Friday, March 18, 2016

Monday, December 7, 2015 – Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, NA – Partly Cloudy – 83F

Distance from Huelva to Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, NA: 3211 Nautical Miles

We have made it across the vast Atlantic Ocean…a very smooth crossing.

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Dawn in Philipsburg

The ship is here late tonight so there is no pressure to come back to the ship mid afternoon.

One of my dream ships is parked here today – the Oceania Riviera.  Have yet to break the Oceania barrier.  It is a sleek ship

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Also slick but in a different way is the Pelorus Yacht, docked on our other side.  I looked it up and it is the 19th largest luxury yacht in the world and currently owned by Hollywood mogul, David Geffen (of Dreamworks fame).

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Our plan is to take the water taxi to town and find one of our favorite spas for some overdue pampering.  It is $7 for an all day pass on the water taxi but we rarely go back after the first trip.  Still better than the over 1.5 miles walk to town.

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Azamara Journey Docked

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Beautiful and warm Sint Maarten

The best place to get a shot of the Philipsburg beach is from the Water Taxi pier.  Thanks to a passenger we got a picture of both of us.

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From the pier, you can see the Riviera and Journey at the Cruise Port.

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It is Hanukkah time in the Caribbean and that means a Chabad Menorah will be prominently displayed.  This one is on the small connector street leading from the Water Taxi pier to the main street in town.  We told the two boys manning the Menorah that our ship was handling the holiday and we did not need the free menorahs.  Nice to see, though.

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Hanukkiah in Sint Maarten

We found our spa and got our long overdue pampering, did a little walking through the town, and headed back to the Water Taxi pier.  Back on the ship with plenty of time to relax before the big “White Party” extravaganza tonight.

I didn’t bring anything white to wear tonight.  Doesn’t matter.  The pool deck is all gussied up for the big night, which will feature a Caribbean Barbecue and loads of entertainment from the Singers and Dancers.  Our plan is have dinner in the Dining Room and then join the party afterwards (show time was 8:45 PM).

Somebody left their choice seats on Deck 10 so we could see the stage and not have to deal with the loud music a deck below. 

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Deck 9 – White Party

First up on the show was a local group, the Ebony Steel Music Orchestra.

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The Journey Orchestra and Singers and Dancers then took over with a non-stop song list of rock and pop and even some slow stuff.  The singers alternated on solos and then group numbers.  Natalie again seemed to carry a lot of the load in this show along with Eric.

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Eric as Elvis

After the show, the crew was introduced and marched to the front of the stage.  Captain Johannes gave a nice little speech thanking everyone.

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Best Seat in the House

The two ships docked alongside of us were lit up nicely.

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Riviera and Pelorus all in Lights

A long but fun day in my favorite island in the Caribbean.

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