For centuries, the sea was the only connection St. Maarten had with the outside world. However, for the people of the island, the world did not entirely revolve around the sea. Although, a traveler in the late 1920s wrote about how the people rowed out

to his boat for its three- hour sojourn to take and give addresses, then when the siren goes, to scamper back to their canoes for four more uneventful weeks. That monthly call of a steamboat that sailed from Santo Domingo with stops in Puerto Rico and

St. Maarten among others, may have been the earliest form of a cruise that the island knew. In those days, connections between the islands were often on small, usually about 40 ft. vessels that transported passengers, mail and provisions, or other goods.

Welcome to Port St. Maarten