do and their tendency to want to "own" their customers, I wonder what excursions they would offer? I can't think of much in Phillipsburg but that is not my side of town. There are lots of entertainment options in the airport area and of course, Grand Case but almost any place I can think of would be overwhelmed with a bus load and it would be the odd cruiser that would know the ropes well enough to go on their own?

The cruise from Baltimore (and probably NY) stays several nights in Bermuda. I would like to try that one. Heard good things about it except that it can be a rough passage.

St. Maarten/St. Martin is not an unfamiliar port at all to an experienced cruiser. I think there will be a LOT of cruise folks who will go out on their own. Frankly, if I were on such a cruise, I would have NO interest in an excursion in the evening, and I doubt there will be many that will. And when the ship stays in port overnight, there will be a lot more experienced people who will rent cars. This is truly a win, win for SXM..

We discovered SXM on a cruise back in 2003. We are now currently enjoying our 5th vacation here... each time staying 10+ nights. As an experienced cruiser as well, we have gotten away from Caribbean cruises (same old, same old) but would consider an itinerary with an overnight here. I think it will give cruise passengers a better, more authentic experience - sure to lure them back for more!

A two day stay in Cuba would be very attractive to Miami vacationers and a boom to RCI at this point in time. Especially since there are sub standard hotels in Havana now

That would be neat, if they have cruise docks that can accomodate these huge ships today.

When I first saw this topic I was wondering if the "celebrity" was going to be an actor, athlete, politician, or other.

However, Cuba is still off limits for American tourists, soon come

Agreed, just 'assuming' it will be soon come...