January 19,2008 / Eastern Magic / "The January Thaw Cruise"

[plenam]

Brett, how was the butterfly farm? I thought it would be a better choice than taking our DS age 6 to a beach with topless women ...if you know what I mean!! We have a butterfly farm here in RI at the local zoo...which is quite nice, and he loves animals. We went to the zoo in Belize when we went on the Western Carib. trip and he loved it.

Thanks,

cheryl

The butterfly tour should be interesting for your 6 year old. We had a good time there. Also on the tour they take you to a out door shopping market, still got back to the ship for some quite time on board before the Pirates of the Caribbean night.

Brett

 

[chepic]

Sounds good, we like a minimal amount of shopping, otherwise our DS will buy everything he can!!! He is a shopper. I assume there is an early morning excursion so we can get back to the ship early enough to enjoy the pool? If not, I think we will hand on the ship that day and just enjoy. It is tough making these all important questions, isn't it!!

Have a great day everyone. New England is finally warming up and we should be heading into summer any time now....the last few years, spring has passed us by in the matter of a week or two. ?Global warming? Who knows.

Cheryl

 

[Bethipooh4]

Well, I thought I would post a picture of DD at her wedding.....so I decided to put it in my signature....

I had already gotten one warning that a previous picture was to big a few months ago...so out of fear, I made it small.....but its so tiny.....sorry....guess little is better then nothing.

 

[tidefan]

Count us (me, DW, and DD4) in on this cruise as well. We are excited to be finally doing a Disney cruise (we are Princess veterans).

I read that some of you want something fun to do on St Maarten. We go there every year (timeshare) and this is going to sound a bit weird, but one of the most fun things to do is to go to the Sunset Beach Bar at the end of the airport landing strip at Maho beach and watch the big planes land right over your head. Other things we like to do:

- Guavaberry coladas on Front Street

- Shopping in the Maho Beach (quieter than Front Street and some better deals - also a Haagen-Daas, which is always a good thing).

- Wasting away at Ilet Pinel. This is leisure.

- If you are adventurous, take the ferry from Marigot to Anguilla for the day. It is only a 15 minute ride and Anguilla is full of beautiful beaches. Ferries run on a set schedule, so you can plan when you would need to return. I'd go to Shoal Bay East and spend a few hours...

Also, to those concerned about the "topless" part of the island, just stay on the Dutch side and you will be fine.

 

[Bethipooh4]

Welcome to our group!!!!!
We lived in Mobile for 4 years while DH was stationed at Keesler....
Roll Tide!!!!

 

[plenam]

Welcome tidefan to our "January Thaw" cruise ....Glad to have you aboard

Brett

 

[chepic]

Tidefan.....welcome aboard, and thanks for the St. Martin tips. Alsways looking for great advice.

cheryl

 

[chepic]

Beth, your daughter looks great.....very beautiful.

che

 

[jsheridan]

Tidefan,

Welcome! It is great to see that there another 4 year old in our group! My son will turn 4 the week before the cruise. Just finished potty training (I think!) - had to be ready for the cruise!

We were actually already planning on going to Maho Beach to see the planes. My son will love it - he is very into airplanes.

Is that beach nice enough to spend the better part of the day at? We understand that the best time to see the planes is from 1-3pm, but we didn't want to have to drive too many places so we were hoping to just go to that beach for the day and leave around 2-3ish to get back for a nap.

Thanks for your input.

 

[Bethipooh4]

Welcome tidefan to our "January Thaw" cruise ....Glad to have you aboard


Hmmm.... I like that title....The January Thaw Crew!!!

 

[JacobsMommy11002]

We just booked this cruise a few hours ago! I am so excited, and I can'[t wait to go! This is our first cruise ever. It'll be me, DH, DS Jake, who will have just turned 6, and DD Abby, who will be just about 4.

 

[plenam]

We just booked this cruise a few hours ago! I am so excited, and I can'[t wait to go! This is our first cruise ever. It'll be me, DH, DS Jake, who will have just turned 6, and DD Abby, who will be just about 4.

Welcome Johanna, glad you can join the "crew"

Brett

 

[tidefan]

Tidefan,

Welcome! It is great to see that there another 4 year old in our group! My son will turn 4 the week before the cruise. Just finished potty training (I think!) - had to be ready for the cruise!

We were actually already planning on going to Maho Beach to see the planes. My son will love it - he is very into airplanes.

Is that beach nice enough to spend the better part of the day at? We understand that the best time to see the planes is from 1-3pm, but we didn't want to have to drive too many places so we were hoping to just go to that beach for the day and leave around 2-3ish to get back for a nap.

Thanks for your input.

I don't know if you'd want to spend more than an hour or so at the Sunset Beach Bar watching the planes. Usually, they do come in all right around each other in the 1 to 3 range. There is a surfboard with at chalkboard on it at the Beach Bar that lists the arrival times of all of the planes. I would suggest doing some shopping over in the Maho plaza as there are numerous good shops there (and a Haagen-Daas place).

Now, if you were looking just for a beach day in St Maarten, you won't do any better than going to Ilet Pinel. Granted it is on the French side, so you never quite know what you are going to get, but it is a small crowd. The nice thing about Pinel is that it is a sand spit off of the island, so you can wander out to about 40 to 50 yards off of the beach and only be in about 3 feet of water. Also, you will truly feel as though you have gotten away as the French side has a lot more undeveloped area than the Dutch side. Pinel is one of those places where at the restaurant out there, if you order the lobster, the guy goes out to the cage in the water, grabs your lobster, and cooks it right there for you.

I would also allot some time to wander down Front Street in Philipsburg. They completely renovated it a couple of years ago and if you haven't been in a few years, you will not believe how much nicer it is. IMHO, it is much nicer than Charlotte Amalie in St. Thomas.

 

[chepic]

Welcome Jacobsmom, we have a 6 y.o. son too. Plus many more of us our group with kids of multiple ages....see previous posts.

I like the title too, Brett. We need to change to it!!!

Tidefan......"Holy crap", (to quote Ray's father) I would be afraid that the plane would land right on us!!!!!!! I don't think I could be that brave to sit on that beach!!!!!

Cheryl

 

[jsheridan]

That picture is AMAZING! DS4 is going to be SO excited.

Welcome, jacobsmom!

This group is finally picking up some!

How do we make it until January?

 

[owensjro]

Hello all. Well, we aren't quite on this cruise yet but we're planning on it. My wife has been trying to lose those last 20 pounds for awhile and can never get over the plateau. So I told her if she did it I would take her on a cruise.

This will be our second cruise (did the 4/15 Wonder this year) and we're already booked for another 4N on the Wonder June 1/08.

Just hope all the cabins don't sell out while the motivation kicks in!!

Assuming we get on it will be myself and my wife and our DD age 5.

Jim

 

[chepic]

You must join our group.....we are fun I can tell already!!!!!

che

 

[JacobsMommy11002]

So, can I ask a few question of you cruise vets now that we are booked? First...we have second seating for dinner, waitlisted for first. What do you think our chances of moving to first are? Second, we are in a cat 12 with 4 people...do you think we stand any chance of an upgrade, or should we just prepare to snuggle? Finally, if the answers to any of the above are affirmative, how long do you think it will be before we hear anything? Thanks!

 

[owensjro]

Well, it is official. We are booked on the cruise. Yay! We're in cabin 6317.

Jim

 

[plenam]

Well, it is official. We are booked on the cruise. Yay! We're in cabin 6317.

Jim

Welcome to the group. Now the real planning starts.

Brett