Nathan's Insights

Monday 30 December 2024
Highlights: The views from Rockland Estate of Sint Maarten, The comedy and magic of Bill Cook

My booked activity for a catamaran cruise around Sint Maarten and a snorkel in the Caribbean Sea was unfortunately cancelled today. There wasn’t much left to book by the time I knew of the cancellation but I hoped my selection of a chairlift to view Sint Maarten from its highest point would be a good replacement.

After a nice breakfast in the Main Dining Room, I went to the Main Theatre to join my group. Organising so many passengers at each port is a logistics challenge which Royal Caribbean do fairly well.

My group found I boarded a bus to Rockland Estate. On the journey, we learnt about the island’s history the French and Dutch sides and the differences in education and tax systems. 

On arrival, I took the Sky Explorer (Chairlift), which is surrounded by the Jamaican Rainforest, and ascended 215 metres above sea level. You take two chairlifts to get to the top.

At the top, I enjoyed panoramic views of the island plus the neighbouring islands of Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Barts and Anguilla. On this island, I could see a cricket ground right next to a baseball ground, not something you see every day.

I enjoyed the country air for this excursion and got to talk to several other passengers on the chairlift given it takes a long time to go up and come down. Most people here were from the USA and were escaping their winter.

Back on the Explorer of the Seas, after dinner, I went to enjoy the comedy and magic of Bill Cook. He used several members of the audience for his show going right back to get people in the back who might have thought they were safe. 

A lot of his tricks were impressive but the Japanese story he told using bamboo was mesmerising and an unexpected artful display.

Overall a fun day.