Trip Report: Sint Maarten & Saint Martin

One of the most popular island destinations in the Caribbean is Sint Maarten. But did you know the island is divided into two sides? There is a Dutch side and there is a French side. The Dutch side is called Sint Maarten and is a constituent country of the Netherlands. Meanwhile, the French side is called Saint Martin and is an overseas collectivity of France. Although there are no border formalities in either direction, there is a border and it is marked as shown above.

 

I don't normally appear on my Blogs but couldn't resist this opportunity to stand in two countries at the same time. My left foot is in the Netherlands and my right foot is in France.

Southbound: Welcome to Sint Maarten. The main languages are Dutch, English and Creole while currencies in use include Caribbean Guilders, U.S. Dollars and the Euro.

Northbound: Welcome to Saint Martin. The main languages are French and St. Martin Creole while the currency is the Euro. English is widely spoken and U.S. dollars are typically accepted too.

The French tricolors and the Sint Maarten flag fly over the border. Visiting the border was a fun part of today's visit to SXM.

Trip Report: St. Kitts & Nevis/Antigua & Barbuda

Washee Washee, Smiley Smiley, Happy Happy! We're currently sailing on Royal Caribbean ship Jewel of the Seas repositioning from Juan, Puerto Rico to Port Everglades, Florida. Pics from our first two ports along the way follow below. 

Our first port yesterday was in Basseterre, the capital of the twin island nation of St. Kitts & Nevis.

That's the island of Nevis which is not far off the coast of St. Kitts.

The Berkely Memorial was constructed in 1883 and contains four clocks facing in four directions as well as a drinking fountain.

Typical high street found throughout the Caribbean.

Immigration office to get my souvenir passport stamp.

Our second port was earlier today in St. John's, the capital of the twin island nation of Antigua & Barbuda.

Just like St. Kitts, a shopping centre area directly off the cruise ship pier.

Breadfruit tree not far from the port. Originally from Polynesia, colonial-era explorers including the famous Capt. Bligh of Munity on the Bounty fame brought the fruit to the Caribbean.

Memorial for V.C. Bird, founder of modern Antigua. 

On the highest point in the downtown area, the St. John the Divine cathedral. It follows the Anglican & Episcopal brands of religion.

As it was a Sunday morning, a service was in progress and we were welcomed inside.

Numerous graves on the cathedral grounds; this one dating to 1790.

Also visited the Antigua & Barbuda Museum with interesting displays about history as well as flora and fauna of the country.

Immigration office to get my souvenir passport stamp.

Off in the distance as we sailed away towards our third port, the island territory of Montserrat. (On the horizon under those clouds.) A British Overseas Territory, a volcano on the island erupted from 1995 to 2005, burying the capital city and the island's airport. 

Club Reports: Sail-Away Party, 70's Disco Night (Jewel Of The Seas)

We're on yet another cruise and of course that means another Sail-Away Party, this one led by DJ Sneddon (IND). Party pics including 70's Night are now posted to sister website Orlando Entertainment News HERE.

 

Friday Funny

 

CW Update: BK Out, Five Guys In

The Burger King Whopper Bar upstairs at Universal CityWalk has closed. It will be replaced with a Five Guys restaurant. We only ate at the BKWB one time over the years it operated. Love the fries at Five Guys so we look forward to it opening later this summer.

This Weekend In Techno Town

The hits just keep on coming!

THU   30APR      OLIV BAR     DJ Flash (USA)

THU   30APR      PALM TREE CLUB     DJ Renvo (NL) 

FRI     01MAY     CELINE     DJ Daniel Allan (AUS)

FRI     01MAY     VANGUARD     DJ Layton Giordani (USA)

FRI     01MAY     PALM TREE CLUB     DJ Sigala (GB)

FRI     01MAY     ALFIE'S HIFI     DJ Frankmatik (USA) 

FRI     01MAY     MORSE CODE     DJ Johnny Park (USA) 

FRI     01MAY     PARGH EVENT CENTER     Studio 54 & More!

FRI     01MAY     GOOD TIMES     Abyss: DJ Lavidicus (USA)

SAT    02MAY     ELIXIR BAR     DJ CID (USA)

SAT    02MAY     BROKEN STRINGS   DJ Circle K & MC Collaborator (USA) 

 

CW Update: Red Coconut Goes (Red)tro

During our visit to Universal CityWalk this past weekend we learned that Red Coconut Club is currently closed for renovations that will temporarily convert it to.....

.....(Red)tro Coconut Club. From May 8th through July 18th the club will convert to a Retro format with music from the 80's, 90's and 00's. Admission will continue to be free. 

And on opening night and other select dates the music will be delivered by DJ Michael Wycoff (USA). We will have coverage from opening night! 

 

PI Update: What's New On The Island

Let's cross this bridge one more time to beautiful Pleasure Island to see what's new.

Renovations continue inside the former Art of Shaving store for it's conversion to Six Ravens Bakery by Gideon's Bakehouse. We've not seen an opening date posted anywhere.

And further down Hill Street, heavy renovations continue at the Oakley store. We can't imagine what they're doing with that small space that would take such a long time to complete. They have a temporary location in a food merchandise truck adjacent the Characters In Flight balloon ride, Disney Springs West Side.

 

Club Reports: Forbidden Kingdom Music Festival, Broken Strings Brewery, Iron Cow

We began our Saturday at Forbidden Kingdom Music Festival where we ran into this group of damsels. We also spent a few hours at Broken Strings Brewery and closed out the night with DJ Miguel Migs (USA) at Iron Cow. Busy day and night and you can find all the pics on sister website Orlando Entertainment News HERE.

 

Club Reports: Hilton LBV Pool, John Lennon Room @ HRL, Red Coconut Club, Atlantic Dance Hall

Did you know there's a free dance party every Friday and Saturday night at the secret John Lennon Room & Terrace atop Hard Rock Live. We went to check it out last night and found DJ Lex (USA) in the booth. All the pics from last night are posted on sister website Orlando Entertainment News HERE.

 

Friday Funny

 

The Downtown Mess - Part 1

This is the parking garage that used to stand at the corner of Hughey Avenue and Church Street, directly across Church Street from then Amway Center, now Kia Center. We posted that photo in 2016 and indicated it would soon be demolished for a new festival marketplace the Orlando Magic planned to build on that space.

Indeed, by 2017 the garage had been demolished and the Orlando PD headquarters building behind it would soon be demolished too as they relocated to a brand new building on OBT, With both buildings gone, they could finally begin constructing that festival marketplace.

Let's zoom ahead 10 more years to 2026 and check out construction progress. The development is now called Westcourt.

We peered over the fence. Are there shops? Are there apartments? Is there a hotel? Is there a music venue? No-No-No-No! There is nothing here after more than 10 years. It's been announced something is going to get built here beginning this fall but we've heard that before over the past decade more than once. Church Street downtown is a mess and the mess begins here. More to come.

 

This Weekend In Techno Town

And just like that, April is coming to a conclusion:

THU   23APR     OLIV BAR     DJ Mer Made (USA)

FRI     24APR     CELINE     DJ Dr. Bresh (USA)

FRI     24APR     PALM TREE CLUB     DJ Malone Morez (C/USA)

FRI     24APR     VANGUARD     DJ Svdden Death (USA)

FRI     24APR     ALFIE'S HIFI     DJ Justin Davis (USA) 

SAT    25APR     CENTRAL FL FAIR   Forbidden Kingdom Day 1 SOLD OUT

SAT    25APR     BROKEN STRINGS     DJ Genesis (USA)

SAT    25APR     IRON COW     DJ Miguel Migs (USA)

SAT    25APR     SESSIONS     DJ Vampa (USA)

SAT    25APR     TACO KAT     DJ Hulian (USA) 

SAT    25APR     VANGUARD     DJ duo Zeds Dead (CDN)

SAT    25APR     ALFIE'S HIFI     DJ Brian Burnside (USA) 

SUN   26APR     CENTRAL FL FAIR   Forbidden Kingdom Day 2 SOLD OUT

SUN   26APR     GRAPE & GRAIN     DJ Brian Burnside  3pm+

SUN   26APR     ELIXIR BAR     DJ duo X Club (AUS/GB) 

SUN   26APR     ALFIE'S HIFI     DJ Bles-sed (USA) 

 

 

Blog Archives: April 18, 2009

We published this photo and article back in April, 2009 which is 17 years ago!

 Atlantic Dance is very much like the proverbial box of chocolates because you never know what you're going to get. During an early evening visit this past Friday night (around 11pm) I counted around 100 patrons in there. The dance floor was mostly empty although it did pick up before I departed for The Groove. One of the DJ's who works there told me that one night this past week there was only about 10 customers in there yet the night prior there was over 300! Since the club is not advertised, it's all about how many party people are staying at the adjacent Swan and Dolphin Hotels and to a lesser extent, at Disney's Boardwalk Hotel. Conventioneers generally want to "party" after the meetings are over with and with close to no other options on Disney property, Atlantic Dance can get pretty crowded. For those who have never been, it's a beautiful Art Deco facility playing a Video Dance format of mostly Top 40 and Hip Hop.

Trip Report: Cartagena, Colombia

A few pics from this past weekend's cruise on Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas cruise from Panama to Colombia. 

The cruise terminal is located about 20 minutes drive from downtown Cartagena. Lots of taxi drivers outside the terminal gates vying for your business. We had previously researched the Uber price of around $15 so when one of the drivers said $20, he quickly reduced it to $15 when confronted with the price offered by the competition. 

The old town area Centro Historico is walled as many cities of the 1500's were. This entry area is called the Puerta del Reloj or the Clock Gate.

The Cartagena de Indias Cathedral was built between 1577 and 1612.

Didn't have a lot of time to spend in Cartagena because of our early afternoon flight back to Miami. While there are a lot of colonial features in the city, there are also dozens of modern high rise condos lining the harbor and many of the beach fronts.

Club Reports: Sail-Away Party, Schooner Bar, Safari Club, Vortex Nightclub (Serenade Of The Seas)

Safely back in Orlando this evening after a 1-nt cruise from Colon, Panama to Cartegena, Colombia on cruise ship Serenade of the Seas. Party pics from the ship can be found on our sister website Orlando Entertainment News HERE.

 

Trip Report: Panama City, Panama

Quick trip to Panama City, Panama yesterday to be followed by a 1-nt cruise to Colombia. Posting several pictures below to give you an idea about this interesting city & country.

 

After about a 3 hour flight from Miami, we caught sight of land as Panama finally arrived. As you likely know, the isthmus of Panama is the narrowest piece of land in the Americas which is why it was selected to be the location of the canal connecting the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Last water view on the Atlantic (Caribbean) side.

And just a few minutes later, the Pacific Ocean (on the far right) arrived. Interesting fact: while the Atlantic Ocean is east of Panama and the Pacific Ocean is west of Panama, ships traveling through the Panama Canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific actually travel mostly eastbound because of the curvature of the isthmus! 

On final approach to PTY, a view of the Pacific entrance/exit of the Panama Canal and the Bridge of the Americas which carries the Pan American Highway over it.

And a nice view of a very modern downtown Panama City before landing.