miksicnarf
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 5, 2000
Michael woke me up as we were docking at St. Maarten shortly before 7:00 a.m. He got the kids up, or tried toonly Mikey and Alex got up, and Mikey went right back to bed. It seemed so odd to see land again! I saw some luggage being brought aboard; I guess someones stuff didnt make it in FL. The Monarch of the Seas docked alongside us
I was glad to be aboard the Magic! Once passengers began disembarking, the ship seemed to empty as if a plug had been pulled. There was no competition for the treadmills today, so I did my walking in the fitness center. While I was in there, I got on the scale. It had been a mere five days since we left home, and I was up NINE (9!) pounds! The scale seemed like an accurate one, as is mine at home, so I decided there must be some discrepancy due to the variance of gravitational pull at this latitude. Yeah, thats the ticket 
I pulled the boys out of bed, and we all got ready and went to the Mexican buffet before going ashore. Michael and I had been watching the shopping lecture by Shelby, the Shopping in Paradise guide, on TV and had one destination in mind: Goldfinger, the only Rolex dealer on the island. Michael likes to give me jewelry, and I like to receive it But I live a very casual lifestyle, and many of the fancy pieces I have seldom see the light of day. Id been hinting here and there that Id like a Rolex, because its a beautiful, high-quality piece thats also utilitarian and would be worn every day. We took a cab to the shopping area and found Goldfinger with no problem. Id read, and continue to read, much about high pressure hair braiders and other vendors but I have to say we encountered none of this. The streets seemed to be lined with nothing but jewelry stores, electronics shops, liquor stores and gaudy souvenir stands. Goldfinger is a very nice shop, cool, quiet and elegant. The salesman was helpful and low-key, and told us their prices were 15% below U.S. After much vacillation, I narrowed my choices down to 3 models. We had the salesman write down his best price, and decided to return to the ship to check prices on the Internet. We stopped in several electronics stores looking for a cable for the boys Sega Dreamcast system, which theyd brought along minus said cable
found one they thought might work. Back onboard, I headed to the Internet Café where I found that new Rolexes arent sold online at all, but the price we were quoted was in line with used prices in the U.S. so we figured it was a decent deal.
Michael went back out alone to shop, while Alex and I went to the PremEAR of The Princess Diaries at 5:30. The boys said they didnt want to see it, but they did end up going after all, although they didnt sit with us. Back at the room, Michael had returned with the watch, and also several bottles of alcohol including the famous guavaberry liqueur, and the correct cord for the Dreamcast (the first one didnt work). The boys were thrilled to have their video game system, and needless to say I was thrilled with my new watch
Tonight was tropical night, and our dinner was in Parrot Cay. Wed been planning to wear shorts, and had checked with our servers the night before to be sure it was OK. They assured us that not only was it OK, it was expected so we all dressed comfortably in shorts and tropical shirts. There were leis waiting for us at our table, and we all looked quite festive wearing them It was a fun night, we all did the limbo along with all the guests and servers. Alex had garlic shrimp and enjoyed it, the rest of us had teriyaki beef tenderloinnothing special. I asked Aleksander if I could possibly have the chocolate soufflé from Palo for dessert, and this led to a very long, uncomfortable discussion with him and Sandra. They explained that so many passengers have been requesting the soufflé in the regular dining rooms that the Palo chef had become upset and now the soufflé had to be requested 24 hours in advance and we would be charged for a Palo reservation, yadda yadda yadda. I felt almost like I was being reprimanded and was so sorry Id mentioned it. I know I could have ordered the soufflé in our suite with no problem but I just thought itd be nice to have it at dinner. Wrong 
We had our picture taken after dinner, then the boys went to Common Grounds and Michael, Alex and I went to the Tropicalifragilisticexpialidocious deck party. It was lots of fun! Michael and I enjoyed watching from the sidelines with a guavaberry cocktail while Alex got her groove on on the dance floor After we pulled out, Michael went to ESPN and Alex and I went to watch us sail away from our verandah. The boys were playing Dreamcast; I headed to the Internet Café for a while before calling it a night.
I pulled the boys out of bed, and we all got ready and went to the Mexican buffet before going ashore. Michael and I had been watching the shopping lecture by Shelby, the Shopping in Paradise guide, on TV and had one destination in mind: Goldfinger, the only Rolex dealer on the island. Michael likes to give me jewelry, and I like to receive it
But I live a very casual lifestyle, and many of the fancy pieces I have seldom see the light of day. Id been hinting here and there that Id like a Rolex, because its a beautiful, high-quality piece thats also utilitarian and would be worn every day. We took a cab to the shopping area and found Goldfinger with no problem. Id read, and continue to read, much about high pressure hair braiders and other vendors but I have to say we encountered none of this. The streets seemed to be lined with nothing but jewelry stores, electronics shops, liquor stores and gaudy souvenir stands. Goldfinger is a very nice shop, cool, quiet and elegant. The salesman was helpful and low-key, and told us their prices were 15% below U.S. After much vacillation, I narrowed my choices down to 3 models. We had the salesman write down his best price, and decided to return to the ship to check prices on the Internet. We stopped in several electronics stores looking for a cable for the boys Sega Dreamcast system, which theyd brought along minus said cable
found one they thought might work. Back onboard, I headed to the Internet Café where I found that new Rolexes arent sold online at all, but the price we were quoted was in line with used prices in the U.S. so we figured it was a decent deal. Michael went back out alone to shop, while Alex and I went to the PremEAR of The Princess Diaries at 5:30. The boys said they didnt want to see it, but they did end up going after all, although they didnt sit with us. Back at the room, Michael had returned with the watch, and also several bottles of alcohol including the famous guavaberry liqueur, and the correct cord for the Dreamcast (the first one didnt work). The boys were thrilled to have their video game system, and needless to say I was thrilled with my new watch
Tonight was tropical night, and our dinner was in Parrot Cay. Wed been planning to wear shorts, and had checked with our servers the night before to be sure it was OK. They assured us that not only was it OK, it was expected so we all dressed comfortably in shorts and tropical shirts. There were leis waiting for us at our table, and we all looked quite festive wearing them
It was a fun night, we all did the limbo along with all the guests and servers. Alex had garlic shrimp and enjoyed it, the rest of us had teriyaki beef tenderloinnothing special. I asked Aleksander if I could possibly have the chocolate soufflé from Palo for dessert, and this led to a very long, uncomfortable discussion with him and Sandra. They explained that so many passengers have been requesting the soufflé in the regular dining rooms that the Palo chef had become upset and now the soufflé had to be requested 24 hours in advance and we would be charged for a Palo reservation, yadda yadda yadda. I felt almost like I was being reprimanded and was so sorry Id mentioned it. I know I could have ordered the soufflé in our suite with no problem but I just thought itd be nice to have it at dinner. Wrong We had our picture taken after dinner, then the boys went to Common Grounds and Michael, Alex and I went to the Tropicalifragilisticexpialidocious deck party. It was lots of fun! Michael and I enjoyed watching from the sidelines with a guavaberry cocktail while Alex got her groove on on the dance floor
After we pulled out, Michael went to ESPN and Alex and I went to watch us sail away from our verandah. The boys were playing Dreamcast; I headed to the Internet Café for a while before calling it a night.
