Dodie
<font color=green>Survived the big crash<br><font
- Joined
- Nov 10, 1999
Recap:
DH and I are 40-years-old with no children. We have been to WDW multiple times in the past 9 years and were ready for something different. We decided on the 7-night Disney cruise and were not disappointed. However, I will try to be honest in my report sharing the good and the bad.
Part 5: St. Maarten
After our in-stateroom continental breakfast, we grabbed our cameras and headed out for a morning of sightseeing and shopping on St. Maarten. We had decided to not do a formal excursion at this stop, as we were going to do one of the more expensive excursions on St. Thomas.
After disembarking, we were amazed to see the size of the Golden Princess, a huge ship docked next to us, and to see that two other smaller ships had already docked behind us. We took lots of pictures of the ships and then strolled down to the dock for the $5 water taxi into town. You pay $5 and receive an arm-band that is good for ferrying you back and forth all day long. Not a bad deal.
Editorial comment: St. Maarten (at least the part that we saw here) is in a sad, dirty, run-down state. People are constantly accosting you as you walk down the street, trying to get you to come into certain shops or get your hair braided, etc. That said - we did have a nice time shopping and spending time on the beach. I was just surprised at the apparent poverty, considering all of the ships that must dock there.
We werent interested in shopping for jewelry which seems to be the biggest draw here, but we did look in several shops and walk the entire length of the main street. I purchased one of the color-changing t-shirts and DH bargained for a St. Maarten polo shirt. We bought a couple of sodas (at $1 apiece, who could resist). We then headed back to the ship for lunch.
After lunch, we changed clothes and took the water taxi back over to town to do the beach. The beach is right there and is surprisingly nice. We were able to rent two lounge chairs with an umbrella for $10 total. We sat there in the shade and sun and had a couple of drinks there were women who were serving this part of the beach (which was in front of one of the bars). We stayed there for about 3 hours. It was actually very nice and relaxing, although we were still constantly accosted by women trying to sell sarong wraps and bead necklaces.
The ship was actually to remain in port here until about 11:30 p.m. We were quite tired after our day ashore, so we took a late afternoon/early evening nap, and then just relaxed in the deck 4 comfy blue cushioned chairs until time for dinner. We were back in Lumieres for tropical night. I did note that the navigator stated that tropical attire (not jacket recommended) was the appropriate dress, even for Lumieres that night.
We went up to deck 10 (a little removed from the deck 9 frenzy) for the Tropical Night sail-away party and enjoyed our slow pull away from port.
More to come
Part 6: St. Thomas and Champagne Catamaran Sail
DH and I are 40-years-old with no children. We have been to WDW multiple times in the past 9 years and were ready for something different. We decided on the 7-night Disney cruise and were not disappointed. However, I will try to be honest in my report sharing the good and the bad.
Part 5: St. Maarten
After our in-stateroom continental breakfast, we grabbed our cameras and headed out for a morning of sightseeing and shopping on St. Maarten. We had decided to not do a formal excursion at this stop, as we were going to do one of the more expensive excursions on St. Thomas.
After disembarking, we were amazed to see the size of the Golden Princess, a huge ship docked next to us, and to see that two other smaller ships had already docked behind us. We took lots of pictures of the ships and then strolled down to the dock for the $5 water taxi into town. You pay $5 and receive an arm-band that is good for ferrying you back and forth all day long. Not a bad deal.
Editorial comment: St. Maarten (at least the part that we saw here) is in a sad, dirty, run-down state. People are constantly accosting you as you walk down the street, trying to get you to come into certain shops or get your hair braided, etc. That said - we did have a nice time shopping and spending time on the beach. I was just surprised at the apparent poverty, considering all of the ships that must dock there.
We werent interested in shopping for jewelry which seems to be the biggest draw here, but we did look in several shops and walk the entire length of the main street. I purchased one of the color-changing t-shirts and DH bargained for a St. Maarten polo shirt. We bought a couple of sodas (at $1 apiece, who could resist). We then headed back to the ship for lunch.
After lunch, we changed clothes and took the water taxi back over to town to do the beach. The beach is right there and is surprisingly nice. We were able to rent two lounge chairs with an umbrella for $10 total. We sat there in the shade and sun and had a couple of drinks there were women who were serving this part of the beach (which was in front of one of the bars). We stayed there for about 3 hours. It was actually very nice and relaxing, although we were still constantly accosted by women trying to sell sarong wraps and bead necklaces.
The ship was actually to remain in port here until about 11:30 p.m. We were quite tired after our day ashore, so we took a late afternoon/early evening nap, and then just relaxed in the deck 4 comfy blue cushioned chairs until time for dinner. We were back in Lumieres for tropical night. I did note that the navigator stated that tropical attire (not jacket recommended) was the appropriate dress, even for Lumieres that night.
We went up to deck 10 (a little removed from the deck 9 frenzy) for the Tropical Night sail-away party and enjoyed our slow pull away from port.
More to come
Part 6: St. Thomas and Champagne Catamaran Sail
