Trip Report Part 1..11/12-11/17

Arrived on Friday, 11/12, on Delta, flying from Minneapolis via Atlanta. Our 5 a.m. departure was delayed a bit because of de-icing from snow flurries so it was great to be leaving the cold. No problems getting EHAS approval for the 6 of us and review of all our printed docs on arrival were quick.

Spending 8 days at Divi on our 20+ trip to the island. First trip back since early in 2020. Divi looks great, but a few of the former staff appear to have left so missing familiar, friendly faces. Terrible WiFi connections in our unit during the high usage times, worse than we remember from prior years, perhaps because of our location. Luckily we don't have an urgent need to be online. Entertainment outside our patio from 2 roosters, their hens and several chicks.

Divi Beach was very busy over the week end, including local families enjoying the beach, which was nice to see, but quieter on Monday. Spent Tuesday at Mullet. Beach was full and Da Waterhole had lots of customers. I miss Daleo’s where staff was friendlier.

The first days have been quite windy, at least compared to our normal visiting time in the Jan.-March window. Not sure if it’s just a windy spell or normal for Nov. Luckily I brought a hat with a strap!

Dinners so far have been Mark's takeout, Izi, and Chesterfields, all old favorites for us. Able to eat outside at the last two and we've reserved early dining times because of our granddaughter, so feel safe being at a distance from others. Nice to see masks in wide use at stores and by restaurant staff.

Visited the Marigot market today to restock my husband's supply of SweetSpot t-shirts and give a few other vendors some business. Then stopped in Mount Vernon at the “One Life One Love” shop to replace my daughter's favorite plush lined sweatshirt that's perfect for living in Minnesota and some tank tops.

Since we're traveling with an 20 month old, it's going to be a pretty low key, relaxed trip with breaks for naps for her (and the grandparents)!

Great start. Nothing wrong about being layed back on vacation.

Hi. I wondered how the take out meals were going. Sounds like a nice vacation so far. How were the chairs at Mullet?? You said the beach was full. Were they jamming chairs right up against each other? Was the Marigot market busy today? I think there should have been a couple of ships in?

We sat at the chairs to the left as you walk to the beach. They are a separate vendor than the restaurant now. They had 2 rows of chairs so we were close but you could walk between groups….not as tight as I've experienced there. Several catamarans dropped anchor so those passengers added people to the beach without using chairs. I was just surprised at the number of people because I wasn't sure how busy places would be.

We've been managing ok on meals out with early reservations, outdoor seating and enough adults to take turns walking around with the little one if she gets bored while waiting, so have only done Mark's takeout. As usual Mark's was fine with lots for leftovers.

We were at Marigot market by about 9:30 and only a about a half dozen groups or couples were shopping—nothing that looked like a cruise ship excursion. Yes there were several ships in. Venders were happy to see us!

The chair vender is related to the owner of that restaurant.

OK, thanks for the info. Yes, 9:30 is a little early for a cruise ship excursion to be all the way at Marigot.

Enjoy your trip!

Chester greets you as you walk in from the parking lot, he's with Rosie's. $15.00 two chairs and umbrella. We sit as far to the right (facing the beach/ocean) as we can, he'll move chairs for you. Tip goes a long way. He always ends his conversation with "God bless you"!

I was at Marigot market yesterday, perhaps 11:00ish. I was surprised at how many vendors there were - quite a few. Not a lot of customers, but then, there was a downpour at the time.

Linda--several ships in yesterday. Sorry to see that the vendors didn't have many customers. Hopefully the bus drivers were just avoiding the rain.

I thought I'd read earlier that some of the ships had stopped shore excursions to the French side because of the earlier road blocks. Not sure if the source was reliable or whether that's still a factor.

That may well have been true then. Hopefully not now.

I read that too.