Eastern Caribbean Cruise 2025 - St. Maarten (11/30/25)

 

We got up early and went to the buffet.  Normally, this woud not be our choice, but we had a shore excursion to go to, and we didn't want to miss it.

Around 9:30, we left the ship and walked to the small tour bus that would take us on a 4 hour trip around St. Maarten.  Our tour guide took us to several beaches - not for swimming, but for the views.  And then we went to an Iguana feeding station, where, for a simple gratuity, one would have a chance to feed an Iguana.  It was fun to see one of the iguanas greedily go after some leaves put in front of him, as if there would be no one there tomorrow.  But there would be, as December 1st is the official start of the tourist season, and there would be larger crowds passing by this informal tourist attraction.

Next, we were off to the capital of the French side of the island, and stopped for a bite to eat.  Three currencies are used on St. Maarten: the Lesser Antilles Guilder (St. Maarten and Curacao), the Euro, and the US Dollar.  Many places were treating the dollar at par with the euro, even though the euro trades at 10% higher value.  So, when I got the bill for lunch, I saw the Euro price with a conversion for US Dollars.

After lunch, we were off to the Airport/Maho Beach, where crazy people have decided to try getting blown back by the jet blast.  Although we were not lucky enough to see people try this when a jet took off, there were a lot of people looking to get a thrill by being directly under the flight path pf the planes going in to/out of the airport.

Finally, it was back to the ship.  It was a long day, and it was only 2:30 when we walked back onto the ship. 

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After a chance to rest, RQS and I went to dinner.  As usual, dinner  was tasty, and I had a chance to taste Haggis.  Yum!  The rest of the meal was good as well, including the pheasant.  While at our table, a couple from Ontario started up a chat with us, and we shared pleasantries while eating our dinners.

When dinner was over, we went back to our cabin.  RQS was still upset at having bought internet for 2 devices, but only was credited for one.  I looked at her copy of what was purchased, and I figured out why we were told we only had internet for 1 device - a combination of Cunard's wonky website and her use of the English language - she wasn't thinking like a systems analyst in her use of language, and that got the original internet specialist on the ship to think we bought internet for 1 device.  Once she showed me the proof that she had purchased internet for 2 device, she marched down to the purser's office to get things fixed.  I expect that will take place tomorrow morning.

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Once the internet issue was taken care of, it was time to go to see the stage show - Symphony.  This was far from what we expected, but I'm glad we stayed.  We were expecting a miniature symphonic concert.  Instead, we got the ship's musicians and singers performing/singing Post -WW2 20th century pop music along with a prerecorded segment from the Royal Alpert Hall Orchestra for John Williams and Beatles' selections.  It was much better than I would have thought, given that there was a prerecorded segment being part of the show.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise 2025 - Sea Day #1 (11/27/25)

 

Thanksgiving - will they have a different menu for us Americans on the ship?  By mid-afternoon, I've seen no mention of turkey anywhere, and that's just as well.

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We thought of going for breakfast in the dining room, but we ended up in the buffet for both breakfast and lunch.  However, neither of us wanted to get up until 9:30, so we ended up in the buffet instead.  It was a dreary day outside, and we were glad to be indoors as the rains came in.

After lunch, RQS went off to an art class, while I stayed in the room resting.   I knew I would have to change clothes for "Gala Night".  And I wanted to wait until the last minute, which I did.  (I'll bet it's related to a GI Tract issue I have, details I won't go into now.)   This would be the first time that RQS would see me in a suit with traditional white shirt and tie (I'd have rather presented as Marian on this trip), and I looked halfway decent for presenting as Mario.

We had a scare that Cunard's computer system dropped our reservations for dinner.  So, we walked over the main dining room to check on things, and again - Cunard's wonky computer system got in our way.  We just learned NOT to trust their system, but to trust the people in charge of the venues to get things right. Dinner was good.  I enjoyed the Chateaubriand, while RQS enjoyed the Thanksgiving Turkey. However, we encountered a miss with dessert - the Pear and Ginger cake needed some kind of sweet drizzle over it to make the dish work. 

After a brief stop in our room, we went to the ship's theater to see a stage show.  Since I'm not a great fan of dance shows, I knew I'd be underwhelmed.  But these performers were competent, and I enjoyed a couple of songs performed by the singers. 

Eastern Caribbean Cruise 2025 - Embarkation Day (11/26/25)

 

This was a day where we didn't have to rush.  Cunard sent us a notice that embarkation time was 2 hours later than originally planned.  I knew better than to trust traffic on the BQE on the day before Thanksgiving (the 4th Thursday of November in the US), so we planned to reach the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal only 1 hour later than called for.

Having an extra 2 hours to relax made things much easier for us.  RQS was able to go out and pick up something for us to eat for breakfast, while I had the time to shower at my leisure.  We were ready to go to the terminal by 1 pm, and had summoned an Uber for a 2 pm pickup.  Just after I had brought all of our luggage to the main floor, I found out that the Uber was arriving early.  So, I was glad that I started this preparation a little early, rather than waiting until almost 2 pm.

It took an hour to reach the cruise terminal, and it was the emptiest I've ever seen the place.  From the time we dropped our bags off to the time we were on the ship, it seemed like we were continually in motion.  It took (maybe) 10 minutes at most to enter the terminal, go through security, get our boarding passes stamped, and walk onto the ship.  Finding our room once on the ship took longer, as we had to bypass the crowds at the elevators (they are too small, and there are not enough of them) to get to our cabin.

Once in our cabins, we were able to relax.  But we still had to check in at our muster station.  Once that was done, it was time for a small nibble before finding out what to do for our internet setup.  And here is where we were disappointed: RQS thought she was buying internet service for 1 device for each of us, instead for the two of us.  That's OK - we know how to share.  At least, we can switch devices as needed, unlike MSC's internet offering.

Around 7 pm we went downstairs for dinner.  We weren't sure of what to expect.  How good would the dinner be?  Would we enjoy our choices?  Would we enjoy the formality?  Well, to answer those questions, we liked our menu choices, we found the servers' formality pleasant and comfortable, and we found our meals tasty - even though RQS had to send back an accidentally overcooked steak.  As one could say - "So far, So good."  We shall see what the rest of the trip brings.