Allure Sept 30, 2012 - The Most Disorganized Review Ever

[swwake]

Not only am I booked, I'm leaving for Cancun and the Riviera Maya tomorrow!!! :p

3rd time in 3 weeks you're soaking up sun!

 

I have really enjoyed reading your review. Makes me want to book Allure for our next vacation.

 

We tried the flow rider for the first time last month on Liberty and really enjoyed it. Now I don't want to book a ship without it.

 

Thanks for sharing your vacation with us.

Thank you. Yes, a fellow addict. Very difficult for us to consider a ship without Flowrider right now. Thanks for the compliment!

[swwake]

Back on the bus, we were now headed to Orient Beach. It would take about 20 minutes to get there, so we decided to try the rum punch. Sexy had some little cups for the rum punch, the size of the ones they put pills in when you’re at the hospital. Smaller than a Dixie Cup. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why he would serve rum punch in Dixie Cups. I mean, I’ve had rum punch in the Bahamas and in Jamaica and maybe in Key West. I remembered it being like a Hurricane. Red and fruity. Where’s my Red Solo Cup when I need it?

 

Chris and I looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders, and decided to try what little bit of rum punch Sexy was willing to share with us. Stingy Sexy.

 

He poured it from an unlabeled, rectangular bottle he kept in the cooler. We each got our Ounce and went to be seated. As Sexy set off to drive us to our next stop, we toasted and sipped our first sips. Whew! Rum PUNCH?? I think it was just straight rum. WOW! Yep, 1 Ounce was plenty for me. And like St. Thomas’s Bushwacker, I was glad I tried it. Now I can say I did. And I never have to again! Ha!

 

And after that, Chris switched to beer. Imagine that.

 

On the way to Orient Beach, we saw goats along the sides of the road. Lots of goats. I mean LOTS of goats! Someone asked Sexy (ok, at this point I’m just getting a kick out of typing his name) where all the goats come from, and he said “each and every goat on this island has an owner.” This amazed me. I mean, these goats are roaming free. How do the owners know where they are? Or that they are ok? Or if they have babies? And why do they own free-roaming goats? For milk? Cheese? And if it’s time for milk, how do you find your goat? Or do you borrow someone else’s goat? I’m as inquisitive as a 5-year old. Or maybe it’s the rum punch.

 

Orient Beach is pretty long, and there are several resorts and cafes along the beach. Sexy parked the bus near a bar and grill called La Playa and told us what time to meet him back. We had about 90 minutes at Orient Beach.

 

 

Seriously? It’s picture perfect. This has to be the most beautiful beach I have ever visited. It really is one of my new favorite places on the planet (next to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany and Brixen, Italy – but they don’t have beaches).

 

 

Just look at that white sand! And the color of the water. And the soft breaks of the waves. Can I go back? Now?

 

This is La Playa, looking out toward the beach from the back of the bar.

 

They had a bar, some tables in the shade, some out in the sun with umbrellas, a band stand, and a kiosk bar on the beach.

 

 

The bar kiosk

 

 

Menu (hard to read). The exchange rate that day was $1 = 1 EU. I’m sure that’s not the international exchange rate, but it keeps it simple. Chris and I talked about how they had to be losing money at that rate, unless everything was just incredibly overpriced in Euro, which it probably was. We knew from being in Germany last summer that the exchange rate was running about $1.25 to 1 Euro.

 

[swwake]

Along the beach in front of La Playa, you could rent some cushy chairs. Two chairs and an umbrella were $10 US. We needed a place to leave our “stuff” while we walked along the beach, so we rented the chairs. If we had had more time at Orient Beach, I’m sure we would have used the chairs more, but we ended up not really getting much use from them. 90 minutes goes by quickly.

 

Out we went for a romantic stroll on the beach.

 

Are you KIDDING me??

 

 

 

We recognized a couple from the ship and asked them to take our picture.

 

 

One more photo of this unbelievable beach. I can’t get enough!

 

 

Incidentally, Club Orient at Orient Beach is a clothing-optional resort (“nothing is better”). It is a little down to the right from La Playa as you face the water. We walked up and down the beach, but didn’t wander that far toward Club Orient. The beach itself is also clothing optional (or at least top-optional for the ladies), but we didn’t notice anyone taking the option. We didn’t really look for that, but there was nothing obvious. Just in case you plan to visit and want to avoid that, or have kids with you, know that it may be there, but we didn’t notice.

 

It was 11:00 and we were hungry, so we decided La Playa was as good a place as any to grab lunch. We took seats at the bar.

 

We decided to order from the Cuisino Creol (Creole local food) portion of the menu. I ordered Accrus de Morue (cod fritters) and Chris ordered Colombo de Poulet (chicken Columbo). And Chris ordered a Carib beer (local).

 

The food was good, and filling. It was served with baguette slices, which I used to sop up some of the sauce from Chris’s chicken. It had some curry flavor. I think we spent $40 with tip, so it was a relatively expensive lunch.

 

While we ate, the DJ played a mix of island and pop music. He kept announcing that it was the Orient Bay Resort Owners’ Welcome Back party. We did see an influx of people who didn’t appear to be from our ship. I assume this was for owners of resort property who come to spend the winters on the island. Hmm…should I look into that?

 

By the time we finished, it was time to board the bus again. Sexy asked us to change to dry clothes, as the seats were cloth. Some people opted for another Ounce of death, I mean rum, punch. Not us. Off to Marigot we headed.

[jonath]

Seriously? It’s picture perfect. This has to be the most beautiful beach I have ever visited. It really is one of my new favorite places on the planet (next to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany and Brixen, Italy – but they don’t have beaches).

 

You lucked out, as we were very disappointed in the beach -- we did exact same thing with Sexy on the Sep. 16 Allure sailing and here is what we dealt with:

 

Edited October 28, 2012 by jonath

[swwake]

Wow. That looks so different! Was it weather?

[jonath]

It was overcast, but I'm not sure if that would cause all the seaweed and the color of the water to change that much..??!

[swwake]

It was 12:30 when we arrived in Marigot, the Capital of the French side of St. Martin. We stopped for about 30 minutes here.

 

First, we headed to “the yellow building” that housed Serafina’s.

 

 

 

Serafina’s is a famous pastry and sandwich shop. We walked through and took a look. I wish I had saved room at lunch for dessert, but my tummy wouldn’t hold anymore. So we saved a couple of dollars/Euro by not buying any of these yummy goodies.

 

Around Marigot

 

A castle on the hill

I am not sure if this is the same castle we had seen on our way to Marigot or not. We had seen a castle on a hill and someone asked Sexy what it was. He told us it is actually a house built by an individual about 10 years ago as a private residence. He said it takes a very long time to build homes in St. Martin, due to getting supplies.

 

Chris, somewhere in Marigot (not a bad place to be lost)

 

Speaking of lost, just in case, here’s a globe.

[swwake]

I thought the colors in the market were beautiful.

 

Boats in the harbor

Chris and I finished looking around before time was up, so we just kept wandering, enjoying our time, and the fact that we had nowhere in particular to be.

 

Next stop – Maho Beach!

[AZEmom]

Enjoying reading your review! Orient beach is my favorite beach I've ever been to (and that's from someone who lives in Clearwater, FL). Went there with my son when he was 4 years old, and he was oblivious to the naked men walking by him all afternoon...lol. Too busy building sand castles.

 

Less than 3 weeks and I will be taking your place on the Flowrider! :D

[swwake]

Enjoying reading your review! Orient beach is my favorite beach I've ever been to (and that's from someone who lives in Clearwater, FL). Went there with my son when he was 4 years old, and he was oblivious to the naked men walking by him all afternoon...lol. Too busy building sand castles.

 

Less than 3 weeks and I will be taking your place on the Flowrider! :D

Oh boy, I'm jealous! Thanks for the compliment!

[swwake]

We arrived at Maho Beach at 1:30, and had about an hour to spend. This beach sits right at the end of the runway for St. Martin’s international airport. You can get some amazing views and take some awesome photos and video as the planes approach and land directly over your head.

 

Also, when planes take off headed away from the beach, their jet blast topples anything on the beach and creates a sand storm. You can see this if you search Maho Beach on YouTube.

 

People can get pretty stupid brave out there. There is a video of a girl holding on to the chain link fence during a departure and getting blown across the road, hitting her head on concrete. I hope she’s ok.

 

There is a restaurant called Sunset Bar & Grill right to the side of the beach. Here is the surfboard with arrival times of the planes.

 

The only big one left to come in while we were there was the American Airlines at 1:55pm.

 

Here she comes!

 

Our camera wasn’t really cooperating, but here she still comes!

 

Here she is!

 

And the closest shot!

 

Oops. Operator error. Or dude in the way. We missed our “shot”.

 

Here, you can see a portion of the beach, with the road to the right, fence to the right of that, and runway directly behind the fence.

Edited October 31, 2012 by swwake

[swwake]

Here, you can see a portion of the beach, with the road to the right, fence to the right of that, and runway directly behind the fence.

 

Here comes another plane.

Time for the camera operator to redeem himself.

Closer.

 

Anyone waiting on a delivery?

Of note, at Sunset Bar & Grill, “topless women drink free”. And there were indeed topless women at the bar. So if you’re taking children, or are easily offended, you’ll need to know this.

 

Finally, here is a photo of Chris and me with Sexy (and a guy who had had a little death, I mean rum, punch).

 

Does Sexy live up to his name(tag)?

[swwake]

One last stop on our tour was Rima Beach World. This is a gift shop, much like any number of gift shops you may see at beach towns in the U.S. You know, the ones with the big shark head out front where you take the cheesy picture?

We stopped there for about 10 minutes. My lips were burning so I bought some sunscreen lip balm. I’m sure you care.

This was also a great place for a bathroom break after a couple Coronas at Sunset Bar and Grill. Otherwise, it was just a gift shop. Tacky Caribbean shirts. Skimpy skirts. Rhinestone stick-ons for your skin. Beach towels. And much, much more!

As we boarded the bus one last time, one of the guys decided it was time for death, I mean rum, punch all around. He handed an Ounce to each of us. Not wanting to be rude, Chris and I each took a sip and held onto our full cups until we got back to the pier. We just couldn’t do any more of the stuff.

We were dropped back at the pier at 3:15. If I have one very small complaint about the Bernard’s Tour, it is that it was advertised to get us back to the ship by 2:30, and I had verified the return time directly with Bernard that morning. We got back at 3:15. Not a huge deal, and once we realized we wouldn’t be back at 2:30, there was nothing to be upset about, but we did have plans to be at the (you guessed it) flowrider when it opened at 3. Not a huge deal, though.

Overall, the Bernard’s Tour was great. We really enjoyed our day and were glad we did it. We’re not really beach-lounging people, but that Orient Beach was out of this world and I want to go back. I would recommend this tour as a great way to see a lot of the island (and its creatures) in a day. And, if you like “free” (or $40) death punch, it’s a good tour for you too.

We went to Germany, specifically Bavaria, last summer and fell in love. When we found this little Bavarian biergarten in St. Maarten, we decided we could live here.

Ending this post with some photos of our beautiful ship.

This is a zoom of the port side (stand-up) flowrider line.

 

 

All in all, we had a great day in St. Martin!

[ronandcarla]

One last stop on our tour was Rima Beach World. This is a gift shop, much like any number of gift shops you may see at beach towns in the U.S. You know, the ones with the big shark head out front where you take the cheesy picture?

 

We stopped there for about 10 minutes. My lips were burning so I bought some sunscreen lip balm. I’m sure you care.

 

This was also a great place for a bathroom break after a couple Coronas at Sunset Bar and Grill. Otherwise, it was just a gift shop. Tacky Caribbean shirts. Skimpy skirts. Rhinestone stick-ons for your skin. Beach towels. And much, much more!

 

As we boarded the bus one last time, one of the guys decided it was time for death, I mean rum, punch all around. He handed an Ounce to each of us. Not wanting to be rude, Chris and I each took a sip and held onto our full cups until we got back to the pier. We just couldn’t do any more of the stuff.

 

We were dropped back at the pier at 3:15. If I have one very small complaint about the Bernard’s Tour, it is that it was advertised to get us back to the ship by 2:30, and I had verified the return time directly with Bernard that morning. We got back at 3:15. Not a huge deal, and once we realized we wouldn’t be back at 2:30, there was nothing to be upset about, but we did have plans to be at the (you guessed it) flowrider when it opened at 3. Not a huge deal, though.

 

Overall, the Bernard’s Tour was great. We really enjoyed our day and were glad we did it. We’re not really beach-lounging people, but that Orient Beach was out of this world and I want to go back. I would recommend this tour as a great way to see a lot of the island (and its creatures) in a day. And, if you like “free” (or $40) death punch, it’s a good tour for you too.

 

We went to Germany, specifically Bavaria, last summer and fell in love. When we found this little Bavarian biergarten in St. Maarten, we decided we could live here.

 

 

Ending this post with some photos of our beautiful ship.

 

This is a zoom of the port side (stand-up) flowrider line.

 

 

All in all, we had a great day in St. Martin!

 

We know how you feel about St Martin, etc., for we discovered this island by way of a cruise stop years ago when we travelled with our whole family. After the first time there my wife and I decided when we take a "just the both of us" vacation this is where we will go. Well for the next 5 years in a row we would travel to SXM for us and were still able to take a family cruise. This coming February we going back to our little paradise for a week and no cruise.

 

Thank You for the wonderful report and photos. Ron M

[swwake]

I was beginning to wonder if anyone is still reading! Thanks for reading along and checking in.

 

We know how you feel about St Martin, etc., for we discovered this island by way of a cruise stop years ago when we travelled with our whole family. After the first time there my wife and I decided when we take a "just the both of us" vacation this is where we will go. Well for the next 5 years in a row we would travel to SXM for us and were still able to take a family cruise. This coming February we going back to our little paradise for a week and no cruise.

 

Thank You for the wonderful report and photos. Ron M

That sounds like something we need to do. I'd love to go back to that Oyster Bay or Westin resort. Maybe spend a little more time at Maho and definitely spend more time at Orient Beach :)

 

You're welcome. We're winding down...

[Eng23]

Hi Susan. I'm still reading. You still have 2 sea days to go. I'm hoping you will have your perspective on the night on the Rising Tide, Quest, and How I got David's hat on my head!? :D

[RBKL]

We took the Bernards Tour when we were on the Oasis and really enjoyed it until the end.

 

We were counting on getting back as promised to do a little shopping before we took the water taxi back to the ship.

 

When we stopped at the beach store after 3 we were a bit ticked but quickly learned that we were literally two blocks from the main shopping street. So off we went without a hitch.

 

That last stop is unnecessary. I realize why they do it.

 

We love Bavaria too. Spent 16 years there in several different cities while in the Army and our daughter was born there in a small town called Bad Aibling.

 

Thanks for a great review. Glad to see you're back after a short break.

 

 

 

We were dropped back at the pier at 3:15. If I have one very small complaint about the Bernard’s Tour, it is that it was advertised to get us back to the ship by 2:30, and I had verified the return time directly with Bernard that morning. We got back at 3:15. Not a huge deal, and once we realized we wouldn’t be back at 2:30, there was nothing to be upset about, but we did have plans to be at the (you guessed it) flowrider when it opened at 3. Not a huge deal, though.

[swwake]

Hi Susan. I'm still reading. You still have 2 sea days to go. I'm hoping you will have your perspective on the night on the Rising Tide, Quest, and How I got David's hat on my head!? :D

My perspective will be limited to my foggy memory ;)

 

We took the Bernards Tour when we were on the Oasis and really enjoyed it until the end.

 

We were counting on getting back as promised to do a little shopping before we took the water taxi back to the ship.

 

When we stopped at the beach store after 3 we were a bit ticked but quickly learned that we were literally two blocks from the main shopping street. So off we went without a hitch.

 

That last stop is unnecessary. I realize why they do it.

 

We love Bavaria too. Spent 16 years there in several different cities while in the Army and our daughter was born there in a small town called Bad Aibling.

 

Thanks for a great review. Glad to see you're back after a short break.

Sexy actually asked if anyone wanted to stop at Rima. Everyone kind-of shook our heads and shrugged our shoulders. But two young girls had lost a shovel at the beach at Maho and wanted to shop for a new one. None of us wanted to say no to them, and I could use the restroom break at that time. I kinda wish we had known how close we were to the main shopping in Philipsburg, but then we may not have left the tour, because we were anxious to get back.

[tanelicus]

It's not only well done, but is an excellent advertisement for the Allure. I want to go!!!

[swwake]

It's not only well done, but is an excellent advertisement for the Allure. I want to go!!!

Thank you. I recommend the Allure! Try to squeeze her into your travel plans :)

[jakesmom04]

Where was the Bavarian Biergarten located? Sounds like a place we would like to check out. Loving your review and pics...we will be onboard the Allure in April.

[swwake]

Where was the Bavarian Biergarten located? Sounds like a place we would like to check out. Loving your review and pics...we will be onboard the Allure in April.

It was on the right side of the road on our way back from Maho to Phillipsburg. Not close enough to the pier to walk. Tripadvisor has great reviews and says it is in Simpson Bay. Address: 103, Welfare Road

Simpson Bay, St. Maarten

 

I'd estimate an $8 or so cab ride. Hope this helps!

 

Thanks for the compliments and enjoy Allure! We are ready to go back already!

Edited November 7, 2012 by swwake

[D300]

Congrats of winning the cruise!

Nice to know that you really can win a cruise, never won nothing more worth than $100.

Thank you for the great review and photos, wish I were onboard right now.

[Coolcruise02]

I was beginning to wonder if anyone is still reading! Thanks for reading along and checking in.

 

LOL! I'm still following along! :)

[Eng23]

Originally Posted by Eng23

Hi Susan. I'm still reading. You still have 2 sea days to go. I'm hoping you will have your perspective on the night on the Rising Tide, Quest, and How I got David's hat on my head!? :D

My perspective will be limited to my foggy memory ;)

 

Ask Chris, his memory might be less foggy. :D