After having an unplanned sea day due to the high winds around St Kitts, we arrived at Phillipsburg, St Maarten about 8pm the night before we were supposed to be there. We were unable to stop at any other ports, or even get to St Maarten early since all these islands had their full quota of visiting cruise ships. This happened to us on our first Caribbean cruise too, when we were supposed to visit Grand Turks and just could not get docked there safely. These things happen….
I had hoped arriving “early” meant we could enjoy some nightlife, but the water taxis had stopped and it was too far and too late really to go into town. So Alan and I just sat at Sharky’s bar, the only thing open at the port and enjoyed a few Caribs. I was still feeling under the weather so the walk was not a good idea and we still have not watched any shows since the first few days, thanks to me coughing through the night. Alan has been a saint about not complaining!
Alan and I got up early, ate quickly and grabbed a water taxi - arriving before anything was open! But what fun to see this popular destination, deserted! This is our third visit to St Maarten and we seem to follow the same, successful pattern. We start the day early and enjoy the peace and quiet. Then get a coffee or coke at the Firehouse Bar right on the beach, which also has free wifi. This bar also has odd little biting insects and I always forget about them until I feel them around my ankles. No ill effects, but not really a pleasant experience!
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| Firehouse Bar Our St Maarten "local"! |
Next, a bit of shopping. There is a great camera shop, loads of jewellers, the MAC shop, which was a must visit by request of our daughter, and the duty free liquor and sunglasses shop right at the water taxi pier. We purchased the most delicious coconut rum and then were encouraged to get the pineapple flavour along with it. When we were offered a taste of the two mixed together, it was a done deal! A little Pina Colada in a glass! So now we own 4 liters of rum! (We purchased an earlier supply of Malibu and Dragonfruit flavour Bacardi in Barbados!)
One benefit of travelling with P&O is that you are allowed to have bottles in your room and you can also bring cokes and bottles of water, instead of always lining the cruise liner’s pockets. We don’t really drink as much as it sounds, but it is fun to have them around!
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| look closely, you can see the arrival times! |
After a trip back to the ship on our all day water taxi ticket ($5 one way or $7 all day), we dumped all our purchases and went back out to catch a land based taxi for Maho Beach! Alan had the arrivals for Princess Juliana International Airport and we were looking forward to seeing the KLM flight land at 12:08! We have been to this beach twice before, but never seen a large plane land.
Maybe it is a different season, or maybe in 2 or 3 years since our last trip, there seems to be loads more people, sun beds with umbrellas and the bar there was absolutely heaving! Other times, there have been only a handful of people.
I had intended to find the bar and hope it had wifi (it did). But then I got caught up on the excitement and took my own pictures and found folks we knew. Wifi could wait, this was fun! However, we decided next time - do something different at St Maarten, like visit the French half of the island or something. No need to repeat this successful pattern a fourth time. Time for something different.
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| Seeing a KLM flight coming in for landing just over our heads - priceless! |
Not sure at the beginning of this blog if I mentioned this would be our last trip to the Caribbean, been here 3 times now, time for pastures new. As it stands now, we are talking about the next time. Who knew? Island fever can strike at any unexpected time!
Upon return to the ship, we invited a few people we have met for a Rum tasting party! None of these folks were/are rum drinkers, but they humoured us and came anyway. And no surprise, they all loved the mini Pina Coladas! I just wish we could bring the bottles home…..
In addition to our variety of rum flavours, I imagine we are also the only cabin on the ship with a wide variety of different strengths, flavours and colours of cough medicine! It seems to have become another must see on each island we visit - the drug store or chemist (depending on where you live and what you call them.) At each island I find the local drug store and interrogate the pharmacist as to exactly what I can take to permit me to breath and hold a conversation at the same time. I am beginning to regret not getting the codeine at St Maarten! But surely, this must go away soon!
(As I am posting this 3 days after the fact, I must admit I am feeling almost 100% better now, but it seemed to take forever to shake this!)
Quote from our water taxi captain - “Rain and wind can tip the boat, only passengers can tip the crew."
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