I have to say that I really am so much happier doing this Southern Caribbean itinerary in this order. As you've heard me say (too many times, I'm sure), Grenada is not our favorite island, and so I'd rather arrive here early and leave early too, at 1:30pm, than to do the same on Bonaire. As it is, we will arrive in Bonaire about noon tomorrow, and leave at 6:30pm, giving us a full 6 hours to do things on the island. Arriving in Grenada today at 7:00am and not actually leaving the ship until almost 10:00am is no big loss (in my opinion), whereas it would be a big loss on Bonaire. On our last visit to Grenada, just before Christmas, we'd had a fun beach day on Grande Anse Beach, and so we planned to make today a walking day, and three hours was plenty of time for that.
We walked through the Esplanade Mall in the terminal in search of wifi and found it on the second floor. I was able to place a call to Mom, and then we checked on things at home. The wifi was pretty fast, and it was free and shaded but it was definitely not cool or quiet, and it was with some sense of relief that we stepped back into the sun outside and started our walk. Since the temperature outside was 88F degrees and humid, you know how HOT it was on the second floor of that mall.
We first walked through the Sendall Tunnel, that very narrow, very old tunnel that connects the two sides of St. George's harbor by tunneling through the volcanic stone that Fort George is built on. On the other side, we first stopped to admire the offices of the Grenada Treasury Department (honestly, the government buildings are the nicest things on Grenada) and then walked the entire perimeter of Grenada's Inner Harbour, called the Carenage.
There were several large fishing vessels tied up in the Carenage, as well as a multi-masted sailing vessel that, we were told, serves as a training vessel for Grenada's 16 and 17 year olds, to learn about sailing and the names of all the ropes. I guess when you live on an island, those sorts of things are pretty important.
We stopped in a small plaza area halfway around the Carenage to enjoy beverages we'd brought from the ship, and G struck up a "conversation" (there was a lot of gesturing going on) with an older Frenchman who was busy feeding the pigeons. This was the Grenada equivalent of feeding the iguanas at Crown Bay on St. Thomas, and the man shared some of his feed with G so he, too, could feed the pigeons (and provide me with a photo op).
After we reached the end of the Carenage, we backtracked to BB's Crab Shack and began to climb the hill up to Fort George. It's a very short but good climb, and the views of Roseau and the Emerald Princess from the top are worth it.
We went back to the ship via the older stairs that lead down to the Esplanade Mall and had lunch in the buffet, watching the sailaway from our table.
At 2:30pm, I went to the party line dance for tonight's tropical deck party. These are the dances for the 11-minute party song mix that follows the Emerald Princess singers and dancers and the cruise staff's flash mob to kick off the party. After this many cruises, I'm finally feeling pretty comfortable with the dance steps. The class is taught by cruise staffer Leesh and today cruise friend Vickie also attended and we got a bit of a workout while having fun.
By then I was more than ready for the pool, so I took my new iPhone in its old Lifeproof case and listened to a book while I enjoyed the Terrace Pool. Oh, and I not only made sure the charging port cover was closed, I dressed the phone in its orange life jacket so that there would be no chance that it would open on its own.
Hey, I'm teachable. ;-)
The Captains Circle parties for this cruise were held tonight, and we went to the 5:15pm party (more Breeza Marinas!). This was also the first time we've met the new Captains Circle host Tracy, who just came on board in St. Thomas as former host Catherine left to begin training for her new position on another ship. We miss her, but her promotion is well deserved.
We spent a few minutes on the Promenade Deck to watch another beautiful sunset before heading to dinner. I predict we're really going to miss Jim and Marcia from the table next to us. We may be at tables for two, but we talk all throughout dinner every night.
Our entertainment choice for the evening ("choice" because, for the third time this cruise we had two options) was to see comedian Carlos Oscar perform in the Explorers Lounge. There was also a vocalist from the Lettermen in the Princess Theater. Both entertainers are also performing different shows tomorrow night. Now, this is an abundance of riches. Last January when the entertainment formatting on the Emerald Princess was changed, we went from two different shows every night to one. Period. When we came back on board in November, things were pretty much the same. But apparently the feedback, loud and negative, has been heard. Starting with the holiday cruises, we've seen steady improvement...that's why I've been highlighting the nights when we have two different shows to choose from.
Just call us thrilled that things are looking up.
Anyway, back to Carlos Oscar. He won the Princess Entertainer of the Year for 2012 (beating out the Beatle Maniacs...go figure). We had seen him in August on the Island Princess. Most of his show is based on travel and marriage humor, which have been done to death on cruise ships, but his style is so funny that he can say the same thing you've heard 100 times before and it's still funny.
Afterwards, we returned to our cabin for a bit of a rest before tonight's Tropical Deck Party at 10:15pm, but I can see the likelihood that we'll actually make it slipping away. Let me put it another way: I've washed my face. I've taken my contacts out. I'm eating popcorn and drinking fuzzy water. That sounds like bedtime to me.
Well, there's always next cruise...
Photo 1: Sendall Tunnel, St. George's, Grenada
Photo 2: training vessel for Grenadian teens
Photo 3: G doing his part for the local pigeons
Photo 4: climbing the hill to Fort George
Photo 5: St. George's from Fort George