St. Maarten gains visibility across three cruise segments in Condé Nast Traveler’s winter picks

GREAT BAY--St. Maarten is set to feature in three distinctly different cruise experiences highlighted by Condé Nast Traveler among its recommended Caribbean sailings for the upcoming winter season, giving the destination exposure across luxury yacht homeporting, upscale destination cruising and traditional large-ship cruising.

The three St. Maarten connections involve Four Seasons Yachts, Oceania Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line, each representing a different segment of the international cruise market and illustrating the range of cruise business the destination is positioned to attract.

The most distinctive of the three is Four Seasons I, the first yacht from Four Seasons Yachts. Its seven-night “Grand Caribbean featuring Anguilla & Antigua” voyage is scheduled to begin in St. Maarten on December 13, 2026, before sailing through the Caribbean and concluding in Miami.

Rather than functioning only as a port of call, St. Maarten will serve as the embarkation point for the voyage. That distinction is important from a tourism perspective because homeport and embarkation activity can generate spending beyond the hours normally associated with a cruise call. Passengers may arrive before sailing, require hotel accommodation, dine locally, use ground transportation and make other purchases before boarding.

Four Seasons Yachts is positioned at the luxury end of the cruise market, bringing the globally recognised Four Seasons hospitality brand into the small-ship and yacht sector. The St. Maarten departure therefore places the destination within a growing premium travel segment targeting passengers seeking smaller vessels, personalised service and high-end Caribbean experiences.

The second connection comes through Oceania Cruises’ Allura, which is scheduled to call at Philipsburg on December 7, 2026, during its “Caribbean Island Bliss” itinerary.

Oceania occupies the upscale cruise segment, with an emphasis on destination-focused itineraries, smaller passenger capacity than many mass-market vessels and a clientele marketed around culinary and cultural travel experiences.

Allura’s scheduled St. Maarten call runs from 7:00am to 7:00pm, providing a full day for passengers to explore the island. For the destination, calls of this nature support activity across transportation, retail, restaurants, beaches, excursions and other tourism businesses.

The third connection represents the large-ship cruise market that remains central to St. Maarten’s cruise tourism sector.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Bliss is scheduled to visit Philipsburg on February 9, 2027, as part of a 12-day Caribbean itinerary. Norwegian Bliss is one of the larger vessels in the Norwegian fleet and represents the high-volume cruise segment capable of bringing thousands of passengers and crew to the destination during a single call.

Taken together, the three sailings tell a broader story than the number of ships alone.

St. Maarten will serve as the starting point for a luxury yacht voyage, a destination stop for an upscale cruise line and a port of call for a major large-ship operator. Each segment brings different passenger profiles, spending patterns and opportunities for local businesses.

The inclusion of these itineraries in Condé Nast Traveler’s selection of notable Caribbean cruises also provides additional international visibility for St. Maarten ahead of the 2026-2027 winter cruise season.

Condé Nast Traveler is one of the international travel industry’s best-known consumer publications, covering destinations, hotels, airlines, cruises and travel experiences worldwide.

While not every Caribbean itinerary selected by the publication includes St. Maarten, the destination’s appearance across three different cruise categories reflects its continued ability to serve multiple areas of the industry rather than relying on a single type of cruise business.

For St. Maarten, that diversity is particularly significant. Large ships remain important for passenger volume, while upscale and luxury vessels can attract visitors with different spending profiles. Embarkation activity adds another dimension by creating opportunities for the destination to capture visitor spending before a vessel even leaves port.

The upcoming calls and departure therefore demonstrate St. Maarten’s position not simply as a cruise stop, but as a destination capable of participating in several levels of the Caribbean cruise market.

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