St. Maarten, Dutch West Indies - Old Downtown

Good morning,

Today's images are from our walk down the street one block from the beach.  There are plenty of bars...

...and restaurants.  These well dressed snails advertise...

...a restaurant where you can eat escargot. 

There are plenty of churches...

...and casinos along this narrow street.

 Also on this street is the court house. 

St. Maarten is a photographer's paradise.  My Honey and I have been here before many times over the years; we are having so much fun here this time taking pictures this time, too.

More to come!

All the best,
Lois

St. Maarten, Dutch West Indies - A Stroll down the Beach

Good morning,

After our lunch at the OSU restaurant (see yesterday's post), we strolled down the beach to capture some of the local color with our cameras.

There are plenty of beach chairs to rent...

...and these two ladies with their portable stores will gladly sell you whatever beach wear you might need.  We gave them a few dollars for being kind enough to pose for us.

Color and design of something as simple as beach chairs...

...and umbrellas...

 ...and snorkel vests.

  And, here is a handsome fellow!  This is one of the prettiest pigeons I have ever seen.

 Of course, there is plenty of food, too!

 Tomorrow we will walk one block back from the beach to the main street of old downtown St. Maarten.

I hope you're enjoying our trip with us. :)

All the best,
Lois

St. Maarten, Dutch West Indies - OSU Burger!

Good morning,

Our water taxi ride across the bay in St. Maarten ended in the old "downtown" area of the town.  We stepped ashore onto the boardwalk lined with shops.

Immediately to our right was the beach.  Oh, the beautiful beach!

In the sidewalk is a map of the island.

Walking along the beach is this lady with her portable store!  We will get more images of her and a friend later.

Our first objective was to find somewhere to eat.

Look at this!  Note the flag and street sign.  OSU Burgers here in St. Maarten? 

 What better place for lunch!  There was no space available overlooking the street.  This image was taken from our table inside the restaurant.

 And, as soon as I took my first bite of my cheeseburger, My Honey asked, "Did you take a picture of that yet?" 

It was good!

;),
Lois

St. Maarten, Dutch West Indies - Water Taxi Across the Bay

Good morning,

Today's images were taken from the water taxi while we were crossing the bay in St. Maarten, Dutch West Indies.

After boarding the water taxi near our ship, the first stop was at a part of the marina where fishing boats are docked.

 We stayed aboard the taxi to go "downtown."

 The white sands beach was crowded with sun worshipers.

 If you would like to stay in St. Maarten, there are plenty of hotels with magnificent views of the ocean.

 We pulled around to the main dock.

 This lovely church was here long before the hotels.  We walked over and took pictures of the church that I'll share in a later post.

And, finally, a view down the beach.  Gorgeous!

There is more to come of St. Maarten!

All the best,
Lois

St. Maarten, Dutch West Indies

Good morning,

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  I looked around for something green for today's post, but all I found was more blue here!  I hope the Leprechauns are good to you today.  :))

To celebrate our anniversary at the beginning of March we went ashore in St. Maarten, took the water taxi across the bay, and enjoyed lunch and picture taking. 

There's that handsome guy, camera bag across his shoulder, wandering off as I stopped to take a picture of the ship (top image), then one of him. ;)

We walked past the local shops...

...the Welcome Center...

...the local bar...

 ...to the water taxi.  Here we are waiting to purchase our wrist band that will entitle us to use the water taxi all day for a flat fee.

 It's a very reasonable price for some great photo opportunities and sure beats walking around the long way!

 After purchasing our wrist bands, we walked down to the dock.

 Also tied up here was a beautiful yacht.  You can see our ship, Freedom of the Seas, on the far left.  Another cruise ship is also in port today. 

 Soon the water taxi was full and we were ready to go.

There are more images to come of this day in St. Maarten.  I hope you enjoy our trip with us.

All the best,
Lois

View From My Window - Voyager of the Seas in Falmouth, Jamaica

Good morning,

One of the wonderful things about cruising is waking up each morning with a different view from our window.  Today's pictures were taken from my stateroom window aboard Freedom of the Seas.  Voyager is too big for my camera from this angle so it took two pictures to capture all of her.

We were all tied up in Falmouth, Jamaica, across the dock from Voyager of the Seas.  From time to time we are on the other side from one another so I have the opportunity to get some different views of Voyager.

The Voyager Class ships include the Navigator of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas, and Voyager of the Seas.  They are a little smaller but the design is very similar to Freedom Class ships.

I never get tired of seeing these beautiful ships.

Enjoy,
Lois

Jogging and Walking Track - Freedom of the Seas

Good morning,

High on Deck 12 aboard Freedom of the Seas you'll find the Jogging and Walking Track.  I should visit this area more often.  ;)

Special note to Sherry of Sherry's Place:  While we were sailing out of Port Canaveral and you and I were talking on the phone, I was standing by that big round satellite dome there on the right side of the image.  It is fairly far forward on the ship when looking at the starboard side.  :)

The Jogging Track winds around the pool deck...

...so there is plenty to watch as you jog (walk in my case).

Here the Jogging Track passes below the Viking Crown Lounge. 

Beyond the rail of Freedom of the Seas you can see the Viking Crown of Voyager of the Seas.

Ah, so much to do, so little time!

All the best,

Lois