Carnival Triumph Day 5: St. Maarten

It’s the fourth port day in the row but I’m thrilled to be returning to one of my favorites, Philipsburg, St. Maarten. It has been 10 years since my last visit to this island which was on a trip with Sister T and other family members and we planned to revisit the beautiful Orient Beach.

We had early coffee on the lido deck where this morning I happened to notice the variety of teas available. I found it interesting that Carnival’s tea chest is so much better than Holland America’s.

carnival cruises tea chest — Carnival Tea Chest

I also took a picture of the sweetener’s available. For most people, all the bases are covered here.

My Sunday morning ritual at home is to go out for a latte and I continue it when cruising. Instead of Starbucks, I’m at the Carnival Triumph coffee shop.

Carnival-coffee-bar-menu — Carnival Triumph coffee bar menu

Since the Carnival travel mug I bought last cruise was recently destroyed via the dishwasher, I bought another one for $8.95.

It comes with a choice of coffee drink and three colors. I went with the bright blue as I had the dark one last time and had it filled with a latte.

We ended up having breakfast in the main dining room and my choice was eggs benedict.

After breakfast, we were ready to go ashore. St. Maarten has an interesting setup at the port for taxis. Each common destination has it’s own sheltered waiting area.

When we got to the taxi queue, no one else was waiting. Instead of leaving right away, we elected to wait for others to join the Orient Beach queue. Before long we had seven people and only paid $7 each for the ride.

I had wanted to go to the beach bar from 10 years ago, but sadly that restaurant is closed right now for construction so we ended up next door at Kontiki. We were the first ones there so had our pick of chairs plus we got to interact with charming, good-looking french-accented men!

Two chairs and an umbrella was $20 for the day. They were very comfortable padded loungers. I took a picture of the beach before it got crowded.

orient beach panorama — Click to enlarge

We didn’t have it to ourselves for long but fortunately, the beach never got too crowded. Most people there were staying at nearby hotels. Only saw one family with cruise ship towels.

An hour or so after we arrived the waiters warned us a rain was coming and encouraged us to take cover at the bar/restaurant area. We got there just in time. I got to enjoy the swing chairs and ordered my second rum punch.

It rained hard for about 10 minutes and then the sun returned for the rest of the day. I was feeling no pain as we enjoyed the sun, surf and beverages. Amazingly, I managed one selfie before ordering lunch.

We ordered lunch from our chairs and the waiter set up a table for our meal.

Sister T had a healthy (and tasty) salad with chicken, bacon, apples that came with delicious french bread. My choice was not so healthy but it was delicious!

How many burgers at the beach come presented so beautifully? I have to say it was very good. Fortunately, I took a picture before knocking the tray to the sand (it was not flat). I was able to salvage the burger and most of the fries. Next time, I’ll go to a table for lunch!

Before leaving around 2:30 pm, I purchased a t-shirt at the gift shop. We walked to the parking lot and was able to easily find a taxi close to Bikini Bar.

We were back in the main dining room tonight for dinner.

I have no idea what appetizers I had this night as there aren’t any pictures. I would guess the roasted pumpkin soup as that’s a longtime favorite of mine.

I do know I ordered the braised short ribs for my entree.

It was delicious!

I ordered the Buttered Popcorn Pot De Creme. It sounds so interesting.

I don’t think the blueberry marmalade adds to the dish but otherwise it was enjoyable.

After dinner, we just relaxed in our cabin. Sometime during the evening, the cruise director announced we’d be docking briefly at St. Thomas for a medical emergency. It seemed like people were leaving the ship at every port and twice when we weren’t at port for medical issues.

We never felt the docking, but I understand from those that were still up at that hour, the ship didn’t even tie up.

Tonight’s towel animal. (Do you know what it is?)