Spring Break on the Independence: Max's Mom's Diary

[maxs mom]

OK.....so it's back to the CL this evening at 7. We met some more great folks in there tonight......expanding our circle of friends!

At dinner tonight we were assigned a new table and a new waiter. This table was a little more private.....not sitting next to anyone. It was a nice change, but I do so love to talk to anyone and everyone! This waiter didn't seem to be quite so stressed with too many tables. I had the sole tonight which was absolutely delicious. John had the lamb which was also very tasty. Believe it or not, the HW found us tonight and brought John his sugar free chocolate ice cream! Amazing!!

Here is our table for the evening:

Cheers!

Edited April 13, 2013 by max'smom

[maxs mom]

Following along with you! Thanks for sharing your cruise with us, Jane. Congratulations on your retirement, wish you many, many more great cruises ahead!

 

Thank you, Staci! Always nice to see you on the boards!

[Geema]

Your pictures are bringing back great memories of the week and how nice it was to see you in the CL and other places around the ship! This was one of the best cruises we've been on for service, food and friendly staff! Keep the memories coming!:D

[maxs mom]

The nightly lighted bridge shot:

And another stroll on the Promenade! There's the "wok" again!

We ran into Wes, one of our roll call buddies, who happens to live very close to us in NC.....like only a few miles. And he actually works part time at the Vet where we take our dog! Small world. It was nice bumping into him from time to time.

Silly elevator shot!

Oh....I forgot to say that earlier today I got our beach towels for our beach day tomorrow. I must say that these towels need replacing badly!!! They were old and frayed. I hope that is in the plan for the refurb!

We were very tired tonight, so headed to bed after our Promenade stroll.

[maxs mom]

Your pictures are bringing back great memories of the week and how nice it was to see you in the CL and other places around the ship! This was one of the best cruises we've been on for service, food and friendly staff! Keep the memories coming!:D

 

Hey There! So nice to hear from you! I agree.......Great staff and fun cruise. It was great seeing you guys, too. I enjoyed talking to your daughter in law about our teaching woes!! Loved seeing Danny all around the ship, too. What a great guy!

[aalden13]

I love your review! & your pictures are very nice. Im definitley following along!

[maxs mom]

Tuesday ~ April 2nd ~ St. Maarten

Yay! Our first port of call.....and one of our favorites!

We were up early and we hadn't even docked yet.

CL for coffee and a nice chat with Raj. Breakfast in the MDR....very efficient again!

We packed up and were off the ship around 9:15. The Epic and the Reflection were also in port with us.

It was very windy today! But otherwise.....the weather was great.

We've been to these islands many, many times.....so we don't do excursions. We are beach people.....so we find the best beach on the island and hang out there all day with a good book, an adult beverage or two, and a nice lunch. If you told me I had to go on a 4 hour tour......you could just shoot me! No thank you! Just give me a nice, quiet beach every time!!

So we make our way to the taxis and ask the driver to drop us off at Kakao on Orient Beach. We've been here many times and really like it here. Unfortunately the last couple of times that we've been here.....it was a holiday time and it has been very crowded. I was a little annoyed today....we got out there pretty early and most of the first and second row seats were reserved, so we had to sit on the third row. It was very crowded today. We still had a nice day, but next time we might try a new place. I walked all the way down to the far end of the beach and found a bar called Palm Beach. I checked it out and it was not crowded at all....the cruise folks don't usually make it all the way down here. The chairs and the umbrellas are free here as long as you eat lunch in their restaurant. I understand the food is quite good here. This just might be where we end up at our next call on St. Maarten.

Anyway.....back to our day at Kakao. The chairs and an umbrella here are $20. We got all settled in and I head for the beach bar for my traditional Bloody Mary made by a great bar tender.....GP.

This is GP's bar on the beach:

Our little piece of the beach:

This is the part of Orient that we will visit next time:

[maxs mom]

More shots from Orient:

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

I think the water in St. Maarten is one of (if not THE best) in the Caribbean. So far, only Grand Cayman rivals their beaches/water for me. We are like you guys...we are beach people, too. No excursions, just pick the best beach and spend the day there.

 

Pictures are beautiful as always. I remember in your last review (I think?) you were saying that STM was too crowded...sorry it was that way again for you.

[maxs mom]

When we got there.....we made reservations for lunch at 12:30. We had our usuals.......La Salad de Poulet for me and a cheeseburger for John.

Of course a couple of Presidente's are in order:

Very yummy lunch in a great setting.

We relaxed on the beach a little longer and left around 2:30. There are always taxis here ready to take you back to Front Street or the ship. This is one of the few places that we shop, so we got the taxi driver to drop us off at Front Street in Phillipsburg.

We stopped in to see our favorite jeweler, Harry, at Royal Jewelers.

I usually look at a lot of things then leave the store and John purchases something for the next birthday or anniversary.

Our new friend Robbie was working at Tanzanite International today, so we stopped in to see him and his collection of Amelite. We made a purchase here as well......one of their signature pieces. That's about it for our shopping. That was enough!

[maxs mom]

I think the water in St. Maarten is one of (if not THE best) in the Caribbean. So far, only Grand Cayman rivals their beaches/water for me. We are like you guys...we are beach people, too. No excursions, just pick the best beach and spend the day there.

 

Pictures are beautiful as always. I remember in your last review (I think?) you were saying that STM was too crowded...sorry it was that way again for you.

 

Totally agree! Our cruising from now on will be at better times of the year. No more holiday times for us!

[maxs mom]

It's getting pretty late by this time, so we catch a taxi back to the ship. This process would not be complete without a steel drum band!

Always love the walk between the two ships:

As we were getting back on the ship.....we realized for the first time that this cruise was a biker cruise! All the Harley's were lined up ready to get back on the ship. This was so cool! Later we realized that the guy in the cabin next to us was the co-ordinator of these bike trips. That was so interesting. He just travels from ship to ship organizing everything for the bikers. They looked like they were having a great time.

We learned that it was just $300 extra for them to store the bikes on the ship.

[maxs mom]

So it's time to say good bye to St. Maarten. It was a great day, but very tiring. We didn't have time to get a nap in today!

So long.....we'll be back soon!

[size=3][/size]

Edited April 13, 2013 by max'smom

[elizabethbp]

really good review- brings back memories....

[Quadsd]

I am loving your review so far. I just booked Independence for March 23, 2014. First time on Freedom class so I'm really excited. Cannot wait to read more :)

[Realtor at Sea]

I have noticed you always find the nicest beaches with lovely restaurant/bars.

If I might ask a favor, I would love to have a list of your go-to beaches in the islands you have visited. I am a beach person also, having grown up on Long Island Sound. My husband, who grew up in western PA, does not quite understand my need to swim in salt water and walk in the sand. He, however, will tolerate an hour or two in the shade while I sun and swim and squish the sand between my toes! Thanks in advance!,,

[RCcruisinfamily]

I am loving your review so far. I just booked Independence for March 23, 2014. First time on Freedom class so I'm really excited. Cannot wait to read more :)

 

I am on the same cruise! I started a roll call, but I am the only one there:)

Come over and join me:)

[Ocean Boy]

It was great to see St. Maarten today. I never get tired of stopping there on our cruises. There is just something very special about that place.

[maxs mom]

I have noticed you always find the nicest beaches with lovely restaurant/bars.

If I might ask a favor, I would love to have a list of your go-to beaches in the islands you have visited. I am a beach person also, having grown up on Long Island Sound. My husband, who grew up in western PA, does not quite understand my need to swim in salt water and walk in the sand. He, however, will tolerate an hour or two in the shade while I sun and swim and squish the sand between my toes! Thanks in advance!,,

 

Yes....I will try to do that at some point.

Having to take a break right now......just tripped over the dog trying to answer the phone and fell on my left arm. Not able to use it much right now and am icing it down. Shheesh.....may head for the pain killers soon! :eek:

Thank you all for the nice comments. I'll try and continue as soon as I can.

[maxs mom]

Oops! That posted twice.

Edited April 13, 2013 by max'smom

[celebrity]

Yes....I will try to do that at some point.

Having to take a break right now......just tripped over the dog trying to answer the phone and fell on my left arm. Not able to use it much right now and am icing it down. Shheesh.....may head for the pain killers soon! :eek:

Thank you all for the nice comments. I'll try and continue as soon as I can.

 

Oh no! Feel better soon. Loving the review and pics.

[Chuggiebug]

Lovin' your review!!!!!

[joand452]

Jane, I hope it's not a serious accident to your arm and you're back to your review soon! I'm really enjoying it; would love to cruise on a Freedom class ship some day.

 

I, too, would love to know about all the great beaches you've found. We've done all the island tours, so now it's time for some beach time!

 

BTW, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who likes a nap every afternoon! ;)

[maxs mom]

OK......I'll give this a try and see if I can continue a little bit.

We were very tired tonight after a long day with NO NAP!!!

We went to the CL at the usual time and met our usual crowd.

We walked right in the dining room tonight and sat at our original table again with Allen. It was Italian and Caribbean night all rolled into one. We weren't very hungry at all. John got soup and salad I got an appetizer and a salad entrée. The HW found us again and brought John his sugar free chocolate ice cream. Great!

Here is a photo of the MDR that we took tonight.

We were just too tired to do anything else tonight so we went back to the cabin. The Love and Marriage Game Show was tonight and although it's very hokie....I hated to miss it. Turns out I'm glad we did. We watched it on TV the next day and it was terrible! The Cruise Director on this sailing was Jeff Arpin (I think that's how you spell his last name). He was an old cruise director from days of yore that was just filling in for someone. The times we saw him.....he was just awful. Bless his heart!

Another towel animal this evening.

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

I hope your arm is okay, sorry that happened!