Getting to 100 and How Cruising Keeps Surprising

Welcome to a milestone. This is post number 100, born from 20 cruises, 14 ships over 10 years on 4 different lines. Number of Caribbean islands? Too many to count

Musing About Cruising started the day the old Pacific Princess—otherwise known as the “Love

Boat”—in August 2013, made its final voyage—to that dry dock in the sky.

While my old Saturday night companion didn’t do much to get me cruising, once I started many decades later, I looked back at the show through different eyes.

And what’s kept me embarkation-bound over the last decade is cruising’s ability to keep surprising:

In the beginning

The magnificent midnight buffet. Alas, it’s been gone quite a while now, but what a show! Celebrity’s Constellation filled the main dining room with rows and rows of eye candy. Ice sculptures and vegetable carvings everywhere! Breads made into villages! Candy made into chess sets! Elaborate cakes and pastries by the many dozens! It was so spectacular that they let us in early just to take photos.

Feast for the eyes at midnight--gone but not forgotten

Black tie waiters and stellar stewards. On our first cruise, the room steward ran down the hallway just to open the stateroom door for us. The formally dressed waiters did napkin tricks and told us stories of their native lands.

Then later on

Chicago, Cats, the ice and aqua shows. When our infatuation with Celebrity wore off and we itched

to try other lines, we gave our nightlife to Royal Caribbean. Broadway shows, ice dancing and high diving—all for no cost and with the best seats in the house.

Ice and delight on the Navigator of the Seas

Off course, but oh, so worth it. We dabbled in some new ports not found on many itineraries and discovered some real gems. The “B” in the ABCs—the pristine Bonaire with its blue glass-like waters; the sleepy and lovely St. Croix; the chic hilly yacht and beautiful-people mecca of St. Barts—all held new wonder.

 

Laid back and lovely is the Virgin Island of St. Croix

A Northerly course. While we cringed at the idea of a cruise where we couldn’t wear shorts, the otherworldly landscape and quaint frontier towns of Alaska more than made up for it. The eerie silence, ice chunk-filled waters and frozen walls of Glacier Bay; the heavy fog looming over the mountain tops; the crisp and piercing clean air that penetrated our down coats—these memories will remain with us always.

The icy waters of Glacier Bay from the balcony of the Golden Princess 

And then there’s now

Making Diamond Club. Getting to Royal Caribbean’s Diamond Club was quite a thrill. The best loyalty club of the mass market lines gives us unlimited free drinks during their extended happy hour. White wine under the white lights in Allure’s nearly deserted Central Park at night has become a cruise highlight.

 

Central Park under the lights

Surging wave of technology—From the robotic bars of Anthem and Harmony of the Seas, to the touch screen room finders on Royal Caribbean ships, to Princess’ shipboard smart phone app that makes walkie-talkies obsolete, the ships are, thankfully, at last, wholeheartedly embracing the digital age. Even the customs folks are getting into the act with the newly launched passport app.

Just a bit more

Then there’s finding a new port that was better than you expected, like the gorgeous calm beaches and spectacular foliage of Carnival’s own Mahogany Bay in Roatan…or doing something new at ports you’ve been to, like picking up paintings for a song in Royal Caribbean’s Labadee…or watching ports grow and change, like the ever-lively Philipsburg, St. Maarten, with its new modern waterfront area with a nostalgic Dutch-style automat.

Mahogany Bay--Carnival's paradise for day

What’s coming next

In the past 10 years, I’ve not run out of things to share, guide and amuse on the world of Caribbean cruising…and the topics just seem to keep floating to the surface.

So, if you promise to keep on reading, you can be sure I’ll keep on writing.

Still Life: Caribbean Love, Humanity and Pride in Marble and Bronze

We certainly didn’t expect to see little Anne Frank in the middle of the Caribbean.

Anne Frank in Aruba: forever the optimist. 

And yet, there she was, in Aruba’s Oranjestad, in Wilhelmina Park, reflecting the island’s Dutch heritage and an enduring symbol of its commitment to tolerance. The peaceful, tropical park is right downtown, and a quick and easy walk from the cruise pier.

The bronze statue by Netherlands artist Joep Coppens shows Anne with hands bound, looking hopefully toward the sky.

Her pedestal is engraved with an inspiring quote from her diary: “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” See more on the statue at Visit Aruba.com.

In fact, there are other great statues on the islands that commemorate love, family, pride of home and the triumph of man’s humanity. Keep your eye out for these:

A call for freedom in St. Croix—A former slave is depicted in bronze by artist Bright Bimpong celebrating emancipation by blowing through a conch shell. Below the bust is a simple inscription on marble: “Freedom.” You can see the statue in the Emancipation Gardens, just off the ship in Frederiksted, in the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Croix, a laid-back St. Thomas sibling with a promenade along its glass-like clear waters.

Love in St. Lucia—This startlingly lovely bronze statue in Castries shows a couple in an affectionately warm embrace. The Bank of St. Lucia commissioned island native son Ricky George in 1997 to create this piece named “The Aftermath,” which can be found in front of the Bank of St. Lucia on Bridge Street.

A sweet reminder of what life is all about in St. Lucia.

Celebration of a nation in San Juan. In the Paseo de la Princesa in Old San Juan, five or six blocks from the cruise pier (make a left, then take the promenade along the water), you’ll come across a stirring and powerful fountained monument to the birth of Puerto Rico. The Raices Fountain, constructed in bronze in 1992 by Spanish artist Luis Sanguino, is framed by the bay and on this particular day (see photo below), made even more moving with the help of some dramatic clouds.

Spanish-American pride in San Juan.

Note that the walk along the ancient wall near the fountain has a pretty little garden with other interesting statues—both patriotic and whimsical.

The Queens’ reign over Charlotte Amalie. The trek up the 99 steps to Blackbeard’s Castle in St. Thomas’ Charlotte Amalie is well worth it—whether or not you actually go inside. Outside the castle walls are gorgeous gardens of colorful tropical foliage, its center crowned by The Three Queens, a bronze sculpture commemorating three former female slaves who led a revolt against the Danish government in 1878 on nearby St. Croix. Richard Hallier created the statue in 2005.

The fight against slavery, a panorama of the sea in Charlotte Amalie.

While you’re there, you’ll enjoy a sweeping view of the Charlotte Amalie harbor, and you might just also see your cruise ship.

Then, wander the gardens to see other almost-hidden surprises, like Hallier’s Disneyesque statue of the girl and her birds.

In bronze, as in nature--the beauty of the Virgin Islands.

Musing’s Top Tip: For other fun things to watch for at the ports, see the posting, Watch for the Signs—How the Ports Tease and Tempt You.

Off Course and Worth It

They’re not on many cruise itineraries. But if you find St. Croix, Bonaire or St. Barts on one—grab it. It’ll be worth it. Here, in brief, is why:
 
St. Croix
Unlike St. Thomas, its overbearing sibling, St. Croix is reassuringly laidback. The cruise terminal is at Frederiksted, known as “Freedom City,” founded in 1751 and the island’s second-largest town (the capital is Christiansted, a short drive from the port).
 
Frederiksted’s lovely Strand Street promenade is perfect for enjoying the crystal-clear waters and rocky shore without getting your feet wet. Birds and crabs do their thing among the craggy shoreline, and unbroken conch shells lay untouched amid other natural debris washed up by the sea. Alas, it’s a crime—literally—to take any of these as souvenirs.

There’s a veterans park along the waterfront, honoring the various branches and those who have served, as well as a number of 18^th century homes.
 
Just outside the pier is a plaza, where you’ll find vendors selling mostly craft jewelry and art objects. The plaza is remarkable for its large clock and statue of slave rebellion leader Buddhoe blowing a conch shell in a dramatic gesture of freedom).
 
There’s also a small beach just a short walk from the pier, but the water is rocky underfoot and more suited for sunbathing than swimming.

Bonaire
Bonny Bonaire is one of the ABC islands where the water is so clear and fish so plentiful that you can enjoy aquarium-worthy gazing right from the pier. As we stood looking down, vivid blue and green fish meandered by. The promenade along the shore offers spectacular views of the water’s palate of blue hues. Pass homes and hotels fronted with palms and cactus, and adornments to remind you of the island’s Dutch past.
 
If you head toward the vendors, you’ll think the ship took a wrong turn and landed in Scarsdale. Vendors’ wares are more made-at-home than made in China. Think painted soaps and needlework vs. t-shirts and ashtrays. The main shopping street has some tourist shops and a chance to buy the local craft—painted gourds, which make great Christmas ornaments.
 
And like St. Croix, you’ll enjoy the rare experience of being the only ship in port.  

St. Barts
With no pier large enough to support a cruise ship, tendering is the only way to get to St. Barthélemy, a territory of France (officially an “overseas collectivity”). But when your tender sidles up to the pier in Gustavia, you’ll find yourself in the French Riviera cum Caribbean.
 
French is the language, Euro’s the currency, locals chat over wine and burgers at outdoor cafes, and there’s even a patisserie hidden away on a back street.
 

But this place is all about the water. The harbor is compact and crammed with sailboats. But what you notice first is the volume of colossal yachts, each bigger the next. It’s no wonder that the gourmet shop in town’s business card reads “Yacht Provisioning.”
 
St. Barts—or St. Barths—its nickname is spelled both ways—is clearly an affluent place. Its people are thin, tanned and well groomed. They pull into town on their dinghies from their yacht moorings or navigate the island’s steep and narrow streets on mopeds or golf cart/car hybrids. The streets are so tight that most cars park half on/half off the sidewalk. 

With the bustling traffic, narrow streets, cruise passengers and locals clogging the sidewalks, getting around is a bit of a challenge, but the ambience is unlike anywhere else in the Caribbean. And after dipping into some boutiques you need a pick-me-up, you can choose from many restaurants and cafes, as well as an ice cream shop.
 
For a foodie like me, the supermarket on the centrally located Quai de la République was a wonderland. Rabbit and choucroute in a can, cleaned-out baguette bins and hundreds of wines lovingly displayed in their own metal encasements reminded me we weren’t in the U.S. anymore.
 
But be forewarned: the shops in St. Barts are chic and dear. A simple refrigerator magnet to remind you of your visit will cost about $11.
 
Shell Beach is walkable, which means in this one stop, you can shop, swim, eat and drink—my definition of a really great port stop.                                                         
 
Musing’s Top Tip: Celebrity offers itineraries that include all three of these islands and Azamara sails to St. Barts. Holland America offers cruises that include Bonaire and St. Croix.