Terminal 18 is great. It is so beautiful and big. The porters are wonderful. Parking is plentiful. Everyone is so helpful. The folks have everything down to a fine science. They know how to get folks on and off of these big ships in an orderly fashion.

I have not been to Nassau in years. We got off the ship, went through the little straw market area just at the port and milled around a bit. We bought a few souvenirs and took a carriage ride. It was about 25 minutes long, and was somewhat educational for my nieces. We passed a little school, The carriage driver asked the youngest if she wanted to go to school. She very politely declined.

My oldest niece had her hair braided by a lady called "Sandra Dee." She was a great lady. She did a phenomenal job on the braids and was so sweet. She gave my niece a Bahamian coin to bring back to share with her class at a show and tell.

St. Thomas is one of those "staple" ports where you can shop, mill around and just hang out for the day. We had a great lunch at Café Amalie. My sister and I had Zarzuela (sort of like a spicy fish stew/gumbo). It was so tasty. My niece had the rest of her hair braided (for far less money than the lady in Nassau charged). I got some Larimar jewelry (one of my favorites).

While it is not a complaint about this cruise (and not really a complaint at all, but just an observation), it is great that you can find taxis and transportation at nearly any place on the island to take you back to port when you are ready to go. However, I wish they would not hassle people to take them back to port when they are just getting out of the taxi into town. It makes people feel very unwelcome.

We went into a cute little shop called Fish Face in St. Thomas. My husband and I both bought "rashguard" shirts with SPF 50. I ended up using my shirt as soon as we got back onboard the ship. That shirt will go with me everywhere now. It was so cooling and comfortable. It's very sheer to allow breeze and sun to pass through. it's not a shirt to wear alone. You have to have a swimsuit or something under it if you are a woman.

St Thomas is a beautiful island. I missed disembarking at Havensight, but Crown Bay is lovely.

I love the beach at St. Maarten. I did not get to lay out on the beach with my bucket of beers this time, but enjoyed walking around with my parents. I got a new camera (waterproof and shockproof). I was quite happy with that find. We also checked out the Yoda Guy's shop and the Belgian chocolatier. Yummy.

You may see signs for St. Maarten sea salt. Apparently they do sell it on the water taxis, but it is very hard to find otherwise. There was one shop right at the port (sort of a mini market/grocery store/souvenir shop) that had some. It is not all the plentiful. I don't know if it's supposed to be exclusive to water taxis but if you want it- ask your water taxi driver.

Try the Guavaberry products. Guavaberry coladas are yummy.

I would not get much further back than the first major street off the beach if you are walking. It starts looking a little sketchy past that point.

I plan to take a tour to the French side of the island the next time I go. It's about time I did.