St Maarten sadly was our last Caribbean port of call but it ended with some fabulous weather!

Our plan here had been to visit Maho Beach (also known as Airplane Beach) but our previous evening had actually gone on until 3.45 that morning so Maho had moved to the back of our minds slightly.

We left the ship and took a walk along the pier, which felt like it was never going to end, before ending up in quite a nice complex. It was here we could catch the water taxi across to Philipsburg where there were shops and a nice beach. The cost was $7 but you could come and go as many times as you liked which I thought were quite good.

All we had heard for the entire cruise was how good the shopping was in St Maarten especially for electrical items like iPads and sound systems. There were shops everywhere you turned and at the end of one road there was a nice little market too, you could easily spend a small fortune here that’s for sure.

Really that’s what our day consisted of; shopping and then I hit the beach for a little while. I found myself a little spot just to the right of the pier, when I looked down there were shells everywhere. Not just little fiddly ones either, some were very impressive and beautiful in colour. I decided I had to grab a few and off I went on my shell picking adventure. It was actually quite difficult to be honest because the tide would tear them away from the shore in a split second, if you seen one you liked you had to just go for it.

Once the shell hunt became boring I opted for a swim. The water was pleasantly warm and the beach was packed, it was nice too, no need to venture miles away from the port here to find a beach because this one is right on the doorstep. I walked a little further along the shore before I got in, didn’t quite fancy trying to walk across the shells at the other end so I found a slightly softer piece of sand. As I walked, the sand under my feet was quite firm then in a split second it was gone! Anyone visiting here and opting for a swim be warned, there’s no nice gradual entry into the water, you literally take 5 steps and you are under. It was as though you had just dropped off a ledge, it was fun but pretty sneaky too as the gentleman to my left found out when he fell in fully clothed. He had rolled his trousers up to his knees, obviously thinking he could paddle a little but nope, the ledge got him good and he was drenched, his wife found it hilarious! 😉

As the time ticked on we decided to make our way back to the water taxi and explore the shops in the port a little more. We never waited for a boat, there was always one there and the journey only took maybe 6 minutes at the most.

We left the boat and had a stroll around; it was a nice port with plenty of shops, restaurants and bars. By now it was quite busy too as Costa Luminosa had joined us in port along with the Seabourn Spirit.  Seabourn Spirit left before the Costa Luminosa and her spot was filled with the Seabourn Legend.

Finally admitting that we could not stay here forever we made our way back to the ship, waving goodbye to Seabourn Spirit as she left port.

St Maarten was bitter sweet, it was a wonderful place and we had a great daybut it also marked the end of the Caribbean for us. The cruise had been everything I had hoped it would be and more. I didn’t want to leave that was for sure. All that remains now is to see where I end up next………………….

Author: Danielle