2018 Caribbean Cruise - St. Maarten - Wednesday, November 28, 2018

We were in St. Maarten a couple of years ago and didn't really enjoy the island, mostly because of the how much the people bothered you to buy their stuff.  Sitting on the beach, the same sales people would come ask us if we wanted to buy x or y almost every five minutes.  So that less than positive experience last time combined with the interest in spending more time on this amazing ship made our decision easy - we didn't even get off the ship today.  Instead we took advantage of the empty decks and pools and wandered other public areas and then spent some time relaxing on our balcony.

Here are some views of St. Maarten and the other ships in port from the upper decks of our ship:

After dinner, we listened to the classical guitar player for a little while and enjoyed a drink at the Schooner Bar.

The show tonight was the Headliner which they advertised as a variety show.  In reality they just bring on a different performer each week or two and this week's performer was Ed Turner.  So it wasn't a lot of variety.  He wasn't bad but it got really old when he was constantly picking on millennials.  And one of his biggest complaints was that new music doesn't have lyrics but then he sang the Bruno Mars Uptown Funk song which is not one we enjoy at all (and has no good lyrics)!  So we left early.

St. Maarten - Sunday, December 18, 2016 (Celebrity Eclipse Cruise)

Our last stop was St. Maarten, the Dutch side (the island is part Dutch, part French).  A fifteen minute walk from the cruise terminal is Philipsburg with shops, a boardwalk, and the beach.  (You can also take the water taxi for $7/person unlimited rides all day.)  

We started at the beach which was surprisingly quiet for five ships being in port, maybe because it was still morning.  We rented a couple of chairs and my husband enjoyed the shade while I soaked in the sun.  The sand was not as white and smooth as Barbados.  The water was calmer than Barbados but the sandy bottom was uneven and had a drop off.  Additionally, the locals were relentless in trying to sell services and products, making it not as nice of a beach.  

The weather was beautiful in the mid 80s and sunny, although a bit windy.

 

We then wandered a few of the shops.  My husband had his eye on a watch, if we could find one in our budget.  So we stopped at Majesty Jewelers where the Manager, Jay sold us not one, but two watches, a Shinola for my husband and a Phillip Stein for me, while I sipped Champagne.  Based on our internet research, I think we got a better deal than we could have anywhere else.

After dinner on the ship and before the show, we walked past the Grand Foyer where they had a battle of the DJs with silent disco.  I couldn’t resist myself and so I joined in while Paul sat in a lounge with his parents.  You wear headphones that have three channels (one for each DJ) and you can switch between the channels and dance and sing to the music.  It was so much fun but probably looked funny to someone watching on the sideline as they can't hear the music although they can see which DJ you are listening to based on the colored light on your headphones.

The Show this evening was Divas 3 although one of the Divas got stuck in the snow storms in Minnesota so it was only the Divas 2.  They have powerhouse, amazing voices and we really enjoyed the show.