The map to the left displays in red all of the islands we have visited on our cruises with Carnival. Cozumel and Aruba are the only two islands we have visited that are not showing on this map.

Each cruise we usually hit at least one new island. This year we were excited to visit St. Maarten, part of the Virgin Island, but one which we have never visited. And even though many of these islands are just a few miles apart, each one is usually very unique. One of the unusual characteristics of this port was that there were a lot of ships docked there for the day. We counted a total of four ships at the pier and three more out in the harbor. The ones anchored in the harbor actually use their life boats to ferry passengers to the island. We didn't sign up for a tour, but we opted to just walk to the beach. The beach, however, was about three miles away. Luckily, for a couple of bucks, we were able to take a water taxi across the small bay and then it was about a 50 yard walk to the beach.

The kids had a blast collecting sea shells. They found that if they dived down about eight feet and dug into the sand, they could find huge shells under the sand. They collected over 100 shells--enough for each of the students in each of their classes to have several. Once we said not to collect any more for us, they started collecting more and handing them out down the beach.

We paid 10 bucks to get two beach chairs and an umbrella which was great. Even with the wind, it was a wonderful beach full of activity and scenery.

It's great to spend some free time in the cabin and watch a couple of movies. The kids never got board just being lazy.

We usually spend time on our verandah when we leave port. However, we noticed ourselves on the last two islands spending time at other locations on the ship. Out of St. Thomas, we stayed with everyone on the back of the ship. Leaving St. Maarten, we spend time just under the bridge where the life boats are loaded during an emergency.

Preston and Brooklyn spent time with Camp Carnival during the Disco Party. The kids favorite song is always Y.M.C.A.

Watching us cast off is always exciting to see just how patient the captain is. There's always a group of people who are late getting back. The captain blows the horn to give a warning. Half of the group will run, but the other half will just take their time like they own the entire ship and that it won't leave without them.

We stayed for a long time up on the life boat deck even though we had left St. Maarten. It was nice to listen to the waves as the ship moved. From our suite, it's hard to hear the waves being nine stories high. As soon as we couldn't see St. Maarten any longer, we went to the Disco Club to enjoy the kids and watch them party.