It doesn’t happen often that I visit a new place and it’s not what I expected. Of course, there are a million factors that affect one’s experience in a new place. Sometimes the conditions don’t add up to exactly what you had in mind, and most recently, that happened to me on the friendly and beautiful island of St. Maarten! It was the third and final stop on my recent 7-day trip with Princess Cruises. Click here to read about our days in port at Princess Cays and St. Thomas!

When I first heard about the island with a split personality (half of it is Dutch and half of it is French), visiting both capitals sounded absolutely charming to me. Philipsburg, the Dutch side, sounded a little more rugged and saturated with historical culture, while Marigot, the French side, sounded dazzlingly charming and like a good place to tide myself over until I visit Paris for the first time.

Our morning kicked off with a drive-around tour of the island, an experience that was essentially tailored to retired couples, so right away we realized we may have made the wrong decision. Oops! The drive through the Dutch side was quick and painless, which gets the job done if that's the kind of travel you're looking for. I learned several facts about the capital, like when slavery was deemed illegal for both sides (1848 for French and 1863 for Dutch, respectively).

The tour guide for the trek, Jasmine, was friendly and eager to give information about her country, and also eager to single me out as the only person on the bus under 50—she settled on calling me Best Friend for the duration of the drive. But my favorite thing she said was a phrase she used in passing (about a topic I can’t quite remember): “They’re all over, like butterflies.” I was immediately enchanted by the fact that anything in everyday life could be as abundant as the number of butterflies on an island. I don’t see many up in Minnesota, and of course, wish I did, because how wonderfully charming would that be.

They dropped us off downtown to shop and stroll for about an hour, and I found a few charming pockets of Marigot to shoot in. Although I was Paris dreaming, Marigot gave off much more of a New Orleans vibe than the City of Lights. It was a little gritty with a lot going on, and it was definitely a memorable experience.

The beauty of the island can’t be denied—however, there were more houses in shambles and dilapidated buildings lining the streets we drove through than I anticipated. I’ll admit I was a little shocked by the state of most of the houses I saw until I heard that residents don’t have to pay taxes on homes that are deemed “unfinished…” Such a different way of life; I was immediately intrigued.

I love learning about new places and am truly pleased I got to experience The Friendly Island for all it is. There were some lovely sights and moments—I can’t hide my love for island towns! But my experience on St. Maarten is a good reminder to do your research: make sure you find a tour available that is suited to your tastes...and maybe aimed somewhere in the range of your age demographic?

Thank you to Princess Cruises for sponsoring this post, and for the unforgettably fabulous trip through the islands of the Caribbean! I literally miss life on the Regal Princess at least once a day... 

It’s a satisfying thing to say I’ve been to the Caribbean. I’ve spent a good part of my adulthood intrigued by island life, mostly inspired by the idea of getting it away from it all. Quitting my full-time desk job was a step in the right direction, but life in Minnesota is a far cry from the friendly sunshine and warm faces that greet you on the shores of St. Thomas.

It took all of ten minutes for me to begin breathing a little deeper and walking a little slower between the waves of tourist madness. When we stepped ashore, my mother and I boarded an open-air taxi with about twelve other people en route to the beach at Magen’s Bay, which has been the highlight of our voyage with Princess Cruises so far. The drive was no different than the wild, back-road taxi rides I’ve taken in New York or Rome, all of which can be quick to cause more motion-sickness than the constant sway of the Regal Princess, but the views across the island were well worth it.

The beach started to fill up about noon, but arriving at ten o’clock in the morning we found a perfect little corner to post up with only two or three people nearby. Magen’s Bay Beach was gorgeously peaceful with water too warm to be real, and Mom and I spent every minute of our two-hour break letting the sand fill our shoes and the sun fill our souls. I left more relaxed than I would have after a massage at a world-class spa.

The purpose of this entire trip, of course, is to live as much Pirates of the Caribbean as I can, so our tour continued with a walk-and-talk history lesson at Blackbeard’s Castle. With a 500-year-old lookout post and a center-stage statue of the man himself (Blackbeard stood 6’4” and 280 pounds, according to our informative tour guide), I was easily transported into the world of Elizabeth Swann and fictional pirate Jack Sparrow, which was all I wanted on our day-long excursion in St. Thomas. The Pirates movies are truly one of my favorite ways to escape reality—so much so that I find myself passing off every story of piracy that I hear to be fantasy. I forget that these crazies took their pillaging and plundering quite seriously, and are a major part of history on the high seas.

It was by far my favorite shore excursion we've experienced through Princess. I'm not surprised it's one of the most popular selections on this eastern Caribbean route.

Have you been to St. Thomas or find piracy completely fascinating? Have a favorite beach on the island? Leave a comment below—I love hearing travel tales!

Thanks a million to Princess Cruises for sponsoring this post!