Trip Report 4/24 to 5/1/04 (HappyDude & Brightside)

First of all a big "Thank you" <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> to all on this board for the great info and help over the last few months. This was our third trip to SXM. We were celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary and decided to go on a 7 day cruise and then take a short hop from San Juan over to SXM for another week. On our first two visits to the island, we stayed at the Flamingo Beach Resort which we really enjoyed. This time however, we thought we would try the Royal Islander LaPlage and were happy we did.

Having just come off a cruise ship, we were not looking for too much in the way of fine dining and/or large sumptuous meals. We opted instead for simpler dining at mostly pub type restaurants.

The weather was just about perfect. It was a bit breezier than usual all week but it helped to keep the temperature at a comfortable level.

Day 1-Sat. 4/24
Back to the "real" world briefly after being treated so fabulously on a Celebrity cruise for a week. We made our way to the San Juan airport, which was a real zoo when we got there. Fortunately, we were flying on Caribbean Sun and the line was not as bad as at other counters. We still had to go through a very long line for Security but it moved fairly quick. We arrived at SXM around 3:00 p.m. We were quickly through immigration, picked up our bags and met Lesley of Kenny's Car Rental. We were given a very nice Toyota Corolla, whisked through the paperwork and were on our way in just a few quick minutes. This was our first time using Kenny's and we were more than satisfied and will definitely use him again.
Our next stop before checking in was over to the Royal Palm to pick up our cell phone rental from Sharon Harris. We needed to keep in touch with our youngest at home. Just one phone call last visit cost us almost as much as renting a phone this time. A nice little phone with reception all over the island, $30 for the week which included $20 (or almost an hour's worth) of talk time.
We then checked into the Royal Islander and after unpacking took a look around the resort. It was getting close to 6:00 p.m. We met a nice couple, Peggy and John, who invited us over to the Sunset Beach Bar for a cocktail. We had our first drink on the island and watched a beautiful sunset. Just after sunset we had the added attraction of watching the KLM 747 come roaring in. It had been a long day and we were starting to feel it, but we were also quite hungry and decided to head over to Pizza-Pasta in Maho where we had a tasty pizza. Then we made a stop at the new Food Mart for groceries before heading back to our room to call it a day.

Day 2 (Sunday)
We had a nice breakfast at the Tortuga Bar at the Royal Islander and then went to take a look at some of the shops along the street in Maho. We spent the rest of the day unwinding at the Royal Islander Pool and beach and had a couple of cold ones at Happy Hour.
For dinner we went to Ric’s. I had a nice tasting Philly steak and cheese and a couple of Carlsbergs, while Brightside had one of Ric’s famous burgers and a Pina Colada. We also had a pleasant conversation with Ric. We then went back to the Maho area and caught some of the show at Cheri’s. We also caught the Casino Royale dancers doing their thing across the street outside the Paris Bistro.

Day 3 (Monday)
We decided to save a few dollars and have breakfast in the room... cereal, yogurt, toast, coffee and pastries on our balcony overlooking the pool…very nice way to start the day. We then went to R.I.’s Mimosa party where the Activities Desk gives a presentation on things to do around the island. They also held a drawing for excursions etc. Back to the beach area for a refreshing plunge or two and then hopped into the car for a leisurely drive around the island for exploring before heading over to Orient for Contessa’s TTOL party at the Bikini Beach Bar. We finally got to meet the Contessa as well as her beautiful ‘ladies-in- waiting’; LeeLee, LeAnn, Robin & Dr. Jane. There were a lot of other fun TTOL people there; the girls at the bar were kept quite busy and did a great job keeping us all well lubricated with 2 for 1 prices. Thanks to Contessa for putting it together.

Day 4 (Tuesday)
Over to Ric’s for his hearty “Homerun” breakfast special, then off to PBurg for a little shopping. Since we were celebrating 30th Anniversary, I surprised Brightside by taking her to DK Gems to pick out a little something. Deepti, as well as Jeff and Ahmed treated us quite well and were more than accommodating in helping us to pick out a very nice Tanzanite ring at a very nice price.
We then headed back to the R.I. to get ready for yet another TTOL party, this time hosted by Sandy&Bill at the Buccaneer Beach Bar. Met more great TTOLers as well as a few friendly locals. Neil was behind the bar and provided his usual good drinks, good service and hospitality.

Day 5 (Wed.)
Breakfast on the balcony once again then off for our first time at Friars Bay Beach. We tried out our new snorkel equipment while there. Not too much to see but had fun anyway. We had a great tasting lunch but thought $33.00 was a bit high for two bacon cheeseburgers and a couple of diet Cokes… but hey, we are on vacation, next time maybe we’ll give Kali’s a try.
In the evening we jumped aboard the Celine with Capt. Neil for the Pub Crawl where we had some more fun with Contessa and the ‘Girlfriends’. The wind was kicking up a bit on the lagoon but made for a fun ride. First stop was Lal’s for a couple of tasty Indian dishes, then over to Peg Leg for some steak and swordfish then back to Turtle Pier for Ribs, Fritters and a little dancing with a great local band. Capt. Neil and first mate Rachel did a fine job quenching everyone’s thirst and appetite. After the crawl we headed over to Casino Royale to lose a few.

Day 6 (Thursday)
We had breakfast at Turtle Pier. Another breezy morning as evidenced by many menus floating in the lagoon nearby. Back to Maho to check emails at the Cyber Café, $3.00 for ½ hour but the connection was slow (seemed more like a 56k dial up). It was back to the R.I. pool and beach, the surf was a bit heavier than previous days and we had a lot of fun trying to stay on our feet getting in and out.
For dinner we went to Peg Leg to try the Filet Mignon; man that was a great tasting hunk of meat! Price came to around $67 for an appetizer, two filets and a drink each…well worth it!

Day 7 (Friday)
We awoke to clouds and a few scattered showers. We had planned to make our first trip to Pinel but it didn’t look promising. We ate breakfast and things looked as though they might improve so we headed over to Cul De Sac and crossed our fingers. While on the way the sun came out and stayed out all day. We loved Pinel. It was fairly quiet that day. We took the trail over to the ramp were we donned our snorkel gear and waded in to see a lot of tropical fish congregating at some rocks just off the shore. We will definitely be sure to return to Pinel. We headed back to our room, did some packing then headed over to return our cell phone, gas up the rental car and stop at Hot Tomatoes for dinner. I had the Grouper special and Brightside had the Caesar Salad with Jerk chicken. Along with a couple of drinks the bill was about $40, not too bad. Paid one last visit to Buccaneer Beach Bar then headed back to the Royal Islander for a nitecap on the balcony.

Day 8 (Sat. departure day)
We had an 11:30 flight to San Juan so we had pre-arranged to meet Lesley at 9:30 at the airport to return the car. The lines at most counters were long but moving but our counter for Caribbean Sun didn’t open till 10:00 and they were hand-checking ALL checked luggage. We boarded on time but were delayed about 30 minutes from taking off because of a lot of incoming flights. For some reason we took off from the opposite end of the runway with our backs to the mountains… something that doesn’t happen often. We made our connection in San Juan but many on the flight, us included, did not get all our bags. We were told some bags were removed because of excess weight and would be forwarded to our homes later. (Hey, less for us to carry and better to happen on the way home than on the way into SXM.)

In conclusion, we had another great time on SXM. Being our third trip, we felt we were at a point where we are a lot more comfortable about exploring new areas and trying different things. On the plus side; weather, meals, drinks, parties, beaches and shopping. The only negatives were higher prices in general on the French side and a few more mosquitoes at night than we’ve experienced in the past. We are already planning trip number 4 for two weeks next year.
Steve & Jackie (HappyDude & Brightside)