We woke up before the alarm went off went and enjoyed watching the Celebrity Silhouette as we ate breakfast at the mermaid grill.
When Rob went to the bar to get us some cokes, he noticed the invasion of towel animals that took place on Lido deck. I’ve never seen so many towel animals. So cool!
Here’s a few pics I snapped right after getting off the ship.
We raced over to the rental car place and ended up using a local company, not your typical Avis or Enterprise. We got in a car with the rental car employee and he drove us over to where our car was. They drive just like Americans do, which made getting around in St. Maarten easier than the day before. We looked at the car and was shocked at how beat up it was. Rob didn’t hesitate to ask about the AC and radio before we got in. Needless to say we weren’t worried about the car as we zipped around the island. You don’t have to get a special license in St. Maarten.
As we drove around on the Dutch side of the island, we quickly realized how commercialized it is. It reminded me of places in Florida; high rise hotels, bars, restaurants, and tons of traffic.
Our first stop was Maho Beach, which is the beach right near the airport where planes land right above your head.
Here’s a pic I snapped from the parking lot where we parked as I went into the bathroom to change.
We got there before the crowds, but due to some misinformation we thought we wouldn’t see any planes land or take off for a couple hours. Parking was free because we were there so early, but it normally costs $4. As we were driving off a plane landed, so my advice for going is to have patience.
From there we drove in to the French side of the island to Marigot.
So many gorgeous views
School kids. I love getting out of the touristy areas
It was pretty crowded even at the early hour of 9am, so we were quite happy to finally find a parking spot.
We walked over to Fort Louis, which you can see at the top of the mountain in the above picture. We trucked up the mountain. We made it to the top and spent about a half hour on top reading and looking at the beautiful picturesque surroundings while taking pictures.
We descended back down to the City and walked around some more, did some shopping and picture taking.
Our stomachs were growling, so we ended up at Sarafina’s where I had a chocolate eclair and Rob had a strawberry eclair with cokes. So delicious.
Then we walked over to the market and did some shopping. I found all the bagged spices quite interesting.
We finished up there and walked over to the grocery store where we had parked and bought some guavaberry rum. This is must purchase while on the island of St. Maarten!
From there we needed to send some more post cards, so it was off to the post office. We went in not realizing we were supposed to wait however the security guard let us come in.
Orient Bay Beach, where clothing is optional, was our next stop. We kept our clothes on and didn’t see too much skin (thank goodness)! While we were there it rained, but not too heavy.
And then back to the Dutch side for a special St. Maarten treat.
After returning the rental car we quickly treaded over to the beach area where we sat down at Captain Jacks for a couple Guavaberry Coladas, onion rings, and conch fritters. Amazing food and reasonable prices, but beware they don’t take credit cards!
Back to the ship to head out for the next few relaxing days at sea. 2 other ships headed out before ours. The German ship docked right in front of us and we happened to notice some interesting folks on their private balconies.
That night we enjoyed another wonderful dinner with great conversation.
Chilled avocado soup
Fried green tomato
Shrimp taco
Chicken fried steak
Nutella s’mores pie
Rob
Shrimp taco
Anti pasta
Beef tenderloin
Baked Alaska
Key lime pie
Roasted pear
Here’s a video from a few highlights today:
Lots and lots more pics if you didn’t see enough of St. Kitts.
I’ll post to Carnival Fun Times for the day as soon as I get it scanned in.
Click to read more about our 10 Day Southern Caribbean Cruise on the Carnival Pride!