2009 Part 5featured

by Nicole on April 14, 2009

Posted in Caribbean, Cruise Reviews, Ports of Call

This morning, I woke up hot, as usual, but from the slivers of space in between the lifeboat and the ship, I saw we were docked at one of my favorite islands, St. Maarten.

We’ve been to St. Maarten twice, once on Princess, once on Carnival. Our last visit was in May on the Glory. Our first trip, we did a trip to Orient Beach (which every cruise line offers except for Carnival, which I find odd) and last time, we just went shopping and walked around town. Stephanie and I had contemplated hopping in a cab back to Orient Beach, but we ultimately decided to go shopping and walking around the port.

We all had breakfast together at Horatios before heading forward (it’s a long trek from the aft area of the ship!) and down. Even though we docked early, it was swamped at the gateway and it took awhile to get off the ship.

We made our way over to the water taxi, paid for our unlimited ride tickets (which I believe were around $6 or so each), and hopped on the water taxi towards downtown. Right before you get on the water taxi, there’s usually someone handing out coupon books. Grab one! There’s some good discounts on there and a few maps, too. If nothing else, it makes a good souvenir for the scrapbook.

We were left off at the first stop (sometimes there are two…this time and the last time we were there, there was only one, but the first time we went, there were two) and made our way over to the liquor shop near the launch. On our last trip, this store had the best prices in the immediate area (the beach front stores and the next street back…we don’t venture further out than this) and they did not disappoint this time. I didn’t get anything, but Stephanie wanted to buy two bottles of Stoli ($16). She decided to come back and make her purchase before we went back so she didn’t have to carry it around downtown.

I was anxious to get downtown (which sounds far away, but is a five minute walk from the launch) because on our last trip, we discovered there’s a Tiffany & Co. next to Little Switzerland. I love Tiffany jewelry and Mom spoils me with it. On our last trip, she got me a gorgeous Paloma Picasso Loving Heart necklace to match the ring she got me for Hanukkah and got herself and Stephanie the same ring as I had so we all had a matching set. And it was tax free! Chicago sales tax was insane, and we walked away with quite the bargain. So I was really excited because there was this bracelet that matched a ring I got a few years ago and a lariat necklace Mom and Stephanie got me for college graduation. I swear, I almost ran…and I saw this:

It was closed 🙁 A sign of the economic times, I’m sure. With the state of the economy, I doubt many people are buying fine jewelry when they’re already spending four figures (and more) on their vacations. I was bummed (embarrassingly so) and Mom tried to cheer me up…it’s not like I couldn’t buy the bracelet at home or anything and we were on vacation…we could be home in the snow! When you’re on a gorgeous tropical island with temperatures in the 80s and your house is covered in snow with temps in the negatives, it’s hard to stay upset.

So we walked around a bit towards the Guavaberry Emporium, stopping in a few random souvenir stores along the way. I have two bottles of Guavaberry liquor at home, but I wanted a Guavaberry Colada and to check out the store and see if anything else caught my eye. It was a bit of a walk (the other water taxi stop is/was near there, so there wasn’t much of a walk before), but not too long. The main street downtown is heavily shadowed and was much cooler than the sweltering direct sunlight that hit us when we walked along the beach front.

I saw a few interesting things at the Guavaberry Emporium (like Guavaberry BBQ sauce), but ultimately decided there really wasn’t anything I wanted, so I left with my Guavaberry colada (and a few bottles of water…all of our walking and shopping was making us hot!). I thought it was interesting that they still had Christmas decorations up and gifts out at the end of January. I grabbed a few of the complementary St. Maarten magazines before we left because I like flipping through local publications while we’re traveling home. Before we left, I made sure to take a picture of the directional sign outside. I take a picture of this sign every time we visit because of all places, it points to Evanston, IL, a small area outside of Chicago that isn’t far from where we live.

We decided to walk back along the water front to the liquor store so Stephanie could buy her goods, and it was absolutely sweltering. I’m glad grandma stayed on the boat because it was heat stroke kind of weather, and I was very glad Mom insisted we get cold water bottles.

The store was really crowded, so I hung outside and took pictures while Stephanie and Mom headed inside.

Once Stephanie finished her purchase, we hopped on a water taxi and headed back towards the port area. It’s a relatively quick ride, but we had the time to have a nice chat with a nice couple from Vegas (we found out they were originally from Chicago…they must have overheard me talking to Stephanie about the Cubs…I talk baseball a lot and nine times out of ten, she usually doesn’t want to hear it) who were on the MSC Lirica, which was docked next to us.

We made our way past the construction (they’re revamping the pier) and decided to do a quick check of the shopping area at the pier. There was a nice selection of souvenirs, jewelry, and even some Guavaberry goods, but nothing we wanted. Stephanie wanted to stop at Sharky’s (a small bar at the pier), but it was sweltering so we made our way back towards the boat and decided to go swimming and have a few drinks at the aft bar instead.

There wasn’t much of a line, so thankfully we got back on the boat rather quickly. Stephanie went to go check her liquor in, but there was no one at the desk, so she took it with her upstairs. The trek back to the room when you’re sweaty and hungry seems so much longer than it actually is! Mom and grandma headed up to Horatios for lunch, while Stephanie and I changed into our swimsuits and coverups before going upstairs to meet them. I swear, I must have downed four iced teas during lunch.

Lunch must have been pretty good because I don’t remember anything being bad. I thought, in general, the food up at Horatios was very good during the week. The rotisserie food was always very good, the salad bar always had fresh salads and veggies, the sandwiches at the deli were very good (and always served with a smile), the Taste of Nations food was good (I particularly liked the French, Italian and Mexican items). The hit or miss was at the Chinese station. The good stuff was VERY good, but some of the food just lacked flavor. Dessert choices were plentiful and very good, and the pizza and grill were consistently fantastic. I wish the Miracle had a Mongolian grill like some of the newer ships because I love stir fry, but we had more than enough food choices throughout the week.

After lunch, we hopped right into the nearly empty adults only pool. I don’t think we went into the main pools once. The adults only pool is much smaller and only has one hot tub (the adults only area on other ships generally has a larger pool and two hot tubs), but the quieter environment and lack of screaming and splashing kids made up for its shortfalls. Nothing feels better on a hot day than a dip in a cold pool. After a bit, we decided to hop into the hot tub. We noticed during the week that you kind of need to scope out the hot tub before heading in. Sometimes, it would get packed, but when it gets empty, we’d jump in. We’d always be joined by others and enjoyed the conversation, but when it would get crowded, we’d hop out and let the others enjoy.

After the hot tub, we hopped over to the bar and enjoyed a few Goombay Smashes before walking around the deck for a bit and then settling down to sun with Mom and grandma.

After a few hours on deck, we headed back to our rooms. I took a shower (fantastic water pressure on this boat, by the way) and then watched TV while Stephanie took a shower. I ended up going over to Mom and grandma’s room for awhile just to hang out and rest because we had a while before dinner. I was really excited because the second big production, “Ticket To Ride,” was going on tonight and of all the shows I’ve seen on all of our cruises, this is tied for my favorite with “Rock Down Broadway” (which we were lucky enough to see on the Liberty and again the next year when it switched to the Glory).

Dinner tonight was very good. I started with the Fried Mozzarella (amazing…one of the best items on the menu all week!) and the spinach salad (served with a small spring roll filled with glass thread noodles, which made for an odd texture juxtaposition), which was very good. For my entree, I thought about trying the Vegetable Enchiladas, which had been very good in the past, but ultimately decided to get the Flat Iron steak again. This time, it was a bit overcooked and chewy, so I didn’t care for it as much. For dessert, I had the Bitter and Blanc, which is one of the best desserts Carnival offers. It did not disappoint! Stephanie had the Tom Ka Gai soup (she hated it because it was too spicy), a fruit plate, the Grilled Pork chop and the Tiramisu (which is always good!). Mom had her usual shrimp cocktail and caesar salad and she also tried the Chilled Peach soup. I think she had the Beef Stroganoff. She had the Tiramisu, also, and loved it.

Fried Mozzarella with Mixed Greens

Tom Ka Gai

Chilled Cream of Peaches

Wilted Spinach and Portobello Mushrooms with Fresh Bacon Bits

Grilled, Marinated Center Cut Pork Chop

Bitter and Blanc

Tiramisu

We wanted to make both showings of “Ticket to Ride,” but dinner went later than usual and grandma had to eat dinner still, so we forwent the first show. Grandma went for the bistro side for dinner because they usually served the same items as the dining room, and they also grilled up chicken or salmon on request. Before heading down to the show to grab seats, we stopped by the room to grab our Capers to read while we were waiting. Our towel animal/person was waiting for us, along with our invitations to the past guest party, which would be held on Friday (Grand Turk).

On our way to the show, we noticed they had a drink station set up in the lobby. We remembered on both the Miracle and the Pride, they’d had a martini fluge (this one was later in the week), though we never saw it on any other ships. Tonight, they had Rio de Sangria, with all kinds of sangria! I’ve never, ever seen sangria served anywhere on Carnival ships, so I was very excited to see this. I’m not sure if this is something new being rolled out, or something exclusive to the Miracle (or the Spirit-class ships), but they many options of freshly-made sangria at a very affordable price.

We left the sangria station and made our way to the Phantom Lounge, where we quickly found seats for the show and settled in. The theater quickly filled and we were very glad we came early. The show was FANTASTIC. They play Beatles clips on a screen before the show as people are coming in. The sets, the costumes, the dancing, the music…it was all fantastic. Our favorite part is the end, when they hand out light sticks for people to wave during “Let it Be.” This really is one of the best shows Carnival puts on and it shouldn’t be missed.