DCL not ready to return to Tortola yet...

[DietCokeMommy]

I loved St Marteen, Maho beach was awesome. I wish they would add it back to the eastern itinerary permanently.

I don't understand the appeal of Maho beach. From pictures it looks small with only a narrow strip of sand, backing right up to a fence and of course you've got planes constantly overhead. How is that appealing? Especially given all the other gorgeous beaches of the Caribbean.

 

[RRB]

I don't understand the appeal of Maho beach. From pictures it looks small with only a narrow strip of sand, backing right up to a fence and of course you've got planes constantly overhead. How is that appealing? Especially given all the other gorgeous beaches of the Caribbean.

I was kinda wondering about this myself. I looked on TA and there are almost 5,000 reviews with 59% of them "Excellent". Most reviews list the planes as a major draw for the location. I guess its one of those "You Had To Be There" places.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

It's not a "beach day!" beach, it's more of a "this is weird!" destination.

 

[g_ppetto]

Planes are not constantly overhead at Maho beach. The airport is not that busy. Take a look at the PTZtv Maho beach web camera. You can also monitor the inbound and outbound flights from their page. We usually watch their Port Canaveral cam...

 

[RRB]

Is Maho the best beach on St Maarten?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Is Maho the best beach on St Maarten?

Depends on what you want. If you want to sit on a beach, no way. Orient Beach or Mullet Bay are much better beaches. Maho is a spectacle, attached to a little bit of sand.

 

[g_ppetto]

Is Maho the best beach on St Maarten?

You should view the PTZtv web cam, and look at the beach on Google Maps satellite view.

 

[RRB]

Anguilla is supposed to be beautiful. Anybody go there for the day?

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I don't understand the appeal of Maho beach. From pictures it looks small with only a narrow strip of sand, backing right up to a fence and of course you've got planes constantly overhead. How is that appealing? Especially given all the other gorgeous beaches of the Caribbean.

I was kinda wondering about this myself. I looked on TA and there are almost 5,000 reviews with 59% of them "Excellent". Most reviews list the planes as a major draw for the location. I guess its one of those "You Had To Be There" places.

I can speak for my family on this. My husband is VERY into all things flying. His grandfather was a retired USAF test pilot & flight instructor. He took my husband flying a LOT. When my husband was 16 he started his flight lessons & soloed. He also learned to loop a small plane. LOL! Due to cost challenges he had to stop his lessons just shy of his license. We married young & had a family but his love of flying never went away. We couldn’t afford him lessons but we have had flight simulators including pedals, yokes, throttles, etc. as long as we’ve owned computers. Flying is in his soul. Our sons, by default, have picked up a lot of the same passion. Even me. Being near planes is always a thrill for any one of us. I remember the first time we went to Maho back on Thanksgiving Day 2013. We were in the taxi, when we rounded the corner and drove across where the fence line is between the runway and the beach the look on DH’s face. He had tears in his eyes. It’s like seeing a child’s dream come true. He quietly said, “I’m here I’m actually here.” We had a glorious day even without any 747s. We got a great table at the Sunset Bar positioned in the shade directly under a speaker that broadcast the air traffic control communications in real time. He’d listen & watch to see what planes were on final then all 3 boys would run out to the beach to stand for them to fly overhead. Hubby surfed the fence for a takeoff then came back to our table with a scratched lip where a rock blew into his face. He was so excited about his bloody lip! We ordered drinks & food on and off all day. Our server kept a pitcher of water on our table. We tipped her quite generously since we held the table for several hours. It was a fabulous, amazing day for us.

But just to explain it a little, anyone who digs planes/aviation would get it. It’s a unique place for sure. I’ll post some video in a minute so you can see.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I took these videos: (Ps. The 2nd video there’s a lady in front of us to the right that’s topless. She doesn’t turn around so you only see her back but as a heads-up. My boys were 18 & 17 at the time so we didn’t really have a problem with them possibly seeing topless ladies. But if you have younger kids it’s a consideration.)

I think this is the one where hubby got the bloody lip. At about 2:10 he says “Here it comes.” It’s a hella blast and this isn’t that big a plane.

Notice how much closer to the fence this pilot swings the plane. The pilots know there’s crowds out there watching them and many play to that by swinging closer to the fence or landing a little low.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Anguilla is supposed to be beautiful. Anybody go there for the day?

Anguilla is a fairly risky day trip, as you have to pass customs twice.

 

[RRB]

Anguilla is a fairly risky day trip, as you have to pass customs twice.

wow, good tip. Thanks

 

[_auroraborealis_]

wow, good tip. Thanks

There's a ferry. You have to transfer over to the ferry (it's nearer to the airport than the cruise port) or to a private charter (varies where they pick up). The ferry itself is about a half hour, then you need to get to wherever you're going on Anguilla (which is lovely). Passport required in both directions, because you come from either Dutch or French SXM to British Anguilla. (Passports aren't required between the sides of SXM because everyone would go insane.)

So it's a lot of time transferring.

 

[lklgoodman]

Didn't they put up barriers so people couldn't ride the fence after the lady was killed last year? I thought I had read that somewhere, but maybe not.

 

[g_ppetto]

Didn't they put up barriers so people couldn't ride the fence after the lady was killed last year? I thought I had read that somewhere, but maybe not.

I think the jet blast caused her to fall and hit her head. There are warning signs.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Didn't they put up barriers so people couldn't ride the fence after the lady was killed last year? I thought I had read that somewhere, but maybe not.

They had said they were going to reroute the road away from the end of the runway & move the fence further back. This would remove the barriers that the people hit their heads on. I just did a search. No reports this was ever done.

Here’s a video posted 2 days ago. Looks pretty much how I remember.

This video posted on May 25, 2018 shows fence riders. Looks like the taller barriers are now short ones.

 

[RRB]

There's a ferry. You have to transfer over to the ferry (it's nearer to the airport than the cruise port) or to a private charter (varies where they pick up). The ferry itself is about a half hour, then you need to get to wherever you're going on Anguilla (which is lovely). Passport required in both directions, because you come from either Dutch or French SXM to British Anguilla. (Passports aren't required between the sides of SXM because everyone would go insane.)

So it's a lot of time transferring.

I found a couple of non-DCL boat excursions that appear to go directly from SM to Anguilla and back. I wonder how they do the customs thing. I guess that is a risky excursion with any number of things that could delay the return back to the ship.

 

[DietCokeMommy]

Still seems weird as a vacation attraction to me. It’s not like you typically hang out at the fences of your local airport. But hey, to each their own!

 

[RRB]

I just heard from Shoreside Concierge. They will not know for a couple months if our cruise will dock at Tortola or not. They want to give the island as much time as possible to get ready.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

So, it sounds like NCL have postponed return to Tortola until October. Nothing from Disney yet, but they tend to be pretty conservative on these things.