Tag Archives: Caribbean

Postcards From The Caribbean

View of the Mount Liamuiga volcano on the island of of St. Kitts

Kathy & I are currently “binge cruising,” having just completed the first of three cruises to the Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale. The first cruise, aboard Celebrity Equinox, was a 10-night cruise that visited St. Kitts, Grenada, Martinique, St. Lucia and Antigua. We took tours on all but Grenada, and needless to say I came back with a few photos, which I will likely not look at too much until we get home.

We embark this afternoon aboard the same ship, Celebrity Equinox, on a 9-night cruise that will visit Bonaire, Curacao, Aruba and Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic). On Saturday, February 18 we move to Celebrity Apex for a 7 night cruise to the Western Caribbean. After that we head back to Charlotte to rest and go on diets. 😉

I’ll have some more photos but no specific timetable to posting them. Too many things to do to spend time on the computer. Today was a good day to look at a few because we didn’t have to get off the ship! More later!

Trees at the Depaz Rhum Distillery on the Island of Martinique
Boat on the beach in Anse La Raye on the island of St. Lucia
View of Nelson’s Dockyard from The Lookout. Part of the Shirley Heights Military Complex on the island of Antigua

Wandering St. Martin

Oasis of the Seas and Celebrity Beyond in Saint Martin

On the island of St. Martin, it had been a few years since we took the time to visit the capital of Philipsburg, so we took the water taxi from the cruise port and spent a few hours there. While the buildings show a hint of old Dutch architecture. we find that most of the businesses are bars, jewelry stores run by non-St. Martians, and hotels. Go to the beach or shop is about it. Or take pictures. 🙂

Riding the ferry between the cruise port and downtown Phillipsburg, Saint Martin

St. Martin is best experienced on an island tour with an experienced guide, a trip to a nice beach or a lunch at a restaurant on the French side. We have done this many times in the past and it is a much better time! We just didn’t want to do it this time.

Riding the ferry between the cruise port and downtown Phillipsburg, Saint Martin
Hats. Phillipsburg, Saint Martin
Phillipsburg, Saint Martin
Phillipsburg, Saint Martin
Phillipsburg, Saint Martin
Phillipsburg, Saint Martin
Phillipsburg, Saint Martin
Phillipsburg, Saint Martin
Phillipsburg, Saint Martin
Phillipsburg, Saint Martin

A Little Bit of St. Kitts

Port Zante Marina. Basseterre, Saint Kitts

St. Kitts is another of those islands we’ve been to numerous times, and more often than not choose to stay on or close to the ship instead of trudging around the island with the rest of the tourists. This is another place where we got off the ship long enough to stretch our legs, visit a store we wanted to go to, and take a few photos. It’s easy to spend an hour or so then get back to the ship before all the pool chairs are claimed! 😉

Holland America Rotterdam and Celebrity Constellation in Basseterre, Saint Kitts
Shades of Lieutenant Ilia (Star Trek reference)? Mannequins. Basseterre, Saint Kitts
Shades of Lieutenant Ilia (Star Trek reference)? Mannequins. Basseterre, Saint Kitts
Basseterre, Saint Kitts

A Short Stop In St Thomas

Dang It! Iguana. Crown Bay, St Thomas

I find the island of St. Thomas to be one of those places that has been spoiled by its own success. That is to say, a beautiful place that has been over-populated, over-commercialized and over-developed, to the point where it is little more than a shopping place with beaches. I know that sounds mean, but like a lot of places what made it famous and desirable ain’t there any more.

Do Not Cross. Crown Bay, St Thomas

We got off the ship long enough to walk around the immediate port area long enough to stretch our legs and get a few steps. I did manage to take a few photos, which are fun but nothing especially interesting. Probably not tourist photos, at least not all of them!

Tug boat at Crown Bay, St Thomas
Ferry at Crown Bay, St Thomas
Crown Bay, St Thomas
Iguana. Crown Bay, St Thomas

Big and Little

Big and little. Allure of the Seas and Marella Discovery docked at the Port Zante cruise terminal in Basseterre, Saint Kitts

One of the things that always amazes me about cruise ships is their size! The loop in our neighborhood that I walk around some mornings takes 5 laps to make a mile. The walking/jogging track on Allure of the Seas takes only 2.5 laps to make a mile!

Marella Discovery is what cruise ships used to look like. She was placed in service in March 1996 as Splendour of the Seas. With a capacity of 1,830 passengers, she was considered state of the art at that time.

Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas, by comparison, holds 5,402 passengers. When she was introduced in 2010 she was the largest cruise ship in the world. That title now belongs to Wonder of the Seas at 5,734. That’s a lot of peoples! 😉

I just posted a gallery of photos from this cruise and our recent swing through Florida at my Adobe Portfolio site.

Walking track on the promenade deck of Allure of the Seas

Back At Sea!

Sky Princess departing Cozumel, Mexico at sunset

Kathy & I spent last week on our first cruise in nearly 2 years, aboard Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas out of Port Canaveral.  It felt good to get back on the water and we had a great time.

There has been a lot of sensationalistic reporting in the media about cruising, with much hype around the occasional rare but real report of some kind of outbreak.  Covid is only the latest hand-wringer.  I’ve said for years that cruise ships have been among the cleanest places we’ve visited.  They have always been very vigilant about cleaning in an effort to reduce the spread of all kinds of passenger-borne bugs.  A report of an outbreak of any kind is fresh meat for a media looking for anything to wring their hands over.  Yes, it happens.  But relax.  It was fun.  Yes, we had to take a Covid test before we left home.  Yes, we had to wear a mask on occasion.  But we have to do that at home anyway, and it was a lot warmer in Cozumel than it is back here in NC! 😉

We paid a visit to Kennedy Space Center before the cruise.  I took a few photos and will have more to share over the next few days.

Gridwork on the canopy of the Solarium area of Harmony of the Seas

My Latest Project

Grid of 8-inch Squares on a 28×37 Gallery Wrap

I mentioned in an earlier post how we had recently had our bathrooms and bedrooms repainted, and that I had been given the “assignment” of providing prints for the walls.  I’ve been thinking for a few months about the proper theme and color palette for each room.  I’m still cogitating on the bedroom and master bath, – actually waiting for a new chair and draperies to arrive – but I finally settled on a scheme for the hall bathroom.

Grid of 8-inch Squares on a 10×28 Gallery Wrap

I’ve always tried to stay away from using other photographer’s work in my bathrooms, not being sure how that would come across. 😉  I’ll admit to previously having a John Shaw print and a Les Saucier print in our master bath, but neither of those two gentlemen are ever likely to set foot in our house, let alone the bathroom.

20×30 Canvas Float Wrap

In general, Kathy & I are going for images that capture our sense of travel, showing a sense of the places we have visited without being “literal.”  When we decorated our sunroom with prints from a St. Martin artist, we wanted it to “feel” tropical without sea shells and palm trees.  The colors and fabrics express that well.  For our bathroom we wanted a splash of color – ideally Caribbean-inspired.  I think we got there with these three selections.  We’ll then get to hunt for accessories to go with what we have and these prints.  Another reason to get back on the road again soon!

For now these are just files – my print lab starts their “sample sales” soon and I’m hoping to save a little $$$ by waiting a few weeks! 🙂