Explorer Day 1 of 14 day Caribbean Voyage

[bebop bonnie]

Chefwoody, I am so loving your posts!! Alfred E!!!! The Stones!!! You make me smile. And your description of Pacific Rim dinner makes me drool!

[sharon2975]

i posted on the seven seas roll call board, so far, no-one has responded. For a while I thought maybe, we were the only passengers on the Feb 14th sailing. So glad you will be joining us. We have not cruised for 15 years, (unless you count a riverboat on the Mekong) and are really looking forward to this trip. We have enjoyed this forum and are following everything Chefwoody has to say. What type of cabin did you get? The Explorer looks so beautiful, how fortunate we are to be able to have this experience.

[Chefwoody]

Day 7 Barbados.

 

Watched a movie until late last night so the planned uber early wake up didn't happen. Do you see a pattern here? Hmm. The workout facilities don't officially open until 7am, but the doors are not closed and I felt that I could probably just waltz on in at 6:30. As it was, I awoke at 6:30 and felt anxiety about the timing of our 8:45 Best of Barbados excursion. I decided it would be best to try the "bennies" today and work it off later. Management agreed and we soon had showered, dressed and sauntered off to breakfast.

 

Now please note, I did say showered and dressed. That does include shaved face and combed hair. Heck, I even smelled nice (thanks to the swanky lotion they supplied me with in our suite)!. We were immediately greeted by a staff member who happily told us it was champagne and caviar day!. WOW!. They had a little caviar station that had it all. They busily began preparing us plates that had a toasted crostini topped with two tiny blintzes, offered us a choice of beluga (black) or salmon (orange) caviar or a mix of both. Then along side they gave generous spoon fully of finely chopped chives, egg whites, egg yolks, creme fraich, chopped red onions and a lemon slice. They loaded our "precious" on to a tray with two glasses of champagne and followed us out to our usual two top table on the back deck of the boat.

 

The first thing I noticed was the bay we were docked in. Two other ships were docked as well. As a trio we made a kind of horseshoe around the outer parts of the bay. To the front was Viking Star (I hear she too is a new ship this year) and across was another ship from the German line that produce Mein Schaff 5, the boat we docked so close to yesterday. However today's ship (sorry, name is not in my head at the moment) is older and smaller. The view I started with was fun, the one I then became aware of was not. Directly behind management (now sitting) was "schnootsi". That's what I'm going to call her from now on. In fact if I see her again, I plan on gleefully approaching her with a loud and upbeat " well there you are my dear of' schnootsi, how the heck are YOU today?". The sneer she was giving us was academy award winning stuff. Betty Davis (older) in looks, but "mommy dearest" in sneer. Once I stared her down and through a loud "good morning" at her she nodded and looked to sea. I got up to get some water and when I returned she was gone. Best I could figure was that I was wearing a hat - outside in the sun.. go figure. The Eggs Benedict arrived and I will tell you now... SPOT ON!!!. Yolks, sauce all perfect. Now if schnootsi had just fallen over board.. ok ok, be nice Woody, be nice.. breath... breath.

 

Now... where was I? Oh yesss, my cav-ee-ahh. Actually the color was a bit dark for my liking. And of course WHO knows what awful sorts of people handled them before making it to my plate. What is the world coming to I real-all-lee can't say I just wish all the poor people would just move on or at least not look me in the eye.. so disrespectful...and can you imagine people wearing hats, hats of all things to breakfast!? I really must complain to the ship captain and the service on this ship, No in this world is just not up to snuff, I mean.. dlkdsoiiiiivma'a'fmi......

 

Sorry folks, Management here!. I'm afraid my husband just fell down the rabbit hole. Champagne, caviar, perfect bennies and one too many schnootsi's and well... his little pinky went up, as did his nose and attitude.. in fact the only thing that came down were his glasses (resting on the end of his nose) and his humanity. But don't fret, I got him in time. Thank god the staff on Explorer know the signs of schnootsi-itis and how to intervene. We got a beer and some pretzels into him and he should be fine in an hour or so. I just pray he didn't offend any of you!. Let's not tell him about his little seizure, he's kind of shy and may never come out of his shell again. Thanks to you all for your support. Management.

 

Greetings once again from Barbados, where we just returned from the "Best of Barbados" shore excursion. It was great!. Boarded a larger bus than yesterday and traveled for about 30 minutes on nicer, but still shoulder less roads. This time the driver was just a driver, and a wonderful well spoken woman was our guide. She was happy in every sense of the word. Pointing out various historical and commercial sites, she often would interject local feelings and or impact as well.

 

First stop was Gun Hill Signal Station. Great views, and a bit of history. No need for me to **** the rest. 2nd stop was Orchid World. SPOILER ALERT! Skip down two lines if you don't want to know about Orchid World.. do it now. Ok, ready? Orchid World is all about flowers. It was really pretty and as a photography enthusiast it was a great opprotunity to play with a 24-70mm lens I brought along. Last stop was a small plantation that had a historic house/museum on it. We toured, we were entertained and drank, we returned. Again, leaving most of the key details to those who may someday follow.

 

Back to the ship for some more KBA (kick back action) on the back deck and eventual prep for dinner in Compass Rose with the Food & Beverage director - an invitation we found in our door last night. Should be informative - I've always wondered about "the numbers" involved in the food & beverage department - especially an all inclusive. More later. Man, I've got to say, something hit me this morning and I've felt a bit ill since. Maybe I'll grab a beer and some football before dinner... hmm

 

Ok, On we go.. last stop.

[Chefwoody]

Thanks to all in advance for realizing I once again did not proof read my last post. If you were able to fill in the blanks or replace the words so they made sense.. great!. If not, I'm sure someone will post them shortly. Still getting ready for dinner...

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Oh boy, I love your sense of humour! We have encountered several "schnootsies" over the years and you have the right attitude! Our favourite was a personage who we called "Bunny", who wore nautical attire for the entire cruise in the South Pacific, and who looked down her nose at us each and every time our paths crossed!

[RachelG]

You had me laughing out loud, so much so that my husband is giving me looks questioning my sanity. Love it. We have encountered a few schnootsies over the years too!

 

If Daniela is still onboard as F and B director, please give her our regards (George and Rachel)

[Nicho99]

Just a slight correction to today's caviar selection.

 

"offered us a choice of beluga (black)"

 

The black caviar was paddle fish.

 

Dennis

[Chefwoody]

Tonight we dined with Daniela, Explorer's Food & Beverage Officer. What an amazing and talented young woman. To begin, we wandered around a bit before the appointed dinner time. Management is having an affair with

 

Is this where I should begin a new paragraph? No?! Sorry. Let's try again.

 

Tonight we dined with Daniela, Explorer's Food & Beverage Officer. What an amazing and talented young woman. To begin, we wandered around a bit before the appointed dinner time. Management is having an affair with a rather loose slot machine. It's a penny slot, but "sugar daddy" as she now calls it, just keeps giving her money. She's distracted and happy, I'm free to eat some more appetizers at the little lounge next door. Bliss is so cheap. 7:15! Time to meet and eat.

 

We were seated with one other couple who had already arrived. They were from the south somewhere (come on now, I was there to learn about running the crazy part of a cruise ship, not the home town of our table partners.. that's up to management .. ducking now..). He was classic, she was sweet. Eventually Daniela made her enterance and greeted us all and was seated between Foghorn and I. (Foghorn?!, where did that come from? Disregard!). I had a priority question list in my head (somewhere) and waited anxiously to ask them as introductions moved around the table.

 

Finally it was my turn to introduce myself. The timing is perfect... perfect because we're approaching Christmas and (in the U.S. anyway) Christmas Story is being repeated on televisions everywhere. So how does that apply? When it came my turn to introduce my self (meaning name, brief -BRIEF- background and back to you...) all of my questions came out in no particular order or context. "What do YOU want for Christmas son?...Son?...How about a nice model train?...". "...Um, yeah... um ok..". "Wake up! Wake up...". Well, by the time my mouth stopped, everyone just looked at me and smiled. No Red Rider BB gun for me. "You'll shoot your mouth off Chef!". And I did.

 

Daniela was gracious and clearly used to handling over anxious people like myself. She's trained and experienced in a number of areas including sommelier. That by itself is an achievement many try in vein to obtain, but fail only to relive their worst wine drunks over and over again. She's been with Regent for nine years, but she's like 21 years old (just kidding, but aren't all women 21 years old? My Mom 21 was until I missed wishing her a happy 70th. Come on - you've been telling me you're 21 since I was 10...). Beyond Food & Beverage she also over sees house keeping. The list of skills just kept coming, but in such a modest way.

 

Because this is a strong area of interest for me, I was somehow able to outlast Mr. Leghorn who really really wanted to tell us about his opinions and comparisons to his ... me me me, I.....me me me I!. Lack of visible interest wore him out and we ended up having a great conversation with Daniela by ourselves. I came back to our room satisfied and full - both of food and knowledge. The mustar needed to run what I would call the "guts" of a cruise could never be faked or hidden behind the work of others. Daniela clearly worked her way up the ladder.. not to wear the stripes on her uniform, but because she truly loves learning and taking on the many many challenges her position provides. Securing that assumption in my mind after a wonderful education given to me while eating great food and perfectly paired wine bested any excursion I've had so far. That should sum up the evening nicely. Off to bed!.

[JPR]

I certainly hope "Foghorn" doesn't read this post and then end up on an excursion with you (or worse yet near a ship'srailing). I can almost hear the stentorian sounds from the computer room now:."WTH, that was us who had dinner with Daniela the ship's F&B Manager and another couple last night! I'm "Foghorn"???!!!

 

It's a big ship, but but we love your hilarious stories and definitely don't want you to have to change your name to ChefDriftwoody...

Edited December 12, 2016 by JPR

[Wendy The Wanderer]

How many actually get the reference to Foghorn Leghorn? Hilarious. More likely you'd call yourself Chickenhawk.

 

Love your sense of humour, and yes, we sometimes have nicknames for people we meet, and no, I try not to share them until well after the cruise, lol!

 

We had dinner once with an FB Manager, can't remember the cruise. There was another couple there as well, and it was one of the most excruciating meals I remember having on a ship!

[gnomie1]

La Veranda

 

Vladimir (Manager of all the restaurants) stopped by today as he has everyday for casual conversation and an update on our cruise. As he was leaving, he slightly tripped on one of the chairs in La Veranda. We saw this and caught his eye to come back to the table. My wife mentioned that she had trouble navigating around the chairs. The chairs are designed so the back legs extend about 3 or 4 inches. Just enough that if you round the chair closely, you will trip. Vladimir said it was a daily occurrence and one man fell hard yesterday. He asked us to please comment on this to home office. It was a mistake from the get go. And needs to be fixed. He also said the soft white decor of the fabric had necessitated a daily steam clean.

 

Dennis

 

I am bringing up the chair leg issue in my review of the Explorer - this is just a disaster waiting to happen. The same type of legs are on the chairs in Pacific Rim. We saw two people take nasty falls in La Veranda - one required transport to the medical center and the other waived it off - until later in the afternoon when the wife asked fellow passengers for their ice from the fridge since they were icing down his knee. A number of people, including yours truly, tripped over one of the legs but were able to catch themselves before actually falling on the floor.

 

We were doing our second muster in Pacific Rim and someone fell over a chair leg but was quickly able to catch their composure and did not require further assistance that I am aware of.

 

There are a number of areas of the ship that have me shaken my head - maybe because I have had so many insurance audit tours that my eyes are trained to look for potential problems, but I was really surprised at the number of items that really are safety hazards and need to be corrected.

 

gnomie :)

[forgap]

Hmmmmm.....had dinner with a lecturer once during the start of the divisive political season. Let's just say that the 4/6 of us were social liberals while the final two were Uber social and religious conservatives.

 

The conversation was lively, not at all hostile or contentious (although a bit jaw dropping at times), and we shut down compass rose. We weathered that OK, right? Well, the couple refused to acknowledge us for the rest of the 18 days on the ship - no recognition, no hello's, no smiles, no eye contact. No small feat with 700 passengers on board! I guess they thought we might have been camouflaging our horns!

[purpleally]

How many actually get the reference to Foghorn Leghorn? Hilarious. More likely you'd call yourself Chickenhawk.

 

Love your sense of humour, and yes, we sometimes have nicknames for people we meet, and no, I try not to share them until well after the cruise, lol!

 

We had dinner once with an FB Manager, can't remember the cruise. There was another couple there as well, and it was one of the most excruciating meals I remember having on a ship!

 

We ALWAYS have nicknames for people on the ship. We keep it to the four of us, but, how else would we know who we were talking about?

Last cruise there was Elvira, footballs, Brazilian girl who turned into guest speaker, twins who turned out to be married to each other, and the list goes on...

[Mudhen]

OMG! This thread could possibly be better than the Explorer TA roll call....and that, my friends was one good roll call!

Loving ChefWoody!

[Chefwoody]

St. Martinique

 

Morning and I agreed to disagree today. I was up and moving by 6am. That meant my planned 7am coffee delivery was going to need a primer. Off to the auto-espresso machine I went (was sent). Having not fulfilled my gym obligations yesterday, I knew I'd need to today. Land was in sight, as was management. We made the gym and time just took off. Hurried back to shower and rush up to breakfast. Nothing fancy today - just protein, starch and some fruit. Schnootsi apparently opted to change her breakfast time. It's never an easy transition when the neighborhood's gone to the dogs. Anyway, a quick bite and on down to deck 4 to be sorted and processed. On the way out, we met Olivia, our shipboard weather girl and ...? Not sure what else she does. But as weather girl her job is to go on the ship board television and repeatedly announce that today's weather is 'a chance of showers". (Now say it in your head with an english accent). I asked her if I could give her a sum of money to alter tomorrow's forecast to sunny & warm. "N-yo, I'm so-ree, but have a nice day all the same sir...". Slapped with a smile.. perfect.

 

Once we passed through security and out the door... RAIN. Not just a little.. but showers. Thanks Olivia. Out the boardwalk we went. "Are we really doing this?" Management asked. We followed our posey to a tented area and huddled in mass, all pondering our choice for the day. That by the way was The Tropical Rain Forest Hike. Doctors D & C were in our group (not surprised, they're allot like us and fun to do things with, We both hope we age as well as they have and can be as active and engaging as well). Dr. C decided a soaking wet day in the jungle followed by a cold bus ride back didn't sound so good so back to Explorer she went. Dr. D was ready and willing to join our little soak.

 

Martinique is much more developed then the other islands we've stopped at. At least on the port front. We docked next to a 16 story building (no clue what it's for), and the surrounding hillside is packed with colorful houses. Dr. D made note that it looked like some houses just got built on top of the one below them. The hills are very steep, but the houses show no real sign of where they begin or which road they're connected to.

 

Our bus was huge new and beautiful. And very very clean. Our tour guide was French Creole (his own description) and very difficult to understand. Thanks to my youngest sons choice in music, I've learned to filter "the noise" out and enjoy my surroundings. Actually in his case a threat here and there goes along way. Our ride was up into the hills. Windy narrow roads, but somehow not as crazy as the other two islands to date. There were even frequent joggers and hikers along the way - wow. After about half an hour the bus stopped in a densely tropical change in the road. In fact, the road more or less ended and became covered in rocks and pools/streams of water. The rains that had just passed through were plentiful to say the least.

 

Our tour guide said nothing more then we would be stopping here (as in, this would be one stop.. or so I thought). I decided to bring all my stuff anyway. Thanks goodness. We walked along a progressively degressive roadway that eventually turned to path. Not knowing we would be wading in mud and stream, many of us struggled to find the proper hopping stone/bank/bush combination to keep our shoes dry. Silly people!. In one of my better moves to date, I, while balancing on a narrow piece of bamboo half submerged in mud, attempted to jump 3ft onto what looked like hard pack dirt. Wrong-O moose breath. My front foot hit, slid, caught a rock and stuck as the rest of my body sailed past and fell backwards into the mud and water. I thought I'd torn the tendon behind my knee cap. But I was able to walk it off and felt some relief in knowing I no longer needed to make any effort to stay dry or clean - I was committed. Much like when I eat ribs... you know what I mean!

 

Periodic stops along the way included some deeply accented descriptions that mostly went in one ear and out the other. But we all knew he was giving it his best. We finally came to "the River Why". "Why the hell are we doing this?". Our road ended at a very fast moving (mud brown) stream. He looked at it, shook his head and said something to the tune of ".. oh dis not be too bad..". We all looked at each other as he proceeded to machete chop a stick from a bamboo tree. He slowly crossed the stream - REALLY SLOWLY - and SLOWLY came back. "..umm, maybe we go up stream and cross..". From the looks of it there was no easy up stream walk. But test it he did and back he came with " ya, dis be the best way". Um, let me think on this.. um.. NO!. A woman and a man in the group said they had no problem going back and waiting on the bus. He said ".. dare no bus dare man.. bus is gone.. gotta keep go-in". Nothing like abandonment to make decisions easier.

 

As a team we all helped each other out. One woman fell in and was slightly injured (sore?) but endeavored to persevere. Shaken, but not stirred we moved onward and upward. Trail - what do you picture when I say trail?. Take that picture and shrink it by 3ft in width and remove all the flat spots. Add mud and water - throw in some jungle over growth and viola! Tropical Trail Adventure. It was really quite beautiful and scenic. Not to mention humid. The rain pretty much stopped when we left the bus, but the bursts of sun made us all feel a bit clammy. Up Up Up she climbed.. Fire, fire on the mountain (no no... not now man). Surprisingly little bird or animal life. But we did find a large crab under a rock cropping in a stream. Freaky.

 

Reached the top sometime later, dragged our mud covered wet bodies on the the squeaky clean bus and sat. Some like me, sat with vengeful intent of passing the mud and wet so graciously given to us back to those that gave it to us. But that sounds petty and to be honest is not at all how I felt at the end. Made it back to the ship about 12:30. Had another great lunch, chatted with new friends and shared stories of the day. I think if Regent had more intel on what this excursion was all about, then they could have warned us about shoes, water, mud ... one way trips etc.. in advance. As it was, another adventure to remember back home. Got a quick green light for a two top at Pacific Rim tonight (alway check in with the reservation man mid afternoon. He's quick to please). Back at ya soon.

[gnomie1]

St. Martinique

 

On the way out, we met Olivia, our shipboard weather girl and ...? Not sure what else she does. But as weather girl her job is to go on the ship board television and repeatedly announce that today's weather is 'a chance of showers". (Now say it in your head with an english accent). I asked her if I could give her a sum of money to alter tomorrow's forecast to sunny & warm. "N-yo, I'm so-ree, but have a nice day all the same sir...". Slapped with a smile.. perfect.

 

Olivia is John's (the CD) assistant and I do agree that she makes a delightful weather girl - however, one note of correction, it is not rain, it is "liquid sunshine" as she likes to refer to it!

 

For the record - she has lots of other responsibilities other than just reporting the weather, including making sure that rooms are decorated for special occasions, sometimes running bingo and other games and I believe she also does trivia occasionally. Generally, she is John's right hand person.

 

gnomie :)

[Travelcat2]

Chefwoody, must admit that when you asked what we thought of when you said "trail", I did think of a muddy, narrow trail since you mentioned the rain. It sounds like you really enjoy yourselves - despite weather, falling down, etc. Great attitude.:)

 

We really like Olivia - always upbeat with a beautiful smile on her face. We were a bit disappointed that she will not be returning to the Explorer in March with John. She will be going to another ship and will definitely be missed!

 

Enjoy Pacific Rim!

[Chefwoody]

I should have added to my Olivia - or for that matter ANY crew member of Explorer - comment, that Management & I have never respected any group more then those crew we meet on board. Each contract is a commitment to what we often see as the impossible. Olivia's duties and obligations are far less obvious to us (as new folks aboard Regent) compared to Daniela's. That being of course because we dined with her. Thanks for filling us in on her other contributions. This crew is remarkable and I love getting to know them as we sail and our paths allow.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

St. Martinique

...

Periodic stops along the way included some deeply accented descriptions that mostly went in one ear and out the other. But we all knew he was giving it his best. We finally came to "the River Why". "Why the hell are we doing this?". Our road ended at a very fast moving (mud brown) stream. He looked at it, shook his head and said something to the tune of ".. oh dis not be too bad..". We all looked at each other as he proceeded to machete chop a stick from a bamboo tree. He slowly crossed the stream - REALLY SLOWLY - and SLOWLY came back. "..umm, maybe we go up stream and cross..". From the looks of it there was no easy up stream walk. But test it he did and back he came with " ya, dis be the best way". Um, let me think on this.. um.. NO!. A woman and a man in the group said they had no problem going back and waiting on the bus. He said ".. dare no bus dare man.. bus is gone.. gotta keep go-in". Nothing like abandonment to make decisions easier.

...

 

Okay, so all I want to know, is what's the official name of this excursion so I don't make the mistake of taking it! Glad you had fun, despite everything. (Ours coming in January is a 4x4 adventure, so hopefully not the same thing, lol!)

[JPR]

Based on Chefwoody's narrative, the unofficial name of that excursion clearly should be

"Hiking MartinEEK!!!!!"

Edited December 12, 2016 by JPR

[Travelcat2]

based on chefwoody's narrative, the unofficial name of that excursion clearly should be

"hiking martineek!!!!!"

 

Wish I'd thought of that -- great name:-)

Edited December 13, 2016 by Travelcat2

[Silver Sweethearts]

Okay, so all I want to know, is what's the official name of this excursion so I don't make the mistake of taking it! Glad you had fun, despite everything. (Ours coming in January is a 4x4 adventure, so hopefully not the same thing, lol!)

 

This should be it:

 

HIKING IN MARTINIQUE'S TROPICAL FOREST

Most Active or Strenuous

DURATION: 3 HOURS

TOUR CODE: FDF-009

An exhilirating hike through a tropical forest reveals nature's bounty in the form of exotic vegetation and wildlife.

Depart Fort de France for the leisurely drive to Fontaine Didier, a thermal spring whose mineral-rich water has been used for centuries as an antidote for numerous ailments. In fact, you may see the water bottled for sale while in Fort de France, albeit it's now promoted as a refreshing beverage rather than a cure-all.

Upon arrival, you will receive a briefing on your hike and then set-off along a trail that follows a meandering stream and gently winds through the tropical forest to a place called Absalon. It's an exceptionally tranquil and beautiful setting. The diversity of botanical species in this pristine environment is staggering. Great stands of mahogany trees tower above the forest floor and luxuriant ferns grow almost everywhere, punctuated by splashes of color from indigenous balisier flowers. The balisier flower is so visually spectacular that it's often depicted in local paintings of Martinique, which is known as the Island of Flowers.

Another highlight of your hike is discovering several cascading waterfalls nestled deep in the forest. During your trek, you will have a break where you can relax by the river, sip a cool beverage in the shade, and simply gaze out over the picture-perfect landscape.

After nearly 2-hours traversing this breathtaking natural environment on foot, you will rejoin your transportation and transfer back to the pier in Fort de France.

Please note: This tour includes nearly 2-hours of hiking and climbing over natural and uneven surfaces which can become slippery when wet. Guests should be in very good physical condition. The tour is not available to wheelchair guests, pregnant women, those with mobility concerns, heart conditions, asthma or epilepsy. Shorts; t-shirt; sun cap; sunglasses; sunscreen; insect repellant and comfortable, flat, hiking or athletic shoes are suggested. Minimum age to participate is 8 years old and children under 18 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian.

[JPR]

Sounds like the hike we took with our daughter earlier this year on the Na Pali Coast in Kauai.

Not for most RSSC passengers except by helicopter....

[Fletcher]

Still appreciating Chefwoody's paragraphed peregrinations. One of Regent's attractions for many is the included shore excursions. Now in some remote destinations with little tourist infrastructure that's absolutely fine - Greenland, for instance. But in the Caribbean that's a drawback as almost all of these islands are best explored independently, especially if you rent a car. Do a little research beforehand and get away from the tyranny of the tour bus.

 

We've rented cars on Antigua, St Kitts, Martinique, Barbados, Aruba, Bonaire, Grenada and had a great time. The only island I wouldn't recommend a car is St Lucia. Martinique's traffic might deter some people.

[Chefwoody]

Last nights meal at Pacific Rim was fabulous - also meaning better then our first time. We got a spur of the moment two top at 6:30 (our preferred eating time) right at the window. The "poo poo's" championed the main course, but we were exhausted and appreciative the first salvo was so good. Main courses were fine, but largely overlooked in the welcomed presence of good wine and the knowledge that the following days excursion wasn't until 11:15am.

 

To us, a cruise with too many excursions defeats the purpose of a cruise, at least at this stage of our lives. Kick back or even sea days are great battery rechargers. Though I'm not sure how I will feel when we finally take a Mediterranean cruise. Strong on my bucket list and contrary to all I've said about cruises (it's the boat not the ports), each port I've seen on a few itineraries leaves me excited to get off the boat.

 

Today we awoke about an hour before pulling in to St. Kitts. The added gym time and refreshing sleep made ready for a hearty breakfast. Back to the benny's for me.. and yes, once again they did not disappoint. Dining out back we chatted it up with another pleasantly non schnootsi couple. I will say, the majority of people we've met on this cruise are nice, fun and engaging people. Most have a travel list that sounds like a career navy officer. Several have a list of trips following this that make one wonder why they'd ever need a home. But the lack of pretentiousness and the willingness to listen to those besides themselves puts us at ease and open to being ourselves on the "most luxuriest ship at sea". Hope that makes sense.

 

Zip lining is our plan today. We're in one of the latter groups and because it's a tender day (no.. not sensitive) we're anchored out in the bay and they're dropping the rescue boats (aka ship tenders) down to ferry everyone in. Means long waits to get ashore (usually) and two large ships (P&O Azure & Celebrity Eclipes I think). So town/tourist village will be packed, but we felt like walking around before our tour so got out by 10.

 

True to the warnings, "tourist town" was packed. But it was quaint in a way and fun for people watching - something we both rarely admit liking to do, but when lost in a crowd it's kind of easy. We had about 45 minutes to kill so .. what the heck.

 

Last night I had an epiphany. A few years back I listened to a story on NPR that detailed the history and repopularzation of agricole rum or rhum. Actually thought to predate traditional rum making processes, agricole was a pure cane distillation process. Google New York Times Savoring Rum fresh from the cane for nicely summarized info. I was fascinated, though 1. I'm not much of a rum drinker. 2. You could not buy it in the U.S.. But there was hope that the renewed interest might rally some bridge into the U.S. Market. Until then, it was only available/produced in certain islands in the Caribbean. Like a kid denied a toy, I - for a short while - became obsessed. But to no avail. I would have to wait.

 

This came to me last night after leaving Martinique and sipping the last of my wine on our deck as management went comatose. I googles "where can I buy agricole rum. Guess where the best places are?! Martinique and Grenada. Shoot, crap damn. El stupido! Back the boat up!. I eagerly searched for sources in St. Kitts... and yep, while not nearly the selection, they did have some. And sure enough I found some. Not sure where the Karma points will come from there, nor will I know until I get home if losing them was worth it.. but I figure if not.. I have all that rum (rhum) to numb the pain.

 

Zip lines... oh my... great day, but it's now 6pm and dinner is Chartruese again at 6:30. But my stories get better with wine so I promise to come back to this soon. ...Chow.