Ay 7:30 am this morning we were roused from sleep by the unwelcome sound of the alarm. Still, we got up and got prepared to go out and explore Philipsburg (where we had docked this morning) and beyond.

Philipsburg is the capital of Sint Maarten, a constituent country of the Netherlands. Sint Maarten occupies 34 square kilometres of the island of Saint Martin, with the other 53 square kilometres of the island occupied by the French territory of Saint Martin. Collectively, the two territories are known as “Saint-Martin / Sint Maarten”, or sometimes “SXM” (which is the IATA identifier for Princess Juliana International Airport, the island’s main airport). Around 74,000 people live on the island, with about 41,000 on the Dutch side and about 33,000 on the French side.

We were off the ship by about 8:30 am after a mouthful of muesli and a few shots of espresso (for Keith). We considered taking the ferry across Great Bay but decided to walk down Juancho Yrausquin Boulevard and around the bay to the Boardwalk along the beach.

Andrea, on the Boardwalk in Sint Maarten (with our ship and two Celebrity cruise ships in the distance.
Andrea, on the Boardwalk in Sint Maarten (with our ship and two Celebrity cruise ships in the distance.

After walking the length of the Boardwalk, we walked along Front Street. It was still only early so a lot of the shops had not yet opened but we got a good feel for the area, nonetheless.

The courthouse in Philipsburg.
The courthouse in Philipsburg.

We ran into our new friends Jeff and Penny in Front Street, and we chatted to them for a good while, before we headed off to hire a taxi to drive around the island. (We were booked on an organised tour, but we decided to forgo that so we could do our own thing.)

We found a nice taxi driver, named An, and we hopped in her taxi to see the sights of the island. We started off by going to look at Oyster Bay, a popular resort area for tourists.

Oyster Bay.
Oyster Bay.

We then continued along the coast and crossed into the French side of the island. We stopped a little way up the coast road at Rotary Lookout Point. An told us that this is where the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meet.
Who knows if this is true or not! Still, it was a very pretty spot.

Andrea at Rotary Lookout Point.
Andrea at Rotary Lookout Point.
At Rotary Lookout Point, where the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meet (maybe!).
At Rotary Lookout Point, where the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meet (maybe!).

We got back in the car and proceeded north along the coastline to Orient Beach. We had a short walk on the beach but no photos, since Orient Beach is a “clothing optional” beach and cameras are not permitted. And just to be clear, we exercised the option to leave our clothes on!

As we left the beach, we passed some donkeys under a tree.

Donkeys relaxing in the shade.
Donkeys relaxing in the shade.

We continued the loop around the island to Marigot, the French capital, and then back across the border to the Dutch side to Maho Beach, famous for the spectacle of planes approaching over the beach to land at the Princess Juliana International Airport. The beach seemed very busy to us but An said she was surprised by how few people were there.

Keith on Maho Beach.
Keith on Maho Beach.
Andrea on Maho Beach as a Jet Blue A321 Airbus from New York comes in to land.
Andrea on Maho Beach as a Jet Blue A321 Airbus from New York comes in to land.

When we got back in the taxi, An told us that she was concerned about how much traffic we might encounter on our trip back to the ship so we decided to not take any chances and to start heading back. We did, however, have time to stop for some fresh coconut water.

The Coconut King!
The Coconut King!

We drank our coconuts in the car on the way back to the cruise ship port, where we said goodbye to An.

We had a good view of our ship as we walked back down the dock to re-board.

The Regent Seven Seas Navigator docked at Philipsburg, Sint Maarten.
The Regent Seven Seas Navigator docked at Philipsburg, Sint Maarten.

Once back on board, we had a nice view looking back to Philipsburg. All through the Caribbean we have been amazed by the colour of the water, and the turquoise and blue water here in Sint Maarten was no exception.

Looking back to Philipsburg as we sailed out.
Looking back to Philipsburg as we sailed out.

The next order of business was a late lunch, so we headed to the Pool Grill, where we enjoyed a nice lunch while sitting out on the deck.

Salad.
Salad.
Burger and sweet potato fries.
Burger and sweet potato fries.
Banana milkshake.
Banana milkshake.
Apricot and vanilla mousse.
Apricot and vanilla mousse.

On the way back to our room after lunch we grabbed an ice-cream.

Keith enjoying an ice-cream.
Keith enjoying an ice-cream.

We had a great view from our verandah of the action as the ship left port. We departed a few minutes late as a result of two passengers not being back on the ship on time. (We found out later that the captain waited for them and they made it back by only three minutes before we were about to sail without them.)

A tug pulling the bow of our ship.
A tug pulling the bow of our ship.
Two huge Celebrity cruise ships (each of which accommodates about 3,000 passengers) docked at Philipsburg.
Two huge Celebrity cruise ships (each of which accommodates about 3,000 passengers) docked at Philipsburg.
The local pilot boat speeding off after having picked up the harbour pilot from our ship.
The local pilot boat speeding off after having picked up the harbour pilot from our ship.

As we cruised away from Sint Maarten, we watched a few seas bird follow us out for quite some distance.

Sea bird following the ship.
Sea bird following the ship.

With some time on our hands before dinner, Andrea attended a needle-point workshop, while Keith headed to the gym.

We had been fortunate enough to be invited to dine at the captain’s table tonight so we headed to the dining room at 7:00 pm sharp. As well as the captain, we were joined by the assistant cruise director, and two other couples. We had a wonderful meal and very enjoyable conversation. (We elected to not subject the whole table to the rigmarole of photographing every course so there are no food photos from dinner tonight.)

Dining with the captain.
Dining with the captain.

Over the course of the cruise, we have been looked after by so many lovely staff members. We have become very friendly with two of them in particular, Rey and Adrian, who have been our waiters for dinner. Even though they didn’t look after us tonight, we caught up with them in the dining room before we left.

Andrea, Rey, Adrian, and Keith.
Andrea, Rey, Adrian, and Keith.

After we left the dining room, we went straight to the theatre for a performance by Jenene Caramielo, a wonderful guest singer who has joined the ship to perform for us.

Jenene Caramielo.
Jenene Caramielo.
Jenene Caramielo.
Jenene Caramielo.

We’re now cruising non-stop back to Miami for the next two days, so tomorrow we’ll just be relaxing on board.