CRUISE 2014 - FINAL DAYS (ST. LUCIA, AT SEA & SAN JUAN)

DAY 7 - ST. LUCIA

It was a day that we planned to not do much.  Since we had been to St. Lucia several times before and knew that most things that we would want to do would be very costly and take the entire day...and that St. Lucia is not really known for its beaches, we had decided to make it a low-key day spent mostly on the ship.

Breakfast overlooking Castries

I woke early and grabbed a bit of breakfast and sat on the deck reading and writing in my travel journal.  Around 10:15am, I went back into the Windjammer and rustled up an omelette and a bunch of fruit for Dave and he got the luxury of breakfast in bed.  We had no real plans nor were we in a big hurry to accomplish anything so we didn’t get off the ship until around 11am. 

The ship was berthed at Pointe Seraphine and we found a spot to buy wi-fi access and spent some time online.  After my ½ hour was up, I wandered through all of the shops in the terminal area.  I found a lovely little art shop and a painting on the back wall drew me in as I had never seen such a unique technique use before.  It was large smears of multi-coloured oil paints layered over the entire surface of the canvas that look like they were applied with a paint knife.  They were so beautiful!  I took note of the artist so I could check him out online.  Check out the gallery and click on 'Oils' to see an example of what I was looking at.  I overheard a conversation with a prospective buyer and it sounded like it took months, if not more, to dry?  http://www.llewellynxavier.com/#gallery

We spent a couple of hours in the terminal and then got back on the ship to grab some lunch.  Dave went back to the cabin and I went to the sun deck but the sun was very strong and I couldn’t spend more than about 20 minutes in the full sun before I felt like I was burning up.

 I read for awhile in the shade and then found my way to the (adult only) Solarium and located the one lounger that was not occupied and staked my claim for a couple more hours of reading.  Connected with Dave for a mid-afternoon snack at the Seaview Café and then a nap.  Sigh…such a strenuous day demanded a rest J

In the Solarium

After supper, I went up to the Centrum to watch the 70’s Dance Party.  Disco music is a favorite and the staff dancers were fun to watch, as were the not-so-professionals!

DAY 8 – AT SEA

Our final day at sea was another very quiet and relaxing one.  Eating, reading, sleeping….all the best of pursuits!  We decided that we should go to at least one  production show so before supper, we went to the Farewell Show in the theatre.

 

DAY 9 – SAN JUAN

Our neighbours on the ship were up at 5:30am (what!!!) so we were awake very early.  The alarm rang around 7:30am and we got up, had breakfast and were off the ship by 9am.  The line for customs was very long so we paid the $5 for a porter to manage our bags and went to a much, much shorter line designated for them.  It was worth the money to not stand in the hot warehouse.  We got a cab back to the hostel (Posada San Francisco) and found that the elevator was broken and out of service.  We had to laugh or we would cry!

We hauled our bags up the six flights of stairs and stored them in a secure area, since check-in wasn’t until 3pm and we were well ahead of that time. 

The breezeway of a theatre on our walk

We walked a few blocks to the bus terminal and caught the bus to Plaza Las Americas, which is the big mall in San Juan.  It took an hour to get there as we had to switch buses.  I intended to keep track of what buses we took but didn’t do that task very well.  We relied on a local who was waiting at the terminal who just happened to be going to the Mall as well.  We wandered the mall for a couple of hours, grabbed some lunch at Applebee’s and caught the bus back to Old San Juan.  We were really unsure which bus to take and our local suddenly appeared again and we just followed him onto the correct bus.

We were happy to see the elevator had been fixed when we returned to the hostel and were checked in around 4pm.  The rest of the day was spent trying to nap, watching the NCAA Final Four games and getting our suitcases organized for our return flight.  We walked up Calle San Francisco and grabbed some Subway for a late supper and then tried to grab some sleep before our late flight.  We grabbed a cab to the airport around midnight and checked in for our 2am flight.  I didn’t sleep much on the flights but Dave slept the entire way…both flights.  He even slept on the floor at JFK while waiting for our second flight.

Sunrise at JFK

The guy can sleep anywhere....

We landed in Portland, ME on time around 10:30am in the morning and called the hotel shuttle to get us back to our car.  We had stayed at the Howard Johnson’s just a few miles from the airport.  They have a great Park ‘N Ride deal that also allows you to leave your car in their parking lot for up to 21 days and we always take advantage of that when flying out of Portland.  We picked up our car and with a very well-rested driver, made our way back to snow and reality….feeling very blessed that we are able to escape winter for wee spell.

CRUISE 2014 - DAY 6 - MARTINIQUE, LESSER ANTILLES

We were really looking forward to being back on the island of Martinique.  We had stopped there a couple of times on previous cruises, but that was over 10 years ago and we hadn’t been back since.

I was up early so I could see the ship docking at the pier in Fort-de-France and get some pictures of the lovely town.  Martinique is a French holding and has a higher standard of living than most Caribbean islands.  Their currency is the Euro, although some vendors may take US dollars as well.  The island has a very European feel to it and I was glad that I could communicate in French as not a lot of people spoke much English.  There was not a lot of information to be found on the cruise discussion boards as not many cruises stop here, but I did find a few suggestions for things to do on the island.

We had breakfast and were off the ship around 10am.  It was a long pier and it probably took 7 or 8 minutes to get through the pier area and into town. 

 

We first headed to McDonalds as they had free wi-fi and then we walked further down the street to a currency exchange place to get some Euros. 

 

Just before noon, we headed to the public transportation area near the pier and were on the hunt for the accompanied taxi to Saint Pierre.  Accompanied taxis are the local transportation on Martinique and way cheaper than regular taxis.  The bus was full with only one seat left so Dave and I figured we would wait for the next one but a lady actually got off the bus and gave up her seat so we could get on.  We tried to assure her that we could wait but she insisted.  Once we got on, the bus left quite soon after.  The cost was 4.60 Euro per person each way compared to 40 Euro per person for a taxi tour.  The driver was a bit grumpy and drove like a maniac!

 

We were heading to a small town, further up the coast, called Saint Pierre.  The trip took about 40 minutes or so and we were let off in front of a small museum.  Since we didn’t know a whole lot about the history of the town, we paid 3 Euros each for the entrance fee.  It wasn’t a very large museum but we learned all about the history of the town and how an eruption of Mont Peleé in May 1902 destroyed the town and killed almost all of the 30,000 residents.  Only about 1,000 people survived because they saw the signs of an eruption and left before the disaster.

Mont Peleé

We spent a couple of hours wandering the streets looking at ruins, shops and the local church and then caught the taxi back to Fort-de-France around 2:15pm.  We made another stop at McDonalds for wi-fi access and then back on the ship around 4pm.

Ruins of the old prison where the only person to survive the eruption was being held in the dungeon and escaped the dangerous gas that killed the rest of the town



Beautiful tiling in the church

Another quiet evening was had.  We had not gone to any performances in the theatre which was another big difference on this cruise.  We almost always go to see the comedians or musical productions.   Since supper was usually not over until almost 10pm, we just didn’t feel like staying up late to see the shows. 

We had a wonderful day on Martinique.  In past stops, we always just got off the ship and took a ferry over to Pointe-du-Bout to go to a beach but this stop was a departure from the beach stops as we figured we had lots of those on this cruise.  We were glad we made the effort to try something new and it was well worth it!

CRUISE 2014 - DAY 5 - ANTIGUA, WEST INDIES

 

We woke to a bit of rain this morning but it cleared up quite quickly and the sun came out.  The ship was docked in St. John’s, Antigua and we were up early because we knew there were going to be four cruise ships in port that day….along with approximately 9,600 passengers and things would be very busy.  We had breakfast and were off the ship by 10am.

We walked through the boardwalks and colorful shops on Heritage Quay and made our way out of the cruise terminal area to Market Street and made a right.  About a 10 minute walk down the street (bearing right at the fork in the road), we came to the West Bus Station, across from the Farmer’s Market.  Having made this trip before, we knew we were looking for Bus #22 and asked around until we found it.  Do NOT expect speed here…the name of the game is CHEAP!!  When you get on the bus, depending on your timing, you can expect to sit and wait anywhere from a few minutes to a half an hour.  The driver waits until the bus is completely full before he leaves.  That means even the jump seats are occupied.  The locals wait patiently but there is often some tourist who thinks that it makes a difference to mouth off at the driver and tell him to get the bus moving.  It doesn't!

We waited about a half hour but occupied ourselves chatting with a German couple from Toronto who were looking at it as an adventure as well.  Bus fare was $1.50US per person each way.  Have the correct change on hand. 

Walking through the streets of St. John's

 

On the bus

Antigua has some of the most gorgeous beaches and you really can’t go wrong with whichever beach you choose.  We tend to go to Darkwood Beach, which never disappoints.  We arrived around 11am and rented two chairs ($5 each) that were pulled up under a long shaded covering.  We did our normal beach things: relax, read, and swim. 

 

As time went on, the breeze picked up quite a bit and started pelting us with sand so we decided to head back into town around 1:30pm.  We walked outside of the restaurant area and waited for a bus to come along.  Cabs will sometimes stop and tell you that it will be a long while for a bus but they tend to come along every 15 minutes or so.  They drive on the opposite side of the road from North Americans so make sure you are waiting on the correct side and wave down the bus when it comes along.  If the buses are full, they will not stop so it is best to head back into town before 3pm or so as then the buses start filling up with locals heading home after work.  We only waited a couple of minutes for a bus and the trip back into town was much faster than the trip out as there wasn’t near as much traffic to deal with.

Back in town, we walked back up to the cruise terminal and asked around to find an internet café.  We were directed to The Best of Books which was a relatively short walk from Heritage Quay.  We paid $4 for a half hour of internet access and checked in with the outside world and then headed back to the ship around 3pm to shower and nap before supper.  One of the lovely little treats offered by Royal Caribbean on your return back to the ship is an ice-cold facecloth to cool you down and make you feel a bit less sweaty and sticky as you get back on the ship.

The cruise was already half over and time goes by so quickly, even when you try to slow things down!  For your info, here is a link to a local description of using the bus to have a budget friendly outing on Antigua:  http://antiguaislandguide.com/one-day-in-antigua-on-a-shoestring/

CRUISE 2014 - DAY 4 - ST. CROIX, US VIRGIN ISLANDS

Another leisurely start to the day today.  The ship was docked in Frederiksted, St. Croix.  After breakfast, we headed off the ship around 10:15am and caught the free shuttle running from the ship to the welcome area.  No judging, please…it was a very long pier J 

We had read a lot of negative comments about St. Croix - that it was dirty and unsafe and the people were not friendly - so we really didn't know what to expect.  We had thought about doing an ATV excursion or a snorkel tour to Buck Island but weren't  in the mood for much activity or the 45 minute drive over to Christensted on the other side of the island.

We found the table where they sold the beach shuttle passes and bought two passes for Sandcastle Beach ($6 per person, round trip).  Most people were going in the other direction to Rainbow Beach, which cemented our decision to go to Sandcastle.  We wanted quiet and no crowds.  The shuttle dropped us off at Sandcastle on the Beach hotel.

Beautiful Caribbean colours

We walked through the hotel and out the back into a small garden where we were directed along a sandy path to the beach.  We rented two chairs and an umbrella for $20 from the guy who was in charge of the chairs.  There were quite a few people on the beach but it was not what would be considered a crowd.  The water was crystal clear and we spent several hours swimming, reading and walking the beach.  I braved the surf to gather some beach glass.  You sure have to be quick to spot what you want and grab it before the water covers it and takes it away.

A view of our ship from the beach

Not something you see everyday!  He then took the horses into the water for a bath.

We had to wait a bit for the shuttle to return and then we headed back to the ship around 2pm.  We grabbed some lunch and got back off the ship to search for free wi-fi.  We had read that beside the police station was the best spot but the signal wasn’t strong enough so we headed to a shop called Rotsen Courtyard (Nestor Laurencin, proprietor) that a cop gave us directions to.  It worked out great as Dave found a pair of sunglasses and got free wi-fi for his phone and I paid $5 to use one of the computers in the little bar/internet café next door.  We caught up on all of the goings-on in the ‘real world’ and when we found out that it was still snowing up home, we were very happy we were far away from that!

We were back on the ship by 4:15pm and I went up on deck to watch the sail away and take some photos of the island.  Our tablemates at supper were a father and daughter who had been on several cruises and since the other six chairs were never filled anytime during the week, we had lots of time to get to know them and talk about our adventures of the day.

We were glad we didn't listen to people who said not to bother getting off the ship.  We didn't find the people to be any problem.  Our cab driver was kind of surly but everyone else we met was not unfriendly, just a bit reserved.  We found the part of the island that we saw to be very beautiful and not dirty at all and we walked around quite a bit of Frederiksted and never felt unsafe.  Whenever you read discussion boards, always know that there are negative Nellies who find something wrong with everything and take things with a 'grain of salt'.  You may miss out on something quite enjoyable because someone had a different experience!

Another early night.  We were getting lots of rest and relaxation!!

CRUISE 2014 - DAY 3 - ST. THOMAS, US VIRGIN ISLANDS

We woke up to another gorgeous, sunny morning.  Our plan for this cruise was quite different than past cruises.  We had no real schedule or excursions planned and were open to whatever tickled our fancy for each day.  We wanted to relax, recharge and enjoy the sun and sand!

The view from the ship - Charlotte Amalie is almost directly across the harbour

After some breakfast at the Windjammer, we caught a safari cab into Charlotte Amalie, the main town on St. Thomas.  We usually take the time to walk to and from town but were feeling lazy.  The walk takes around 20 minutes at a steady pace and, if you take the path through the yacht club, you pass by lots of boutiques that are nice for window shopping but whose prices are well out of our range.

One of the alleyways in the AH Riise shopping complex downtown

There is lots of shopping to be had ranging from the Vendor’s Market right up to high-end designer fare and tons of jewelry stores to choose from.  We didn’t have anything major on our shopping list so we wandered the tents at the Vendor’s Market looking for some sunglasses for Dave but the price was not right and we kept moving.  Bargaining is the norm but when they start way higher than we want, we just walk away.  There are lots of cab drivers around that area and a driver named Tim approached us offering rides to Magen’s Bay and other beaches, if we wanted.  When he found out that we had been there several times and were thinking of going to our favorite beach on Water Island (Honeymoon Beach), he turned into a real source of local information for us.  We had heard that Honeymoon Beach had been ‘discovered’ and was now often very populated and not the quiet, relaxing spot we have loved in the past and he confirmed that for us.  The Kon Tiki party boats have started making a stop there around lunch and they carry a lot of people. 

We asked him about Sapphire Beach, which was the other spot we had read some great reviews on and from his perspective, he said it was the best beach on the island.  There has been some drama going on between the owner and some others so access to the beach was restricted to pedestrians…no cabs allowed on the property and there were no facilities.  We told him that we were planning on taking the dollar taxi there and he pointed us to where the dollar taxi stand was.  He also told us that he was taking a group there and would be returning around 3:30pm if we decided we wanted to cab it back instead of the ‘bus’.  Dollar taxi’s look somewhat similar to the safari cabs…perhaps a bit more worn looking. 

travel with the locals on the dollar taxi

They are actually local bus transportation and way cheaper than cabs.  There are few tourists that use them or are even aware of them but they are the best deal going!  They only pick up at specific bus stops.  One of the stops is close to the Havensight pier where most ships dock.  There are no close stops to the Crown Bay pier on the opposite side of the island.  You walk through Havensight, turn left at the exit and walk down to where you see a gas station on the other side of the road.  The bus stop is on the road that runs beside the station (not the main road).  There is also a spot right beside the Vendors’ Market.  It cost us $2 each to get from Charlotte Amalie to the Sapphire Beach Resort & Marina.  If you ask a local, they will let you know when to ring the bell to make a stop or they may even take care of that for you.  The ride probably took around 40 minutes or so.  By cab, it would have been around $10 per person each way.

 

We had a bit of a walk (perhaps 7 or 8 minutes) down the hill to an absolutely gorgeous beach.  You have to love it when you walk around the corner and gasp because the colour of the water is just so stupendous…there are no words!  We spent several hours there, floating in the water, chatting with people that we met, laying under a tropical tree…the ultimate in relaxation!  We decided that if we paid a bit more and went back with Tim, we could spend longer on the beach… so we paid $10 per person to return to the ship via cab.

Since we had late sitting dinner, we had lots of time to shower, nap and take it easy before our 8:30pm dining time.  We had a very quiet evening and were in bed early.  All of the sun, exercise and fresh air makes us tired very early but makes for some incredible sleeps.  Our next stop would be St. Croix, USVI and we had never been to that island before and were looking forward to checking it out.

CRUISE 2014 - DAY 2 - SAN JUAN, PR - EMBARKATION

A beautiful sunny morning welcomed us and I spent some time writing in my travel journal and eating a muffin while enjoying the sun and warm breeze at a café table on the small patio. 

Open shutters let in the morning breeze

The lovely little patio

The night before, word got down to the 4^th floor that we were sailing on the Jewel of the Seas the following day and a fellow cruiser came up to chat with us and ask some questions as a first-time cruiser.  He and his wife had been in OSJ for a couple of days and raved about Café Manolin (251 Calle San Justo) for their reasonably-priced and tasty local food so we knew we had to try it out for breakfast.  We walked up to the restaurant to see what all of the fuss was about. 

Dave had an omelette and I had eggs, fried potatoes and ciabatta toast and we each had a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice, which beats packaged OJ anyday!  Total bill - $11.77US.

We got back to the hostel just in time to pack our stuff up and meet the couple from the prior evening for a shared cab ride to the Pan American Pier (our half - $11US) to meet the Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas...our home for the next week.

 

I think that the check-in was the fastest of any cruise we have ever been on.  We enjoyed the Gold Status perk of using the priority check-in line.  I think from the time we arrived until the time we walked onto the ship was 10 minutes.  We did a quick tour of the Jewel of the Seas, stopped by the Windjammer Café for something to quench our thirst and then got off the ship again to meet our friends, Mark & Kim, who had just finished a cruise on the same ship and were in town for another couple of days. 

The Windjammer Café

Dining area where we ate many lunches - outside, but covered

The atrium

The Solarium (adults only)

 We hadn’t seen them for several months so we were excited to spend the afternoon together seeing the sights since it was their first time in OSJ and it is always fun to see things through someone else’s eyes.   We caught a cab back to OSJ and made a stop at CVS on the front street near the OSJ pier to get some sunscreen and bottles of water for our day.  It was already extremely hot so we knew we had to hydrate well and protect our white northern skin!! 

You sure can tell who has just arrived and who has been in the sun for awhile :-)

The next stop was back at Café Manolin to have some lunch.  Traditional Puerto Rican food was on the menu.  Fish or chicken dishes with rice and beans and some fried plantains.  After lunch, we wandered the streets for a bit.  I cannot get enough pictures of the cobblestone streets and the beautifully coloured buildings.  The next stop was El Morro Fortress ($3 per person entry or $5 for entry to both El Morro and San Cristobal for the day) where we spent a couple of hours exploring just about every nook and cranny of the fort.  We have been there several times and, for some reason, it never gets boring to us.  We learn something new each time we visit.

We walked back to the pier area by the walking path that goes along the old city wall beside the water.  It is a beautiful walk and we took our time, bought a pina colada smoothie and stopped at CVS again to pick up a case of water and some snacks.  Things are so expensive on the ship so we always bring along an extra duffle bag to allow us to check our water onto the ship.  This time, we just carried it on board and put some bottles immediately into the refrigerator in our cabin.  We had brought some things for Mark and Kim from home so we took them back down to them and said our farewells.  We had an absolutely stellar day with some wonderful friends!!

We were unable to get an early seating for supper so we grabbed a bit of food at the buffet and headed back to our cabin to unpack, since our bags had been delivered while we were off the ship. 

 

We had walked so much that we both had blisters on our feet so had to do a bit of first aid as well.  We went to the formal dining room for the late seating meal and had something light and then went to the mandatory muster station drill before going back to the cabin and crashing.  I never have any problems sleeping well on a cruise.   We were looking forward to our first stop – St. Thomas, USVI.