C. Victory Sept. 16 '12 Review with pics

[Cruzn4fun14]

Great pictures. We were on the same cruise & actually on the 8th floor balcony in this picture. Re-living the fun we had as we were also on fall break from Cherokee county schools and had our 10yr old with us.

[ibcnusoon]

I see my cabin!!! :p So you backed in to St. Maarten?? Curious to hear what you ended up doing in St. Maarten, we plan on going into Marigot in the morning and walking around, then head to Maho Beach to watch the planes land.

[Karpkg]

Yes, we backed into port this time.

 

This is a later pic in the day as we were leaving but a pretty good visual map. View off the starboard side from the top deck. The beach in the distance is pretty much where we'll be heading. It fronts the town Phillipsburg. We're on the Dutch side.

 

 

Tip: Going into town to catch the bus from this point is at least a 20 minute walk.

 

Taking a look at the water as we walk along the pier. It's a beautiful crystal clear turquoise water teeming with fish. I was amazed how much I could see even at a couple feet down.

 

 

It's already hot and pretty much forecast to be steaming humid. Whew! But I'll take this over a rainy day any day.

 

 

We walk down past the pier stores and outside the port gates. Remember your sign and sail card. They'll card you here.

 

 

Make a left and start walking. I see cruise crew members occasionally through the day walking this route.

 

 

We past by the construction of an addition of another pier.

 

 

[Karpkg]

We walk on by.

 

 

Came across this. We're getting closer!

 

 

And we're inside the beach stores area.

 

 

 

A little info on Philipsburgh.

 

"Philipsburg is the capital of Dutch St. Maarten, a Caribbean island divided into Dutch and French (Saint Martin) sides. Bargain seekers flock to the duty-free and sales-tax-free stores of Philipsburg's mile-long commercial district. Visitors also enjoy the city's art galleries, historic forts, casinos and zoo, as well as Great Bay Beach and its boardwalk."

 

 

 

[Karpkg]

Beautiful Buddha.

 

 

 

The water taxis' you first can pay and use to get here. It's $6 dollars to use all day if you like. A 15 minute walk will save you that $$.

 

 

I have directions that I printed off from a CC'er's review of getting to the bus. But I'm still a little lost and ask for help to the Courthouse. We get off the Boardwalk and the next street over is Front Street and shops.

 

Front Street which runs parallel to the Boardwalk.

 

"Philipsburg's main drag is Front Street, and this is where you'll find most of the jewelry stores, electronics boutiques, parfumeries, and other shops that take advantage of the city's status as a duty-free port."

 

 

I see signage but it doesn't help me in my situation.

 

 

But DH and I see something that catches our eye. We're big Star Wars fans. I found the Yoda Guy! Yes! But they're not open yet so we'll stop by here later today.

 

 

 

[Karpkg]

We keep walking and finally come across the Courthouse on Watney Square.

 

Built in 1793 as the home of Commander John Philips, the town's founder, the building has served as a fire station, jail and post office over its long history and is one of St. Maarten's most prominent landmarks.

 

 

We go behind it heading toward Back Street. We come across this:

 

 

 

I see license plates, woodcrafts, colorful beach clothing, etc. It's still early in the morning and they're just setting up their wares. We walk through and finally land in Back Street. And we're.....clueless.

 

We stop a local and ask questions. He says there's no real bus stop you need to be at. Just look for a personal vehicle that has a license plate with the word BUS. In the window it may have a location sign, look for one that says Marigot. Raise your hand and wave at it and it'll stop.

 

We do and get into one. And, I make my first big naive touristy mistake. As we are going along, I announce quite brightly, "We're visiting for the day. What's the fare?"

 

 

I KNOW reading from CC'ers reviews that the bus fare is $2/pp. I KNOW THAT. And I am still unsure so I open my big mouth to ask. So what does he say???

 

$5 dollars. Per Person.

 

:mad:

 

DH is mad and is muttering under his breath. "We've walked all this way to pay $5 dollars? We could have taken a taxi!!!"

 

I hush him and try to make the best of it. I can't be too sure it's $5 and don't want to argue with the bus driver.

 

 

[Karpkg]

On the way to Marigot.

 

 

 

He drops us off in the center of Marigot. For clarification I say $5 dollars. He says yes, PER PERSON. I hand it over again pretty sure it isn't but I don't have proof. (sigh) I'll ask someone else later.

 

There's a nearby wharf and we walk there. It's very humid and we're soaking in sweat. The sight of water does us good.

 

 

 

 

Everything is in EUROS and French is spoken predominantly. We had a pretty large breakfast and although I originally wanted a French pastry I wasn't hungry yet so we just look and walk around.

 

[Karpkg]

We're on the hunt now for ice cream. We spot a Haagen Daaz but no other French Glace or icee or anything else, so we go back to the Haagen Daaz stand. Wow, that hit the spot. I ask the young guy there about the bus fare and he smiles sadly at me and says bus is $2 no matter where you go. ARGHHH!!!

 

We enjoy our ice cream, window shop but don't see anything we want. It's hard when you don't have a goal of what to get; we see mostly jewelry stores and souvenirs in EUROS. We walk around some more, come back to the Haagen Daaz store and ask if there's a public beach nearby we can go to.

 

He directs us to a nearby Beach Hotel. He says walk through it to the beach. We say, okay, let's go!

Some more water scenes along the way as we're walking the sidewalk.

 

 

 

 

 

[Karpkg]

I found their website, Hotel Beach Plaza. I'm pulling a few pics off their website to show you the beaches, because...there was topless women there and I couldn't take my own pics while there. :rolleyes:

 

Here's the few that I have.

 

Going through the inside of hotel to get to the beach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Karpkg]

Pics off the Hotel Beach Plaza's website. Yes, in one of them you can tell that one woman with the back to the camera is topless.

 

Again, not my pics, these are off their website!

We situated ourselves between the rocky outbreaks in this pic. We placed our belongings on the sand.

The water pic's are pretty accurate. You had to avoid the rocky ground in places and stay in the sandy pockets when in the water.

 

 

 

There were only 4 people there at the time we were on the beach. I didn't know the women were topless until I looked directly at one of them as my husband was talking to her. They were all European visitors. Except for wearing their bottoms, they were tanned darkly so had been there for a while.

 

 

We hung around here till 11:30 AM. Very quiet, peaceful. Then dried and dusted the sand off and left. This time we were a bit more savvy. We asked the front desk where to the bus stop. He told us to walk down to the pharmacia, hang a right and take one there.

 

 

So away we go.

 

[Karpkg]

We were more close mouthed on this bus trip. :rolleyes:

 

 

 

We crossed back to the other side of the island. The ride took about 20 minutes. We get back and I say as close in Philipsburg to the beach and he says he can only go as close as the Open Market, so he drops us off there at a roundabout. There really isn't any bus stops.

 

The personal vehicles communicate by honking. A quick honk if someone is on the side of the road but not looking around to see if they want a ride, another quick honk to acknowledge someone to cross the road, a honk if someone gets a little too close. But none of them sound angry, like the ones I'm used to in the States.

 

The passing of money is very discreet. Bills folded over several times in the palm of the hand facing down. The bus driver doesn't look at it as each one hands the money. So we do the same, quickly and nonchalantly get out the minivan. :cool:

 

We get back to the ship by 12:30 and my sis and Billy are back. They had a blast. They saw shipwrecks, a variety of fish, I think a reef? and definitely reef sharks. They both have 20+ dives under their belt so they were the most experienced divers in their group of 8 but the guide took them everywhere. So, where I once kidded about being on a Nemo adventure and seeing jellyfish, and possibly seeing sharks, yes, a few in our group really did see some.

 

We grab lunch, then the kids. Yep, they enjoyed Camp Carnival.

 

 

 

It's running late, it's now 1:30 PM and I think it's too late to grab a taxi to get to the Maho beach (Where everyone talks about the planes flying overhead). Billy's tired so he crashes and everyone would rather go to the beach. So we head back on out.

[Karpkg]

This time I get a pic with all of us in it.

 

 

We go back out through the gates and port entrance.

 

 

Walk down the sidewalk again until we get to the sign. Turn left.

 

 

And walk past the pier shops till we hit Great Bay Beach.

 

 

 

Vendors are coming up and offering chairs and umbrellas, we decline. I spread my full size bed sheet again on the sand in the shade of a palm tree and we're happy as clams.

 

 

 

[Karpkg]

Our kids playiing in the sand.

 

 

I believe the water inflatables were for a fee?

 

 

Didn't matter, the kids just enjoyed just playing. Each vendor had their own colored loungers and umbrellas.

 

 

See the Victory in the distance.

 

 

 

Hubby relaxing. This is the life!

 

 

[Karpkg]

I wanted one last look around so I left the kids and Sis on the beach and went exploring. Dragged hubby with me because he wanted to see if The Yoda Guy shop now that it was open.

 

So we were here at the Boardwalk. The Black Pearl Bar had great drinks.

 

Wifi info: There wasn't any free wifi that I could find. They had internet cafe's and eatery places and in each one if you bought something they'd type the password onto your phone so only you had access to wifi. My sis got a drink (I forget what) but the password wasn't shared. I didn't access any e-mails while on this island.

 

 

Went through this area back out onto Front Street, turned right and into the Yoda Guy's Shop. Here's the website, That Yoda Guy

 

 

He wasn't there but the wife was. We only had 10 minutes before we had to start collecting everybody and head back to the ship so we took a few shots. None of the merchandise, but whatever Gloria said was okay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Karpkg]

A few more pics and we're outta there.

 

 

 

A fitting postcard picture of our last island.

 

 

We get back on board and head to the top to say goodbye.

 

 

 

[Karpkg]

 

 

 

 

The trip is coming to an end and I'm sad. A pic with hubby in the setting sun.

 

[darcien007]

I just loved St. Maarten!! The beaches were so beautiful. We took the Bernards tour and had a great time and got to see so much. We spent a couple hours at Orient most beautiful beach ever and went to Maho also.

Maho was so much fun and the food at the Sunset Grill was amazing!! I am missing it!! When is your next cruise?

[Karpkg]

I just loved St. Maarten!! The beaches were so beautiful. We took the Bernards tour and had a great time and got to see so much. We spent a couple hours at Orient most beautiful beach ever and went to Maho also.

Maho was so much fun and the food at the Sunset Grill was amazing!! I am missing it!! When is your next cruise?

 

St. Maarten is a beautiful island and one I would like to return to.

 

Our next cruise is definitely the same time next year (during the kids fall break, Sept. 14th or so). It's choosing whatever cruise is that particular date. We're leaning toward the C. Dream itinerary consisting of Cozumel-Mexico, Mahogany Bay- Isla Roatan, Belize, and Costa Maya-Mexico.

 

Another is the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas but Hubby isn't too fond of some of the ports of call- Labadi/Labadee-Haiti , Falmouth-Jamaica, Caymans/George Town, Cozumel-Mexico.

 

I dunno, whaddya guys think? Other possible times will again be the kids breaks but of course it'll be more crowded. Feb- Memorial Week, April- Spring Break, then the summers.

[Karpkg]

Thoughts:

 

This was one island we could have spent more time with. I enjoyed our foray into Marigot but without too much knowledge we didn't know what to do there. DH says this was one island he would like to come back to and do a tour. We regretted not making out to Maho beach but most people say you need to get back between 2 and 3 pm- there is a drawbridge that starts closing (I checked the schedule, it typically closes around 5PM) but you never know if you'll get caught on the other side and miss the ship. It was already 1:30 for us, so a beach alternative was just as good. This island was by far our least expensive island; $14 for bus fare, ate lunch on the Victory, a couple drinks at The Black Pearl Bar, ice cream in Marigot and that was it.

 

Tips:

Bus fare: $2/pp each way, didn't matter the distance.

 

Water Taxi(from the pier to The Great Bay Beach pier) $6 wristband for the whole day.

 

Taxi rates: Website

 

The only difference between a bus and taxi in looks is the license plate. It will be labelled as such. The vehicle itself may just be a minivan.

 

Our last dinner meal. I don't remember the names, sorry guys.

 

A mushroom appetizer?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Crusin Karen]

This was such a fun read! I actually went back and read your Fascination review too! ;) The pictures were amazing and you look like a very nice family. I think you should sail on the Dream. If you go on RCI I will miss your next review! :(:( Seriously, the POC sound very interesting for the Dream. I am sure it will be fun to research it! Wishing you and your family many more BON VOYAGES!

[Karpkg]

This was such a fun read! I actually went back and read your Fascination review too! ;) The pictures were amazing and you look like a very nice family. I think you should sail on the Dream. If you go on RCI I will miss your next review! :(:( Seriously, the POC sound very interesting for the Dream. I am sure it will be fun to research it! Wishing you and your family many more BON VOYAGES!

 

Ahhh, but I'm not done. :D

 

I have one more day in San Juan before flying out. I'll post on what we did on that day tomorrow. And again, more tips on what to do after you disembark and you still have some time left before flying out.

 

So, several different options on a San Juan day. :cool:

[Crusin Karen]

Ahhh, but I'm not done. :D

 

I have one more day in San Juan before flying out. I'll post on what we did on that day tomorrow. And again, more tips on what to do after you disembark and you still have some time left before flying out.

 

So, several different options on a San Juan day. :cool:

Looking forward to it, but NOT the end of your review! We will be going to SJ in May. We have been there before but it was ages ago. We have been doing the HMC, GT and Nassau "run." So it will be fun to get an update on SJ. ;)

[darcien007]

St. Maarten is a beautiful island and one I would like to return to.

 

Our next cruise is definitely the same time next year (during the kids fall break, Sept. 14th or so). It's choosing whatever cruise is that particular date. We're leaning toward the C. Dream itinerary consisting of Cozumel-Mexico, Mahogany Bay- Isla Roatan, Belize, and Costa Maya-Mexico.

 

Another is the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas but Hubby isn't too fond of some of the ports of call- Labadi/Labadee-Haiti , Falmouth-Jamaica, Caymans/George Town, Cozumel-Mexico.

 

I dunno, whaddya guys think? Other possible times will again be the kids breaks but of course it'll be more crowded. Feb- Memorial Week, April- Spring Break, then the summers.

 

It looks as thought Freedom of the seas is a really beautiful ship. I don't know anything about the Dream. I did hear that there was a outbreak of cholera in one of the private islands in Haiti. If it was me I would do the Carnival Dream. I can't wait to cruise again but I don't know when that is going to happen. :mad:

[Karpkg]

It's our last night on Carnival. We see our two hardworking stewards and thank them for a wonderful job in taking care of us. We grab a pic with them and say goodnight.

 

 

We pack up and just leave the bare basics out. We decide we're going to do self assist this time. On our first cruise we left our luggage outside the night before and we're almost last number to get called out. We had waited out in one of the lounge rooms by the casino where it was still smoky and had left DS' Camp Carnival backpack there with his two loveys that took me forever to replace when we got home. Interestingly I looked at my Sis boarding number and compared it with mine; it seems like the newer you were to cruising the higher the number you had. Hers was 31, ours was 16. Of course it didn't matter because again, we were doing the self assist.

 

 

 

[Karpkg]

We pulled into San Juan around 5AM. If you were doing self assist they were calling for us by 7AM but we chose to go and have breakfast in the MDR. Pacific was open and it was there we used our free drink coupons we had gotten for being past cruisers. We chose smoothies and they were good. I wished I had spotted those earlier and had used it on sea day; we were charged $.67 food tax since we were now in port for 4 smoothies.

 

We were done by 9 and disembarked fairly quickly. As we passed by the gangplank we again noticed that the one in the terminal was still not working and the next guests were going to have to embark at deck zero.

 

We spot this guy again. This time I left him alone. :rolleyes:

 

 

Our flights were for the afternoon. I was paranoid of getting early flights and something happening for us to miss them. Sis' flight was four 4:40, ours was at 4:50, Billy's was around 2:00. We had plans for walking around San Juan in the morning and head for the airport. What to do with our luggage till then?

 

Tip: I knew of three places that will store our luggage while touring Old San Juan. 1) the restaurant Barrachina's. But that required a taxi or quite a lot of walking to get to it. It's free but encouraged to buy a drink or eat something there or at least leave a tip. I'm told it's the home of the pina colada drink.

 

2) El Convento- hotel. The bellman would be able to place your luggage in their room which I believe has a 24 hr surveillance camera there. It's free, I was told but you would tip the bellman. Again, you'd probably have to take a taxi to get to that place.

 

3) Aloha- the restaurant directly across the street from Carnival. It's $3/luggage. They'd tag it and place it in another room. This is what we did. I kept stuff like a beach bag for waters and such and left the rest behind.

 

Well, even if it was early the heat was building up again. Think Tropics. Sis was about to start complaining of not wanting to walk everywhere again. So.....wait, isn't there a free trolley around? Yes! We're also right at the 1st Trolley stop! Let's go!

 

 

The free trolley. The driver says roughly every 20 minutes there'll be one at a stop. Here's a website with a map and info on the free trolley.

 

 

It's open air and the breezes help a lot. Not having to walk helps a lot. Allows for me to take pics easily. Just got to be quick to get a good shot. The trolley has a taped infotrack that loops around and around so the driver just drives, slows down at empty stops and picks up others. Later in the day of course the trolley is almost always full. For us so early in the morning we had our pics of seats.

 

 

I believe we took the combination City Hall and El Morro route.