TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin GCBC reservation

My wife and I are planning a trip to SXM next May. We can be flexible on date but prefer first week in May. We have decided we would like to stay at GCBC. Does anyone have experiece on how fast GCBC fills up, I.e. Do we need to book now. We prefer to wait until around Sept. Or Oct. to book just so we are certain we can travel then. It is just the two of us and we want an ocean view, not on bottom floor if at all possible. Any other reservation tips will be appreciated as this will be our first trip there.

First week of May is the owners' meeting. Book soon!

Also, book directly with the GCBC rather than through a third party.

Why book direct with GCBC rather than a third party? Just curious, is it cheaper, or more likely to be available?

Usually same price to you, but reduces odds of a screw up by eliminating the middleman in the communication chain. When I have read stories of people who have had problems with their reservations, it's almost always third party bookers.

It has been posted here that third party bookings there get "dumped" over those making them directly. One recently was made through Jet Blue Vacations and the couple ended up elsewhere not even in GC. May rates are down anyway so if that's where you want to stay, I say book direct.

I've sent you a private message about our experience look for the blinking envelope near your name.

I would also agree with booking directly through the resort for the reasons already offered but also you are then able to receive any 'extra' incentives they may have going on at the time.

When we booked directly through them last year, not only were we able to be wait-listed for the up-graded suite we wanted which was not available to us at the time we made our original booking but we also received a bottle of wine in our suite along with a generous reward coupon for their on-site gift shop and all for the same price as the various booking sites we looked into. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

I agree Pat, it is always better to book directly even with airlines. Nothing is gained booking through a consolidator and often much is lost.

Why would GCBC rent to a Pirate?

Because Pirates from eastern NC are special and we will drink plenty of rum.

LOL - a little bit of an inside joke. My Mother was a Pirate from her ECTC days in the 1930s. I'm more interested in a certain part of the foot.

Our 1st Carib trip was to SXM in 1987 when it took 4 flights from Raleigh to get there. During that visit GCBC was our favorite part of the island. Having a cute, topless French waitress taking drink orders on the beach was (needless to say) a unique experience for yours truly, and one that I didn't mind at all.

I fell head over heels in love with Martinique Agricole Rhum and still love it today. In fact, I have a sip of Ti Punch almost every night here at home.

Best of luck on your GCBC trip. Over the years May was our normal month for island visits. Could sort of keep your island tan during the summer and much less crowded (and cheaper).

Have a great trip. You'll love GCBC. Can't wait to get there in March!

We have stayed at GCBC for the last 6 times we have been on the island...we just love it there. When we went in May we booked a vacation package thru JetBlue with reservations at GCBC. We had no problems what so every doing thru them. In the past we always booked directly thru GCBC but JetBlue had a fantastic offer we could not refuse...although some people have not had good experience doing this thru an airline or third party...we had no problem. Either way how you book you will enjoy GCBC. We hope to be back next year!