Nancy’s Summer Cruise – Day 5

Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas
9 Night Cruise to Bermuda, St. Martin, St. Thomas, and San Juan

Missed the previous installments? Here they are: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4.

I want to start off today by wishing my mother a Happy Birthday! She is a super great Mom and I am sorry I could not be with her today. Dad, I sure hope you took her out. Hugs and Kisses!

Today we arrived in San Maarten. The island is split in half with the Dutch owning one side and the French the other. We haven’t been here in nine years so I was very impressed at how much they have built up the Dutch side of the island. They finally figured out to build their homes out of concrete and not just wood since the hurricanes would do such great damage to the old homes. (There is now a island-wide code to that effect.) Also, they are filling up their salt marshes and reclaiming the land to build new housing and government facilities.

Our tour did not start until 1 pm so we still got to sleep in late (again). After lunch, we met the tour group on the pier and, thankfully, we had a air conditioned bus. I know, I know, I have been waiting to feel true summer heat, but let me tell you: Caribbean heat is a lot hotter than New Jersey heat. Since June was so cold for us, we haven’t yet acclimated to the warmer weather. Was it still a glorious summer Caribbean day? Sure! But the A/C bus was a welcomed sight.

Our guide, Clinton, was very knowledgeable about the island. Clinton is from French Guyana. (Yes, the Jim Jones Guyana. Folks inevitably ask about that, all slackjawed, “Wowwwww, really? With the Kool-Aid?” Roll your eyes with me now. Exactly.) He worked for Pepsico for 25 years, then took a vacation in San Maarten. As Clinton says, he’s “still on it.”

Clinton drove us all along the Dutch and French sides of the island. On the French side, he stopped at Marigot and we got to walk around for about an hour. Marigot is a shopper’s paradise. Think of it as a Caribbean flea market with a European feel. We found a nice cafe with a steady ocean breeze and had some drinks. The breeze made it feel 10-15 degrees cooler so it was very lovely.

After the stop in Marigot, we got to visit the famous Orient Beach, known for – among other things – the clothing optional section. As I watched Lex get off the bus and run onto the sand, I truly hoped there wasn’t anything he was going to see that would cause him to ask “those” questions. Well, not yet. Thankfully, everyone was covered. Some should have been covered more than others but, hey, it is their vacation too. Orient beach is gorgeous! I told Joe I would not mind coming here for a week to enjoy the lovely clear blue water and clean white sand.

After our tour, we boarded the ship, freshened up, and went to Logo Trivia. Between Joe and me, we must be brand identity junkies. There were 50 to be identified and we blew away the competition, correctly identifying 38 of them. Most people barely cracked 25 so we were looked upon with great respect as we received not one, but three Royal Caribbean baseball caps. That’s right, not a key chain but real baseball caps. (Ooohh, aaahhh.)

Also, during trivia, I tried a Lava Flow rum drink. Wow, was that great! Memo to self: Get another one of those later in the cruise.

In the evening, Lex asked to visit Adventure Ocean. He absolutely loves it there at night. They play all kinds of games, and his favorite is Ga Ga Ball. Think Dodge Ball but without the upper body injuries. (All shots are from the knees down.) Lex is a very fast mover so he can duck and dive with great ease. He also enjoys the evening movies, human bingo, and the Late Night Party Zone.

While Lex was up with the other kids, Joe and I played even more trivia (no surprise there) and then saw a really great juggling act named Team Rootberry. They are considered some of the best jugglers in the world. Indeed, they were very very talented. They did some crazy stuff while cracking jokes and just being all around great guys. Everyone in the room had a fun time and some even gave them a standing ovation for juggling.

After the show, Joe relaxed awhile, then got Lex. I went to the casino to play anything to do with Poker: Caribbean Stud, Let It Ride, Three Card Poker, etc. One day I will get myself to play Texas Hold’em but for now, I go for the simpler games. By the way, if anyone can explain craps to me, I would greatly appreciate it. It is the only game in the casino that my mind reels from watching.

Tomorrow is a day in St. Thomas. Having toured it before, we have decided to take a ferry to St. John instead. We have an early tour, starting at 8:15 am, so getting everyone up and out by 7:30 am is going to be oh, so much fun. Just you wait.

More tomorrow! “Now – here it is – your moment of towel animal zen.”