jollytammy
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2003
Tuesday Day 4 St. Maarten
We slept in because our excursion wasnt until 11:00 a.m.. We had planned an excursion with Lord Sheffield and they were a 5 minute walk from the dock. Unfortunately, the winds were still so bad, the company decided to cancel the excursion. They did tell us that most of the beaches were unsafe to swim at because of the undercurrents, and that snorkeling and diving were bad because the water was so churned up.
We decided to walk into town and just look around, another 5 minute walk. We would have taken the water taxi, but we were already half way into town. We walked around looking in the shops and bought a few things. Then we went to the boardwalk looking for a place for lunch. We ended up at Taloula Mangos for lunch. It was very nice, reasonable and good. After lunch we decided to go to the beach, and ending up renting an umbrella and 2 chairs for $6.00. Be careful, we were quoted $5 per chair and per umbrella further down, so check around for prices before settling down. I had heard a man quote $5 for 2 chairs and an umbrella, but where we ended up we had the luxery of several palm trees that offered even more shade. The sun was very bright and hot. There had been a few brief showers earlier, but the day was beautiful. The water was cold, but bearable, my DS11 got in without a problem. The people at Lord Sheffield had said that Crown Bay was safe to swim in because of the bay. But be careful, the shore drops quickly and although its not deep, you can get wet faster than you were planning on. We stayed there for a couple hours, and then headed back to the ship. Im not a big shopper, so our big purchases of the day were 3 shirts for $10, two beach towels that turn into backpacks to hold the beach towels for $20 and one hat for $5.
Be forewarned about the ladies that sell on the beach, they will keep coming back, and if you buy from one, watch out! I bought the beach towels, and the others decided it was open season. It seemed there were about 4 of them (maybe more) and they go up and down and keep coming back to ask you over and over again if you want anything. Theyre not hard to miss, wearing several hats, and shawls and arms overflowing with necklaces. I did find that everywhere we went the t-shirts and hats and such were all about the same price. We bought the shirts 3 for $10 and afterwards I noticed they were the same price everywhere we went.
We were going to take the water taxi back to the ship, but since we were only going one way, and the walk wasnt bad, we decided to just walk back and save the $15 for the 4 of us (we heard 12 and under were free).
We got back to the ship about 4:00 and everyone got a shower and ready for dinner. After dinner we changed and went to see Twice Charmed. It was awesome, but we still missed Hercules. Twice charmed was fantastic, the use of the film and live action was terrific and is worth seeing just to see how beautiful and awesome the show is.
After the show we went up on deck for the Pirate in the Caribbean Party! It was totally terrific. I was expecting another sail away type party, but it really was worth the show. And it was a show, not just dancing. When the bad pirates came scaling down the stacks, it was incrediable, plus the fireworks. We had been told not to expect too much from the fireworks, that they werent like at Disney world, but they were way more than I was expecting. Plus the buffet was wonderful. We were on the Goofys galley side of the party so we headed toward the beverage station and then onto the buffet. Wise move, most people after the show were lining up going toward the beverage station from the stage, so when we came around the other way there was hardly anyone in line! My husband walked right up and got his turkey leg, and we went right into the dessert line without waiting at all. It is worth it to stay up for the show even though you have to get up early for customs the next day. We got our food, drinks and headed down to the room and to bed!
We slept in because our excursion wasnt until 11:00 a.m.. We had planned an excursion with Lord Sheffield and they were a 5 minute walk from the dock. Unfortunately, the winds were still so bad, the company decided to cancel the excursion. They did tell us that most of the beaches were unsafe to swim at because of the undercurrents, and that snorkeling and diving were bad because the water was so churned up.
We decided to walk into town and just look around, another 5 minute walk. We would have taken the water taxi, but we were already half way into town. We walked around looking in the shops and bought a few things. Then we went to the boardwalk looking for a place for lunch. We ended up at Taloula Mangos for lunch. It was very nice, reasonable and good. After lunch we decided to go to the beach, and ending up renting an umbrella and 2 chairs for $6.00. Be careful, we were quoted $5 per chair and per umbrella further down, so check around for prices before settling down. I had heard a man quote $5 for 2 chairs and an umbrella, but where we ended up we had the luxery of several palm trees that offered even more shade. The sun was very bright and hot. There had been a few brief showers earlier, but the day was beautiful. The water was cold, but bearable, my DS11 got in without a problem. The people at Lord Sheffield had said that Crown Bay was safe to swim in because of the bay. But be careful, the shore drops quickly and although its not deep, you can get wet faster than you were planning on. We stayed there for a couple hours, and then headed back to the ship. Im not a big shopper, so our big purchases of the day were 3 shirts for $10, two beach towels that turn into backpacks to hold the beach towels for $20 and one hat for $5.
Be forewarned about the ladies that sell on the beach, they will keep coming back, and if you buy from one, watch out! I bought the beach towels, and the others decided it was open season. It seemed there were about 4 of them (maybe more) and they go up and down and keep coming back to ask you over and over again if you want anything. Theyre not hard to miss, wearing several hats, and shawls and arms overflowing with necklaces. I did find that everywhere we went the t-shirts and hats and such were all about the same price. We bought the shirts 3 for $10 and afterwards I noticed they were the same price everywhere we went.
We were going to take the water taxi back to the ship, but since we were only going one way, and the walk wasnt bad, we decided to just walk back and save the $15 for the 4 of us (we heard 12 and under were free).
We got back to the ship about 4:00 and everyone got a shower and ready for dinner. After dinner we changed and went to see Twice Charmed. It was awesome, but we still missed Hercules. Twice charmed was fantastic, the use of the film and live action was terrific and is worth seeing just to see how beautiful and awesome the show is.
After the show we went up on deck for the Pirate in the Caribbean Party! It was totally terrific. I was expecting another sail away type party, but it really was worth the show. And it was a show, not just dancing. When the bad pirates came scaling down the stacks, it was incrediable, plus the fireworks. We had been told not to expect too much from the fireworks, that they werent like at Disney world, but they were way more than I was expecting. Plus the buffet was wonderful. We were on the Goofys galley side of the party so we headed toward the beverage station and then onto the buffet. Wise move, most people after the show were lining up going toward the beverage station from the stage, so when we came around the other way there was hardly anyone in line! My husband walked right up and got his turkey leg, and we went right into the dessert line without waiting at all. It is worth it to stay up for the show even though you have to get up early for customs the next day. We got our food, drinks and headed down to the room and to bed!
