Hello, <BR> <BR>We're planning on taking Disney's 7 night cruise to St.Thomas, St.John and St.Maarten. After reading responses to St. Maarten I might change my mind. I don't understand why such an elegant cruise ship such as Disney would take their customers to such a disgusting place. <BR> <BR>Does anyone have any other opinions on St.Thomas and St.John? Any info. would be appreciated. <BR> <BR>Thank You,
Perhaps it is because it is not a disgusting place. I would trust Disney's opinion, based on their reputation, than the rantings of a few. Do you think that Disney would risk bad press and tarnish the way they are viewed in the tourist industry. I bet they did their homework before putting St. Martin on their port of call. <BR> <BR>Jane
I totally agree with Jane! St. Maarten is a wonderful place. Besides you will be there during the day and probably with a tour group. They will not take you to any "dangerous areas" (not that I've been to any) and I'm sure there are tour packages geared to kids. You have nothing to worry about. I spent 8 days in St. Maarten, never had any trouble whatsoever. We had rented a car and explored every inch of the island. Go and have a great time!!! BTW - not only do I love St. Maarten but I'm crazy about Disney! I hope to take the same cruise you are taking one of these days. Also, I'm heading to St. John in less than two weeks!
St. Martin is a dump and I don't know why Disney would stop there except it's a BUSINESS decision. Cruise lines get KICKBACKS from tourist governments. Do you think a behemoth corporation like Disney really cares? <BR> <BR>I was mugged on the beach in broad daylight a few months ago in St. Martin. <BR> <BR>If you decide to go, do the organized tours but that's it. Stay with your group. The island is a poverty-ridden pit from hell. Many people leave early once they see the deplorable third world conditions. I wish I had. <BR> <BR>
Strange Henry. On the post in the other thread, you only say you saw roving gangs, but never saw them do anything criminal. On this thread you say you got mugged in broad daylight. <BR> <BR>Having trouble getting your stories straight? <BR> <BR>Oh, and you have proof that most people leave early, right?
Debbie: <BR> <BR>St. Maarten is neither heaven on earth, nor is it a disgusting place; same goes for St. Thomas. The truth lies somewhere between the various extremes portrayed to you, and also depends on many things: what kind of day you find yourself in each of these places, what your expectations are, what things you like to do and see, and how accustomed you are to the realities of the Caribbean. <BR> <BR>For starters, most ports where cruise ships drop their guests tend to be busy and fairly commercial. Consider that the ship is dropping several hundred passengers into a small area at once. The vendors love that. And if you like to shop, you'll be happy as well. <BR> <BR>Second, there is a certain level of poverty in the islands, and even those people who are middle class in the Caribbean live in what Americans might consider shabby conditions. Most take a good deal of pride in their homes, but simply lack the resources we take for granted. There is no Home Depot anywhere near them. It is what it is, so don't judge. <BR> <BR>That said, there is also crime associated with poverty; I make no statement about its frequency because I don't have the facts. Some islands have better reputations for saftey than others, but reputation is not necessarily reality. Exercise the caution and prudence you would in a big American city: don't flash money, don't flash jewelry, don't make yourself a target (don't be paranoid either). <BR> <BR>If you are more interested in getting away from it all, you will like St. John, since 2/3 of it is national parkland. Rent a jeep and explore on your own, get away from the large excursions. If your ship's itinerary doesn't give you enough time to do that, but the next stop is St. Thomas, do what many people do: stay as long as you like on St. John and then take the ferry over to St. Thomas to catch the ship. <BR> <BR>You'll have to look further to get away from it all on St. Thomas and St. Maarten. St. Maarten is a very cosmoplitan island, with a large population, and many visitors (by ship and by plane). For some people, the sociability of the place is heaven, but you have to work harder to get away from it all. There are some lovely beaches and the dining is outstanding. Although you have all of your meals provided for you on the ship, consider eating on the island anyway -- you won't regret it. <BR> <BR>No island is everything to everyone. Each has good points and bad points, and my idea of heaven (which, frankly, excludes both St. Thomas and St. Maarten, even though I can see why someone else might like them) is someone else's hell. Open your mind, have a great attitude, and you will enjoy yourself. <BR> <BR>(Sorry if I sound preachy. I LOVE the Caribbean, but my love is not blind.)
"Chas", one post was about a GANG rape, so I mentioned the GANGS that I saw. If you want me to mention the mugging in EVERY post, I certainly will, but I didn't find it relevant. <BR> <BR>Yes, I was mugged on the beach. Not by the gang of kids (teens) -- saw it earlier in the week. SHould have left then. Live & learn. <BR> <BR>
If you think St. Maarten is a disgusting place, then by all means do not take the Disney Cruise line. stay home! <BR>Have you ever been here? if not, how can you call it disgusting? <BR>we have plenty of other visitors who would disagree with you and who come here to stay in hotels or on cruises and have a lovely time. St. Maarten is a very popular cruise ship stop. <BR>yes,we have problems. no, we are not perfect. if you want perfect, go somewhere where no peopel live. <BR>can you come and spend a day on St. maarten and enjoy yourself? of course! Just leave your negative attitudes behind. come with a positive outlook and a smile and you can definitely enjoy yourself here <BR>
Forget about the gang rapes and murders, the traffic and road conditions are what tourists should fear the most. <BR> <BR>On Monday another child was killed by an errant motorist, 10 year old Dexter Jones. <BR> <BR>How many children must die before the government does something about the horrible road conditions and insane driving habits? <BR> <BR>
How many other children have been killed recently in traffic accidents on St. Maarten? You write as if this was a common ocurrence, but I haven't seen references to other cases in the St. Maarten paper. Or is this just another example of taking a single example of an unfortunate incident and using it to try to make things seem worse than they are? <BR>Debbie, when looking at the various comment about St. Maarten/St. Martin, isn't it odd that so many of them are positive while the few negative ones are all so extreme? (I say few because most of them are repetitions of the same thing - often with the same ananymous address.) St. Martin has some problems, but as a cruise ship passenger you won't see many of them. You will probably find Philipsburg hot and crowded, traffic may be heavy, and people may be urging you to buy things, and if you do something foolish like leaving valuables unattended, someone may aquire them, but the beaches are great and the French atmosphere in Marigot makes a change if you go there. St. Martin is not a pretty as some Caribbean islands, but not as ugly as some pretend. It has been some years since I was on St. Thomas, but I prefer St. Martin. St. John, of course, is another matter, being much quieter and largely a national park.
First to Anon. What an inane post. Has no child ever been killed on a street in the U.S. How about your state in particular? Does that mean that nobody should ever go to your home state (certainly no foreign visitors should ever come to the U.S.). Sure they are traggic, but unfortunately accidents happen everywhere. Don't try to sound so moralistic until you prove there are no such accidents where you live. <BR> <BR>Now to Debbie: <BR> <BR>Rather than reacting to Henry's post, I should have reacted more to your posting. Like Barbara, I am also alarmed that you would use the term disgusting to describe a place that you have never visited. If you were responding with a knee-jerk reaction to some of the negative postings, I hope you will reconsider. <BR> <BR>If not and you wish to maintain that attitude, then follow Barbara's advice and stay on the boat, since you would not appreciate the island's philosophy, or get to experience other cultures. <BR> <BR>There is a lyric from a song from Pete Townsend that would aptly apply to this type of attitude. The song refers to developing an alternate reality on the internet. Since you are there, you would be halfway home. <BR> <BR>'You will receive life programs that precisely fit your needs and desires. Our planet is challenged. Decent people need to be protected. So enjoy the present while we hope for the future. Slip onto the life-experience grid today.' <BR> <BR>Rather, I would hope that you can follow the alternate philosophy expressed later in the song. <BR> <BR>'Athena controls newspapers, TV stations and all media, including the grid. You are her consumers and I believe you need truth to develop morality and decency. The grid always provides facts, but facts don't always reveal the truth.' <BR> <BR>There is a whole world out there. Hopefully you can decide to experience it and learn from other cultures as we have. <BR> <BR> <BR>
The real question is, how can you get any info of value from this board when one person Ted/Lisa/Anon/Roger? makes you feel that there is a consensus about something when it is just one twisted person? The indisputable proof came last week when all of them were gone at the same time and then they all came back together.
Roger D. <BR> <BR>Thanks for the compliment. I want to be a LOSER in your class. <BR> <BR>By the way, they pay me a minimum of a case of Carib for each inane post I have to respond to. (Ding! Just got myself another one. Thanks again!)
Tom, <BR> <BR>You noticed that the multi-personalities all came back at the same time too. What I really appreciate is when they have conversations with themselves in order to keep things going. <BR> <BR>Guess that week vacation in Aruba didn't get the kinks out. <BR> <BR>Jane <BR>
Well, you certainly got bombarded by lots of insane info ... and I usually don't get into the "frey" on this ... BUT I am sure Disney made the decision based on their business sense (or lack thereof!) ... They have chosen "popular" destinations that can handle the "crowds" that cruise ships bring! Neither St. Thomas, St. Martin are disgusting ... St. John is famous for its pristine Nat'l Park and is rapidly changing as the hoards decend! Go enjoy, seek info on places to go/things to do that will give you the flavor of the "real Caribb" not some Americanized stopover! There are wonderful beaches, great restaurants, wonderful views, freindly warm people and best of all, things to keep the tourists busy and happy - and NOT just the centers for shopping or the more cosmopolation parts of STT/SXM. Not sure of your itinerary and how long you will be in the USVI, but do explore some of the wonderful beaches, take a sail to some of the unaccessable beaches or choose one of the wonderful beaches on St. Thomas ... not just Coki ... altho I am sure your ship will recommend that one for the aquarium ... you can hire a cab for a couple of hours to "tour" the highlites ... skip Trunk and head to any of the other ones for more seclsion rather than the hoards who will be there! Cruising is a great way to "explore" lots of destinations for short periods of time and many use it for just that ... and then head back for a land stay just as quick as they can! Do NOT listen to the poster(s) who distort and scare you away (the crime rate is NOT astronomical!!!!) Do use common sense, good judgment and remain alert ... WHERE EVER YOU TRAVEL!
This message is to all the insane nuts out there,who obviously can't read. If you had read my message then you would see that I was going on what I heard on this forum about St. Marrten. Before I spend thousands of dollars on my first cruise I wanted to know a little more about that island before me and my family traveled there. Yes, I know about the conditions the islanders live in(thanks Barbara for that info.) I happen to have been to the Bahamas. No, I don't turn my nose up to anyone because as i'm sure you know Barbara there is poverty in the US as well. I don't want to spend thousand of dollars to go and visit a place that I have'nt heard anything positive about. When we visited the Bahamas it was absolutely beautiful as were the people. <BR> <BR>Thank you to all the sane individuals who took the time to inform me a little more and answer my cruise question. I do appreciate it. A special thanks to Roger D. I agree with you! What rock did that Chaz individual crawl out from under? I thought this was a travel forum, not a lecture on life! <BR> <BR>Chaz go back to smoking your wacky weed and stay off of the travel forum. <BR> <BR>Debbie
Debbie, <BR> <BR>If you really want to do all the homework, visit other message boards. This one became the playground of people with negative attitudes. And I do mean a playground, their only purpose has been to create confrontation electronically. Notice they talk really loudly, and as much as they feel they are justified, they never identify themselves. <BR> <BR>If you really have any doubts - then JUST DON'T GO.
Debbie: <BR> <BR>Sorry to now talk about life since it uspsets you so, but it seems strange that you react so bitterly. Since you read all the other posts about St Martin to form your opinion, you should have known that these posts as well as the ones for other islands do get personnal at times. You opened the door for it when you started off saying that St Martin was a disgusting island without ever having been there. <BR> <BR>You let the posts of one, or a few, anonymous posters set your whole attitude. You criticize Chas for his bringing life into the threads, but you do not react to an anonymous person who would bring the accidential death of a child into the thread. You have a strange set of priorities. <BR> <BR>If the 'wacky weed' keeps Chas's attitude level, maybe you should partake of it as well. <BR> <BR>I wouldn't be suprised if you had also posted as Roger D; just so you could thank yourself later.
