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First Full Day - Settling In Whale Tail 6 hours ago Well after a not so good travel day I got 10 hours of sleep and when we got up we decided that a pool and lounger day was needed to fully recharge ourselves. We walked over to SMYC for the traditional breakfast to start our vacation. Along the way I took some pictures of the former Roxy location. There is a excavator and a pylon driver on site and that driver has been a concern, it has been quiet all weekend but today is Monday so we'll see what happens.

When we got back to SBR we headed to the villa pool for lounger time. I guess that it is kind of winter time here because the pool was really cold. It was pretty quiet here so we eventually walked over to Coco's bar on the point where it was pretty busy on both the SBR beach and the Flamingo beach. It's fun watching people on vacation. My wife took this picture on her walk this morning. Scubaman are you here?

We then headed over to the Marina pool and Ziggy entertained us for a while.

Decided to stay close to home and went to Lee's for dinner and watched some football. Just had a cheeseburger for me and my wife had coconut shrimp. JD Val says hello.

We had two concerns about our room which by the way is on the ground floor of the Villa Building and I would prefer to be on a higher floor but it is what it is. Since we are now members of SBR they have a website for any issues with housekeeping or maintenance. So we asked for an extension cord so we could use our 2 laptops at the dining table and I found the mattress too hard for me and asked if they had a pillow top for the mattress. Both issues were taken care of within an hour!!

Today I think we will go to La Vista for breakfast as we haven't done the Carrefour trip yet. Will probably head over to Maho today as we have friends currently staying at La Plage and La Terrasse.

Another day in paradise!!

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Booked a cruise in the Med for May! Carol_Hill 18 hours ago We just booked a cruise on Princess in the Eastern Med for next May, from Rome. We will go in three days early and see Rome before. We've never been there, so grateful for any info folks can give.

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CHECK AA FLIGHTS FOR 2026 ruralcarrier Yesterday at 11:37 PM As we all know, the airlines can change schedules at their discretion, and it happens often. I have a trip booked for May 2026 and regularly check AA for fare and/or schedule changes. I am also signed up for email notifications of changes. This morning while checking our flights, I noticed something was not coming up right and when I went to check our seat assignments, it took me to a totally different route. I did not think too much about it until an hour or so later, I noticed our current itinerary no longer existed. NO EMAIL and no notification on the AA site.

I decided to make a call to AA and got a very pleasant agent who spent about 45 minutes on the phone with me. As it turns out, AA was in the process of updating and uploading new fares, flights and schedules and our particular itinerary was impacted on all 4 legs. We went from a 40-minute connection in CLT going down to a 1-minute connection that would be impossible to make. The return was even worse, 2 connections and an overnight along the way. I expressed my frustration with the new schedule and also my extreme frustration that I had to find this out myself as AA had not notified me.

The agent was very apologetic and understanding and offered some options, none of which were really what we wanted, but we had little choice. She also said that the notification emails would likely go out on Monday or Tuesday. What a great way to do business.

We planned the original schedule to depart DAY on Sunday, May 10, meet up with my wife's sister and her husband in CLT and proceed to SXM. We planned on returning on Tuesday, May 19. This schedule worked for all of us and avoided the busiest travel days in hopes of making a more pleasant trip. I was able to change our flights to Saturday, May 9 and return on Monday, May 18 but due to the other couple flying from CLT, they only had about a 30-minute schedule change and are currently stuck with arriving a day after us and staying a day later. They have never stayed on SXM before and were relying on us for transportation, etc.

I was able to change our arrival with The Horny Toad, but it also involved changing units from my preferred unit.

Now, for the real kicker. We initially booked first class, paying for it, no miles, etc. We had what I thought was a decent fare, but the NEW fare for our itinerary is $6155 each and about $3500 each for coach! Due to the drastic schedule change, we did not have to pay any more for our tickets or the changes that AA made, but I do not see how they can sell any tickets at the current listed fare. I would guess once all the updates are in the system, the fares will come back to something more reasonable.

Just a heads-up for anyone booked on AA next year. I would strongly suggest checking your itinerary and be prepared for changes. Good luck!

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PJIA Yesterday Whale Tail Yesterday at 01:21 PM Yes there was something wrong with the operation of the airport yesterday. We landed at 1:45 and got out of the airport at 3:20. After we landed we exited the runway onto the tarmac then turned left and got into the line of planes waiting to take off at Maho Beach. There was 2 jetways open. We turned onto the runway and I was thinking we better not be taking off!! We then proceeded down the runway turned on to the tarmac again and turned right and proceeded towards the private jet terminal until a yellow and black airport pickup truck came from the terminal and stopped our plane in the middle of nowhere. Then a truck with stairs and buses arrived, so much for the jetways. Got into immigration and it was packed!!! Mass confusion. It took so long to get through immigration that by the time we got to luggage our suitcases were already off the conveyor belt and on the floor. Our friend arrived a little before us and was out of the terminal in 10 minutes.
Anyways after 10 hours of sleep I feel refreshed and will be headed to SMYC for breakfast shortly.

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Beautiful sunrises RatmansWife Yesterday at 10:50 AM This weekend the sunrises have been particularly stunning. Sunrise photos are looking east to VG.

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Airport Rant Whale Tail 12/27/2025 11:53 AM We were picked up at our house at 2am to drive to Toronto for a 6:30am departure only to find out that when we arrived at the airport the flight has been delayed by 90 minutes. So with all this extra time on my hands and operating on 0 hours sleep I feel the need to vent

Since when does a full size back pack which is larger than my carry on qualify as a personal item. The dimensions from Air Transat for a personal item are 5" deep, 12" wide and 17" high and fit under the seat in front of you.
The flight attendant at the gate just announced that do to limited overhead bins space they are asking for volunteers to store there personal items down below. If that doesn't produce enough space then they will be enforcing the size limits.
All of a sudden there is a line up of people storing their carry on and just bringing their personal item (backpack) on board.

Ok I feel better now.

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Controls are working SXMScubaman 12/25/2025 11:10 PM "KPSM Special Team Arrests Suspect with Illegal Firearm and Narcotics on Christmas Eve

The Special team of the police force of Sint. Maarten (KPSM) remained vigilant on Christmas Eve, conducting routine controls and preventative searches throughout the island to ensure public safety during the holiday season.

On December 24, 2025, officers from the Special Team stopped the rider of a red and white scooter in the Fort Willem area for a routine check. During a preventative search, officers discovered a 9mm pistol loaded with six rounds of live ammunition in the suspect's bag, along with a small quantity of narcotics.

The suspect with initials T.J.L was immediately arrested and transported to the police station, where he remains in custody pending further investigation.

This arrest underscores KPSM's unwavering commitment to combating illegal firearms and narcotics trafficking on Sint Maarten. The Special Team will continue to conduct controls and preventative searches at all hours and in all locations as part of ongoing efforts to keep the community safe.

KPSM urges residents to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious activity to the authorities."

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2026 Calendar IWIWSE 12/25/2025 10:21 PM Merry Christmas.

Are they available anywhere?

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SXM Luggage tags gitter 12/25/2025 06:20 PM Many......Many years ago I bought SXM luggage tags.

There a were bendable green plastic with SXM on the other side.

Are theses still available?

I've looked and the current ones on line are a blah hard plastic thing.

Any other places to have an alternate tag would be helpful.

Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2026

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Merry Christmas, Everyone!! Carol_Hill 12/25/2025 12:06 AM

Ho, ho, ho, everyone!!! Enjoy your holiday!!

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