Initially I wanted to spend a few days on each of the islands, I thought like Greece we would be able to get ferries from one island to the next, but that is not the case. There are very few ferries between islands. We then looked at flying from one island to the next and that was a nightmare as each time you wanted to travel to a different island you had to fly back to the main land, to either, Panama, or Miami in the end it all got to hard and expensive. We found a cruise that was going to 14 of the islands so we decided to join this cruise.
Our Itinerary was : Starting in Dominican Republic, Catalina, Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire, Grenada Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, St Lucia, Dominica, St John’s Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis, St Martin, British Virgin Island Tortola and back to the Dominican Republic.
Day 1 We boarded our cruise ship in La Romana Dominican Republic. As with all cruises it takes a few hours to settle in. Getting on the cruise was no problem, for the first time we decided to book a room that did not have a balcony. The cruise is for 14 days, each day we arrive at a new island/country we knew we would not be spending too much time in our room, so we thought we would keep costs down. The room was just a bit smaller than balcony room; it did have a good size window, so it was nice and bright, and had lots of storage. That is the good thing about the cabs on Cruise ships they make great use of every bit of space in the cabins. We departed at 8.30pm we spent the afternoon getting to know what was on the ship and were everything was. We had dinner at Crossings Restaurant, it is a Casual Contemporary restaurant, the food and service were very nice. At 9pm there was a comedy show, the comedian was Dean Edwards he was very funny and based his jokes on everyday life experiences that the audience could relate to. I love this type of comedy, he did not have to be rude, vulgar, or use bad language to be funny. Overall a great first day.
Day 2 we arrived at Catalina Island at 7am. Catalina is known for its gorgeous white sand beaches surrounded by tropical palm trees; you cannot stay on Catalina as it is a nature reserve. We would have liked to scuba dive here but there is no scuba shop on the island. We did enjoy the beach for a few hours but then it got too hot, so we got back on the ship, had a nana nap then went to the gym before we had a late dinner at the Cagney’s Steak house (well I had Australia lamb and M had steak it was a very good meal. (it was part of the specialty dinning package)
Day 3 we arrived at Willemstad the capital of Curacao a Dutch Caribbean Island at 11am. It gave me time to take advantage of the gym, as I had eaten so much the night before I needed to move. The gym is very well equipped, and it was good to see I was not the only one there. After that we had a leisurely breakfast and by then it was time to disembark. Curacao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a constituent country of the kingdom of the Netherlands. It was the capital of the Netherlands Antilles prior to its dissolution in 2010. We parked in St Anna Bay, an inlet that leads into a large natural harbour called the Schottegat our ship came through the floating Queen Emma Bridge it is a pedestrian pontoon bridge that opens as needed to let ships pass through to St. Anna Bay. Our first impressions of Curacao were one of surprise. It reminded us of Amsterdam. Along the banks of the harbour there are some very beautiful colourful buildings. The people in Curacao speak Dutch and the pastel-coloured colonial architecture Definity has a Dutch influence. Our first stop was to the city centre, we walked across the floating Queen Emma Bridge, it felt like we were still on the ship as the floating bridge swayed a bit under our feet. We walked along the waterfront, visited the Israel Emanuel Synagogue (the oldest one in the Americans) and strolled around the vibrant Pietermaai district. To me it is like the Netherlands meets Jamacia or something in between. The Dutch building and language but the upbeat music playing everywhere, the restaurants serve dishes influenced by the island’s mostly Dutch but also afro Caribbean cuisines. By the water is the 19th-century Rif Fort, they have carefully built café, restaurants, and a few shops, in and around it, but it has not damaged what was once there. This is a great way to keep a building alive. So many times, we do not make use of these amazing buildings. If we can pay homage to the old and tastefully add in the new, then we keep the building alive. The people are very friendly, and not once were we pressured into buying anything or to go into any restaurant which was a pleasant change. Overall, we really enjoyed our day in Curacao.
Day 4 We arrived in Oranjestad, Aruba at 8am. I was too tried to go to the gym, so we slept in until 9.30am had breakfast and set out for the day.
Aruba was formerly a part of the Netherlands Antilles. In 1986 it became a separate self-governing part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Although Aruba is officially a territory of the Netherlands, it’s a melting pot of nearly 100 nationalities and has two main languages, Dutch, and Papiamento (you’ll hear “Bon Bini!” a lot, which means welcome), but we noticed English is also widely spoken. As both Curacao and Aruba are both owned by the Dutch, I thought they would be similar, but I felt Aruba is less like the Dutch than Curacao and this shows with the architecture and food. Aruba like Curacao is very well setup for Tourist especially the cruise ships, it has a nice tram that takes you to the center of town, and also lots of local buses ready to take passages from the boat to the beaches.
We took the tram to the centre of town, there is lots of high-end shopping here, and some local markets after an hour of shopping M had enough, and we walked another 5min to Fort Zoutman a historical museum which is the oldest buildings in Aruba. It is not a very large museum, but you do get an idea of what life was like in those early days. The Straw hats industry was a big part of Aruba export in very hard economic times. The hats were exported to New York, Paris, London, Hamburg, and Vienna. But with World War 2 and competition by manufacturers this put an abrupt end to these hats by the late 1930s. We were able to climb the 83 steps to the bell tower in the Fort which had a great view across Aruba. We also walked 15min to Surfside beach as it was close to the ship. We had a wonderful day on Aruba.
Day 5 We arrived at Bonaire, St George at 6am, I was up early and went to the gym, we had breakfast in the main dinning room rather than the buffet, I am not a fan of buffets as I feel you spend the whole time getting up and down to get food and it disrupts the meal and conversation. We got off the ship around 10am. Bonaire is the last of the three Dutch owned islands. They call the the ABC. Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire. Out of the 3 Netherland Antilles I think Bonaire was my Favorite, more people spoke Dutch and the architecture and food was very similar to Amsterdam. There are a lot of young Dutch people working here in trendy coffee shops and on the market stalls, they had some very nice quality arts and crafts not the usual tat that we had seen on most of the islands. Bonaire is known for its production of Salt. For 3 centuries this island culture and prosperity is dependent upon this important spice. Bonaire like Aruba, and Curacao have beautiful beaches and the water is clear and so blue. I love going for a swim to cool down, but I find in the Caribbean and in most of Central America the water is warm, so you do not get that nice refreshing feeling. Most people love this, but I prefer colder water, maybe the fact that I grew up in Ireland has something to do with this, even though Australia is a very warm country the water is always cool so I cannot complain. Another wonderful day Bonaire is worth a stop.
Day 6 We arrived in Grenada at 11am this was great as I was able to sleep in and get to the gym. Grenada was once owned by the English but in 1974 Grenada got its independence. This year they are celebrating their 50 years of Independence. Most of the people speak English. Grenada is known for its spices, so it is sometimes called the spice island.
We decided to do a tour to the following places. Annandale Waterfall and Forest Park. The waterfall is 30 Feet tall and is surrounded by lush green vegetation. As the water was nice and cold, I went for a swim it was so refreshing. We stopped at a spice market. It was very interesting to see all the different spices and coco in their natural nuts and seeds. Nutmeg is one of the country’s major exports, you will also find Cinnamon, Ginger, Cloves, Allspice, Bay leaves and turmeric. We continued to Fort Fredrick, this Fort has never fired a shot in anger. It was built by the French who had wrested the island from the English in 1779. The French realised they had little protection, so their first act was to build a service of forts. 4 years later the treaty of Versailles gave the island back to England and the English completed what the French started. The views from the fort are amazing. Our final stop was at Morne Rouge (BBC Beach) this half mile white sandy beach is in the south of the island; it is a crescent shape very safe for families with young children and the waves are not strong. Overall, it was a great day on Grenada.
Day 7. Trinidad and Tobago South-eastern West indies, Scarborough the capital of Tobago we arrive at 8am. They speak English and French.
We decided to hike to the King George Fort heritage Park. It was all up hill to the Fort but worth the hike. It was built in the 1770s. It was named after British King George the III. Located on the top of Scarborough hill provided this fort with an advantage of views across the island. The Fort has many interesting structures the officers mess, powder magazine, barracks, bell tank and light house. There was also a hospital for the troops stationed there. The fort is surrounded by beautiful park lands that have some of wonderful trees and plants. The views from the fort are wonderful and the cool breeze was very welcomed as it was a very hot humid day. We saw a lovely small blue bird in the car park fighting his reflection in the car mirror. As it was Sunday there were very few shops opened in the main town, mind you the centre of town was very run down.
Day 8: Bridgetown Barbados, Language spoken is English. Barbados is an eastern Caribbean Island and an independent British Commonwealth nation. Besides the beaches there is not much to see here. Browne’s and Pebbles Beach like on all the Caribbean islands are beautiful. We had a wonder around town, the so-called Pelican Craft Centre was closed. We did visit St Michael Cathedral, but it is in bad need of a renovation. This nicest building on the island was the parliament house. Besides the beaches Barbados was very disappointing like a lot of these islands everything look tired; at one stage it looks like they did have some nice buildings but most of them are in dis-repair.
Day 9: Castries, St Lucia, West Indies. Language spoken is English and French Creole. We walked to Walcott Square the nicest part of the town centre. It has some nice trees and plants and a nice water fountain. There are 2 statues of 2 Noble Prize winners Derek Walcott for Literature and William Arthur Lewis for Economics. Across from the square is the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, it is the largest church in the Caribbean. It is very nice; It would have been very impressive when it was first built. We walked along the Castries Markets, there is a lot if tourist Tat for sale. There are four beaches here Vigie Beach, La Toc Beach, Reduit Beach and Marigot Bay which is famous for the Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed there.
Day 10 Roseau, Dominica, it is a small compact settlement in the Saint George Parish and is surrounded by the Caribbean Sea. They export Bananas, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges, and cocoa. There are 2 waterfalls on the island Dominica Emerald Pool and the Trafalgar Falls Dominica. We had decided we had seen enough waterfalls, so we gave these 2 a miss. We thought we would explore the town Centre. We wanted to check out the Cathedral of our Lady. It was built in 1916 and the cathedral is an example of the European Influence in Dominica. We were disappointed when we got there as the Cathedral is under construction. As seen in the photo below this is all we could see of it. There is not much else to see in the town centre just a few small shops, some vegetable market stalls. The walk to and from the ship into the centre is nice, as it is along the coastline.
Day 11 St John’s Antigua and Barbuda. We arrived around 7.30am and it was a miserable day the rain was pelting the sky was dark and grey and it had dropped to about 22 degrees. Some of the shore excursions were cancelled as it would not be fun spending a day at a beach in the rain. We decided to brave it and walk into the town as I wanted to check out the local Cathedral and town. To our disappointment a lot of the shops were closed and so was the Cathedral. There was not much in the town square, so we headed to Heritage Quay as I wanted to visit a local artist shop and gallery the artist is Stephen Murphy. His shop is fantastic, it is so colourful just like his artwork and his personality. Stephen is a native Antiguan who lived and was educated in Canada, he specialises in street scenes and landscapes in such diverse areas of the globe as Toronto, New Orleans, Italy, France, Mexico, Easter Island and Antigua and Barbuda. It was great to chat with him and to see him at work, his street scenes are wonderful, we bought 3 small pieces and know when we are back in Australia, I will only have to look at his painting and I will be transported back to the Caribbean islands. So, although the day was a bit of a washout, we still had fun.
Day 12 Basseterre St Kitts and Nevis. We arrived at 8am the weather was looking a bit better no rain but grey sky. Today we did a walking tour around the Basseterre area. We started at the old treasury building National Museum, it is an impressive building from the outside, we could not go inside as the building is being renovated. We continued to the Berkeley Memorial which is the centre of Circus it features a drinking fountain as well as a four faced clock, each one faces out to one of the four streets leading to the area known as the Circus. Independence square was next, it is a square garden with a fountain and some very nice trees great shade from the sun. The square was renamed from Pall Mall Square on the 19th of September 1983 to commemorate their independence. The stone fountain was erected to commemorate the introduction of pipe borne water from Olives into Basseterre in the 19th Century. Across from the square is the Sir Lee Llewellyn Moore Judicial Complex and on the other side the Co Cathedral. The Cathedral is simply decorated but one of the nicest I have seen. We then went to the Victoria Monument, but it is in need of repair. The Police Headquarters is in a good sturdy looking building. We continued to the Wesley Methodist Church and St George Anglican Church. Even though some of these islands are small all religions seem to be available to the locals. Sometimes these are the best buildings on the island. Government Headquarters is also a nice building, and our final stop was the Warner Park Sports Complex home to the SKN Patriots, we were in luck as there was a cricket game in play. There are also Net Ball and Tennis courts and a Football Stadium. We really enjoyed the tour it started to rain so we got back to the ship just in time as the heavens opened.
Day 13 Phillipsburg St Marrten: Sint Maarten, part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, is a country on the southern part of a Caribbean Island owning 40% of the island the other 60% owned by the French Saint Martin. Its natural features span lagoons, beaches, and salt pans. The Dutch half offers Casinos, duty free shopping and Island culture. The French half is all subdued and sophistication. We took a tour with one of the Local women from Phillipsburg, she is a very interesting women who does a lot of work for her community. She drove us around the whole island both sides. Stopping at lots of interesting places like the famous Maho beach where we watched the planes landing, you could just about touch them while standing on the beach, also the French town of Marigot. Overall a great day and a great way to see the island in it entirety.
Day 14 British Virgin Island Tortola: Tortola is the largest of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. It features several white-sand beaches, including Cane Garden Bay and Smuggler’s Cove. Road Town, the capital of the British Virgin Islands, has a harbour dotted with sailing boats and is known as a yachting hub. There is also the Callwood Rum Distillery which is worth a visit.
Overall we enjoyed the Cruise. I have mixed feelings about the Caribbean islands, some of them I loved and others not so much. But I do think this was the best way to get to see most of the islands. Has cruising gone up in my estimation 🤔 well for places like the Caribbean, the Antarctica and the Artic circle they are great, as these are places that are hard to get to. I also think smaller cruise ships are much better. Our ship had 2,000 passengers on it, which is a lot, but compared to some of the ships now that carry over 7,000 ours was small. We docked back at Dominican Republic. Onto our next destination.