Am I Gonna EAT? Or Am I Gonna STAAAARRRRRVE To Death? Eastern Fantasy UPDATED 06/12/15

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

We decided it was time for 99c beers! Oh, and fyi the very same beers we had here for 99c were $4-$6 each at the Orient Beach! Yikes!

Back over to our favorite little take out beer spot

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

I had Carib I think Andy had Presidente and they even took a pic for us! nice!

Beers in hand we decided to head over to one of the little shops to get the free necklace from the coupon they gave out on the ship. Of COURSE they want you to buy $10,000 worth of jewels but we grabbed the free necklace and left. I gave it to one of my girls.

They even had Alex & Ani

The little beach area if you headed in the other direction past Hard Rock

a sports bar

Then we ran into these 2 who had went in for a quick swim

\

dogs!

Now keep in mind we paid $20 for 2 chairs and $4 each beer on Orient Beach. Check this out! Not a bad deal

Holland House Beach Hotel entrance

That's when we came upon the Dirty Sanchez Bar - "no shirt, no shoes, no problem!"

They had a whole bunch of signs around and tables that you could stand or sit at to enjoy your drinks and some conversation

Andy and Mariah got a kick out of this one

then there was this one....

We decided to check out their drinks

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

The super cool bartender

who explained that you could sign the bar and handed over a marker which wasn't great but I had a sharpie in my purse since I carry them at the park for autographs. Go me! lol

Zach found his spot to go down in history

So did Mariah

sooo many signatures!

Zach had a Mojito & not sure what Mariah had

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

For some reason it always seems so odd to me when I see a chain from home in other countries. McDonald's earlier and now Subway

time to keep on moving

There were tons of little bars and restaurants

this one had a "unique" name

get your rum.....or...hot sauce?

We did see one woman trying to sell stuff

You could get your portrait done - they actually looked really good

there was a flip flop shop

a "one stop shop"

it's a good thing the little girls weren't with me i would've been dead meat here - they would've loved all these dresses lol

By now we had practically walked all the way back to the port

there was a bridge with a TON of fish under it - yuck

some things I think you could rent

and next we were right back at the St. Maarten sign! Empty! Score!

even though we all were a hot mess by now I really wanted a pic here so we went for it

we stopped at a bench to make sure everyone had shoes on, etc to get back on the ship

Last minute chance for jewelry

security stop to show your passport/room key

back at the Fantasy!

We had an AMAZING day at St. Maarten! If/when we go again we will just go straight to the water taxi. Easy and fun.

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

It was really close to dinner time when we got back on the ship and originally our plan was to skip Pirate night dinner even though we had brought costumes with us. BUT, we decided last minute to get ready and go for it anyways so we all rushed around and got ready for dinner.

ARGHHHHH

Get your hook finger ready?

no words for this one.....

Pirate night selfies - do you like Andy's 3rd eye? I would also like to point out that Andy used my entire new mascara to darken his beard for this LOL

not sure what kind of pirates these two were lol

then off to Animators palate - look at the cute napkins

the menu

our pirate crew

the scenes they were showing on the screens were awesome - I am glad we were in AP for pirate night

Pirate Stipe loading up our table with delicious pot stickers!

these were delicious!

the pineapple appetizer Andy had

I ordered the crab cake. And I LOVE crab cakes. It was GROSS - it was extremely fishy tasting. One bite and I couldn't eat any more

argggghhhhh

a brain teaser trick in the middle made with crayons

short ribs

seafood pasta

the desert menu

i think this was the crunch time sundae

rum soaked chocolate cake maybe?

old faithful

another brain game

we left dinner and Pirate Stitch was out and we wanted a pic but his line was closed and he was leaving - he was too cute

We headed on deck for some shuffle board

Pirate show was going on and it was getting late. Piper and I decided we were EXHAUSTED and wanted to head back to the room for the night

Next cruise I want to definitely make it until the fireworks and buffet - even if I just take pics

This little cutie was hanging in our room

An overall fantastic day! San Juan tomorrow!

 

[castaway3]

Great trip report

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Great trip report

Hi! Thank you for reading! Glad you are enjoying it so far!

 

[figment52]

loving the report - thanks for writing

 

[iambrink]

This is so helpful...I am following along. We are doing the same cruise in a few weeks. I was on the fence regarding St. Maarten and your detailed trip report has changed my mind to attempt it on my own. I really like the idea of taking the ferry, spending some time at the beach and then browsing around the shops and restaurants.

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

loving the report - thanks for writing

So glad you are reading along!!! Stay tuned for more, I will be posting San Juan asap!

This is so helpful...I am following along. We are doing the same cruise in a few weeks. I was on the fence regarding St. Maarten and your detailed trip report has changed my mind to attempt it on my own. I really like the idea of taking the ferry, spending some time at the beach and then browsing around the shops and restaurants.

Happy you are finding the report helpful! We really learned a lot about what we will do on any future cruises here - it was trial and error! I am so jealous you are taking this cruise in a few weeks, it was the best trip I have EVER been on! I know you will have an amazing time! Glad this report could help you with your planning! It was soooooo easy taking the water taxi over to the beach and shops. I'm glad we experienced Orient Beach but the water taxi was definitely much more enjoyable to us! You will have to let us know how your cruise goes!

 

[iambrink]

i hate seaweed, so those pictures were a complete turnoff for me. Not sure DH or kids would be a fan either. The second beach you went to looks much better for me...99 cent beer probably would please DH!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

We woke up early as we were pulling into port at San Juan.

My Zoe came out to check it out

So excited to explore another new port! The verandah was worth every penny

We DEFINITELY didn't want to STARRRRRRVEEEE to death! So we decided to hit up Cabana's before we got off at the port for the day. How cute is this sign on the wall!

The greeters hand out wipes as you enter

I took pics of pretty much the whole buffet

The drink station

Juices

Tea and coffee

aaaannnnnd on to the food! eggs, ham, sausage

danish and muffins

scrambled eggs and bacon, hasbrowns

bananas...strawberries, etc for waffles and pancakes

pancakes

i may or may not have eaten a ton of these little breakfast taco rolls

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

i hate seaweed, so those pictures were a complete turnoff for me. Not sure DH or kids would be a fan either. The second beach you went to looks much better for me...99 cent beer probably would please DH!

Same here! I am NOT a fan of seaweed and the amount of it there was unreal!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Cream cheese, bread, bagels, etc

hash, beans, tomatoes, potatos

scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns

Eggs benedict, scrambled eggs with cheese, ham, sausage

oatmeal, brown sugar

dried fruits

individual cereals

milk, yogurt

crispy creme donuts

more pastries

delicious croissants!

eggs, oranges, apples

fresh fruit! sooooo goood

our breakfast crew

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

We were ready to roll!

through the empty pool deck and empty atrium

a quick throne photo op for Mariah and Zoe

We had decided we wanted to go to the beach first thing for a few hours then we would explore. So we headed off the ship to find a taxi which was extremely easy there were a TON of them right at the port

we got one and headed off to the beach which was about a 15 minute ride away

I snapped pics along the way

a fence

San Juan road signs

It was $23 for 6 of us - only Zach and Mariah came with us. Chase and Laine decided to walk around Old San Juan and our friends were going to do the same.

We were at the beach quickly - you could rent chairs however we had brought towels from the ship.

it was virtually EMPTY

It was GORGEOUS!!! Reminded me of Florida and vacations at my grandparents house in st. Petersburg , FL

This was night and day from Orient Beach

Where these trucks are is right where the taxis drop you off. they come and go throughout the day. if you cross the little street that building has free restrooms inside the little bar/restaurant. We plopped our towels down right here so we were right there

it was clear as could be here and obviously no one selling anything!

heads up though these waves are NO joke. My kids are EXCELLENT swimmers and I wouldn't let Zoe or Piper go out deep AT ALL and made them stay close to their father, Zach, and Mariah.

I pretty much sat on the beach enjoying the day. Not only do I not do seaweed, I do not do sharks. Mentally jaws would be swimming straight at me if I entered the ocean so I walk along the edge and lay on the beach.

For 3 straight hours, these guys jumped in the waves having an amazing time

a few more people showed up

a few rented chairs

it was picture perfect weather

we decided to leave just before noon to head back to the ship for lunch before we set out to explore Old San Juan

this was as crowded as it got

photo time

bring extra towels so they aren't covered in sand!

we grabbed a taxi and were back towards the ship in no time

 

[iambrink]

Which beach was this?

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Which beach was this?

Hi this was Isla Verde beach

 

[iambrink]

Thanks. ..i will note that one too...our cruise will be your twin!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Thanks. ..i will note that one too...our cruise will be your twin!

That's awesome!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

I forgot to post a few of the pics that the kids took with the underwater camera while they were playing in the waves at San Juan so here we go:

If you are still with me after all those pics - let's move on to making our way to Old San Juan!