I will try to keep this as short as possible as we were there 9 days.

Flight from TPA to SJU to SXM was beautiful. Skies were clear and you could see all the neighboring islands very clear.
No problem thru immagration at all and met Myra (AAA Car Rental) for the car and off to their office and done in less than an hour so we were free at 2:40PM. Headed to the Sapphire to check in and Myra followed in a van to bring the rest of our (4) luggage. Excellent service! Then headed for the pool area to look around at the place. We were in unit 401 near the beach clear down at the bottom of the steps that run thru the garage and then to the right to the end. Decent room but nothing close to 5 star. Maybe 3. The grounds seem to be quite nice. We stayed here 2 nights and then moved to the Towers. The Sapphire had their problems with the A/C leaking in two rooms and TV's did not work well. Misqitoes were quite bad near the room area and the garage. I blame that on the week of rain they had, but the misqitoes were bad everywhere we went on the island as soon as the sun started to set. Worse than in past trips. Ate first night at Peg Leg and Sean greated us warmly as usual. Saw Jack as well. All food was excellent. The day was long as we started at 5:30AM so had an early evening at the Dolphin Casino but Maria was right there with our drinks as we arrived and then called it a day.

Friday started out great with breakfast at Ric's and saw Liz who is a waitress there. Her and her guy are sailing the carribean together from New Orleans and have been in SXM 3 years so they have been gone awhile but plan to finish their trip around the Carribean eventually. There next major stop would be The San Blas Islands. Then off to the Sapphire and hit the pool and beach. This was a daily event so I won't add to every days events. We skipped alot of lunches or just had stuff we bought at Cost U Less to snack on. Dinner was at Banana's and was very good. So were the Carib's <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />
Off to the Dolphin and Atlantis donation time. I noticed that L'Auberge Gourmande has opened a new restaurant just outside The Atlantis in Cupecoy called Le Montmartne Brasserie Parisienne and some friends dined there last week and said it was wonderful. I thought I saw several new French restaurants on the Dutch side. This may or may not be due to a loss of business due to 911. By the way, the Dolphin has a catered buffet almost every night with buagget sandwitches and lots of good pasteries. Comes out after 9PM and sometimes nearer 10PM and good for a late evening snack.

Saturday we had breakfast with friends at the Summit restaurant and then moved over to The Towers and checked in. Skipped lunch and had Guavaberry Coladas at the pool bar. Claudia is still there but Joyce has left. James is still working the pool area as usual. Dinner tonight was at Cherie's and the food was good but Misqitoes were about to carry us away. Casinos for the rest of the evening.

Sunday breakfast was at Chesterfields another good breakfast place. Back to the pool to hang out for the day. And this evening we went to Pineapple Petes and this place is new and we thought quite good. Nice menu with seafood and chicken and ribs and lots of good stuff. Say hi to Peirre the owner.

Monday was at Ric's again and then we went shopping in the afternoon and did buy the wife a necklace from Deepti at DK Gems and she was very gracious. Even had to size down the necklace an inch and then she delivered it to the Towers Wednesday evening at 7 as she said. Great service as well. Thanks Deepti! Then we walked down to The Greenhouse by Bobbys Marina to met friends for drinks and appetizers. Then off to the Casinos for the evening.

Tuesday we went to Z-Best at the Simpson Bay Marina behind Top Carrot. Near Jimbo's and Goodfellas. This is a great place for a great breakfast. Wish we had went their another time as there baskets of pasteries are Yummi! Don't miss it. Good prices too. Then back to the Towers pool for some sun and for the welcome party at 5:30pm. Very nice and well attended. Then off to Peg Leg for the TTOL Party hosted by Maura and she did a fine job as well as the rest of the Peg Leg Gang. Then to the Casinos for another night. Am I getting tired of Casinos or what! We were at them every night. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />

Wednesday we went to Marina Royale for breakfast at La Crossanterrie. Nice but having Z-Best the day before made me spoiled. Z-Best is #1 IMHO. After another day in the sun we headed for Jimbo's and this is another good find for dinner. And again to the Casinos for a deposit. They have the best Tangeury and Tonic's.

Thursday of course was Thanksgiving and we brought a Turkey with us from Florida so we put together a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner and ate about 12:30PM so this was a no breakfast day. We were stuffed when we finished. Also bought one of those dessert coffee breads from Cost U Less. Was told this was a Danish Holiday Dessert and was it good. We had none left. Came in a box. Yummy! Skipped dinner and waited for The Dolphin to bring out their Thanksgiving Buffet. Better yet they brought out a Dessert Buffet! It was great and my waist shows for it.

Friday had breakfast at Turtle Pier and good as usual. Got to see Liz's boat parked there. It's the one from New Orleans marked on the aft section. They sure are adventureous. Then Later in the day ER and I went to deliver a basketball to the son of a friend ER knew that use to work at the Towers several years ago. After awhile we found him at his home up above the road going to Y'vetts. Quite a drive over there and back late in the day as traffic was busy but we made it. Then off to PLP one more time for a great dinner. 2nd this trip. Jack and Sean even took us back in the kitchen for a look. Very clean.
Back to the Casinos for one last try to close out the week.

Saturday was leaving day so we skipped breakfast, got all bags to the airport by 9am. No Problems. Since we were flying FF tickets which had been purchased a long time ago, we had to pay the $20.00 plus the $4.00 Security Fee. Then went back to check out at the Towers and get some final sun by the pool and then left for SSBB to get a burger and a couple Carib's before going back to the Airport. Flight left on time and we got back home at 8:30pm right on time. ER grabbed the wrong suitcase and did not check it at the airport, so he had to go back to TPA to exchange. Lesson #1: Always check your bag to make sure it's yours. Saves alot of headaches for both parties.

The nine days were wonderful and we enjoyed every day. We did have some light showers go by but not enough to spoil anything. Thanksgiving day it rained pretty hard until about 11:00am or so and the cleared out. The island is quite GREEN! Got to see Greg Normans Yacht "Aussie Rules" in the Simpson Bay Harbor along with Excellence III and at least 8 others. Several registered in Gr Cayman.

All in all we had a great time and will be back in May. Cruise