Our First Cruise Ever - 29 December 2010

[wobblyfeet]

It's 2011 now.

 

Later, after midnight, I went again to join the after-party and enjoy the New Year’s midnight buffet. The buffet was a huge and delicious spread with a variety

of foods, both hot and cold, and an absolutely delicious ice cream log cake. I brought down a couple of slices of that ice cream log cake to enjoy on the balcony.

As we ate the cake, we noticed some fireworks being fired up into the sky on the islands. It was wonderful to watch.

 

Our son was enjoying himself and brought the new year in great style. We did not see him until later, sometime in the early hours of the morning. I hoped that he

would not be tired to participate in the island tour on the first of the islands we would visit, St. Maarten/St. Martin.

 

 

And down in the Atrium lobby, there was a party going on too. The balloons were dropped at midnight.

[wobblyfeet]

The sun rose early on the first day of 2011, around 5:50am. It came rather quickly for most of the guests who partied late and had probably just gone to bed

a few short hours before, and who were rising out of bed with groggy eyes and a possible hangover. It did not make matters better either that the island of

St. Maarten/St. Martin, our first port of call, was on Atlantic time, 1 hour ahead of Eastern Standard time and also ship time. Therefore, anyone, who wished

to participate in shore excursions on the island, had to rise and get ready an hour earlier. We were among that group. In the past, many passengers missed

their onshore excursions because of this oversight. There were many episodes on Cruise Critic of such missed opportunities. Our son was the groggy one; he

only had about 3 hours of sleep. My wife and I were fine because we were in bed earlier.

 

We ate a filling Continental breakfast prior to disembarking, shortly before 8am, ship time. It sustained us for much of the day as we toured the island of 2

countries. The island is comprised of St. Maarten, the Dutch side of the island with its many Dutch influences and interesting customs, and of St. Martin, the

French side which is a decidedly more colourful part of the island with a more leisurely and laisse-faire attitude toward life.

Approaching St. Maarten

Wide angle view of St. Maarten

 

 

The ship docked in Philipsburg, the capital of St. Maarten, around 7:30am, half an hour before the scheduled time. That was great as it gave us 30 minutes to

get ashore and find the tour company.

 

We toured with an independent touring company called “Bernard Tours”. We had booked with them at home, several months before, after reading about this tour

company in several reviews on Cruise Critic. Many a reviewer recommended this company; so, we decided to take the tour ourselves.

 

Our son and I went onshore after we pinged our Sail and Sign card. My wife stayed onboard. The photographers were there at the end of the gangway, ready to

take our photo. There were quite a few photographers waiting for their opportunity to snap a picture. It was hard to avoid them. I think we were snapped a

couple of times.

 

We walked quickly to the shops and the area where the Bernard’s Tour booth was. It was approaching 9am, island time, and we were soon late. The tour guide told

us not to worry as they were accustomed to late arrivals and it was New Year’s Day, after all. They knew that passengers would have trouble with the time

difference. In any case, we were only a couple minutes late, not too bad.

 

The guide directed us to his bus and we boarded quickly. Not long afterward, we were travelling down the roads of St. Maarten. We were a little surprised that

no one was concerned with paying the fee for the tour. I was wondering when they would eventually come around and ask for the money. Later on, I discovered that

I didn’t have to worry, as the owner or manager of the tour company drove up to the bus and asked for the money.

[wobblyfeet]

The hilly terrain

 

St. Maarten is governed by a constitutional monarchy with Queen Beatrice being the head of monarchy. The people of the island speak Dutch officially, but also

English. The island covers 334 square kilometres or 13 square miles and has a population of 37,429 people in 2010. Philipsburg, the capital has 1,228 inhabitants.

 

 

 

Along the way, the tour guide retold an interesting story about their telecommunications. Much of their television programming comes from North America, and a

little from the Netherlands. They have both landline and cellphone technology. However, try not to call anyone on the French side of the island, St. Marten, from

anywhere in St. Maarten. International calling charges apply in those instances. He told us about a case in which a caller, who only a mere metres away from the

French island border, would call someone a short distance across the border and find himself having to pay exorbitant international calling charges. He said it

would be much better to walk the short distance over the border and call from there. That would be a local call.

 

The tour bus made numerous stops along the way. One of the stops was to witness a few wild horses playing freely at the base of a small hill, filled with spare

vegetation and numerous cacti.

Various cacti

 

 

 

Wild Horses

[wobblyfeet]

Wild Horses

 

On the other side of the road was a rocky coast with the waves crashing over the rocks. It was another windy day, but it was quite warm and very sunny.

 

Soon after walking around and taking some pictures, we boarded the bus and continued our trip. We saw many hotels and a few luxury homes along the way. Each

hotel appeared to have a casino in it. Casinos seemed to be big business in St. Maarten, where it is legal to gamble.

 

The bus passed by the road to the Butterfly Farm. We did not tour the farm, but were told that it was a place worth visiting, if you had time. I had seen

information and photos of this Butterfly Farm earlier in the year, while surfing the internet. The photos of the various butterflies there were quite impressive

and there are some very beautiful butterflies which live or visit the farm.

 

Our next stop was a beautiful, yet rocky, beach which is famous for a number of reasons. At this time, we had crossed over to French side of the island, in the

country of St. Martin.

 

St. Martin is the larger of the two island countries with an area of 86 square kilometres or slightly over 33 square miles. The highest elevation is at Pic Paradis,

which is 414 metres, or 1358 feet. The population of this country is 35,925 with 5,700 people living in the capital of Marigot. As with St. Maarten, the presence of

fresh water on the island is negligible. There are no rivers on the island, only dry guts. The annual precipitation in both countries is around 990mm. Despite the

low amount of water, St. Martin appears to be more lush than in St. Maarten. The air temperature averages around 27C. and can range from 17C to 27C. St. Martin is

famous for its laisse-faire live, interesting shopping that include many outdoor markets, rich French and Indian Caribbean cuisine, of course the nude beaches. It

is perfectly legal to go nude on these designated beaches. There are also numerous beaches where swimmers and sun bathers do have to cover up somewhat.

Great sand and surf with strange rock outcroppings

 

The tour bus stopped at a beautiful, if somewhat rocky beach. Orient Beach, as it is called, is beautiful to swim in and surf at, and is visited often, by locals

and tourists alike, for its wonderful warm sand, abundant sunshine, clear water and great surf.

Great surf

[wobblyfeet]

Hang gliders love this beach also. Another group of people love this beach as well. These are the nudists, who lie on the beach or walk along the shore in their

birthday suits in designated areas for nudists.

 

Some people absolutely looked great in their nakedness, nicely suntanned and fit, they strolled down the beach with confidence and no fear. Others, clearly should

not show off their bodies, without clothing; they were carrying a little too much of themselves and it was not pretty. In St. Martin, you can walk around on the

nude beach, completely nude. In St. Maarten on the Dutch side, however, you are not allowed; the most you can get away with is being topless.

 

DS and I started a hour long stay at Orient Beach in the public area. This is the area where nudity is not allowed.

Great sand and surf with strange rock outcroppings

 

On this rather rocky beach with odd rock outcroppings along the length of the entire beach, were numerous lounge chairs and concession stands, selling anything

from sexy clothing to beachwear to various local foods and drinks. Also available for sale were boat, seadoo boat and parasailing rentals. Surprisingly, the

washrooms came with a charge too, and the lounge chairs were timeshared; that is, loungers and sun worshippers had to pay for the luxury of using the lounge chairs

and soaking the sun’s rays.

 

Busy Beach with Hucksters and Concession stands

 

Also, numerous hucksters were walking the beach, trying to sell their arts and crafts, ranging from necklaces to art and pencil drawings. It was just too busy and

the beach was too narrow. Fortunately, the beach was long and you could walk for quite a while in the warm sand and water.

 

DS decided to stay on the public beach. I found it too much after about 20 minutes. So, I ventured over to the nudists’ area of the beach which was on the opposite

side of the public one. The first thing one noticed was that it was much much quieter. The hucksters were not there. The concession stands were absent too. Just, people

sitting on the sand or walking along the beach. Some were clothed, others were in various stages of undress. For the most part, everyone minded their own business. many

were lazing in the sun or reading their book. I liked this side of the beach because it was a better beach without that strange rock outcropping along the shore and had

no hucksters and concession stands. And yes, the people were interesting to watch too. DS was not brave enough to come to the nudist side of the beach.

 

After an hour on the beach, we were getting restless and eager to continue the rest of the tour. We boarded the bus and continued our tour. From here, we headed to the

capital of St. Martin, Marigot. From this point in the tour, we noticed far more palm trees than we had before on the island. In Marigot, there were numerous palm trees

all around the community, especially at the marketplace where we stopped for about 30 minutes.

Arriving in Marigot

 

At the marketplace, we had an opportunity to shop for local crafts, clothing and various foodstuffs. There was a wonderful shop nearby that sold famous and delectable

desserts in the French tradition. We looked at the stalls of clothing and foodstuffs, DS and I decided to walk to a nearby wharf and small beach to look at the

incredible view.

The Marketplace with fortress in background

[wobblyfeet]

 

 

Closer view of fortress

 

 

[wobblyfeet]

Views of the shore and wharf

 

While we waited at the bus for the rest of the tour group to reassemble, I decided that I should go to the washroom. There were a couple public washrooms in the marketplace,

not far from the bus. It was an usual public washroom with broken down doors to stalls that provided very little privacy. Outside the main entrance was a mid-aged woman,

sitting at a counter, with a large bowl in front of her. I was not sure what she was doing there or what that bowl was for. Only later, after I saw a few people dropping

money in there, that I realized the woman was collecting tips. I was not really sure why she was collecting tips; after all, the washrooms were filthy and the stall doors

were broken. What did she actually do to deserve a tip? In any case, I drop a dollar into the bowl and left. So, make sure you have some small change in your wallet, just

in case nature calls.

 

We were all back on the tour bus and the tour guide then drove off. Next on the tour was the Maho Airport, back in St. Maarten, on the Dutch side. It was a short drive to

the airport, also know as Princess Juliana Airport. We noticed that the vegetation changed again, back to the sparse vegetation we had seen earlier. There were even areas

along the way where there was just sand. The airport, for instance, was surrounded by sand. There were numerous hotels in the area as well.

 

The tour bus stopped at a popular tavern, on the Maho Beach, not far from the Royal Islander Club.

 

 

Maho Beach is a famous and very popular beach for its proximity to the airport and the numerous aircraft, which fly only metres above the heads of sun bathers, as they

approach the runway.

Plain approaching airport

[wobblyfeet]

 

Various aircraft landing at Princess Juliana Airport

 

 

An American Airlines Jet taking off

 

For an interesting video of the aircraft arriving at Princess Juliana Airport, please click this

link: http://www.ucruiser.com/videos/id_183/title_Mahoo-Airport-Short

 

We stayed at Maho Beach for about 30 minutes. All of these planes came and left in that 30 minute period. So, it is definitely quite a busy airport.

 

From there we returned to Philipsburg and the port where the tour ended. We disembarked and then visited some of the little shops before returning to the ship.

 

 

We returned to the ship and to our cabin for a relaxing couple hours. The ship left the island at 5pm. sharp. By this time the sun was setting as we were eating a snack

on the Lido deck. We met our waiter Errol on the Lido deck. He said he missed us the night before. That was the evening we went to the Steakhouse for supper.

 

Later, we dined in the dining room and then did some activities. We even popped into the casino for a while.

[cutiediva]

Pretty good review so far. Waiting for more:D

[wobblyfeet]

Here is a slideshow of an island tour with Bernard's Tours.

 

http://www.ucruiser.com/videos/id_185/

[wobblyfeet]

The View of St. Lucia as we approached the island

 

The Carnival Miracle sailed all night over slightly choppy waters. We noticed the rocking and swaying motion much more that night. By dawn, the sea was calm again.

The sun was already up in the sky by a quarter to 6. We were docked early that morning by around 8am in Castries, the capital of St. Lucia.

The View from our balcony

 

St. Lucia is in the eastern Caribbean, a part of the lesser Antilles, and on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. It is northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique.

St. Lucia is a tropical island, seemingly plucked from the South Pacific and set in the Caribbean. There are magnificent rain forests with lush vegetation, consisting

of giant wild ferns and orchids. Beautiful birds of paradise live on the island. St. Lucia also has orchards of bananas, coconut, mango and papaya. The covers an area

of 238 square miles or 620 square kilometres, and it is 27 miles long and 14 miles wide. Many have remarked that the island resembles the shape of a mango or avocado.

The population of the island is 173,000 and Castries has a 1/3 of the total population. The island relies, in large part, on tourism and the banking and financial

industry. Agriculture is also important. Formerly, it exported bananas as a major crop, largely to Britain and the European Union; however, the demand for bananas from

St. Lucia has dropped in recent years as Europe started importing bananas from many different countries. St. Lucia has a British parliamentary system with a prime

minister and Queen Elizabeth as head of state. While there is a lot of British influence, there is much French influence as well. St. Lucia is a member of the

Francophonie, an organization of French speaking nations.

 

It was another beautiful sunny and warm day; even the wind was slight that day. It was nice to be outside on the Lido deck with no wind blowing directly in our faces

We had a filling Continental breakfast and then started on a day of activities. DS went on the “Volcanic Island Experience and Mud Bath” excursion which we booked

prior to leaving for the cruise.

 

DW and I originally booked an excursion called “Best Views of St. Lucia”. Unfortunately, we both caught a small infection over night and were not feeling very well

in the morning. We cancelled that excursion and decided to stay near the ship.

 

Oddly, I was feeling a little better after about 30 minutes, and I decided to roam around the capital of St. Lucia, Castries. What I needed perhaps was a filling

breakfast to make me feel better and give me some energy.

I disembarked the ship and the photographers were poised, ready to snap a few pictures. Almost immediately, we walked through a shopping concourse that was located right

on the dock. Inside, tourists could buy a variety of items from the island. Clothing and jewelry were abundant in the shops.

 

Leaving the complex, I was immediately accosted by numerous drivers offering to take tourists on taxi rides around the island. There was no shortage of people willing to

take your money and give you a tour. Often, you had to wonder what kind of people they were. Were they legitimate? There was no way of knowing for sure. The drivers did

not present any credentials; just, posters and loads of photos of places they were offering to take the tourists.

 

I pressed on, excusing myself each time and telling them all that I was not interested. And I was not interested. I merely wanted to visit the local sights of the capital

on a walking tour. Finally, breaking free from the crowds and the hoards of drivers, I was able to walk along some of the streets.

Some street scenes

 

Another with our ship in the background

 

The first things, I noticed, were the deep ditches along the sides of the streets, and the drivers were driving on the left hand side of the street. Obviously, St. Lucia

had British influence. There were no barriers along these ditches. I was amazed that automobiles did not end up in these ditches, while I was walking along the streets. I

certainly would not want to be a driver here, or even learn how to drive on the island. Definitely, I would not want to drive at night. At the intersections, there were

narrow crossings for the pedestrians to cross over the ditches. They looked dangerous for pedestrians.

[wobblyfeet]

 

 

As I walked around the downtown area and took some photos, I noticed the tour bus that DS was on. They were late in starting the tour, I guess. I also noticed that

most of the stores were closed. There were many banks and financial institutions, as well as cell phone offices and stores. It was a holiday weekend and many of the

businesses were closed. Only the tourist shops were busy conducting business.

 

It was a very warm morning, probably the warmest we experienced so far. After walking around the capital for about 45 minutes, I went back through the shopping concourse

on the pier and boarded the ship again. I was getting a bit too warm and thirsty. I changed into something more summery and picked up a drink from the Lido deck.

 

Back in the cabin, DW said that she was feeling much better. She wanted to visit the island and so I went ashore again with her a little later.

 

Again, the photographers and the taxi drivers were waiting ashore. This time, we let a couple photographers take our picture. And we let one of the drivers give us a tour

of the area around Castries. After some pleading and some hesitation on our part, the driver reduced the price of the hour long tour to $30US. Not really sure what to

expect from his tour, we relented and hopped in the van. He took us along a few of the streets of Castries before venturing outside the town. We climbed many hills

along some of the most streets we had ever seen. The views were incredible.

 

 

Wide angle view of the harbour from atop a hill

 

View of our cruise ship

 

A closeup of our ship (the longer ship)

[wobblyfeet]

 

Castries

 

At the top of one of those hills, he decided to stop at a vista point. Unfortunately, there were a lot of people already there and the site became crowded. Almost as soon

as he parked the van and we opened the van door, a group of hucksters ran up to the van and almost climbed into the van. Both DW and I were quite perturbed by this

action. They were hocking their crafts and would not let up. They were relentless, as they pushed necklaces and bracelets in front of us. They would not stop until we

purchased something; even then, that was not enough, especially when they realized they received very little money. They tried to charm us by asking our names and from

where we came. They tried to tell us that they had relatives in Canada.

First purchase A few more

 

I bought a few necklaces and some bracelets to try to get them to go away. I told them I had to stop so that I could pay the taxi driver. Still, they continued. I then told

the driver that we had to go or else I would not have enough to pay him. I guess he became alarmed and told the hucksters to leave. That was a terrible experience.

[wobblyfeet]

We continued along our way and saw some more sights, including some major industries and local educational and health institutions.

 

 

 

We returned to Castries after the hour was over, as he promised. It was time to pay. I discovered that I was 2 dollars short, after having paid for those jewelry items.

The driver was not too pleased, but he finally relented. For a few minutes, I thought he was going to make a fuss. I guess, we truly annoyed him because we had to walk

back to the pier from that point. Well, he would probably charge the next customers a little more to compensate.

 

DW and I looked inside some of the shops for t-shirts, but we found very little. There were more jewelry and watch stores then stores selling shirts. We were both

getting thirsty and hungry, so we boarded the ship again and had a snack on the Lido deck. Later, we went back to the cabin and sat on the balcony. I took a few more

photographs.

 

 

[wobblyfeet]

 

 

An hour and a half later DS returned to the cabin from his excursion. He said he had a great time and he enjoyed the mud baths and sulphur springs. He saw the sights

of St. Lucia and visited 2 historic fishing villages; then, ultimately on toward the town of Soufriere. Later, he visited the Sulphur Springs and a mud bath in a hot

mineral pool. He also took in the beautiful views of the Pitons and the Caribbean Sea. He returned with some very spectacular pictures.

 

 

[wobblyfeet]

Banana plants

 

Sugar cane

 

 

[wobblyfeet]

The Pitons

 

 

 

 

 

Later, we got ready for dinner. I left earlier that evening because I was going to the Chef’s Table for a very special dinner, made by the head chef. DW and DS

went to the dining room for dinner.

[wobblyfeet]

I had to go earlier as the Chef’s Table event lasted most of the evening and included a tour of the galley as well as dinner. I went down to the Atrium at 6pm where

I met the rest of the group that was going to dine at the Chef’s Table. There were 16 of us in total. Most of them were already sitting in the Atrium, sipping drinks.

The Cruise Director introduced us to the head Chef, who then guided us to the aft of the ship and then one deck lower to the galley, where the dishes were prepared.

 

The tour began in the area of the galley where the desserts were made. All of the desserts, for the main dining room and the Lido deck eateries, are made in the galley.

Even some of the desserts, offered in Nick and Nora’s Steakhouse, are made in this part of the galley.

 

One of the sous-chefs came to the table where we were standing and put a series of ingredients on the table. There were quite a few eggs, a lot of flour and chocolate.

He was about to make the famous and extremely popular Chocolate Melting Cake. It is one of the most popular desserts on the cruise. He put the ingredients into a large

bowl and started to mix rapidly the ingredients. When he finished, he left and told us that we would eating that cake later in the evening.

 

After that demonstration, the head chef presented us with a small glass of delicious wine. As we sipped the wine, he showed us a variety of tasty little morsels, made

from a variety of exotic foods. They were very tasty.

 

Next, we went to the salad table. Here is where all of the salads are prepared This is an assembly line where the lettuce gets chopped, then the onions and tomatoes are

added. Next, the added toppings are chopped and put in the salad. At the end of the table, the dressing is finally added. From there, it is placed on the main table.

Again, an assembly line where the entrees are made and assembled on plates. The conveyor belt passes by the huge ovens in which the beef, chicken and fish are cooked.

These meat entrees are cooked to perfection in very short time.

 

After the plates pass the ovens, the final accoutrements are added before the plates come to the end of the end. At the end of the line, the waiters, who are lined up

and waiting for the dishes to be prepared, come and pick up their orders.

 

It is a well organized system of preparing meals, a system in which every one of the cooks and sous-chefs have a specific role to play. At the end of the day, over 5000

meals are prepared in this galley for the main dining room and the Lido deck.

 

Next, we saw the massive dish and pot washing machines that wash all of the dishes, cutlery and pots and pans. You can only imagine how dirty those pots and pans become.

For those items, there are heavy duty washers that remove the grimiest of pots and pans.

 

From here the tour was over and it was time to dine. The head chef escorted us out of the galley and over to one of the dining and drinking bar rooms. This was the

Frankenstein Tavern, a beautiful and spacious 2 level tavern and bar that on a spacious room, on the lower level, for a large eating table.

 

This table was decorated with a series of dishes and glasses for each of the 16 participants in the Chef’s Table event. Our places at the table were identified with name

signs, on which our names were printed.

 

We were served a delicious before dinner wine. We learned quickly that our glasses were constantly full. So, we drank the wine slowly, because the waiters and waitresses

came around frequently and refilled our glasses.

 

Our dinner consisted of 6 entrees and a dessert. The menu is listed below.

 

Chef's Table Menu

 

The entrees were absolutely delicious and very filling and the presentation of these entrees was amazing. My favourites were the fillet of Chilean Sea Bass and the

aged Filet Mignon. By the end of the dinner, we were quite full and barely had room for the decadent Chocolate Melting cake. This was the cake we saw being made earlier

in the evening in the galley.

 

 

The guests at the table came from different regions. Five of the guests came from Canada, two of whom came from the Toronto and Hamilton areas, two of whom were from

Alberta, and, of course, myself. The other guests were from different areas of the United States.

 

At the end of the evening, around 10pm, we thanked the head chef for a wonderful meal and tour, and slowly walked out of the Frankenstein Tavern.

 

I had to sit outside the tavern, in the Piano bar lounge for a few minutes while the food in my stomach settled. I believe I had never eaten so much in one sitting. I

listened to some wonderful music, played wonderfully on a grand piano.

 

Then, I went up to the Lido deck and made myself a cup of tea. I returned to the cabin after that for the rest of the evening. I sat out on the balcony with DW and DS

for a couple of hours, watching the stars.

 

DW and DS had Asparagus Vichyssoise and California Spring Mix with Cherry Tomatoes for appetizers. Then, for entrees, they had Veal Parmigiana and Grilled Filet Mignon

of the finest aged American Beef. For dessert, they ate the Chocolate Melting cake and the Chocolate Raspberry and Vanilla Cream cake.

 

It was a wonderful evening and the end of a perfect day.

[AngelKappie]

We did the Chefs Table on the Miracle Thanksgiving week!!!!! Was a AMAZING!!!!!!! Something I will never forget! :D Recommend it to EVERYONE!!!!

[wobblyfeet]

Enjoy the slideshow of our tour of the island and the video of our departure and a plane leaving the island airport.

 

slide show: http://www.ucruiser.com/videos/id_188/title_St-Lucia-slideshow]

 

video: http://www.ucruiser.com/videos/id_186/title_Leaving-St-Lucia/