Where In The World Are John and Di?: July 2013

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Day 4: St. Lucia

Today was St. Lucia. Our second time here. We did the Coastal Cruise and Beach tour. It was a long catamaran ride out, swim for half an hour, and a long catamaran ride back. But they served Piton beer. If you are here and it’s past ten in the morning, get some Piton beer.

A few weeks ago, an island tour in a bus was robbed in St. Lucia. We decided to do the water tour.

Our favorite waiter’s name is Sixto (pronounced six two). The best line I’ve heard on the entire cruise was when he said he has a younger brother named Sixthree. It is Sixto’s birthday today. Does that make him Sixto-and-a-half?

I better get to the pictures now. Oh, wait. No. Tonight’s dinner is at Chop’s Grille. That means a steak for me. We thought we had reservations at Portofino’s. It ends up being Chop’s, so I’ll review it for you.

Now pictures:

This is what the pier looks like every morning. Mooooo.

Our catamaran today.

This boat was for sale. Go for it.

Marigot Bay.

Then this guy drives up next to us trying to sell conch shells. He didn't sell any.

This was another tour on the exact same catamaran as ours, for those interested in doing the tour.

The famous Pitons...named after the beer, I think.

Approaching the ship.

Our room and balcony. Sometimes after too many Piton beers you feel like swinging from the ceiling, or monkeying around. It's called towel art on these ships.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Day 3: Antigua

We arrived in Antigua at 7 AM. Our excursion left the pier at 9 AM so it was an early morning and breakfast. The tour was a catamaran snorkel/sail/beach break. All of them were very good. The snorkeling had lots of fish but not much color in the coral. The beach was one of the best we’ve ever been at. Perfect white sand, calm water, and a sandy bottom instead of the rocks you often find. Be sure to try the coconut rum punch.

After getting back at 12:30 PM we went into the shopping area at the dock. Don’t bother. Same old stuff. But then, a man is writing this.

Tomorrow is St. Lucia. We’re doing a similar excursion so the pictures may look familiar.

Almost forgot. Last night’s entertainment was Beatle Mania Live. We have seen the original Beatle Mania on other cruises and you would swear the Beatles were on the stage, both in appearance and sound. This new group was awful. It takes a lot for me to complain on a cruise (not counting shopping). Royal Caribbean can do much better than they did last night.

Today’s highlights:

Jewel of the Seas from the excursion catamaran.

On the catamaran.

Looking back towards Antigua.

Some birds in the foreground on a reef.

Snorkelers.

A typical Antigua neighborhood. (That's probably not true. It's the only one I saw)

Approaching the beach we swam at.

Oops. The beach with an old fort in the background.

Beach.

Our catamaran.

Beach.

Shops at the pier. ZZZZZZ

Monday, July 29, 2013

Day 2: St. Kitts excursion

We just got back from the excursion on St. Kitts. It was called the 4x4 Safari and Beach Break. Excellent tour. If you do it and you have Greg’s Safari as your guides, you will be happy. It went up into the rain forest after going through neighborhoods on St .Kitts. Very interesting. The stop at the top had great views and rum punch. What’s not to like? Then back down to the beach for an hour before returning to the ship. Good tour.

People have asked questions in the comments section. Because of the cost of Internet on the ship, I will answer every question when I get home and the WiFi is free. I want to spend time answering each one fully.

Also, I have a Flickr account where every picture I take will be posted. I’ll give you that address at the end of the cruise.

Selected pictures from today are below:

Dock at St. Kitts. Not much there.

Jewel of the Seas

Near the dock. Corner markets.

More fruit and vegetables on street.

Jewel of the Seas

St. Nevis is the big mountain/island in the background.

The national flower of St. Kitts. I call it a tree.

On the way to the rainforest.

Rotarians are everywhere.

Getting higher now.

These guys were great.

Near the top of the rainforest.

The guy who built this church helped the poor people on the island. A composer he knew wrote a song about his work: Amazing Grace.

We turned a corner in the road and this brush fire was blazing away. Very near buildings. Scary.

Beach on St. Kitts tour.

Jewel of the Seas. We hope he puts it in reverse tonight.

Day 2: St. Kitts

We docked in St. Kitts at about 8 AM. It was already very warm. Night time lows here are in the upper seventies. But clear skies…so far.

I know people reading this are interested in the food options onboard, and quality. So far, I can tell you that breakfast in the Windjammer is excellent. They have a separate station where you can order fried eggs to order and omelets. I didn’t find the grits yesterday, but there were too many places to find food. I just didn’t get there. Lunch, on the other hand, is not done well in the Windjammer. I chose the pasta and it was cold. Not lukewarm, cold. The hot dog buns were stale, since I gave up on the pasta and went American. Usually, the salad bar is always good. Dinners in the Main Dining Room have been excellent. Last night was prime rib. Only options are medium rare and medium well. Get the medium rare unless you insist on your meat being overcooked.

Our excursion isn’t until 1 PM (should be nice and toasty by then) so I’ll take pictures of the ship this morning.

Pictures are ready. I will add more, especially of the outside of the ship and the cabin. If you have a request, submit a comment.