Sint Maarten

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

We decided to go to the Lido tonight for dinner. We both chose from the Asian distant lands buffet station. Tonight’s feature was Tandoor. I had the lamb kabobs with noodles and broccoli. The noodles were much spicier than I thought they would be. Chuck had the beef and lamb kabobs with rice and broccoli.

After dinner, we played some slots and then went to the 2nd set of the BB King Band.

The ship was cleared for people to go ashore at 8:00 and people immediately started streaming off the ship.

We were supposed to be with them. We had a HAL excursion planned called Airport Adventure, Scenic Cruise & Swim where a catamaran would have taken us near the Maho Beach to watch the planes come in. We’ve been to Sint Maarten before, but we’ve never been to Maho Beach.

The airport in Sint Maarten is supposed to be one of the most challenging airports in the world and it is a popular tourist attraction.

I thought it would be a fun way to see the planes take off and land and do some leisurely swimming. Cancelled. All the Shore Excursion people could say was that the operator was not able to offer the excursion. We could have taken a cab to one of the bars near the airport and watched the planes from the beach, but I was not interested in being pelted by the swirling sand as the planes took off and landed.

Today, we were docked between the Mein Schiff 2 and the Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas (one of the largest cruise ships in the world). The Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas joined us later. Lots of people in Sint Maarten today. The vendors should do well.

The Sea View pool area has been packed during sea days. Today it was almost deserted.

We enjoyed the hot tub, swimming, and sunning until about 2:00. We came back to the room to find that another one of our tours had been cancelled. This one was a snorkeling one to St. John from St. Thomas. I looked at the other snorkeling tour offered, and it was sold out. Disappointing. We have already taken an island tour of St. Thomas, so it looks like we will have another relaxing ship day.

Oh well, guess I’ll drown my disappointment in a Pinnacle Grill dinner tonight.

Travel Trivia

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

Sint Maarten-St. Martin is the smallest landmass in the world to be shared between two countries. Sint Maarten occupies the southern half of the island of Saint Martin in the Leeward Islands; the northern half forms the French territory of Saint Martin.

It is said that Sint Maarten-St. Martin actually received its name from the day that Christopher Columbus landed on the island, which was on November 11, 1493, the holy day of St. Martin of Tours.

The division of the island between the Netherlands and France dates to March 23, 1648, under the Treaty of Concordia. Local folklore indicates that the division of land began with a walking contest between a Frenchman and a Dutchman. Before they started, the Frenchman drank wine while the Dutchman drank the stronger jenever (Dutch gin), allowing the Frenchman to cover more territory and claim more land.

There is no physical border between the two countries. You may travel between the two countries as much as you’d like.

The island is 37 square miles and it also boasts 37 beaches.