“LIVE” from Enchantment of the Seas – March 05, 2022 (12Nts)

Radio · March 10, 2022

4 hours ago, megr1125 said:

Checking on the web cam, it looks like a very nice day in SXM

Yes, the weather was perfect.

Radio · March 10, 2022

4 hours ago, aloni said:

could you please take some pictures around the solarium. Thank you

Yes I will have several photos of the solarium on Friday.

Radio · March 10, 2022

Hello everyone and good day. I just made it back to the ship after having a good day.

First off, the weather was very nice and comfortable. The temps went up to 83f, with a gentle breeze. I started off walking around the port area shops and Duty-Free stores. I found out after a couple of stops, that they would not accept Amex cards for payment.

Uh Oh. . . I tried a few other shops. Well, you may have guessed it. Amex cards are not good anywhere at the shops. Maybe there not allowed at any retail store in St. Maarten.

OK, back to the ship and get my Visa and some extra cash (just in case Visa will be not allowed. Success! I was able to buy the things I wanted with no worries (except for being dumb and not knowing in advance)

I then took a ride on the Water Taxi over to Bobby's Marina. ($7 RT) I was able to walk about a block over to a few casinos. I know there are around a dozen in St. Maarten, but there are 3 within a 3 block radius of Bobby's Marina.

I went to all three, and I am glad that I did. I am glad to know that I will take Casinos off of my list for things to do in St. Maarten. Don't get me wrong. . . All casinos I entered were clean and well-staffed.

It appears though that these casinos were not built for the Cruise Passengers (I saw zero cruise passengers), but they were built for the locals. Most machines offer guilder payouts (the basic monetary unit of the Netherlands) and you could find some USD payouts, but you had to be careful. Many of the USD machines were out of order. I spent a little but didn't hang out too long in the Casinos I went to.

I decided to visit some of the shops on Front Street. The selections and prices were very good and in many cases much better than at the cruise pier. All of the merchants were very friendly, and I recommend Front St shopping.

I took the water taxi back to the pier and hung out at a few places there before hopping on the Cruise Cart (10 passenger open-air shuttle) This is a free service for Cruise Passengers, but a tip may be recommended.

We are scheduled to leave at 5PM and will be headed to Castries, St. Lucia

Here are a few pics from today.

Thanks for tuning in. . .

Radio
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All passengers must be back by 4:30

Enchantment of the Seas AFT

Enchantment of the Seas viewed from the pier.

Celebrity Edge from the pier.

Shopping and information area

Which way do we go?

Welcome to St Maarten

Many duty-free shops

Digicel wireless

The last Governor of St Maarten statue.

"Hope to see you again soon in St Maarten"

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megr1125 · March 11, 2022

Nice day!! Oops on the Amex🤣🤣.

I am so used to seeing lots of people in St. Maarten, the port shopping area looks so empty.

Radio · March 11, 2022

Here are a few more pics from St Maarten.

Radio

It's water taxi time

These water taxis are big

Of you of Enchantment of the Seas as we pass by.

This was a fast water taxi.

We can see the Front Street beaches as the taxi heads over to Bobby's Marina.

We are ready to dock

There are several places like this to have a cool beverage and relax.

Phillipsburg shops

Rouge et Noir Casino

The Museum of St. Maarten

Historic Front Street

Historic Front Street vendors

Front Street beaches

Front Street beach swings

I love this iced coffee and smoothie relaxation area

Phillipsburg memorial

Riding the water taxi back to the pier.

There were a lot of iguanas on the rocks.

Sharkey's Bar at the pier

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Edited March 11, 2022 by Radio

Radio · March 11, 2022

Enchantment of the Seas leaving the pier slowly, on her way to Castries, St Lucia.

Radio

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Edited March 11, 2022 by Radio

maggieq · March 11, 2022

1 hour ago, Radio said:

Here are a few more pics from St Maarten.

Radio

It's water taxi time

These water taxis are big

Of you of Enchantment of the Seas as we pass by.

This was a fast water taxi.

We can see the Front Street beaches as the taxi heads over to Bobby's Marina.

We are ready to dock

There are several places like this to have a cool beverage and relax.

Phillipsburg shops

Rouge et Noir Casino

The Museum of St. Maarten

Historic Front Street

Historic Front Street vendors

Front Street beaches

Front Street beach swings

I love this iced coffee and smoothie relaxation area

Phillipsburg memorial

Riding the water taxi back to the pier.

There were a lot of iguanas on the rocks.

Sharkey's Bar at the pier

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Wow sharkeys. When did they reopen? Even if we stay on the ship when docked in st Martin, we would always have a couple of brights at sharkeys.

BND · March 11, 2022

A lot of places, even here in the US don't take Amex. The reason for that is Amex charges a higher percentage to the merchants than Visa/MC do. Have you had issues using it anywhere else?

Edited March 11, 2022 by BND

Bailey & Sophie · March 11, 2022

4 hours ago, Radio said:

The Museum of St. Maarten

We went to this museum last time we were there. It was very nice. Larger than it looks. At that time I think it was $1.00 pp.

Radio · March 11, 2022

Cruise Compass DAY 7

Radio

DAY 7 PG1

DAY 7 PG2

DAY 7 PG3

DAY 7 PG4

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JamesEM · March 11, 2022

As for the shopping talks, most of those shops RCL shills for are businesses they own, or get a kick back.otos.

Enjoying your show and photos.

Radio · March 11, 2022

Our current location at 4 a.m. (AST)

Radio

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Edited March 11, 2022 by Radio

Radio · March 11, 2022

Hello everyone good morning. Welcome to DAY 7 of "LIVE" from Enchantment of the Seas.

Welcome to Castries, St. Lucia. We arrived around 8:30. This was a little earlier than our scheduled arrival at 9:00 a.m.. we picked up the pilot at around 8:15. And we are currently tied up to the pier. The ship has been cleared and passengers are free to go ashore.

I have been reading so many things about what you are allowed to do in St Lucia.

According to the Cruise Compass:
"Due to local requirements all guests must participate in the tour to explore the island. Fully vaccinated guests May book a shore excursion on board or debark the ship and visit the enclosed Port area to purchase a government approved tour. The government approved tours are unaffiliated with Royal Caribbean.

It was just announced however that all passengers going ashore must pick up a white band to wear on their wrist. This white band will signify that you are fully vaccinated and are a cruise passenger.

There was no mention of the enclosed Port area or a government approved tour. . . Hmmm. Maybe those rules have been relaxed.

I will be leaving the ship in about an hour and we'll see how things work out.

Here are a few pics from this morning.

Thanks for tuning in.

Radio

We just picked up the pilot.

We pass by Norwegian Epic

We will be docked downtown, next to the Castries freight terminal.

Enchantment of the Seas approaches the pier slowly.

The port workers are securing us to the pier.

We are docked downtown at the duty-free shops.

The passenger facility is attached to a small duty-free Mall.

Passengers are free to go ashore.

A crew member on Deck four hands out the white bands that we must wear while ashore.

Here are the white bands

We are docked just across the harbor from Norwegian Epic

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aloni · March 11, 2022

Enjoy your day and I await your Solarium pictures

Radio · March 11, 2022

Hello everyone and good day. I am happy for such a beautiful weather day in St Lucia. I left the ship around 11:00 a.m. and wandered over to the Duty-free shops here at the pier. There are many more shops here than I have read about. It's kind of a mini mall with about 30 shops inside.

I hung out inside the shopping area for a couple of hours, and then decided I wasn't feeling well. I came back to the ship had some lunch and rested a bit before I went back through the shops, to downtown Castries. This is a very busy City, things were moving very quickly.

Outside of the terminal, things were very hectic. Taxi drivers and tour operators were trying to make a buck, but I get it. I was able to say "No thank you" to about 30 aggressive tour vendors. I made my way a few blocks into the city to check out some larger stores. I was happy that all of the merchants here =do= accept Amex cards. (Unlike Phillipsburg)

I was considering getting a taxi over to Vigie Beach . The taxi fare is $15 each way. If I wanted to take a taxi over to the other Cruise terminal the cost was $10 each way. It may have been cheaper for me to just get an inexpensive Beach tour. Pre-covid, there used to be a water taxi option between the two piers for $10 round trip.

I made it back to the ship by around 2:30, just in time for about 1 hour of watching news.

We are scheduled to leave Castries, Saint Lucia at 6pm and make our way to Barbados.

Here are a few pics from today.
Thanks for tuning in.

Radio

The Cruise Terminal is named "La Place Carenage"