Jewel of the Seas Live 2017 St. Maarten & Racing in the Caribbean

We are currently sailing towards Dominica and time for a quick update before bed. Today was our 3rd day on Jewel of the Seas and our Port of Call was St. Maarten.

We visited Philipsburg the Capital of the Dutch side of St. Maarten. Philipsburg is reached by a short water taxi from the port. We counted 5 other cruise ships in port today. Despite St. Maarten being a tiny island it manages the hoardes of cruisers well.

In Philipsburg we took part in an excursion called The Race. Part Scavenger Hunt & part silly challenges e.g. Filling a cup of water with a sponge from the sea whilst a cup is balanced on someone’s head. The game is based on a U.S. T.V. show I had never heard of. We were rubbish but it was good fun. It was very, very hot though.

Philipsburg itself is a beautiful town. The sea surrounding Philipsburg is gorgeous with superb beaches nearby.

What I learnt today:

• The Caribbean is hot in April. It is very hot!
• The U.K. weather forecasts before we travelled which promised daily rain & storms are wrong.
• The photographers Dolphin costume on the pier today was quite freaky.
• On deck 12 the is a glass window in the floor where you can look all the way down to the lobby. I assume it must be able to take human weight but didn’t risk it.
• Service in the dining room seems to improve each night.
• The are probably easier ways to explore St Maarten than doing daft challenges in the heat.
• I have found the icecream in the Windjammer.

What I still have to learn

• Where do people go at night? Tonight we had Vintages pretty much to ourselves.

Dominica tomorrow and apparently we have a late night deck party….Great Times.