A Tropical Anniversary

by Sally Branston

Unfortunately, due unavoidable circumstances, we didn't discover that our holiday had been cancelled until after our return to the UK right at the end of July. So, what to do? We'd already ruled out half the world as being too hot; too wet; too unstable; too familiar or not special enough for celebrating our Silver Wedding anniversary, and the combination of a week's sightseeing in Sri Lanka, followed by a week's swimming and sunbathing in the Maldives had seemed perfect. There was also the added complication of wanting to be in our chosen resort on the day of our anniversary, September 4, but needing to be back in time for my husband to take up a new post on September 10.

View from the hotel

So, not an easy problem to resolve at short notice in August and in the end, we settled for a week in St Lucia, at the Rendezvous Hotel on the outskirts of Castries, arriving home at 0630 on the very morning of the new job - not ideal and a long way to go for just a week. However, beggars can't be choosers and in fact, after our arrival, we discovered we'd really fallen on our feet. If there's anyone out there looking for a hotel in which to get married or celebrate a landmark anniversary, we can really recommend this one.

This was the first time we'd been on an all inclusive package holiday and we were a bit wary, being sure that a lot of "extras" would appear on the final bill. But there were no rip-offs on this trip. The only things we paid for at the end of the week were a bottle of wine we'd had from the wine list rather than the free wines on offer at every meal, and a substantial packed lunch (with wine) we'd ordered to take out one day. And we didn't really need to have spent on these two items as the free table wine was excellent (and there was a choice) and there was always food on offer at all hours of the day, so we could have skipped lunch altogether and come back and scoffed sandwiches and cake at teatime.

Included in the holiday were the services of the registrar and a very nice hotel employee who took photographs of us renewing our vows on the beach under a hibiscus archway; champagne after the ceremony; more champagne in our room later; a fruit basket; flower arrangement; cocktails with the assistant manager and two other couples who'd just got married; manager's cocktail party and a special celebration dinner in the hotel's a la carte restaurant. Food was plentiful and generally very good, and there was plenty to drink (free) at all hours of the day, including a swim-up bar in one of the pools. Interestingly enough, with all this alcohol on sale, the mostly British clientele was very well behaved, perhaps because it was a "couples only" hotel, the average age of the guests being late twenties.

There were also lots of activities on offer, rather in the manner of a traditional holiday camp, so we could have tried our hand at beach volleyball, archery, aerobics, sub aqua, water-skiing, taken swimming lessons or joined in the competition to mix the cocktail of the week. Only being there for a week, though, and wanting to spend most of our time on the beach or in the pool, we didn't have time to try any of these out and being hit quite hard by jet lag in the first few days, nor did we test the claim that the piano bar "only closes when the last guest leaves".

The Pitons

We took one excursion to go whale watching and had a hire car for two days. The boat trip was quite pleasant, but we only saw a few dolphins and some pilot whales who popped up very briefly and disappeared as soon as they saw us. The hire car was quite useful, as there are only two main roads down the length of St Lucia and the coastal route, which gives good views, including the island's landmark Pitons, is very twisty. So, for those of us prone to motion sickness, it was much better to have the freedom to stop frequently than to be on an excursion bus. However, being unaccompanied, you are much more at the mercy of unscrupulous locals, although I gather it's not as bad as Jamaica.

If you're not involved in some official capacity in tourism or agriculture on St Lucia, I don't suppose there's much to do, but some of the local young men can be quite aggressive in demanding money to give you directions, whether you want them or not, or to act as your guide or sell you a necklace you don't want, to the extent that it makes us Brits feel very uncomfortable. We got stuck with one such guide at the Diamond Botanical Gardens and yet if we hadn't accepted his services, we'd have had to leave our car at the mercy of him and his friends in an unattended car park, so it was a difficult dilemma. The gardens were very beautiful and a photographer's dream, but we were rushed round by our "guide" and then he demanded quite a lot of money "with menaces" as a tip afterwards. I could see why some people take these all-inclusive holidays and never bother to venture outside their hotel, and I think you need longer than a week to get a feel for these situations and how best to handle them.

Torch Ginger

But the true beauty of St Lucia, particularly for gardening enthusiasts, lies in its vegetation. Much of the island is covered with banana plantations and you can see mangoes, coconuts, gourds and cocoa pods growing. Every tropical houseplant you've ever seen in a garden centre grows outside there and if you look closely, you'll see them being visited by hummingbirds. Amongst others, we saw dracaena, crotons, bougainvillea, strelitzia, dicksonia, hibiscus, bromeiads, chenille plant, anthurium, ornamental bananas and ginger, many of which were growing in the hotel gardens. One word of warning, though, you should keep a look out for the highly poisonous manchineel trees. There were some of these in the hotel grounds as well and they are so poisonous that you can't even touch any part of the tree. Apparently it's so dangerous that you shouldn't shelter under one if it rains, as the water running off can cause burns. It did rain, too, whilst we were there - great torrential downpours, lasting a few minutes and no real inconvenience at all.

But I think one of the strongest memories I retain of St Lucia is the great night-time cacophony of the tree frogs. These tiny creatures make an enormous noise in inverse proportion to their size. I couldn't believe how small they were. And where do they go in the daytime? The noise is terrific and makes the warm, dark nights seem very tropical.

We barely had time to scratch the surface of St Lucia on this brief visit, but I can highly recommend it to anyone in search of a tropical paradise. And our experience of an all-inclusive package holiday was highly favourable as well. Full marks to St Lucia.

First published in VISA issue 45 (spring 2002)

Caribbean Christmas Cruise

By Maxine Bates

This was my 8th cruise - having previously sailed on Cunard QE2, Cunard Crown Dynasty, P&O Canberra, Costa Romantica, Festival Bolero, Airtours Sundream and Thomson Emerald – and I think one of the best. Though this was probably due to the fact that this time I travelled with five wonderful Mensan friends. Ocean Village was formerly Arcadia, but rebranded in May 2003 as an informal cruise experience aimed at the younger market. All the staff from the chief officers to the maintenance men were friendly, always smiling, and went out of their way to be helpful. The restaurants and public lounges were spotless with lovely décor. Our cabin was spacious and clean with every facility we could want – TV, telephone, hairdryer, fridge, shower gel, etc. Blue and white striped beach towels were provided and replaced each day and you could take these out on deck or ashore with you. An excellent idea I’ve not seen on other cruises! We had an inside cabin yet outside cabins were almost identical. Both cabins had curtains, the only difference being inside ones had a wall behind the curtain whereas outside ones had a picture window! This nice idea certainly made inside cabins feel less claustrophobic.

The transfers

Upon arrival at Barbados airport a coach was waiting on the tarmac and we were transferred directly from our Thomas Cook flight to Ocean Village and did not have to clear customs or baggage reclaim. You need to put your suitcases outside your cabin before 11.00 pm the night prior to disembarkation and keep anything required for the next day in your hand luggage, but this is usual practise on cruises. On this cruise we had to clear immigration aboard ship on disembarkation day at a specified time. Our slot was 7.15 am! This did mean, however, that passengers could be transferred directly to the departure lounge at Barbados airport.

The food

Being an informal cruise meant there were no set meal times or table plans. Instead passengers can enjoy a 24 hour buffet which is good – but not for your waistline! The food in both the Plantation and Waterfront restaurants was always hot and well presented. Though self-service there were hardly ever any queues and trays and empty plates were removed quickly from your table by the friendly waiting staff. Breakfast was similar in both restaurants, though there was a larger choice in the Waterfront including waffles, smoothies, etc. During the day the Waterfront was closed and the Plantation offered salads, burgers, hot dogs, chips, gateaux, as well as daily specialities such as lasagne, fish pie and much more. The small La Luna restaurant on deck offered jacket potatoes and pizza cooked to order with waiter service at lunchtimes. In the evening the Plantations restaurant served Asian themed food with Thai, Indian, Chinese, Indonesian, etc, on various nights. The Waterfront restaurant also had themed evenings such as Mexican, French, Italian, American and British pub. Though good the menus weren’t really what we were expecting. For example, there was no pizza or pasta on the Italian night and on the British pub night there was cabbage and bacon soup! I’ve never seen that on offer in a British pub! We never felt the need to pay a supplement to dine and be waited on in La Luna or The Bistro (with menus devised by celebrity chef James Martin who occasionally cooks on the ship) at night as the other two restaurants were excellent. There were occasional BBQs on deck too. There was a turkey BBQ on Boxing Day! In fact, one evening I had my starter in the Waterfront, main course on deck and dessert in the Plantation!

The drinks

Drinks were reasonably priced at 70p for a regular or £1.50 for a large (pint) soft drink. Cocktails were £2.95 with the "cocktail of the day" at only £2.65. The ship has a variety of bars including the swim up Splash Bar in the pool, Connexions Bar with live entertainment, Charlie’s Bar with background piano music and the Bayside Club with a disco. You are allowed to bring non-alcoholic drinks onto the ship to store in the fridge in your cabin, but alcoholic purchases are confiscated until the evening before disembarkation. However, bag searches were sometimes poor and I managed to walk straight on in Barbados armed with duty free shopping! Also we found that at tender ports there were usually no bag searches so not to delay proceedings.

The entertainment

With the odd exception the quality of entertainment was far higher than other cruises I’ve been on. On our particular cruise we saw Robbie Williams and Rod Stewart tribute acts which were very good. On Christmas Day the original Three Degrees performed in the Marquee Theatre and everyone was soon up dancing. (We actually bumped into two of them in the lift the following day and they seemed very genuine and friendly.) The "Diva Experience" was created by the same mastermind as the "Sky Show" at the Millennium Dome and comes in four parts – Passion, Heaven, Moon and Earth – on four different nights. It’s supposed to portray a story, but I’m afraid I soon lost the plot! The shows involved singing, dancing, acrobatics, comedy, juggling, curtain swinging (or whatever it’s actually called!) and even flame throwing. The "Moon Show" is the highlight performed out on deck on a specially built steel arch over the pool and is quite amazing. The captain has to slow the ship down for the safety of the performers.

Bonaire
One of the Netherlands Antilles "ABC" islands – Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. More like Aruba than Curacao, Bonaire is quite barren with divi divi trees shaped by the trade winds. We took the half day "Island Journey" tour on what looked like a typical yellow American school bus visiting the flamingo sanctuary, salt flats, slave huts and traditional island housing with a very informative guide. In the afternoon we snorkelled off a tiny beach right next to the ship and saw some very colourful fish. I think that, left to your own devices, you would get bored quickly in the very small capital, Kralendijk. Some of the best diving in the world can be found in Bonaire, so I’d recommend taking a dive excursion if you’re a diver.

Isla Margarita

Lying off the coast of Venezuela, Isla Margarita is classed as South America so I could “tick off” my last continent as I’d already visited Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and Australasia. (I’m not including Antarctica as I never want to go there – far too cold!) We had pre-booked the “Rainforest Trek” excursion and were advised by letter once on the ship that it had been re-classed as strenuous rather than moderate walking. They weren’t wrong! In temperatures of 34 C we were thrown ropes by local lads and had to shin up large rocks whilst being pushed from behind. Not my idea of fun at all. I spent most of the walk looking where I was going – especially after the guide had shown us a wild tarantula spider! – so couldn’t appreciate the scenery. The trek usually takes 4 hours, but our group managed it in 2½ hours. I think everyone was desperate to get back to an air-conditioned mini-bus! I didn’t fancy any of the snorkelling or shopping excursions and the rainforest trek seemed the only other option. So in one way I’m glad I did it and saw some of the island, but I wouldn’t do it again!

St Lucia

This was one of our favourite islands, probably due to the excellent full day "Land and Sea Adventure" excursion. It started with a coach journey to the famous "Pitons" and after a photo stop to admire the majestic mountains from afar we then drove between Gros Piton and Petit Piton to smell the volcanic sulphur and see bubbling pools of mud. Next we wandered through the Botanical Gardens with our guide pointing out the various flora and demonstrating how the local fruits are grown and used until we reached Diamond Falls. Lunch was included and eaten at the Still Plantation where we also saw a 100 year old tortoise roaming in the garden. It was enjoyable, but we had been spoilt by the quality of food on the ship so this didn’t really compare. In the afternoon we sailed back from the town of Soufriere aboard the Endless Summer catamaran with complimentary rum punch and soft drinks. En route we stopped off for a swim and then to view the posh yachts anchored in Marigot Bay where Dr Doolittle was filmed. Sailing right past Ocean Village to dock with music blaring and our tour guides leading the dancing made a lovely end to the day.

Dominica

We figured we could see the well-known sights on our own, so five of us hired a mini-bus for a four hour trip to the Emerald Pool and Trafalgar Falls. This worked out - after some negotiating - at US$ 16.00 per person. Our driver/guide, Curt, was happy to wait as long as necessary at each place we stopped. We arrived at the Emerald Pool around midday when there were no other tourists present, so we got a private swim in the crystal clear waters under a 40 ft waterfall. One of the holiday highlights! After a drive round hairpin bends we reached Trafalgar Falls; 200 ft twin waterfalls in the Roseau Valley. A short walk brings you to a viewing platform and we persuaded Curt to take us down nearer the falls to look at the bubbling water. You can also swim here, but it isn’t advisable without a qualified guide as there have been accidents.

Grenada

Having already visited Grenada twice before and been to Grand Etang Lake, this time we got a taxi to Goyave to see the nutmeg processing station. Our driver thought this a strange place to visit and wanted to take us elsewhere instead. When we arrived in Goyave we discovered why. The guided tour cost US$ 1.00 per person and lasted about 10 minutes! The town itself is quite poor and ramshackle and locals are employed to rake the nutmegs in large trays, which would definitely be an automated process in the UK. So we were soon heading back to the capital, St George’s, but at least saw some pleasant scenery en route along the coast. We were dropped at Grand Anse beach which is one of the best in the Caribbean and is where, allegedly, Ursula Andress emerged from the sea in the film of Dr No. From the beach we could see Ocean Village anchored out at sea as this was a tender port. It cost US$ 2.00 each for a ride back to the port in a local mini-bus – so squashed that the young boy who collected payment actually sat on my knee!

Barbados

It’s Tuesday – must be Barbados! Having booked both the "Sugar & Spice" and "Calypsos & Coconuts" itineraries meant we visited Barbados at the start, in the middle and at the end of our holiday. On our first day before setting sail we had time to walk into the capital, Bridgetown, to see Nelson’s Column (a miniature replica of the one in Trafalgar Square) and Independence Arch. Taxis are plentiful at the dock, but it’s only a 15-20 minute walk. The cruise terminal is great for duty free shopping. Be sure to do some sampling in the Rum Cake Shop where the staff are very friendly and the cakes come in various sizes and flavours (original, coffee, lemon or chocolate).

The following week, whilst some passengers were disembarking and others embarking, we took a "Sail, Snorkel & Swim With Turtles" trip which was excellent. A catamaran met us next to Ocean Village and although it was new and could carry 70 passengers they only took 35 of us so there was plenty of space to sit inside, on deck or on the nets between the hulls. There was also another free bar! We were one of the first boats to arrive at the place with the Hawksbill turtles. Snorkelling equipment and instruction were provided. Each swimmer had to wear a red lifejacket, either inflated or not, so that our group could be identified when others arrived and nobody was left behind. There was also chance to snorkel out to a coral reef or laze on the beach. Then it was a pleasant sail back along the coastline to Bridgetown. That afternoon we made our own way to Harrison’s Caves. Do haggle with taxi drivers because we got our fare reduced from US$ 60.00 to US$ 40.00 within a few moments! This included waiting time whilst we watched a short film and took the narrated train ride down into the caves, which are full of stalactites, stalagmites and crystal clear pools.

Tortola
As we were here on Christmas Day we thought it better to book an excursion, not knowing whether taxis would be operating. We opted for "Sightsee and Swim" which was a drive around Tortola with beautiful views of the other British Virgin Islands. Unfortunately the Skyworld observatory, the highest point on the island and usually part of the tour, was closed because it was Christmas. This did enable us to spend an extra half hour on the wonderful Cane Garden Bay beach though, where we were given vouchers for a free rum punch. A lovely way to spend Christmas Day!

St Maarten

The island is half Dutch, half French and is basically a duty-free shopping island. Approx. 20 minutes walk from the quayside brings you to the Dutch capital of Philipsburg. There are plenty of taxis and mini-buses available for anyone not wanting to walk. The main street is lined with shops selling souvenirs, jewellery and electrical goods intermingled with McDonalds and a few bars. Be sure to try the local guavaberry liqueur! We walked back a couple of streets to see the salt pond but it wasn’t really worth it. There’s a nice beach in Philipsburg too.

St Kitts

Two of our party did the "Mount Liamuiga Volcano Hike" whilst four of us did the more leisurely "St Kitts Railway" excursion. This is the old sugar plantation railway that has been bought by an American and turned into a top tourist attraction. There are five carriages with an open upper deck and a lower enclosed deck and each passenger is allocated a seat on each deck. Upstairs there are padded seat benches along each side of the train and a serving area at the end where our hostess made banana daiquiris or rum punch which is all complimentary throughout the two hour journey. Downstairs there are wicker seats and tables as well as a very clean toilet with flowers, hand wash and gilded taps. The journey is narrated as you pass through fields of sugar cane so close you can touch it, along the coastline with its high waves, through villages where the local children come out to wave and around the base of Mount Liamuiga obscured in mist. At the end of the line you transfer into mini-buses for the return drive back to the ship with chance to view Brimstone Hill Fortress en route. The National Museum of St Kitts in the capital, Basseterre, costs only US$ 1.00 entrance and is a small but interesting museum with information about slavery, local industry and culture.

Antigua

Having spotted an article in one of the British national newspapers a few months prior to travel, we had contacted Graham Lemon at Island Speedboats and booked him to take us out on his speedboat. (See www.island-speedboats.com) Graham met us next to where Ocean Village docked and took us around the north of Antigua past Sandals resort to Prickly Pear Island where we could snorkel, taking care to avoid the seasonal jellyfish. The ride was both informative and much fun, especially for those of us sitting at the front and catching all the salty waves. It felt like being on a rollercoaster whilst someone was throwing buckets of water at us! Graham also provided a cool box full of rum punch, beer and soft drinks. The cost for a four hour trip was US$ 225.00, but divided by up to six (the maximum number of passengers the speedboat can take) this actually works out cheaper than the official Ocean Village excursion round the island on a RIB (rigid inflatable boat). Plus it’s more exclusive and more fun!

Mayreau

The small island of Mayreau is only one mile square and is part of the Grenadines. This is a tender port, but the Ocean Village crew take a bar and BBQ over to the beach and you are able to use your on-board account card to make purchases. We had booked the afternoon "Catamaran To Tobago Cays" tour but unfortunately it rained heavily. After an hour sailing we anchored off a deserted island and were given the opportunity to snorkel (with equipment provided) to the beach. I imagine with gorgeous weather this is a perfect place to spend on hour or so. But with rain like stair rods we didn’t even want to get off the catamaran and sat huddled in our warm dry towels instead! Typically the sun came out as we left. The sail back amongst the Grenadines and past exclusive Palm Island was lovely.

First published in VISA issue 56 (June 2004)