We had not been to St. Martin in over 8 years and so, in addition to, of course, being on the world's biggest cruise ship, on this cruise we were most looking forward to being on St. Martin again.
And, sidebar: in case you're wondering why it was that we were on all these islands- Grand Cayman, Cozumel and St Martin- eight years ago...G was away for two years for the War in Iraq and we hadn't seen each other for 7 months when we finally returned home. He had a couple of months of leave and adjustment time before he had to return to work. We spent 63 nights on cruises, all booked last minute, all in the Caribbean. Eastern, Western, Southern, out of Galveston, Fort Lauderdale and San Juan...we did it all that winter.
So, back to today...we were so pleased to see the Royal Princess docked right next to the Allure OTS this morning, and we went up to the Sun Deck above the bridge to take a really good up close look at the aft end of the Royal Princess. It's funny how we can see a ship much more closely when we're not on the ship. We always enjoy being in port with ships we've sailed on in the past, but when it's a ship we've just recently been on, or are about to go on, it's especially fun.
We had breakfast in the Solarium Bistro...with many people off the ship already, there was no line at all, and we've learned what food is good there (huge bowls of fruit, including papaya, and excellent varieties of muesli) and which to avoid (the reheated pancakes and cafeteria scrambled eggs). And I always enjoy the two flavors of enhanced water and love that the Allure offers somethin besides the usual cruise ship drink options of water, ice tea or lemonade.
It had been so long since we'd been in St. Martin that the entire area around the cruise ship pier was new to us. In fact, we remember our first visit where we walked into Phillipsburg from the ship and it was like taking our lives in our hands. Like Yacht Haven Grande in St. Thomas, or the Renaissance resort in Curaçao, these are improvements that not only make the pier area prettier but safer too.
St. Martin is one island governed by two nationalities: St. Marteen is the Dutch side, where the cruise ships dock, and St. Martin is the French side. All that marks passing from one country to the other is a sign on the side of the road, and cars and people move freely (as in, there are no barriers at all) between one side and the other. We'd already done the French town of Marigot and the infamous Orient Beach, known for its topless (and less) sunbathing. But on this trip we had one mission in mind: to get to Maho Beach on the Dutch side of the island.
Leaving the ship and walking to the end of the pier, it was obvious, seeing the Allure and the Royal Princess side by side, that the Allure is bit longer than the Royal Princess but a heckuva lot wider. It has to be, to accommodate two separate sides of ship with central neighborhoods. But it's hard to comprehend the difference until you see them side by side.
There is a well organized taxi dispatch area just beyond the shops at the cruise port, divided up by destination, and there were lots of people waning to go to. Maho Beach. We did hit a bit of a glitch with one taxi driver when he tried to squeeze one more person than he had seats into his minivan, but we spotted that and sent him on his way, waiting for the next taxi driver. The fare was between $8 and $10 per person each way, and I was astounded by 1.) how long it took to get there (it looks so close on a map; and 2) how congested and developed St. Martin has become. Now, for the best idea of the appeal of Maho Beach, better than any of the videos I will post in a couple of day, go to YouTube and search on
Maho Beach and KLM. The appeal of Maho Beach is that it is located right at the end (and I mean the VERY end) of St. Martin's only runway. There is the beach, then a two lane road, then the chain link fence at the end of the runway. When planes, especially large ones, land or take off, the force of wind expelled sends towels, beach bags, even people tumbling into the ocean. The biggest show of all comes on Saturdays, when the vacation week starts and the 747's from the Netherlands, France and the US land.
Great fun!
What I didn't realize from the YouTube videos is that Maho is not a deserted stretch of beach with a fence on one side. No, Maho must be one of the most congested, biggest parties I've ever seen. Anchored by a beach bar on either end (we chose the more popular Sunset Bar), it is one wild time, with lots of drinking and sun burning, punctuated by planes taking off and landing to cheers and applause. The arrival times of the next several flights are hand written on a surfboard with chalk, but knowing the flights could arrive early, a yell goes up whenever anyone sees one on the horizon to alert the boozing spectators.
Almost immediately, we found new BFFs Gus and Karen, and Jeff and Candy, with whom we've been the mainstays of the Diamond Lounge every night during free drinks. We then met Candy (really. Another one) and Tom and made our way through, well, I forget how many exactly, but several buckets of six beers each. After all, it was hot out there! We had a huge discussion about what time we needed to be back on the ship, which was complicated because the Allure had never changed time, remaining in EST, although St. Thomas and St. Martin were actually on hour ahead of EST (which is, what? Atlantic Standard Time?).
Finally, though, the taxi drivers were warning us we needed to get back to the ship, because traffic would be heavy, and they were right (although they had started saying that right after lunch). Thinking the Royal Princess would sail at 5pm AST, I was up on the Sun Deck over the bridge at 4pm Allure time, but saw the Royal's gangways still out. So we had time for a quick clean up (and G squeezed in a hot tub- quelle surprise!) and we up on the Sun Deck at 6pm when the Royal Princess did finally sail, right at sunset, and what a spectacular sight that was! It sat for a minute, after it backed out, as if it was posing for us, and such a pretty lady she is, too.
Then, we were off to Blaze for the Diamond Lounge drinks (oh my), before another cruise highlight, the ice show, called Ice Games. Yes, a figure skating show. On a ship. Actually, this concept was not new to the Allure and Oasis; we'd seen the ice show several years ago on the Mariner of the Sea. But that this can be done at all, and done at the level the skaters are performing is just amazing. Honestly, the entertainment alone, this show and OceanAria and Kenny James and Chicago and more good stuff to come were alone worth the price of the cruise. We had fantastic seats, and I can recommend sitting in the first row, middle on the right side of the ice, because I was involved in the show (no, not on the ice, thank God, but from my seat) and the skaters were whizzing by so close to us we would get a cold breeze each time they did.
For dinner that night, we returned to the Adagio Dining Room as a walk in. I have to say I'm most impressed by the way Royal Caribbean handles My Time Dining, which is like Princess' Anytime Dining where you can dine at any time, not at traditional early or late dining. We have never waited and have always been seated in the section of the same wait staff (the incomparable Althea and Marlon). Like on Holland America, it's nice that the person seating us addresses us by name, and, when we are seated, we are welcomed back by name by our waitstaff.
We followed up dinner with live music (there must have been 8 different choices happening concurrently around the ship), and our new favorite way of ending the evening- a stroll through Central Park before bed.
Just another incredible day in paradise!
Photo 1: the aft starboard suites on the Royal Princess
Photo 2: the America's Cup sailing yacht excursion
Photo 3: the Royal Princess (on the right) is big but the Allure OTS is HUGE!
Photo 4: flight arrival times posted at the Sunset Bar
Photo 5: Maho Beach