TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Our arrival and first day

Michael and I had a heck of a time last week. We got our COVID tests on Monday and we were not sure whether we would get the results in time. We got an additional test on Wednesday hoping something would come through.
Friday morning, the day before we were supposed to fly, still no test results. I called our doctor and called Quest diagnostics to find out where we were in the queue. My doctor's office tried especially hard for us. My doctor's office was finally told by Quest that the results would not come in on Friday. And probably not Saturday either.
Disappointed, we were hoping that the additional test we got on Wednesday might come through. But we decided we would start to think about coming on Monday of next week.
I emailed Jeannie of Shop and Drop and told her to hold off on our groceries. She was very understanding.
Then work got in the way. I had an emergency I had to get through at work.
Around 11am, Michael got a phone call.....and lo and behold it was his negative Covid test! From Quest I might add. And a little over 20 minutes later, mine came....from Quest.
I quickly called Jeanne and asked her to please get the groceries. We were coming!

I am going to talk to my doctor about switching where my laboratory stuff goes. If they can't give me an accurate timeline, then that is poor customer service. And, by the way, I worked in a clinical lab for 20+ years. I know that a queue can be determined.

Anyway, we spent the night at the Hilton in Boston. We got up at 0 dark thirty for our flight on Jet Blue. We flew Jet Blue Mint service from Boston Logan Airport to SXM direct.
This was certainly the EASIEST entrance to SXM.
We got off the plane and THANK GOD, no stupid bus. I hate those busses. We could walk the short distance to arrivals. There were plenty of people to tell us where to go.
We stopped at health inspection and presented our negative covid tests. FYI, our COVID tests had two pages. And at the bottom of the second page was when the sample was collected. So, make sure you keep both pages or at least make sure you have all the pertinent data.
Then we had to go through Customs and Immigrations Again, that was super quick.
Out to baggage and our bags were literally the 5th and 10th bags on the belt!
We went out to the rentals car place and there was Lesley with our car.
20 minutes from touchdown to AHHHHH, we are in SXM.
It was 12:30 and there was no way our room would be ready. So, first stop, in Orange Grove to Select Wine Cellar to see our favorite sommelier friend Sylvain.
We had a couple glasses of wine with him and picked up a case or so for us. By then, I was feeling the 4:30 wake up time and the stressful week before hand.
We headed to Divi our home away from home for 2 weeks.
As we arrived, there was Jeannie working with our favorite bellman Roger to get our groceries to our room.
And we walked up to the counter and our room was ready. By the time we checked in, Roger was back to take our bags.

Divi has now instituted a room service menu (it's about time). Since we were both exhausted, we took advantage of it and both had the Gizmo burger. I don't know if it was because we were starving but MAN, those burgers were fantastic. We lounged about for a little while and I got a second wind.
We went down to Little Bay to bob in the Caribbean. Oh the joy of that.

There is a moderately sized building going in across the street from Divi. I wonder if it will be a hotel.
The beach was moderately busy with locals. But still easy enough to practice social distancing.
I wanted a little something sweet for later that night so we stoped by the Divi Mini Mart. There was a lot of alchohol but NOT a lot of food to be had. MANY empty shelves.
Nonetheless, we found our favorite dutch cookies and back to the room we went.
We both tried to stay up to at least 8pm. And then off to bed. We were exhausted.

So, here it is, 8am on my first whole day in paradise. I await my dear husband awaking. Who knows what the day will bring? But at home, apparently, 10 inches of snow fell. So, we are glad to be here.

Thanks for the report and glad you made it.

You have to know, most labs are overwhelmed right now so delays are to be expected.

Welcome ‘home’..........so glad those results finally came through for you but sorry for the stress involved in awaiting their arrival. We had similar issues with the testing and EHAS approvals and it certainly can raise havoc with your stress levels but in the end, it’s worth it.

So now, relax, de stress and enjoy!

Sound like a bit of stress and now to de-stress! Divi is our home away from home too! So glad you were able to make safe and sound. Now relax and enjoy. I look forward to hearing about your stay.

Welcome back Folks and do enjoy your stay.

Wow!

I'm so glad you made it.

Enjoy and don't hesitate to share your stories--LOL
Hope they are all good!

Thanks for the report! Now relax and enjoy!!

Agreed all, a lot of hand wringing and looming deadlines, but so worth it.We're sitting at Greenhouse on the Boardwalk having a cold Heineken draft right now. We were literally the only people on the Boardwalk, but several places open or in the process.

So happy for you. I have three weeks at Divi in June and am sooo looking forward to being back. Great news about room service. You are correct: it's about time!

Yesterday was quiet day for us. We took a ride around the island. It is nice to see some progress being made on the French Side. Marigot is starting to build again.