St. Martin

 Sunday, March 9, 2025

I woke up around 6:30 am when I sensed that it was getting light outside. I was surprised when I peaked out of the curtain that the ship was already docked. Or at least I assumed it was docked. I was too short to see over the lifeboat to confirm for sure.

The tour we had booked for today didn't leave until 9:30 so we were less rushed than normal. We took the glass elevator up to the Lido buffet. We had found that using the midship elevators worked the best since we had the choice of the main elevators or two glass elevators on either side. The glass elevators were smaller, but usually quicker.

Erni, one of the crew members in the buffet, had learned that we always sit at the same table and had gotten to know our names and preferences for breakfast drinks. Bob and I were first to arrive this morning and Erni already had orange juice and silverware placed on the table. She said she was saving it for us! By the time I picked up my food and sat down, my coffee (with cream) and a glass of water were there. Erni had also brought sugar since she knew that Michelle liked it in her coffee. She was such a sweetie and it was fun to see her each morning. (She only worked in the buffet for breakfast.)

Bob and Erni

Today there was a new choice at the poached egg station. It was called "Egg Sardou". It consisted of an English muffin, poached egg, creamed spinach and hollandaise sauce. I was a little hesitant so only ordered the creamed spinach on one muffin half and then had a second poached egg on the other plain half. It was actually quite good with the spinach! I told Bob life was sure going to be boring when we got home and I didn't have all of these breakfast choices!

I've also gotten into the habit of having a small spoonful of Greek yogurt with berries and sometimes a little granola. I joked with the girl at the serving station that I could tell it was the end of the cruise because the bowl that used to be mostly strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries was now mostly just grapes. (The same thing happened at the end of the first leg of our B2B cruise!)

Knowing how much walking our tour was going to involve, I decided to stay on the ship and let the others go without me. Even just walking to where the tour was to meet was further than I wanted to go. 

The distance from our ship to the tour meeting point was over a third of a mile. Not far for the able-bodied, but quite a distance for me. 😧
And the tour itself would include plenty more walking.

I had booked the tour last October and it required a partial deposit. The cancellation policy said you had to cancel at least five days in advance to get a full refund so I wasn't planning on getting any money back if I didn't show up. 

Bob, Jon and Michelle left the ship and I went to the promenade deck for awhile. The weather was just perfect outside...not too warm with a slight breeze blowing off the water. The Celebrity Summit was docked on our starboard side so I went to the port side with a beautiful view of that gorgeous blue water and hills. There was a lot of boat traffic too which was interesting to watch.

What a balcony! (On the Celebrity Summit.)

A little more balcony envy...

While I was sitting there I got an alert on my phone that my credit card had been charged for Bob's tour and it was way more than what his tour alone should have cost. I texted Bob and found out that I not only didn't get my deposit refunded (which I assumed would happen) but they also charged Bob the remainder of the cost for my tour. I emailed the company but all they said was "their cancellation policy was clear." Hmmm...not so. I wonder what would have happened if NEITHER one of us had showed up? All I could see on their website was that the deposit wouldn't be refunded so I wasn't very happy with the extra charge.

Since I didn't go on the tour, I will turn the blog over to Bob to fill you in on what he did.

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The 3 of us made our way off the ship to get to our tour bus. It was a longer walk than anticipated. We waited just outside the fenced area where all the companies staged their tours. We had about 18 folks on our bus so not too bad for getting on and off a lot. 

We did a loop around the island and in spots could see the damage from hurricanes. We had great weather with sun and clouds which just made the scenery great. The shoreline is quite nice in many spots. We made a quick stop to see some iguanas and feed them. They didn’t seem too hungry though. I’m guessing we may have been the 53^rd bus to stop and they may have been full. They were fun to see anyway. 

Hurricane damage

We ended up going to a beautiful beach to spend some time, but I refused to pay for a chair just to be packed next to 600 other people. I opted to go climb a hill a mile in the distance. I made a leisurely stroll down the beach passing an interesting graveyard on the way. When I reached the hill, up I went. My goal was to see the other side and it was worth the climb. It was peaceful and beautiful. I wanted more time but had to head back shortly after reaching the top. I think I had the best time of anyone! 

Jon & Michelle rented beach chairs at Grand Case Beach.

Jon ordered an appetizer platter.

Walking down the beach...

Looking back to Grand Case Beach where I started.

We also visited a market on the shore that was fun. I bought a handmade necklace for Mary that I really liked. Jon and Michael found a French bakery to enjoy. 

French Bakery

Once on the bus we made our way back to the hustle and bustle of the Maho beach. We had the chance to see several jets landing over our heads, but the takeoffs were nothing great. The wind was wrong and nothing large was leaving, so no good jet wash. Then it was back to the ship.

Almost home...

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Back to the Eurodam and Mary's report:

When "nature called", I went back to our cabin and puttered around a bit. Packing day was coming soon and I tried to do a few things in advance. I also took some time to transfer photos and videos from the two cameras I have used onto a flash drive and my iPad. We had been sharing photos with Jon and Michelle and it would be easy to Air Drop them from the iPad.

Around 11:30 I put in an order for pizza on the Navigator app. I walked through the buffet to get a glass of iced tea on the way to pick up the pizza and was totally shocked when a crew member said "just help yourself!" That was the first time since we had boarded the ship that we were able to get a drink on our own! When I got out to the Sea View Pool, my pizza and caprese salad were ready and waiting. I found an empty table and silverware wrapped in a napkin was already on the table...again...something new.

A very large sailboat went by while I was eating.

I thoroughly enjoyed my meal and as I walked back through the buffet I noticed how many things were available for self-serve now. I was sure the crew must be delighted that their workload had been decreased.

I went back down to the promenade deck and parked myself in an empty lounge chair. My cell service wasn't fantastic, but it worked well enough that I was able to check Facebook and do some texting.

Bob and Michelle both texted as the tour was headed back to the ship. Michelle asked me to make dinner reservations but when I called the earliest reservation available was 8:15 pm. Too late for us. They did tell me that if we just showed up between 5:00 and 5:30 we should be able to be seated. It was Dutch Night in the dining room and most of the offerings were available in the buffet as well as in the main dining room.

I tried to spot Bob coming back from the tour, but no luck.

Once everyone was back, Jon, Bob and I changed into our swimsuits and went to the Sea View Pool. Besides getting some sun, it was a great place to watch as the ship sailed away from St. Martin. Michelle had broken a fingernail while in Dominica so she stopped into the spa and had it repaired.

When we got to the dining room at 5:15 we were seated right away. I went with the Dutch theme and ordered split pea soup, Hodge Podge Klapstuck and sugar free apple pie for dessert. Tonight was also Orange Night and looking across the dining room it was easy to see many people were dressed for the occasion. 

Comedian, Andrew Grose, was on stage in the main theater. I guess word got out that he was pretty funny and the theater was full. Tonight his show was a little more adult oriented than what we usually hear on Holland America.

Tomorrow was a sea day (finally!) which meant no alarms, no getting up early. With that in mind, the four of us went to the Crow's Nest to play cards. All of the games that had been removed were back on the shelves there...another sign that the norovirus precautions were being lifted. For the first time, we could feel the ship rolling a bit. The captain said we would be traveling at 18 knots and hit windy weather within 24 hours so it could even get worse.

While I was online during the day I was starting to see mention of a major weather system coming through the Midwest late next week. Words like "bomb cyclone" were even being used! Oh boy...what we got to look forward to I guess!

Saturday, January 28 - St. Martin

Today’s plan…a private tour with Joyce Prince.

As the “planner of port day activities” I did a lot of research. I also wanted to make sure that I was taking into consideration what everyone wanted to do. Since our friends were new to cruising they requested that we see as much of each island as possible. That eliminated options such as spending the day on a beach.

For St. Martin I had narrowed down our choice to either Bernard’s tours or Joyce Prince. The cost of a group tour with Bernard was $40 each but he also quoted me a price of $350 for a private tour for our group of six. Joyce was also available for a private tour and her price was $375.

I read many favorable reviews for Joyce and chose her for that reason. I really didn’t read anything negative about Bernard but it just sounded like Joyce was a fun and personable person…which she was. However…at the end of the day I would have to say that St. Martin was my least favorite island of the cruise. Oddly enough however, Lowell & Nancy both thought St. Martin was one of their top islands! Just goes to show you that opinions differ…so make sure you take that into consideration when you read reviews!

Joyce had instructed us to meet her outside the shopping area at the port at 9:30 so we made sure to get there a little early so she wouldn’t have to wait.

She specifically told us to wait by a certain statue and that was where she would pick us up. 

9:30 came and went and we were still waiting. The sun was getting hot so we tried to stand in the little bit of shade from a palm tree…until we happened to notice a sign that said “Keep off the grass.”

It was getting close to 10:00 when Joyce finally pulled in. She had gotten delayed by road construction so unfortunately our day was cut a little short. Rather than making suggestions on what we should see, Joyce just said…"I will take you where ever you want." We appreciated her willingness, but not having been to St. Martin before it would have been nice to have a little guidance. 

Nancy wanted to buy a tanzanite ring so we started the day shopping. There were many, many jewelry stores and we were thankful for Joyce’s suggestions on which stores to check…and how to bargain for the best prices. 

The ring shopping took some time and it ended up that Kim also bought herself two rings and then she and Nancy surprised me by buying me a ring to thank me for my planning! Eventually Nancy did find a ring that she liked but it needed to be re-sized and picked up later in the day.

Joyce drove us around the island showing us the points of interest.

She took us to a small stand on a hill that sold guavaberry (a liqueur) and spices…but also had a nice panoramic view.

The finches feeding on the fence caught Bob’s attention…

Joyce took us to Orient Beach, but since Lowell wanted to snorkel we decided we wouldn’t swim there…we would wait and find a beach better suited for snorkeling later. However…since we were there, we just had to make a brief stop at the nude beach…just to say we had been there. 

We walked down the beach a short way…the water was beautiful. Some people were flying colorful kites and Kim took a picture…only to be reprimanded…”NO cameras allowed!” 

Visiting the beach was an interesting experience…but not one I would probably repeat. I can say that there were going to be some people that left that day with a sunburn in places that had never seen the sun before…

The guys thought it would be funny to take off their shirts for this photo so they would look naked!

It was getting late and we all still had things that we wanted to see and do and it was becoming obvious that there was no way we were going to get to everything. Besides snorkeling, Lowell asked if we could find a place for lunch that served authentic Caribbean food. Joyce suggested that she call ahead and have our orders ready so it wouldn’t take so long. She made some suggestions…including goat…and got our orders written down. But…when she tried to call her cell phone didn’t work. She actually had a second phone and it didn’t work either. 

We got to the restaurant and I saw that they were barbequing meat out by the street so I suggested we go with that thinking that it would be quicker and we would still have time to shop at the outdoor market nearby. Traffic was horrendous so Joyce dropped us off and told us where to meet her after we were done eating and shopping.

After ordering the BBQ, we waited…and waited…and then waited some more.

A band was playing right next to where we were sitting and it was so LOUD that we couldn’t even hold a conversation. 

By the time the food was finally served it was around 2:00…the time we should have been meeting Joyce. So…no time for shopping.

Kim and I had watched some of the YouTube videos from Maho Beach and decided that we really wanted to experience seeing the planes come in for a landing firsthand. Not knowing our way around the island, we had no idea of distances or travel time, but the afternoon was slipping by us and the chances of us visiting Maho Beach, going to a different beach for snorkeling AND making it back to the jewelry store to pick up the ring didn’t seem possible. I wish Joyce would have just said, “there is no way you can do all of that”…but rather she made it seem like she wanted to try. With only a little over an hour left we decided to skip the snorkeling (we didn’t want to get back to the ship at the last minute.)

On the way to Maho Beach we got to see a little more of the island…and some pretty fancy yachts.

The traffic around Maho Beach was pretty congested, so Joyce dropped us off while she went to find a place to park. We agreed to meet back up within 20 minutes. The beach was fairly crowded, but most people were doing what we were there for…watching the airplanes. Those that were actually swimming and enjoying the beach were in the minority.

A very narrow road is all that separates the beach from the end of the runway and planes were landing every few minutes.

We watched several land…some small planes…some larger ones. It was pretty cool to see them go overhead at such a low altitude.

After seeing several planes land, we watched as an American Airlines jet taxied to get ready for take off. We had seen the YouTube videos of people getting blasted, and the warning signs were clear...

…but yet for some reason we thought it would be fun to stand behind the jet when it took off. It was one of those things that falls under the category “what in the world were we thinking?”!!!

Oh my goodness…as soon as the jet engines revved up we were hit with gale force winds and then we were sand blasted. We joked later that we got a free micro-derm abrasion treatment…but at the time it was unbearable. We started running away…towards the water. The beach actually has a fairly steep slope leading down in the water and Nancy fell…or dropped…to the ground…I’m not sure which! 

The word was that a big Air France jet was scheduled to land at 3:00, but we knew we had to get going to have time to pick up the ring…so we missed it. 

Our goal was to be back at the port around 3:30 or so and we made it. The official time to be back onboard was 4:30 but we knew that we had to be packed up and ready to put our luggage out. We wanted to get it done before dinner so we could still enjoy the evening activities.

I think there were several factors that made our day in St. Martin less than perfect. For one…it was the last day of the cruise and after having such wonderful experiences at the other ports it was hard to compete. Also the day was too short…both because Joyce was late and because we should have made arrangements to get started earlier. Lastly…we had too many things we wanted to get done. It would have been better if Joyce would have given us some direction in planning the day rather than just telling us we could do whatever we wanted.

I forgot to mention that we did make a stop back at the jewelry store and Nancy's ring was ready and waiting for her! Now all three of us gals had some new bling!

Earlier that morning I had noticed that in addition to all of the yachts anchored in the harbor, a HUGE yacht was docked next to the Victory. I took a few photos…I had never seen a yacht with a helicopter before! The cruise ship between the Victory and the yacht was also pretty cool…I would have loved to see it with the sails unfurled!

As we were returning to the ship, Bob overheard someone say that the yacht was the biggest in the world. I took note of the name…The Eclipse…and googled it when I got home. Sure enough it is the largest…and most expensive yacht…557 feet long and a price tag of $1.2 BILLION…and is owned by Russian billionaire, Roman Abramovich.

Here is what I found online:

The 557-foot Eclipse reportedly comes with features including two helipads, a submarine, multiple hot tubs, a pool and a missile-detection system. Another story has Eclipse with "two swimming pools -- the larger of which converts into a dance floor when drained -- bullet-proof glass, 6ft home cinema screens in every guest cabin and a master cabin where the roof opens to allow Abramovich and his girlfriend Daria Zhukova to sleep under the stars. An anti-paparazzi electronic "shield" will take care of their privacy while on board."

It sounds as if most of this is speculation, but regardless…it was IMPRESSIVE!

Leaving St. Martin…

See the plane taking off?

The sun was setting as we headed to dinner.

Showing off our new rings!

Bob decided that the last night was a good time to break out his “trick tie”! Obviously "HE" thinks it is funny!

And…it was time to to say our good-byes to Sam and Remesto. We gave each of them extra tips (in addition to the auto tips) and they seemed so, so appreciative. They came around the table and gave us all hugs before we left.

The night was finished off with the Legends show. A couple of the performers were very good…most were just mediocre.

A fru-fru drink during the show.