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Serenade - Easter Week ... A Cruise Journal

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emeraldcity

emeraldcity

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I cannot wait to go to Dominica! I will be doing extreme canyoning, and it sounds like we may be in the gorge you described most of the day. We will have wetsuits. Did you see anyone repelling while you were there?

 

At one point we drove by a group of people beside a parked van who were getting into climbing gear, but it was one of those fleeting memories and I don't recall much. I didn't see anyone repelling in the gorge.

 

Dominica was our favorite stop. We had such an incredible day there. I've gotten a couple more pages written, but I'm not finished and I don't really want to do three posts for one day, so I guess it will be tomorrow before I get the next installment posted. Sorry for the cliff-hanger, but I spent most of the evening running errands.

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Tex_Jen

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Dorothy,

Dario El Gaucho must have been better for your show than for ours. I was at the point where I could not wait for Darrell Joyce to begin. A few of our tablemates had the same impression.

 

My understanding is that there are several different "El Gaucho" performers. Personally, I was just not that entertained. Would I be able to do what he did? No, but again, it just was not entertainment to my taste.

 

The comedian was very good. He kept referring to his age when talking about what he sees kids doing today. I kept thinking that if he was that much younger than me and thought the same way, there is hope for this world. :D

 

Sounds like we all got wet in Dominica. I saw some very different parts, but we did have a good time and Woody put up a tarp at the beach so that we could snack without the snacks getting soaked.

 

Jen

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emeraldcity

emeraldcity

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By this time we were ready for a little something to eat. To arrange for the light snack we’d been advised to bring I had asked my DD that morning if she wanted to grab one of those boxed cereals on the buffet and she gave me one of those looks (you know that look … the one that says I should be aware that she’s too cool to be seen snacking on a kid’s cereal). Accordingly I had snagged one for myself and then took two of our peanut bars from the supply we’d brought from home. I never got to eat my Sugar Pops. Suddenly my hair-brained suggestion for the morning took on a different life and DD stole my cereal. The peanut bar worked OK, except that I should have put it in the cooler. It had gotten warm and gooey. I tossed the second one in the cooler to give it a chance to re-solidify.

 

As we headed back into town, we were using a different route. This one took us past the Screw Spa. Cecil was quick to point out as the first sign came into view that the last name of the owner is Screw, so he named the spa after himself. Mr. Screw apparently has a set-up that caters to visitors who want to experience the hot waters without the hike. As we wound down the road past the front of the place, we were unable to see anything of the layout due to the vegetation. We took another hairpin turn and went past the back of the place at a lower level, but there was still no view. We were pretty sure this place was going to be offering a different level of service than the ships’ spa, but for the time being, we couldn’t get a bead on what that meant. I leave it to the reader to make the obvious play on words, but hold the thought for a bit. I'll be coming back to the topic later in the tale.

 

The terrain flattened out ... a clear sign that we had gotten near to the coast. We drove slowly through an area that Cecil advised us was the botanical gardens. Despite the heavy rain that Dominica gets, this area also struck me as being rather parched. It certainly wasn't the lush tropical garden that the name seems to conjure. It was, however a popular place and we saw plenty of people relaxing in the garden. I admire the foresight that led to the decision to set aside some public land (one of the few flat areas around) so that people can have a place to be a little closer to nature. In the town itself, the houses tended to be squeezed close together and I didn't spot anything that looked like a lawn anyone would be tasked with tending. Frankly, I suspect lawn mowers are an endangered species on Dominica.

 

Throughout the tour, Cecil had brought up some stories to illustrate the impact that Hurricane David had had on the island. Although the hurricane had occurred in 1979, it was undoubtedly something that anyone who had been through it would never forget. The most interesting comment dealt with David’s flower. It is a flower now found all over the island, but one that was never on the island before the hurricane. So I goggled Hurricane David to see where it had made landfall before hitting Dominica. The result? It hadn’t. This was a classic hurricane born off the African coast and Dominica was the first landfall. So does that mean those flower seeds were from Africa? Hard to believe. We were to see a testament to the force of the hurricane as we reached the other end of the botanical garden. There, under a massive tree trunk was a flattened school bus. The tree had fallen on the empty bus during the storm and they never removed it. But the tree continues to grow! Sending up shoots from both ends, the scene is one of startling contrast … destruction and new life.

 

Levi pulled over and announced that we would be changing some passengers around. Cecil was to take back to the ship anyone who chose not to go on to Champagne Bay. Our foursome was definitely going to the bay, so we got into Levi's van and four others left with Cecil. The route to the bay ran along the coast. The buildings we passed seemed to rely chiefly on concrete block construction and they all seemed to be quite small. The ocean lapped against the shoreline, tossing mounds of rounded rocks onto what should have been an inviting beach. We passed a mining area where they were gouging out the side of the mountain and moving the material directly across the road to load onto barges. I was surprised to hear that the export in question was sand, bound for neighboring islands like St. Martin. Was the drop-off along the shoreline too steep to make the attempt to create a beach here? Surely it had to be apparent that nothing draws tourist dollars to the Caribbean faster that pictures of a beach printed in an Ohio newspaper in January.

 

Throughout the day I asked many of the men on the tour if they would ever consider renting a car on Dominica. Without exception, every one of them quickly responded that they had no intention of risking that kind of driving.

 

We reached the bay and pulled into the limited parking. As we piled out of the van, everyone else began collecting their gear. Apparently we had fallen in with professional snorkelers. Since our little foursome from Ohio consisted of rank amateurs, we would have to make a slight pause at the shack for rental snorkel gear. Everyone else proceeded on toward the shore, while we paid our $12 each for snorkel gear, and went through the process of assuring we had the right sizes. This is one of those things you frankly don’t want to think about too hard, but it strikes me that the ship provides all those soap dispensers to control the spread of germs. Then they willing let us back on the ship after we’ve been up close and personal with rented snorkel equipment.

 

Gear in hand, we walked along a boardwalk to get to the rock strewn shore where we would enter the water. The boardwalk wasn’t too bad. The rock strewn shore was another matter entirely. Whole chunks of the soles of my watershoes were gone. The only saving grace was that the interior lining was intact. This kept the top of my shoe nicely in place so nobody noticed. While I may have been saved the embarrassment of having to go barefoot, I was effectively doing it anyway. That thin nylon lining was no protection from the rocks. I left the swim vest behind in the kit bag and donned the rest of my gear. Once we entered the water we found that you didn’t have to go very far before you saw the streams of bubbles escaping from little underground vents. It was so cool. I hadn’t known what to expect and was concerned that there would be so many bubbles that you really couldn’t see very well. I was wrong. This was, without question, the best snorkeling of our entire cruise. I got a childish delight out of attempting to catch the biggest bubbles in my down-turned palm. I watched them splinter into smaller bubbles and escape my hand on either side to continue their upward journey. The water was clear and the fish were plentiful. Once again, I clearly heard that crackling noise that is supposed to be fish feeding … I still don’t buy it. My DD swears they told us the same thing 2 years ago in Hawaii … but that doesn’t make it true in my book. I was startled at one point to see a fish swimming by me inches from the surface. Since you’re always looking down, it was unexpected to suddenly realize that there might be some that swim just below the surface. This fish was long and skinny … well over a foot in length. And it had a very long nose (No, not Pinocchio. This isn’t a Disney cruise.). I’m thinking it was a gar, but until my mail-order marine biology degree arrives, I’ll just keep goggling it until I find something that bears a resemblance.

 

Levi took us to a spot where there were parts of a 400-yr old wreck. If he hadn’t swam down and pointed out the anchor and chain, I never would have been able to distinguish it from the coral formations. I didn’t swim out with the group to see the cannon, but my DD reports that he had to swim down and point that one out too. She went out to the drop-off with the group that wanted to see that. I was too enchanted with the fish swimming close to shore so I stayed closer in and just kept snapping pictures. By the way, this was our first experience using an aquapak for our regular camera and it really worked well. I never would have even known about such a thing if it hadn’t been for cruisecritic.

 

It was a driving thirst that finally convinced me it was time to head back to shore. I certainly discovered on this trip that breathing through that tube seems to direct a heavy concentration of salt into your windpipe. I couldn’t get enough water whenever I finished snorkeling. Our group headed back to the van for the return trip to the ship. When we got to the pier, it was time to pay Levi. It amazes me that his cost was only $40 each for that entire day. There was also $7 each added on for admission to Champagne Bay, but that isn’t money that Levi gets for his efforts.

 

We had learned on this trip that unemployment is between 30 and 40% on the island. I never thought of Caribbean cruising as having a “season”, but we heard repeatedly that this was just about the end of the season. How much more difficult is it for the islanders to make a living when they don’t even have cruise ships stopping by several times a week? They said their main crop is bananas, but how much can they possibly make selling those? Think about it … I complain at paying 49 cents a pound. A big piece of that goes to the grocer and the shipper and the middle man. What are those Dominican growers getting for those bananas?

 

Having paid Levi, I was just turning to walk to the entrance to the pier when a young woman approached and asked if I’d like to have a crepe paper flower in exchange for a $1 donation to buy books for the school. It briefly flashed through my head to wonder if this was a scam, but I tossed the idea aside. What difference did it make? I rather liked the flowers she had and I certainly could afford to leave one more dollar on an island that was so low on resources. I figured we could enjoy it for a couple of days before we left, since it was clearly too fragile to withstand the trip home. I called my DD over to pick out her favorite from the wide variety of colorful choices. She would end up sticking it upright between her pillows on the bed back in the cabin. Every time John would make up the room, he’d find another way to set it out distinctively. When it came time to leave the ship, we hand-carried that flower home through 3 airports, a change of planes, 2 shuttle buses and a taxi. It now has a place in my DDs bedroom.

 

I find it a curious contradiction that the cruise line enforces one set of rules on your original embarkation and discards them once they’ve issued the sea pass card. If you have to fill out a form before embarkation that attests to your state of health, why is it that RCI assumes you have continued to avoid contact with potential diseases on any of the islands? There is no question that a large number of us have been engaged in questionable activities like renting snorkel masks. But we easily re-boarded without having to sign any health declarations or undergo any exams by the ship’s medical staff. Once aboard, as I was collecting my bag from the x-ray machine, I wondered how long it was going to take to get an elevator to come down to deck 2. I rounded the corner to the elevator lobby and spotted Doug and Phyllis stepping into a waiting elevator. What luck! “Hold the elevator!” I called. They waited for us and we joined them for the brief ascent. I was a bit dismayed to find that they both looked terribly neat and well groomed. I hoped they weren’t perceptive enough to connect the bedraggled pair we had become with the nicely dressed mom and daughter they’d met at the airport. No such luck. Doug … please … if you’re ever in that situation again, a woman who’s been hauled up a waterfall, marinated in industrial waste and has swapped spit with the previous user of her snorkel equipment is curiously reluctant to own up to her true identity. Mercifully, we had the express elevator to our deck and we quickly slipped around the corner to our cabin to clean up. My first act was to pull off what remained of my shoes and stuff them into the wastebasket.

 

It was my turn for the first shower, so I quickly washed up, dried my hair and headed upstairs for a salad. By the time the ship was ready to set sail, I was feeling human again, so I joined the assorted passengers who were on the sun deck, enjoying the views and the music from Heatwave one deck below us.

As the ship made ready to leave the port, I joined the cruisers crowding the rail who were looking down at the pier to observe the process. At this port, the ship wasn't nestled up against the side of the pier. It was broadside to the end of it. On either side of the pier there were two mooring posts sticking out of the water that the lines were attached to. A harbor boat transported a dock worker to each of the posts and abandoned them there. One by one, these men were signaled to cast off the lines. The lines were pulled back aboard and we edged slowly away from the dock to get underway. We all watched in curious fascination to assure that the harbor boat went back to each mooring post to pick up the stranded workers. Secretly, I think we'd all have been terribly delighted if his pals had decided to play a trick on one of them and leave them to swim back. It would have been awfully entertaining.

As the ship pulled away I studied the Roseau city streets that had been so choked with traffic just that morning. There was hardly any activity to be seen. Now it just looked like a picturesque, sleepy Caribbean town (a bit shabby in spots, but charming nevertheless) … unspoiled and undiscovered. We sailed along the coast for a ways and I clearly made out the gouge in the mountainside where they are carving up the mountain to furnish sand for their neighbors. As I studied the terrain, I tried to picture where a mega hotel chain would find enough flat land to put up an enticing resort. I really didn’t see any. Maybe that’s why this continues to be an untouched island, rich in scenery and limited on amenities.

At dinner we had a chance to find out what our other tablemates had done that day. We were surprised to find out that some of them had gone to Screw Spa. While it looked pretty cheesy on the outside, they said it had been an enjoyable and intriguing stop. The place features a series of pools. The first one was fed by natural hot water and each succeeding pool was fed by overflow from the pool before – with the addition of fresh cold water spilling in. So each successive pool was cooler than the last. For those who wanted the experience of the natural hot springs without the rugged trail over jumbled boulders, Screw Spa was an easier alternative to Trafalgar Falls.

The evening show was to be the Unexpected Boys, a musical tribute to Franki Valli and the Four Seasons. Some of out tablemates were planning on the show. I was relatively ambivalent about it, and I had a pretty good idea what my DD would rule if I tried to convince her to go.

Mike and Sherri had decided that they wanted to check out the Finish that Lyric game to be held that evening in the Safari. Since I reasoned that would be an easier sell for the 16-yr old than the show in the theater, DD and I decided to join them. We arrived about a half hour early, in order to get good seats. This meant we walked in on the karaoke show. I’m not a big fan of karaoke, but I have to admit that most of the performers weren’t too bad. However, I wouldn’t actively seek it out an as evening’s entertainment. The game show turned out to be not at all what we were expecting. I had expected they would have teams of people who competed against each other. They actually asked for individuals to come up. Sherrie was interested, but hesitant. We all know what happens to “he who hesitates”. Sherri was forced to watch people miss all the songs she knew. As a matter of fact, of all the songs that were showcased that evening, she only missed the required verse for one of them. I really think the competition would have worked better if they had formed up small teams. As it was, the competition was designed such that if a person missed the song they were given, the next person could “save” them from elimination. With that curious arrangement, a woman who missed everything they threw at her ended up being in the final four. And guess who finally got one right in the final round to win it all.

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emeraldcity

emeraldcity

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I hate people who write funnier than I do.;)

 

Just a terrific narrative job Emerald. Keep on goin.

 

 

The best feeling is when my DD does her pre-proofing and she chuckles ... even though the jokes on her. Not many teenagers can handle that.

 

Really enjoing your review. I've been printing each episode off to read at leisure (and used up both ink cartridges in the process!). Looking forward to the next bit. Thanks for sharing.

 

Portugal! Wow! One of my co-workers was there last year on business ... she said it was such a beautiful country. Thank you for the nice tribute.

 

To all who have posted their positive comments, thank you. It's been a lot of fun so far.

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emeraldcity

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We woke up and looked out to find that the Celebrity Summit was moored across from us at the other pier. We watched a regular procession of shuttle buses head to the end of their pier where they could turn around and then head back to what I suspect was the loading point for Summit passengers. The cruise compass advised that there would be a complimentary shuttle bus service for us as well. It also included the information that wearing camouflage attire was a major faux pas. Passengers attired in camouflage would not be permitted ashore. I never did figure out what that was all about.

 

We had a morning excursion, but it didn’t require us to be among the first passengers to be queued up to get off the ship when it docked. Accordingly, we had a leisurely breakfast, collected our essentials for our half day sail and left the ship. Imagine our surprise that there were no shuttle buses waiting for us ... nor would there be at any point in the day. My guess is that Royal Caribbean passengers are hardier than Celebrity passengers. RCI undoubtedly did extensive market research, which yielded the result that only 4.7 percent of the passengers would use the buses if provided.

 

It was trying to rain, but it wasn’t trying very hard. We found that cruise passengers have no way to get to the private excursions on Barbados until after you have wound all the way through the little mall that is set up on the entrance to the cruise piers. This design has to do with further market research that has yielded the fact that all cruise passengers require frequent exposure to native wares. It matters not that most of these “local” souvenirs are imported … they have the island name on them and when I spread that beach towel across my chair at the local pool this summer, everyone is going to know I vacationed this year in Barbados.

 

Once outside the little indoor mall, the driver for our private excursion was waiting. He led us to the van and we headed off along the coast toward our catamaran. Traveling though the wide, well-paved streets was a huge cultural shock after driving in Dominica the previous day. Barbados didn’t change hands repeatedly during the colonial years, which allowed for it to develop a more stable economy. The British moved in during the 1600s and maintained control until they voluntarily handed it over to its own independent government in 1966. There is a prosperous air about the section of the island we saw, although it is clearly affected by the current tight economy world-wide. One whole section of beachfront is obscured by fences that hide a stalled hotel-condo complex. There were a number of complexes between the sea and the road we were on. Most of them were artfully obscured by fences and vegetation. The driver yielded the information, however that all beaches are public. Even those corporations that have built a sprawling resort along a beach must provide public access. We finally turned onto a small street headed directly to the sea, past some relatively modest buildings that were crowded closely together. Some were restaurants, although the buildings didn’t look large enough to house at most four tables. A beach shaded by a few large trees came into view and our driver pulled over.

 

We stepped out of the van and found ourselves already in the sand. With delight, both my DD and I kicked off our sandals and walked toward the water’s edge. I realized at that point that we’d been in the Caribbean nearly a week now and this was the first time we’d dug our toes into the sand. This was the Cadillac of sands … cool, moist, soft, and golden. As Jason greeted us, his first mate maneuvered our catamaran, the Shasa up to the beach. While they started boarding our group of cruisers, my DD and I lingered in the sand for a bit taking a few pictures. Then it was time to toss our sandals into the provided storage basket and hoist ourselves onto the front of the Shasa. Once settled, we dispensed with the business end of the trip. Then Jason suggested an equitable distribution of the passengers and the boat set off for the first snorkel location. Half of the 12 passengers on the Shasa were from the Summit. The other six of us were all from the same dining room table on the Serenade.

 

The waters around us were playing host to a wide variety of water sports. I spotted someone who had chosen to go parasailing and there were a couple jet skis. Having never seen a ski couch before, I have to say that I was pretty fascinated by that one. It was a big inflatable couch being towed behind a boat. The passengers on the couch were bouncing around with great delight. As we sailed along the coast heading for our first snorkel location, Jason called our attention to an exclusive resort where he claimed rooms could go as high as $21,000 a night. Sounds like just my sort of place. I’ll have to look into that for my next land-based vacation.

 

It really wasn’t too far up the coast before we approached a cluster of moored boats and swung around to join them. Plenty of snorkelers were jumping into the water, so this was obviously the right spot. Jason distributed masks and gave some basic safety information, including how to assure we could mount the ladder without pinched fingers upon our return to the boat. We were also advised what kind of contact was permitted with the turtles, and what wasn’t. Suitably armed with information, it was time to get into the water. I had chosen not to wear a swim vest, since I gotten along just fine without one the previous day. Relying heavily on the vast nautical experience I’d gained from watching Sea Hunt as a child, I held firmly onto my mask as I jumped in. Mike wasn’t old enough to have watched Sea Hunt. He came up and hollered that he’d lost his mask. The first mate (sorry … for the life of me, I can’t remember the man’s name) dove down to retrieve it. We were to attempt to stay together, although it would prove to be a serious challenge to identify which of the bobbing heads in the water belonged to what group. I wasn’t in the water more than a minute or two when the first turtle swam into view. It was incredible. It’s one thing to see pictures of them when you’re planning your trip. It’s another thing to have one swimming right at you. They are in their element and they know it. I really got the feeling they had showed up for the day in order to engage in a game of Dodge the Flippers. I know the tour operators assure their clients that they’ll be bringing food to draw the turtles, but I saw that food. Reality check, guys. These turtles have an ocean full of gourmet fish waiting just beyond the reef. I’m sure out there the presentation was better as well. No, it wasn’t the food. It was the game. The food offered was rather like popcorn at movie … I’ll eat it, but it’s not the main event.

 

It became pretty clear that although there were a fair number of turtles, the snorkelers far outnumbered them. I got a few good shots, but too many of my pictures had somebody’s flipper in them. I noticed a couple of double-decker glass bottom boats moving into the area. This makes no sense to me. What good is the top deck of a double-decker glass-bottom boat? Is the top deck for the people who didn’t really want to come on this trip anyway, so they’re not interested in looking through the glass? Well, at least, those boats should be hauling people who don’t want to get wet, so they won’t be adding even more people to the mix. Wrong! In short order, snorkelers were jumping off the back of those boats too.

 

I headed back to the Shasa and Jason helped me up the ladder. I was a bit worn out and he was quick to notice. He advised that I’d better wear a swim vest at the next stop. I didn’t argue. The water was clearly rougher than it had been in Dominica and my daily morning swims back home in a calm indoor pool hadn’t prepared me to deal with the waves we were encountering. I gratefully accepted some ice water to try banishing the dry throat that I’m getting to expect when snorkeling. Soon the rest of our group returned and we set sail for the next snorkel spot, which was back along the coast in the direction we’d originally come from. We arrived at the spot, which was easily identifiable by the number of other boats who gotten there first. This time it wasn’t quite as crowded, since this was the reef. The fish in the reef were pretty well spread out, so the swimmers were spreading out as well. There were plenty of fish to be seen, many of them swimming near the surface like we were. There was a wreck as well, but by this time I wasn’t terribly enchanted by the site of a sunken barge. Again we were to attempt to stay together with our group, but the only way that would have worked is if they’d given different colored helium balloons to each group and attached them to our masks. Then whenever we had the effrontery to get distracted by the sights on the reef below, we could easily identify our group as it moved off without us and head over there to join them. At the risk of sounding like a rebel, I have to admit that I had come to this reef with the express intent of getting distracted by the fish, so I fulfilled my own agenda and the group went off without me. When my growing thirst overcame my inclination to linger longer, I decided to head back to the boat. It didn’t seem all that far away, but the waves were a bit rough and I may have been working against the current. It was quite an effort to make the swim back. I was profoundly grateful that I’d agreed to wear the swim vest. DD showed up at the boat shortly after I’d gotten back aboard and she had experienced the same struggle to get back … only she hadn’t worn the swim vest and she was furthered hampered by the camera cord around her neck. We both gratefully took glasses of ice water and I pulled out the Sugar Pops I’d packed again that morning. DD didn’t want any this time, so I polished them off myself.

 

As we waited for the rest of our group to return to the Shasa, another glass- bottomed boat showed up. This one was an eye-popper. I’m struggling to describe it, but I’m a loss for words (I know that’s hard to believe). I can’t say it had sleek lines, because it didn’t have any lines at all. It was like a huge white round water-beetle with an enormous round window for a nose. I’ll have to post a picture I found of something that’s either the exact boat or a similar design. I’m picturing a clientele of the caviar/champagne cork popper variety.

 

Once everyone was back on the boat, we began the return sail to the beach. The skies still hadn’t cleared, but it hadn’t begun to rain on us either. Jason advised that they had just had 4 days of rain, which was desperately needed on the island. When we reached the beach, there was a different group waiting to go for an afternoon sail and our driver was waiting to take us back to the ship. We retraced our trip back along the coast and were dropped off fairly near the passenger terminal. We had to walk all the way through that mall again. DD and I decided that we really wanted to get cleaned up. Then it might be fun to come back and do a bit of shopping before the ship left port.

 

While my DD exercised her right to the first shower, I went up to the Windjammer to get something to eat. I made a salad and sat by the window on the starboard side looking down on the dock below. This was the one port where the balconies of the port side clearly had a better view. The folks on starboard got to overlook a freight terminal. For a whole day, I would imagine that would get rather tiresome. But for the 20 minutes I spent having lunch, I found that I was fascinated by the mechanics of moving and storing those sea-going freight containers.

 

I returned to the cabin to find that my DD had finally decided she’s squandered enough hot water, and I could take my shower. I took my usual quick shower and fished drying my hair by the time my DD was ready to go get lunch at the Sea View café. As she slipped out of the cabin, I stretched out on the bed to relax. The plan was to work on my notes a bit, but the pen slipped from my fingers and my eyelids closed as I took the whole concept of relaxing to the next level. My last conscious thought was that I really didn't care if we squeezed in any souvenir shopping in Barbados after all. The world's quickest 20 minutes flashed by and I roused a bit when I heard the door open. I didn't move a muscle. I figured when my DD realized I was asleep, she would slip quietly away and let me continue with my blissfully decadent waste of valuable vacation time. But I figured wrong. She roused me to petulantly point out that I was deviating from the agreed-upon schedule of activities. So I dragged myself off the bed and followed her out of the cabin. It was 3:30. We had one hour to do a little power shopping before the required time to re-board. As we walked down the pier toward the shopping mall, I felt like a salmon heading upriver to spawn. The tide of people was headed in the other direction. I was concerned that we were making a mistake, as my little brain did flashbacks to the U-Tube videos of passengers running down the dock as the ship departs. Once we entered the mall, however, it was clear that we had plenty of company. We wandered in and out of shops looking at the merchandise. Maybe we've done this too many times, since there wasn't very much that held our interest long enough to develop an attachment. We found some things that were intriguing, but not compelling. Chief among those was the $40 small Caribbean steel drum. Granted we'd have had some fun with it … for maybe a week at most. But I walked away convinced that when I was trying to stuff it into a suitcase to go home the next evening, I'd be kicking myself. I did find a beach towel that I figured was worth $10. As I paid for it, I asked about local currency. We'd gotten Eastern Caribbean money in St. Kitts. Since Dominica had the same currency, we hadn't hunted any down there. But on Barbados, they trade in the Barbados dollar. Again, the sales clerk didn't have any. I always find this such a strange response. How can you have absolutely no money? If you have to pick up a gallon of milk on the way home, do you buy it in American dollars? In any event, she directed me to the Post Office at the entrance to the mall. When I walked over there, only one customer was at her counter. The clerk looked up to advise that she would be busy for a fair amount of time with her current customer and she suggested I try another location. "I just want to get some local currency," I replied. She reached into a drawer at her left and produced a nice crisp $5. Bonus! I quickly handed her whatever she stated as the price. I keep trying to remember how much I paid, but it really didn't matter, so the brain apparently didn't store that detail. The objective was to end up with some local currency and I had scored just that. We made one final purchase before we headed back to the ship. They had some terribly unique Christmas ornaments made out of shells. They were a bit on the pricey side ($10), but I decided I could get $10 worth of pleasure out of it every year on my Christmas tree. So DD and I made the selection together … frankly, I think the average engaged couple spends less time picking out their wedding bands that we spent on that ornament decision. We finally decided that the sea urchin, embellished with glitter, varnish, ribbon and bow was the best of the bunch. It was destined to get packed into a shoe to protect it for the trip home. At this point, you're probably wondering what DD bought … given that she was the one pushing to make this little spree a reality. She didn't buy a thing. She spent a week traveling around the Caribbean with her birthday money, and ended up bringing most of it home. We then returned to the ship and went to our cabin to watch sail away. The Summit left the dock first and we followed soon after.

 

This was to be our second formal night. We got dressed early and went down to get formal pictures. We posed at three different set-ups so that we would have plenty to pick from the next day and then went on to the dining room for dinner. It was our chance to catch up on what everyone else had done since our last dinner. Those who had attended the Four Season tribute show the evening before reported that they had a wonderful time. The show scheduled for that evening was to be another production show. I’m not sure if anyone was planning on going, since the major topic was the much anticipated Quest. Once again, the dining room was pretty empty by the time we realized we should break off chatting and let our servers set up for the second seating.

A group of our tablemates joined up in the Safari Lounge well in advance of the Quest. The plan was to get a good table and we succeeded admirably. We spotted fellow roll call members Alan and Diana before the game started and invited them over to share our prime location. The Safari Lounge doesn’t exactly pack them in during the regular evenings, but this night was different. By the time the game was in full swing, the place was bursting at the seams. Either it was standing room only, or the audience was ignoring the outer tables and standing by choice in order to get a good view of the proceedings. What happens at the Quest, stays at the Quest. Of course that ignores the fact that Marco (Polo!) and his $10,000 camera didn’t miss any of the action. Accordingly, the Cruise-in-Review video can be had by your on-board relatives for a mere $29.95. It strikes me that an enterprising on-board in-law could make some serious change renting out that video to your friends, co-workers (or worse!) subordinates back home. Many is the participant who starts out shaking their heads to refuse the demands of their more enthusiastic teammates … but later ends up being dragged onto the dance floor to do their part for the good of the team. Of course, the Quest is really a series of quests and the edge goes to veteran cruisers who arrive with likely articles stuck in purses or carry-alls. It is amazing the lengths people will go to in order to win one of those metal RC logos dangling from the wide blue ribbon. Folks, it can be had with far less compromise of your personal dignity. We won our silver at shuffleboard. But I do acknowledge that the glee quotient was at a much higher level in this game than was evident on that shuffleboard court. Did I participate in Quest? Not exactly. But that’s not to say that I didn’t end up being pulled across the dance floor by the runner for a nearby team, as I had the appropriate type of physical characteristic required for one of the quests. It was riotous great fun and I had a wonderful time.

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toonjie

toonjie

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The laws against camouflage are because there have been a number of incidents in which criminals have impersonated the military by being in camouflage. (Robberies, etc.) It is also illegal to wear camouflage in St. Lucia.

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BroncosFan2010

BroncosFan2010

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We woke up and looked out to find that the Celebrity Summit was moored across from us at the other pier. We watched a regular procession of shuttle buses head to the end of their pier where they could turn around and then head back to what I suspect was the loading point for Summit passengers. The cruise compass advised that there would be a complimentary shuttle bus service for us as well. It also included the information that wearing camouflage attire was a major faux pas. Passengers attired in camouflage would not be permitted ashore. I never did figure out what that was all about. I believe that it is against the law there for anyone except military personnel to wear camouflage. They made it illegal after several times when people impersonated a military officer and went on crime sprees. They STRICTLY enforce this. On the ZipLine tour last March, a 10 year-old girl had a pink camo backpack. There was no way it would be mistaken for military, but she was not allowed to take it with her, and had to go back on the ship or no do the tour.

 

 

 

Once outside the little indoor mall, the driver for our private excursion was waiting. He led us to the van and we headed off along the coast toward our catamaran. Traveling though the wide, well-paved streets was a huge cultural shock after driving in Dominica the previous day. Barbados didn’t change hands repeatedly during the colonial years, which allowed for it to develop a more stable economy. The British moved in during the 1600s and maintained control until they voluntarily handed it over to its own independent government in 1966. There is a prosperous air about the section of the island we saw, although it is clearly affected by the current tight economy world-wide. One whole section of beachfront is obscured by fences that hide a stalled hotel-condo complex. There were a number of complexes between the sea and the road we were on. Most of them were artfully obscured by fences and vegetation. The driver yielded the information, however that all beaches are public. Even those corporations that have built a sprawling resort along a beach must provide public access. We finally turned onto a small street headed directly to the sea, past some relatively modest buildings that were crowded closely together. Some were restaurants, although the buildings didn’t look large enough to house at most four tables. A beach shaded by a few large trees came into view and our driver pulled over.

We booked this tour as well, only we are doing the full 5 hour with lunch!

 

We stepped out of the van and found ourselves already in the sand. With delight, both my DD and I kicked off our sandals and walked toward the water’s edge. I realized at that point that we’d been in the Caribbean nearly a week now and this was the first time we’d dug our toes into the sand. This was the Cadillac of sands … cool, moist, soft, and golden. As Jason greeted us, his first mate maneuvered our catamaran, the Shasa up to the beach. While they started boarding our group of cruisers, my DD and I lingered in the sand for a bit taking a few pictures. Then it was time to toss our sandals into the provided storage basket and hoist ourselves onto the front of the Shasa. Once settled, we dispensed with the business end of the trip. Then Jason suggested an equitable distribution of the passengers and the boat set off for the first snorkel location. Half of the 12 passengers on the Shasa were from the Summit. The other six of us were all from the same dining room table on the Serenade.

 

The waters around us were playing host to a wide variety of water sports. I spotted someone who had chosen to go parasailing and there were a couple jet skis. Having never seen a ski couch before, I have to say that I was pretty fascinated by that one. It was a big inflatable couch being towed behind a boat. The passengers on the couch were bouncing around with great delight. As we sailed along the coast heading for our first snorkel location, Jason called our attention to an exclusive resort where he claimed rooms could go as high as $21,000 a night. Sounds like just my sort of place. I’ll have to look into that for my next land-based vacation.

 

It really wasn’t too far up the coast before we approached a cluster of moored boats and swung around to join them. Plenty of snorkelers were jumping into the water, so this was obviously the right spot. Jason distributed masks and gave some basic safety information, including how to assure we could mount the ladder without pinched fingers upon our return to the boat. We were also advised what kind of contact was permitted with the turtles, and what wasn’t. Suitably armed with information, it was time to get into the water. I had chosen not to wear a swim vest, since I gotten along just fine without one the previous day. Relying heavily on the vast nautical experience I’d gained from watching Sea Hunt as a child, I held firmly onto my mask as I jumped in. Mike wasn’t old enough to have watched Sea Hunt. He came up and hollered that he’d lost his mask. The first mate (sorry … for the life of me, I can’t remember the man’s name) dove down to retrieve it. We were to attempt to stay together, although it would prove to be a serious challenge to identify which of the bobbing heads in the water belonged to what group. I wasn’t in the water more than a minute or two when the first turtle swam into view. It was incredible. It’s one thing to see pictures of them when you’re planning your trip. It’s another thing to have one swimming right at you. They are in their element and they know it. I really got the feeling they had showed up for the day in order to engage in a game of Dodge the Flippers. I know the tour operators assure their clients that they’ll be bringing food to draw the turtles, but I saw that food. Reality check, guys. These turtles have an ocean full of gourmet fish waiting just beyond the reef. I’m sure out there the presentation was better as well. No, it wasn’t the food. It was the game. The food offered was rather like popcorn at movie … I’ll eat it, but it’s not the main event.

 

Do you think it was so busy because of the number of ships in port? I am hoping since the Serenade will be the only ship in port when I am there, that the snorkeling spots will be more private. After all, that is the point of booking a private excursion!

It became pretty clear that although there were a fair number of turtles, the snorkelers far outnumbered them. I got a few good shots, but too many of my pictures had somebody’s flipper in them. I noticed a couple of double-decker glass bottom boats moving into the area. This makes no sense to me. What good is the top deck of a double-decker glass-bottom boat? Is the top deck for the people who didn’t really want to come on this trip anyway, so they’re not interested in looking through the glass? Well, at least, those boats should be hauling people who don’t want to get wet, so they won’t be adding even more people to the mix. Wrong! In short order, snorkelers were jumping off the back of those boats too.

 

I headed back to the Shasa and Jason helped me up the ladder. I was a bit worn out and he was quick to notice. He advised that I’d better wear a swim vest at the next stop. I didn’t argue. The water was clearly rougher than it had been in Dominica and my daily morning swims back home in a calm indoor pool hadn’t prepared me to deal with the waves we were encountering. I gratefully accepted some ice water to try banishing the dry throat that I’m getting to expect when snorkeling. Soon the rest of our group returned and we set sail for the next snorkel spot, which was back along the coast in the direction we’d originally come from. We arrived at the spot, which was easily identifiable by the number of other boats who gotten there first. This time it wasn’t quite as crowded, since this was the reef. The fish in the reef were pretty well spread out, so the swimmers were spreading out as well. There were plenty of fish to be seen, many of them swimming near the surface like we were. There was a wreck as well, but by this time I wasn’t terribly enchanted by the site of a sunken barge. Again we were to attempt to stay together with our group, but the only way that would have worked is if they’d given different colored helium balloons to each group and attached them to our masks. Then whenever we had the effrontery to get distracted by the sights on the reef below, we could easily identify our group as it moved off without us and head over there to join them. At the risk of sounding like a rebel, I have to admit that I had come to this reef with the express intent of getting distracted by the fish, so I fulfilled my own agenda and the group went off without me. When my growing thirst overcame my inclination to linger longer, I decided to head back to the boat. It didn’t seem all that far away, but the waves were a bit rough and I may have been working against the current. It was quite an effort to make the swim back. I was profoundly grateful that I’d agreed to wear the swim vest. DD showed up at the boat shortly after I’d gotten back aboard and she had experienced the same struggle to get back … only she hadn’t worn the swim vest and she was furthered hampered by the camera cord around her neck. We both gratefully took glasses of ice water and I pulled out the Sugar Pops I’d packed again that morning. DD didn’t want any this time, so I polished them off myself.

 

As we waited for the rest of our group to return to the Shasa, another glass- bottomed boat showed up. This one was an eye-popper. I’m struggling to describe it, but I’m a loss for words (I know that’s hard to believe). I can’t say it had sleek lines, because it didn’t have any lines at all. It was like a huge white round water-beetle with an enormous round window for a nose. I’ll have to post a picture I found of something that’s either the exact boat or a similar design. I’m picturing a clientele of the caviar/champagne cork popper variety.

 

Once everyone was back on the boat, we began the return sail to the beach. The skies still hadn’t cleared, but it hadn’t begun to rain on us either. Jason advised that they had just had 4 days of rain, which was desperately needed on the island. When we reached the beach, there was a different group waiting to go for an afternoon sail and our driver was waiting to take us back to the ship. We retraced our trip back along the coast and were dropped off fairly near the passenger terminal. We had to walk all the way through that mall again. DD and I decided that we really wanted to get cleaned up. Then it might be fun to come back and do a bit of shopping before the ship left port.

 

Your review of Sasha kind of saddens me. It sounds like it was crowded and not as good as other places. Barbados will be our first island on our B2B, and we were really looking forward to this excursion..... maybe it was different because it was your last excursion and you were worn out??? Help me out here, it sounds kind of lackluster. We have lots of time to switch excursions if necessary.... Did you talk to anyone who did a different excursion that they liked better? What should we do?

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emeraldcity

emeraldcity

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Thank you both for answering the camouflage question. I know it's sounds silly to press the issue with a child's pink back pack, but I recognize that you can't allow shades of gray when enforcing a law.

 

I'm certain that the cutting the number of cruise passengers by half will go a long way toward crowd control.

 

Honestly, our biggest issue was rough waves and numbers of people ... no tour operator can control that. Jason could have potentially taken us elsewhere to snorkle, but we had booked this specifically to swim with the turtles ... as did everyone else. Had he taken us where the turtles didn't show up for their morning games, we would have been disappointed. We had a nice relaxing sail (under leaden skies), we got to see the turtles, we got to dig our toes in the sand, and we worked off a couple of pounds swimming back to the Shasa. Jason did a fine job ... but he couldn't overcome the conditions of the day.

 

I think the longer sail with lunch (and fewer cruise passengers in port) would have been nicer. You get out of the water dying for something to chase away the driness in your throat. The beverages offered are a critical component, but some light snacks like we got on the Jolly Mon in St. Thomas would have been a big plus.

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libertylover

libertylover

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Thank you SO MUCH for this review!! I am seriously, seriously considering this cruise next Easter for DS14 and I. It sound like great fun!!

 

I do have one question though ... if you don't mind me asking. How much did you pay for your flight to San Juan? You flew on Good Friday, right?

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emeraldcity

emeraldcity

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Thank you SO MUCH for this review!! I am seriously, seriously considering this cruise next Easter for DS14 and I. It sound like great fun!!

 

I do have one question though ... if you don't mind me asking. How much did you pay for your flight to San Juan? You flew on Good Friday, right?

 

I didn't have the luxury to book my flights early because I booked this trip 80 days out. I shopped the options but couldn't beat RCI's rate and still insure reasonable flight times and relatively brief connections. Any other weekend, there might have been some deals. But when you want a primo flight time on Good Friday, and you are returning on the Saturday after Easter, you can't get choosy when you're inside 3 months. So I let RCI book my air (which I haven't done since the early 90s). That means that I bit the bullet and paid the 750 each for airfare ... mind you, I got the cruisefare at 818 each, which I consider a steal. So I simply look at the whole package as under 1600 each for the week (which is about the same as I paid for just the cruisefare for our Hawaii cruise on Pride of America 2 years ago).

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emeraldcity

emeraldcity

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I've searched and cannot find your thread on Pride of America. Do you happen to have that link? I'm enjoying this review so much, I'd love to read the other.

 

Thanks!

 

Yes, I still have the link. I tried going back and finding it ... no luck. The last post was Feb. 27th at 7:42 p.m., but when I go back 348 pages to that spot, it's missing. Maybe they delete access to something this wordy.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=821097

 

Don't be surprised by the different username. I was planning a surprise trip for my DD and too many people I'm in touch with know who emeraldcity is, so I had to register a new name when I started cruising the NCL boards. I didn't want to risk her finding out about the trip before I was ready to spring it on her ... but that part of the story is in there too.

 

Happy reading!

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