Where We Be
Petite Piton as seen from Tet Paul Nature Trail near Soufriere. It was a
long and winding road to get here from Castries, but worth it for this view!
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Southern Caribbean Cruise
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This 12-day cruise aboard the Norwegian Sky
was port-intensive, with ten different ports of
call (not including our start / end point in the
Dominican Republic). The highlight for us was
St. Lucia with its amazing piton views, but each
port had something to offer. Here's the itinerary:
Day 1. Catalina Island. Private beach playground.
Day 2. Aruba. Palm, Eagle & Manchebo Beaches.
Day 3. Curacao. Explore colorful Willemstad.
Day 4. Bonaire. Drift-snorkel Kleine Bonaire.
Day 5. Day at Sea
Day 6. Barbados. Carlisle Bay Beach + Bridgetown.
Day 7. St. Lucia. "Touch the Iconic Pitons" tour.
Day 8. Antigua. Dickenson Bay Beach / St. John's.
Day 9. St. Kitts. Romney Manor + Brimstone Fortress.
Day 10. St. Maarten. Plane spotting at Maho Beach.
Day 11. Tortola. Cane Garden Bay Beach.
The pics that follow give a quick synopsis of
each port of call. Enjoy!
Along the way we stopped at scenic Marigot Bay
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Gorgeous blooms near Marigot Bay
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This is Parliament Building, seat of Parliament in Barbados
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Along the way, we took in some of the historic sights of Bridgetown
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Before long we reached Princess Alice Highway, a wide oceanside avenue lined
with trees. At the extreme right of the photo you can just make out the cruise ship.
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This pedestrian-friendly boardwalk, in an area of town known as
the Careenage, took us in the right direction towards the ship
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National Heroes Square celebrates heroes of Barbados
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This was our second visit to Barbados. This time around, we took a taxi ($5 pp) to lovely Carlisle Bay Beach.
We strolled the beach for about an hour before walking back towards the ship along a pleasant route (~40 min).
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We enjoyed all of the amenities of the Norwegian Sky, including a special dinner at Le Bistro
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Afterwards we went snorkeling at the nearby island of Klein Bonaire, where we
saw sea turtles and fish galore. Bonaire is famous as a dive and snorkel destination.
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Bonaire was new for us. We began our day with a walk around Kralendijk, the capital.
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This was our second visit to Curacao. We reacquainted ourselves with the lovely
architecture in Willemstad, the capital. Click here for photos from our previous visit.
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This was our third visit to Aruba. Click here for photos from our prior visit,
where we walked along Palm, Eagle, and Manchebo Beaches -- gorgeous!
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Just offshore from La Romana cruise port in the Dominican
Republic, Catalina Island makes for a pleasant beach day
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This is how the beach looked first thing in the morning. The swimming is excellent here, with a steep dropoff,
and beach chairs are included (a nice surprise). A short tender ride is required to get to / from the ship.
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How to get to Klein Bonaire: Walk to Karel’s Beach Bar (just north of
the cruise pier) and take the Caribe Water Taxi to Klein Bonaire
($25 round trip, plus $5 pp for snorkels and masks, no fins needed).
Request a drift-snorkel. Drop your stuff off at the beach. The water
taxi drops you off away from the beach and you drift-snorkel back
(about one hour). Sunbathe on the beach as long as you like. Water
taxi picks you up (e.g., in about two hours, or longer if desired).
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Our final port of call was Tortola in the British Virgin Islands (new for us)
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We took a shared taxi over mountainous roads to Cane Garden Bay Beach ($12 pp each way)
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We walked up and down the beach twice, swam, relaxed -- and yes,
drank local beer in the morning (but it's 5 o'clock somewhere, right?)
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What a lovely way to finish out our time in the Caribbean
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One of the best things we did during our cruise was a half-day tour on
St. Maarten called "Amazing Plane Spotting at Maho Beach" ($27 pp)
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The beach itself was beautiful in its own right -- and there was a bar where,
for the price of a drink and a snack, you could watch the planes land
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Like this United jet! The runway is short, so the planes come in low, right over the beach.
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The best thing we did was float on our backs in the water
as the jumbo jets passed directly overhead. Wow!
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Our next and last stop was the ominously named Brimstone Hill Fortress
(steep $15 pp entry fee). The name derives from the nearby sulfur pools.
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The panoramic views from the fort are one of the main reasons for coming here. In the distance you can see St. Maarten.
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The fort itself is also fun to explore in its own right. It was built by the British in the 1600s.
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It takes about an hour to explore the fortress
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Romney Manor ($3 pp entry fee) was once home to Thomas Jefferson’s ancestor
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I could do a whole page on the ruins of the sugar mill and the gardens alone, but these pictures will have to suffice
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The centerpiece is this magnificent tree
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On our way back to the ship, a taxi driver agreed to take us to Romney Manor and Brimstone
Hill Fortress for $60. Both sights are located along the southeastern coast of the island.
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Port Zante near the cruise terminal is a pretty pedestrian-only shopping area (with pirhanas!)
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Just beyond Port Zante is Berkeley Memorial, aka "the Circus," an iconic
St. Kitts sight with its “Little Ben” clocktower in the middle of a traffic circle
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Independence Square is the locale of two churches -- the last "big sights" in town
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This was our second visit to St. Kitts. We awoke to this view of Basseterre, capital of St. Kitts, from the cruise ship.
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This was our second time in Antigua. During our first visit (in 1997!), we spent the day on
lovely Dickenson Bay Beach. This time around, we explored Antigua's capital, St. John's.
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We enjoyed the brightly colored buildings of St. John's, but after yesterday's long
excursion, we kept it simple and only explored the local area near the cruise port
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Our next stop was Toraille Waterfall, which was pretty enough -- if you could look past all the people!
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After a tasty lunch in Soufriere, we said our goodbyes to the
Pitons and began the two-hour journey back to the ship
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These two kittens couldn't care less about the views at their feet (paws)
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We hiked back down, enjoying all the tropical beauty along the way
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Tet Paul Nature Trail is located on the outskirts of Soufriere.
Here we began a short but steep climb towards panoramic views.
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Ahh! That's the view we were looking for!
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We disembarked at Castries, capital of St. Lucia,
for our 6-hour "Touch the Iconic Pitons" shore excursion
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Winding roads brought us to Soufriere -- and our first view of the Pitons
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"Stairway to Heaven" -- certainly sounds promising!
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Definitely worth the effort!
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(Not my photo; courtesy of Sandals)
Colorful signs welcome you to the island
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And just beyond that is Independence Square --
as far as we ventured on this short walking tour
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Ruins of the Artillery Officers' Quarters
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We snapped this final shot of the Norwegian Sky in the harbor at Road Town, Tortola.
Next morning, we disembarked in the Dominican Republic and flew back to the U.S.
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