The Port of St. Maarten Cruise Facilities comprises of the Dr. A.C. Wathey Pier, the John Craane Cruise Terminal, the Tender Jetty, Capt. Hodgeís Wharf,and ìHarbour Point Village. These integrated facilities cater to the demands and needs of the cruise sector.
The ultra-modern cruise facilities at the Port of St. Maarten puts St. Maarten in the ninth place among the top twenty world cruise ports and destinations, according to G.P. Wild International, a management, marketing and economic consultancy practice based in the United Kingdom. The Port of St. Maarten also ranks number nine of leading ports and destinations in the Caribbean Region. The island as a cruise destination has grown from 105,000 cruise passengers in 1980 to more than 1,4 million in 2006. The Port of St. Maarten offers simultaneous accommodation for four cruise vessels alongside the 2100 feet cruise pier. Our facilities include seaside and boulevard promenades along with the John Craane Cruise Terminal offering bus, taxi and water taxi operations, car rentals, banking, tours, telecommunication services and much, much more. Water taxiís leave the cruise facility and head straight into the duty-free shopping mecca of the Northeastern Caribbean, Philipsburg. Cruise passengers disembark at the Capt. Hodge Wharf from water taxiís and tender boat shuttles. Harbor Point Village was opened in May 2003 and complements the shopping center of Philipsburg (Front Street). The village features a shopping arcade consisting of 12 shops and 12 market-stalls. Tender Jetty Facilities The tender jetty facilities cater to home porting, water taxiís and water base tours. The new tender jetty has been described as the largest in the Northeastern Caribbean. The tender jetty is four meters (14 ft) wide by 120 meters (390 ft) long featuring a nine meter (25.2 ft) bridge section and four finger piers and a 24 meter (67.2 ft) covered section. A depth of six meters has been dredged to allow vessels with a draft of five meters to safely approach the berthing facility. The finger piers can accommodate up to six vessels simultaneously.