St. Kitts

I wake to the sounds of people in the hallway. Hmmm what time is it? 7 am!!

We dock at 9 am so Bernie and I head up to the Horizon Court for a quick bite to eat.  A bagel and some fruit.  It is crazy up here, but we find a table easily in the Bistro section. Key to the Horizon Court is seek a quiet area by heading forward when everyone heads aft, or vice versa.

Docking at 9 am.  Which can be a bit of a pain since people are crowding the stairways and elevators right at 9 am.  

Now when it says docking at 9 that does not mean you get off at 9.  The Ship has to put out the gangways, get clearance and then passengers can go ashore so take your time and wait in a comfortable area until the ship clears. 

For us we wait with Roy and Sandra and when the ship gets clearance we head to the forward gangway where there is only a small group waiting.  We are off faster than those that got off midship.

Today we are heading to Carambola Beach Club with Roy and Sandra.  Roy pre reserved which is a good idea because it can get very busy.  If you reserve you are guaranteed a lounge and umbrella.  

Taxi is $4 per person if you are more than one person in the taxi. This price is one way.  

When we arrive at the beach club we pay our fee.  $10 per lounge chair and $10 per umbrella.  Roy heads to the beach and gets us lounge chairs right at the water.

The whole day was spent relaxing and enjoying the surroundings.  

There is a SeaDream Yacht anchored and tendering close by. There are also two small clipper ships also tendering nearby too.  This makes for a busier than normal day here but it was fun to watch the comings and going of people.

Bernie and I snorkelled twice around the rocky breaker. We see a LOT of different fish.  We spot so much, Lion Fish, trumpet fish, crabs, and even a few lobsters.  So many different fish – in fact I would say it was one of the best snorkeling we have ever had here.  My back got a little burned too – so don’t forget lots of sunscreen – we applied it twice and still got a bit of sun.

We did have a shower that swept thru like crazy but we took cover under the umbrella with no problems and then the sun shone again.

I have never seen it so busy here.  Normally it is not this crazy and I may look at a different spot if I knew the port was going to be busy.  

Around 3:30 we gathered our stuff and caught our taxi back (again $4 per person) and he dropped us off right at the pier.  Don’t forget your government i.d. as you will need it at the pier.

Back on board we head up for a quick bite to eat as we skipped lunch.

The Beach club does have a restaurant, free wifi, washrooms, showers and bar.  And we normally like to eat here but the restaurant was crazy busy due the large crowds here and then the rain pushed people inside.

For those that like to go to the Ship Wreck Bar that is also located at South Friars you better do it quick. It is closing February 28. The Ritz Carlton will be tearing it down and putting up a hotel on the site.

Tonight I predict another quiet evening.  Comedian Rollin Jay Moore is performing. 

Tomorrow is formal night and the premier of the Secret Silk.  Also our Most Travelled Luncheon is tomorrow at noon.

St. Kitts – February 10, 2015

We are awaken by the sound of a knock at the door.  It is 7:15 and one consistent thing is room service always comes early.  We asked for 7:30 – 8 but it always is early.  So plan accordingly.  Then they were missing an item and we had to track the room service attendant down to tell her, surprisingly she asked “do you want me to get it” ahhh “yeah”. 

Today we are heading back to the beach club that we went to the last time.  Carambola Beach Club which is located on South Friars Beach.  We are a group of 9.  Lew from the roll call coordinated the day.  He made a reservation for the 9 of us, which was a very good thing because the port is busy today! 

We are docked at the main pier beside a Costa ship.  A Royal Caribbean ship is at the older more industrial pier.  The Seadream Legend 2 is tendering people into the small dock at South Friars Beach.  And there is a Seaborn ship also in the harbour.  I have never seen it so busy here.

We meet in the International Café as a group and head ashore together.  As soon as we get to the main gate taxi drivers are trying to get our business.  We agree to go with one guy but then he says to hold on and wait.  Nope we don’t want to wait, so we all head outside the gate into the square.  Right away we meet Tony and he takes all of us right away to his van.  Price to South Friars (and all spots on the island) are fixed priced of $4 each person. 

The ride is not long and when we arrive at the beach club there are a few people in line.  Problem is that the staff have not arrived to take payment and start the computers.

I am not sure why they would not have them starting early considering how many reservations they have and all the ships in port.  Some of us head out to the beach to pick out chairs while our partners wait to pay.  Price is $10 per lounge chair and $10 for an umbrella.

But again it seems they are not expecting the crowds.  The one beach guy is running around like a fool trying to get umbrellas up and cushions for the chairs.

We are now settled, our view is the water with the Seadream ship.  The water is very rough today, and the waves are crashing against the beach.  Much rougher than last time. 

I went snorkeling, actually followed Bernie and wow I saw a turtle, actually snorkeled with him for about five minutes.  When I turned around to head back to the beach it was a struggle cause of the current and the winds.  But I made it but if you are not a strong swimmer be careful.

Sea Dream Yacht

Back on the beach we relaxed, swam, walked, had a nice meal, and slept.  We just wish it wasn’t so crazy busy.

Beautiful view - Caribbean on the right, Atlantic on the left

Port stores

All aboard is 3:30 so we arranged for Tony to come back at 2:30 but he sent another driver Greg to pick us up.  No problem we got back to the pier at around 2:45 and we did a bit of shopping and then back on board. 

Trevor plays at sailaway

Nevis on the right

Sailaway was stunning and we are excited to see we are sailing past Nevis and we usually go the other way.  So we head up on the top deck to take some pictures and listen to Trevor Cole play his steel pan. 

Tonight is the German Buffet night and since we didn’t make it to it either of the two earlier cruises we are not going to dress up for dinner.  We start out with a drink in the Platinum/Elite Lounge cause I love me a Mojito to start the evening. 

The food up in the Horizon Court is amazing.  The sausages, the schnitzel, the spätzle, the stew, the salads… oh and so much more.  We finish off our meal by sharing a Black Forest Cake.

We partake in some Beatles Trivia, then down to Vines to watch Rootberry juggling act and to finish off our bottle of wine.  Federico joins us for a glass and we get to meet Mathew who just joined this sailing as the Future Cruise Consultant. 

Oh I forgot to mention the funniest comment we heard today.  We are in the midship elevator and we get off on deck 7 and as we get off this woman says “does this elevator go to deck 6?”  I swear you can’t make this stuff up.  I really wanted to say, oh sorry it only goes to odd numbered decks.  

We wander around a bit and check in on the “where am I” trivia.  We actually don’t do too bad.

But all I want to do is go back to the cabin and watch a movie “The Other Woman” on the comedy section and we are laughing our heads off.

What is happening on board you say?  Lots:  Country and Western Night; Production Show What the World Needs Now; MUTS is showing the Hundred-Foot Journey; Country & Western Trivia; Line Dance Classes; Hollywood You?  Gameshow; and the regular musicians.  

St. Kitts January 24, 2015

We wake slowly and so glad we don’t dock until 10 am.  We take time getting ready and I meet up with friends in Vines to go off as a group.  Note that because we dock at 10 am it is a mad rush to get off the ship, so if you don’t have to get off right away, take your time, even fifteen minutes after we dock will enable you to not have to queue up to get off.  

But today we are off to CarambolaBeach Club.  We made reservations with them prior to coming and we head off together (six of us) and we take a taxi there.  Cost is $4 per person in a taxi van.  The Club is located on South Friars Beach and takes about 15 minutes to get there.  But you can see the ship slightly from the beach.

There are a few beach clubs/bars there but this one is very nice and they have a very nice restaurant and bar there, and free wifi.

When we arrive they have our name down on a list and we pay the woman at the cashier.  Lounge chairs and umbrellas are $10 each but they are very comfortable.  We get some nice chairs facing the water and off we go to plunge in. 

We spend the next few hours in the water, sunning, laughing, walking, snorkeling and chatting with others.  

Yvonne and I go for a walk and we find a big group of monkeys down by Shipwreck Beach. 

other places you can head to - note the black sand beach from the volcanos

Ship Wreck Bar - although they don't have much of a beach

the monkeys run wild here 

the beach at Ship Wreck Bar

Bernie went in snorkeling and he even saw a turtle.  Later when we went out we saw stingrays and trumpet fist, parrot fish, and so much more. 

We did have lunch there and it was quite good, rather pricy but we found it easy to share an entrée and we were full.  Definitely try the Pumpkin soup.

It is a busy area, seems everyone now knows about it. Tons of passengers, tourists staying on the island and many of the crew are here too.  But we are coming back here the next time too.

Around 4 pm we caught a taxi back (for the same price) and we were back on board around 4:30 pm.

Back in the cabin I so need a long hot shower but darn I have burned my skin on the right shoulder, gee three applications of 30SPF and I miss an area!  Bernie’s lower back is red, I guess the waistband of his trunks have rubbed off the sunscreen.  ARGH so be careful the sun here is strong.

We are just about to sail away and the Captain comes on announcing that we are in need of blood donors.  A medical emergency is happening and they are in need of blood but I don’t match the blood type but Bernie does so he heads down and fills out a form and there are quite a few others are also lining up.  (Posted later:  50 donors came forward and they took blood from 10 of them.)  Tomorrow in St. Thomas the patient will be put off to seek medical treatment. 

Tonight’s drink in the Elite lounge is Cosmopolitans which is something we both like so we meet up with friends there just after 6 pm.  The place is busy and we order our drinks and enjoy some shrimp too.  

This lounge is nice but it isn’t special like Skywalkers is.  Plus everyone keeps walking thru it on the way to the Princess Theater so it really isn’t private or special.  The crew here are amazing though, Caesar keeps making us laugh.  Tonight he is taking orders from a couple, the gentleman is in a scooter.  Caesar says I will be able to quickly get your drinks with this scooter and scoots along in it to the bar and brings the drink right back in the scooter too.  Too funny.  He thens says “imagine all the plates and glasses I could pick up with this”.

We head to the 7 pm show of DavidCats who is a Magician and Illusionist.  The place is packed, full, hard to find a seat.  There are only two shows tonight 7 and 9 pm and everyone says we can’t miss him and boy are we glad we didn’t miss this show.  He is like WOW, don’t miss him.  

Trust me you won’t be disappointed.  I can’t wait till next sailing to see him again.  It is not like the “usual” magical show it is a real presentation.  It combines video, music, audience participation and lots of “omg how did he do that”.

We stroll out of the show and make our way to the dining room.  Tonight we are dining with Paul/Yvonne and we normally have a table for two but Victor the Head Waiter takes care of us at a nice window table for four.  Tonight is Italian night and I order the peach soup then a lovely salad and then the pasta penne as my main entrée. 

After dinner there is the Hot Latin Nights up on the pool deck but both of us are so tired (no nap) but we do watch a bit of Kory Simon tonight at Crooners.  We saw Kory at the beach today and it was nice to catch up with him again. 

Back in the cabin at 10 pm but sadly that is also the time that the band Inner Mood Quartet starts in the Wheelhouse and that is all we can hear in the cabin, but we decide to watch a bit of a movie which helps, but there is no way we are going to be able to sleep until the band stops. 

Tip never book a room above a public venue.  So far this is the only downfall on this ship – soundproofing.