Day 4 -
We arrived in St. Maarten in the early morning. We got off the boat and headed straight to some of the stores while Daniel went to go see about renting a car. We wanted a car so that way we could travel all around the island and go where ever we wanted to. We wanted a beat up car because theft is a big problem there especially with all the tourist.
We got in the car and drove around for a while and attempted to read the map we had. It didn't have any of the street names on it so we stopped at a gas station to pick up a better map after we realized we weren't getting anywhere. St. Maarten is half France and half Holland and we wanted to see both sides of the island. After driving around and doing some sightseeing, we decided to head over to the beach to do some snorkeling. We made sure to get everything out of our car and leave the doors unlocked. (we were told to do this so if someone were to break in they didn't have to break a window) We then decided to go to Happy Bay which we had to hike for about 15 minutes from the beach we were at.
Jenn and I decided to lay out to watch our belongings while Daniel and Arie went snorkeling. It was a beautiful beach but unfortunately sunbathing in the nude is ok there and lets just say that our eyes saw some stuff that wasn't so pleasant to see.
After we left Happy Bay, we decided to find another place that might have better snorkeling. So we stopped halfway back from our 15 minute hike and tried out another place. While the boys went snorkeling, I decided to go around and find some shells. I found some interesting things.....like a bone. I'm guessing from a dog. I'm not sure but I thought it was pretty cool. I seemed to be the only one to think that though.
This is the bone I found and t I'm not sure what the other thing is but it was pretty cool looking!
After we were done snorkeling, we decided to head over to St. Maarten's most popular beach. It was really crowded but beautiful of course and a lot more waves. We all decided to get into the water and jump the waves. It seemed like a good idea at the time until a huge wave came. It hit me pretty hard and when I came up, my contact was out of my eye and on my cheek. I was smart enough to bring my contact case and solution with me. (I'm always prepared) So we washed off all the dirt and attempted to put it back in my eye. It was so difficult because it was really windy and I couldn't get it in my eye. I had swallowed a lot of water and so my throat was really sore and my nose was running like crazy. It was not a nice experience but after several tries I was finally able to get it in.
After we left the beach, we dropped off the car and headed back onto the boat. We stopped by and got some pizza because we were starving and then headed up to get cleaned up for dinner.
After dinner, we headed over to the Love and Marriage Game Show. They've had this game on every cruise I've been on and this is always one of my favorite cruise activities to go to. If you ever go on a cruise, just make sure you make it to this show.
Day 5 -
Day five was spent on the ship which I always enjoy a day to relax. We took a backstage tour of how they put on shows on a cruise ship. We got to go around and listen to them talk about their job on the ship. We learned about the sound controls, stage props, lights, and dancers. Most people who work on a cruise ship usually sign a 6 month contract and basically have no days off during the whole 6 months. That would be really difficult not being able to see family and friends.
The rest of the day we just basically hung around the boat during activities and relaxing. Later that night, we had our second formal night. I love getting all dressed up and going to a nice dinner. Especially when you don't have to pay for anything. The lady sitting next to me at dinner was really started to annoy me because she would drink all day and then drink more at dinner. She was sooooo drunk and would say the same things over and over again.
After the delicious dinner, we headed over to another show, BeatleMania Live. I'm not a huge fan of The Beatles but I really enjoyed the show and thought they did an amazing job. They sound so much like them!
The kiddie area at night
Day 6 -
We arrived in Labadee, Haiti. It looked like it was going to rain any minute. We were really glad that we didn't pay to do any excursions because I'm not sure if you would get your money back or not. When we got off the boat, it started to drizzle a little and then it started to pour cats and dogs. So we got under some coverings and waited for a while. We realized that it may never stop and so we decided to go do some shopping since it was indoors.
I do not do well this this type of shopping. It's the kind where they basically attack you to come into their little shop and buy from them. I feel so bad for all of them and then again it kind of creeps me out the way they grab you. We did end up buying a few items. A wooden vase and a wood box that you can store stuff in.
The rain stopped and the sun started to come out. So we headed down to the beach. Daniel and Arie decided to try snorkeling but were unsuccessful since the water wasn't very clear from the construction of building a port for the cruise ships.
Then something bad happened. Arie realized that he lost his holder that included his and Jenn's seapass cards and money. It is made to float so we thought that it would be pretty easy to find unless someone else found it and took it. We got someone who worked on the island to go out on a kayak to look for it while the boys went out in their snorkel gear to look for it also. Jenn and I decided that we needed to go ask someone that worked on the cruise ship what to do. We found someone and they told us that we need to go get on the boat immediately to go cancel their cards since anyone could go charge up anything they want on their cards. So we headed over to go through security before getting on the boat. We told them what had happened and one of the officers asked Jenn what her name was. She told him and he held up her container that held her stuff. She thanked him and he said some lady had turned it in. We opened it up and realized that the seapass cards were in there but they stole the money. I still can't believe some people would do that. To steal someone's vacation money is so wrong. It's sad that we live in a world that is so dishonest. Fortunately, they didn't end up charging anything on their cards.
We went ahead and got on the boat to change and freshen up and then went back out to the island. We figured we weren't going to go swimming anymore and just wanted to go eat lunch since they weren't offering it on the boat. Of course after we ate, it started to look like it was going to rain again. It started sprinkling but we got on the ship just in time.
I was freezing and wanted to go get in the hot tub. Apparently, everyone else had the same idea because the hot tubs were packed. We waited a little while and just sat on some swings while we watch our boat take off. Then we were able to get into the hot tub once a few people got out.
Afterward, we got all changed and headed to a show called, In The Air Flying Show. I think Daniel slept through most of it because he was really tired but I really enjoyed it. I love watching dancing!
We then headed to dinner. The food so far has been absolutely wonderful. You can order as much as you want to. If you couldn't decide between two desserts, then you would just get both. It was awesome. The ladies that sit with us didn't come to dinner tonight because they wanted to eat at a different place on the ship and they didn't want to get dressed up. I think we all missed them because they definitely keep the conversations interesting.
If you can't tell, we all had two desserts!
After dinner, we headed over to a game show called the Quest. This is where you are divided up into teams and each team has to get whatever is called. It could be anything from an Obama picture to a bra with a guy wearing it. It was definitely funny even though we didn't win.
Day 7 -
We spent this day on the ship again. It was kind of an ugly day outside. The sun didn't show it's face much and it would sprinkle off and on all day. We tried to lay out but I was freezing. So we just sat outside and we had some good conservation with Arie and Jenn.
Later that afternoon, it finally started to get a little nicer outside. Jenn and Arie signed up to play in a soccer match. Daniel couldn't play because of his rib and well I just am horrible at soccer.
There was a contest that we went to go watch on the flowrider. The old man won the competition and he really was pretty good.
There was a rock climbing contest later that day and Daniel and Jenn participated in it. Daniel got 1st place in the contest for the boys!
Before dinner, we headed to the farewell variety show. They had the dancers, Pasha and Aliona, come out and dance again and then they had a comedian.
Later that night, we had our final dinner (tear). It was delicious of course and it was sad because we had to say good-bye to our waiter and the ladies. Dinner really was such an awesome experience and it was because of our waiter. He really was an amazing guy.
After dinner, we had to go back to the room and pack up our stuff to put in the hallway. We went ahead and paid a little extra to have our bags shipped straight to the airport so we wouldn't have to worry about them the next day while in Miami.
Day 8 -
We woke up bright and early and sad. But at least we still had one more day in Miami with Arie and Jenn since our planes didn't leave till that night. We went and ate breakfast one more time and then got off the boat. We got a taxi and had him take us to South Beach. We walked around the beach a little (let me tell you how funny Arie looked walking down the beach with a suitcase). It was quite the scene. We went around to some shops and decided to go back to the grassy area by the beach and play some Phase 10 cards. I think we played for hours. It really was a ton of fun. I love playing games and so I just loved it. It's funny because none of us really got burned the whole time on the cruise but then we get to Miami and we all got really burned.
Daniel determined to get the coconut opened!
We then decided that we wanted a smoothie and so we went walking down the street to find one. We were using the google maps on Arie's i phone....what a life saver. A mile or so later we finally found a smoothie king. Daniel and I shared a 40 oz. and it was probably gone within 10 minutes. We then grabbed a cab and headed to the airport. Jenn and Arie's plane was leaving at around 6pm and our wasn't leaving till 9pm. At the airport we were able to get on an earlier flight but unfortunately our bags weren't so lucky. We landed at the airport and decided to go get something to eat, go see a movie and then go back to the airport to pick up our bags. So we went to Fuddruckers (this is where we went on our first date) and then went to see Confessions of a Shopaholic. At midnight, we headed back to the airport and collected our bags.
Daniel and I really had a great time and of course I would so do it again. Except I wouldn't want to do a Caribbean cruise again since this was my 4th. I think Alaskan or Mediterranean would be fun.
I do not do well this this type of shopping. It's the kind where they basically attack you to come into their little shop and buy from them. I feel so bad for all of them and then again it kind of creeps me out the way they grab you. We did end up buying a few items. A wooden vase and a wood box that you can store stuff in.
The rain stopped and the sun started to come out. So we headed down to the beach. Daniel and Arie decided to try snorkeling but were unsuccessful since the water wasn't very clear from the construction of building a port for the cruise ships.
Then something bad happened. Arie realized that he lost his holder that included his and Jenn's seapass cards and money. It is made to float so we thought that it would be pretty easy to find unless someone else found it and took it. We got someone who worked on the island to go out on a kayak to look for it while the boys went out in their snorkel gear to look for it also. Jenn and I decided that we needed to go ask someone that worked on the cruise ship what to do. We found someone and they told us that we need to go get on the boat immediately to go cancel their cards since anyone could go charge up anything they want on their cards. So we headed over to go through security before getting on the boat. We told them what had happened and one of the officers asked Jenn what her name was. She told him and he held up her container that held her stuff. She thanked him and he said some lady had turned it in. We opened it up and realized that the seapass cards were in there but they stole the money. I still can't believe some people would do that. To steal someone's vacation money is so wrong. It's sad that we live in a world that is so dishonest. Fortunately, they didn't end up charging anything on their cards.
We went ahead and got on the boat to change and freshen up and then went back out to the island. We figured we weren't going to go swimming anymore and just wanted to go eat lunch since they weren't offering it on the boat. Of course after we ate, it started to look like it was going to rain again. It started sprinkling but we got on the ship just in time.
I was freezing and wanted to go get in the hot tub. Apparently, everyone else had the same idea because the hot tubs were packed. We waited a little while and just sat on some swings while we watch our boat take off. Then we were able to get into the hot tub once a few people got out.
Afterward, we got all changed and headed to a show called, In The Air Flying Show. I think Daniel slept through most of it because he was really tired but I really enjoyed it. I love watching dancing!
We then headed to dinner. The food so far has been absolutely wonderful. You can order as much as you want to. If you couldn't decide between two desserts, then you would just get both. It was awesome. The ladies that sit with us didn't come to dinner tonight because they wanted to eat at a different place on the ship and they didn't want to get dressed up. I think we all missed them because they definitely keep the conversations interesting.
If you can't tell, we all had two desserts!
After dinner, we headed over to a game show called the Quest. This is where you are divided up into teams and each team has to get whatever is called. It could be anything from an Obama picture to a bra with a guy wearing it. It was definitely funny even though we didn't win.
Day 7 -
We spent this day on the ship again. It was kind of an ugly day outside. The sun didn't show it's face much and it would sprinkle off and on all day. We tried to lay out but I was freezing. So we just sat outside and we had some good conservation with Arie and Jenn.
Later that afternoon, it finally started to get a little nicer outside. Jenn and Arie signed up to play in a soccer match. Daniel couldn't play because of his rib and well I just am horrible at soccer.
There was a contest that we went to go watch on the flowrider. The old man won the competition and he really was pretty good.
There was a rock climbing contest later that day and Daniel and Jenn participated in it. Daniel got 1st place in the contest for the boys!
Before dinner, we headed to the farewell variety show. They had the dancers, Pasha and Aliona, come out and dance again and then they had a comedian.
Later that night, we had our final dinner (tear). It was delicious of course and it was sad because we had to say good-bye to our waiter and the ladies. Dinner really was such an awesome experience and it was because of our waiter. He really was an amazing guy.
After dinner, we had to go back to the room and pack up our stuff to put in the hallway. We went ahead and paid a little extra to have our bags shipped straight to the airport so we wouldn't have to worry about them the next day while in Miami.
Day 8 -
We woke up bright and early and sad. But at least we still had one more day in Miami with Arie and Jenn since our planes didn't leave till that night. We went and ate breakfast one more time and then got off the boat. We got a taxi and had him take us to South Beach. We walked around the beach a little (let me tell you how funny Arie looked walking down the beach with a suitcase). It was quite the scene. We went around to some shops and decided to go back to the grassy area by the beach and play some Phase 10 cards. I think we played for hours. It really was a ton of fun. I love playing games and so I just loved it. It's funny because none of us really got burned the whole time on the cruise but then we get to Miami and we all got really burned.
Daniel determined to get the coconut opened!
We then decided that we wanted a smoothie and so we went walking down the street to find one. We were using the google maps on Arie's i phone....what a life saver. A mile or so later we finally found a smoothie king. Daniel and I shared a 40 oz. and it was probably gone within 10 minutes. We then grabbed a cab and headed to the airport. Jenn and Arie's plane was leaving at around 6pm and our wasn't leaving till 9pm. At the airport we were able to get on an earlier flight but unfortunately our bags weren't so lucky. We landed at the airport and decided to go get something to eat, go see a movie and then go back to the airport to pick up our bags. So we went to Fuddruckers (this is where we went on our first date) and then went to see Confessions of a Shopaholic. At midnight, we headed back to the airport and collected our bags.
Daniel and I really had a great time and of course I would so do it again. Except I wouldn't want to do a Caribbean cruise again since this was my 4th. I think Alaskan or Mediterranean would be fun.
