TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Trip Report - Observations

Just general observations and comments about our stay.

The only time we were ever asked for our vaccine card was when we checked into Grand Case Beach Club. That is also the only place on the French side where we were required to wear a mask. Many places had a sign requiring masks and/or the French Sanitary Pass, but we were never asked for it. That said, we never really went indoors on the French side. On the Dutch side, masks are required in indoor settings.

Seaweed on Orient got really bad towards the end of our stay. On Thursday the beach bars weren't even trying to remove it during the day; it would have been impossible.

There are a lot fewer vendors on Orient, most are very polite and accept your refusal. There are the two or three pushy ones who haven't changed...

The weather was absolutely perfect, with only one day of our three+ weeks a complete rainout. There were often showers overnight and early morning, and a couple of downpours during the day and evening, but nothing to ruin a day. I don't know that I've ever seen the island as green, and the butterflies were out in force.

The French side protests were definitely a factor during our stay, but we only changed our plans twice in the entire three weeks. The worst was in Sandy Ground, which we generally avoid anyway. Similar to what sometimes happens in the US, the protests were used as an excuse by criminals to destroy property. The gendarmes seemed to get a handle on it after a week or so.

St. Maarten changing the requirements for fully-vaccinated travelers certainly made our arrival much less stressful; I confess I wasn't really excited about the trip until that happened, then all the stress and uncertainty dissolved. Living in the middle of nowhere where we do, the testing isn't as easy to accomplish.

Having the reentry requirements change in the middle of our stay was a bit stressful, but the MedWorks clinic in Porto del Sol handles the tests so efficiently it was a non-issue. They changed our original Wednesday appointment to Thursday via email, and we were in and out before our actual appointment time, and had our results in about half an hour.

Flying still isn't much fun with the requirement to be masked the entire time, and there's no such thing as a "meal" in first class, but at least you can get a cocktail or two. I got a decent vegetarian grain salad on our flight departing SXM that was actually pretty tasty.

As always, the best part of our visit is spending time with the friends we've made over the years. Some of those we only see once a year on the island, and some we catch up with here at home, even though we live far apart. There's something really special about this island that brings us all together.

A nice addition to your reports. Great presentation.

What ruralcarrier said….. 😊😊

Thank you for the reports. Very enjoyable to read.

Thanks for posting. It always helps to pass the time, for those of us who have a LONG time to go until our next trip!

Thanks for the detailed reports -- touched upon everything which is great! As other's have said, these reports get us through the down months.

Nice spending time with you all at Anse Marcel . . . .

It was a very nice day! Thank you for arranging that day!

In regards to the meals in the first class cabin, we flew United to EWR in the first class and they had a full service including two choices of dinner and beverages. Both choices were not bad at all for an airplane food and were served with real glasses and silverware. Plenty of any kind of beverages including alcoholic. Don’t know about main cabin but our service was very good, no complaints at all.

Jet Blue also served food and drinks last March.

Thank you for all the reports. We thoroughly enjoyed them as we do every year. The restaurants & food all sound delicious but we are not foodies so are vacations are very different. We frequent places like the Green House, Isola, & Mark’s. The Palm’s is on our list but the parking in February is challenging. Merry Christmas.

Wow! I wish American would up their service again. We haven't had hot food on a flight for two years.

When we flew AA last, Nov. 2020 I’m thinking, the first class ‘meal’ consisted of a dry Turkey and Swiss sandwich on a croissant. And in both directions, no less. Not much of a drinker but on the flight into NY I asked for a Baileys on the rocks only to be told they didn’t have any cordials on the flight. AA First is not even remotely what it used to be…..

Had a real meal on PHL-MIA and MIA-SXM in 1st class a couple of weeks ago, real plates and utensils and such, assuming will be the same on the way back.

As Georgia already knows, all 4 of our meals on AA were frozen. The steak salad would probability have been tasty if thawed.

Agree, this November trip was one of the best! Perfect weather and more quality time with friends we only see in SXM.

We are blessed!

Well I must say that you Folks are an amazing couple and do know where to dine ; plus not forgetting our Dear Chef Davide at Sale and Pepe . Blessings and enjoy your full vacation.

Same here. Hope that changes by May.

Was that on AA?

last May we had that same turkey sandwich but drinks were free flowing in FC on AA.

was AA, good drink service and crew, food was fine for airplane food

Thanks. Good to know.

What class with JetBlue served food and drinks?

I wondered about that, too.
We flew MINT one year and they offered us small plates but otherwise there has only been food available for purchase.
Coming home in November they didn’t even offer their prepared for purchase snack sandwiches. Drinks and munchies were as good as it got.

We scheduled to fly first class on AA to Las Vegas in February, will see what we get then.

Thanks for taking time to post a wonderful and in depth report.

AA flight SXM-MIA then MIA-PHL was worse then on the way down.
Back to plastic stuff and choice on 1st leg was veggie wrap or turkey sandwich on pretzel bun. Guess what the 2nd leg was???? veggie wrap or turkey sandwich on pretzel bun.
Then MIA didnt get 2/4 checked bags onto the MIA-PHL flight but thankfully the next flight (think last of the day) arrived an hour later with remaining 2 bags.
MIA stinks (connection line was huge + no TSA precheck, 2 hours almost wasn't long enough!)

You have my sympathies and I can relate to your post.

Personally speaking, and openly admitting we’ve only made limited numbers of flights through MiamI, I’d rather stick pencils in both eyes than go that route again.

I’ve really enjoyed reading your trip reports! They are very informative and fun. We fly AA to SXM all the time. I don’t mind connecting through MIA on the way down as we’ve had very few issues. We generally fly back through Charlotte or Philly. No complaints.

we were there for my birthday 11/26 thru 12/4. (5) crazy ladies... it was amazing ! the weather, the island and of course the people. no complaints at all. Thank you to Lesley for making my party at Sale e Pepe so memorable. after 35 years still our Island. Glad you had a great time as well
lina