Day 74: St. Kitts

Today was the bestest best day of our season at sea, for so many reasons. But it is already 10:30pm as I start this post, so I will have to be succinct, lest I fall asleep and get hit in the nose by my iPad. 

For our first time ever, the Pacific Princess was docked at the freight port on St. Kitts, about 15 minutes east of the cruise ship pier and all the shopping at Port Zante. We were thrilled by this, as we were able to walk right off the ship and get a taxi a shorter distance to a beach. For those passengers interested in shopping, a free shuttle ran back and forth to Port Zante all day long. After a quick breakfast on the Panorama Terrace, during which a brief shower passed over (and we saw a beautiful rainbow), we gathered up our minimal beach gear and walked off the ship. The rain had already stopped and the rest of the day was mostly sunny with no additional showers. 

We soon discovered the one drawback of being on the Pacific Princess at the freight port...nearly every disembarking passenger wanted to shop instead of go to the beach (go figure). We waited a few minutes for two more passengers to join us in a taxi; the price was $16 for 1 to 4 people and G is just frugal enough to not want to pay $16 for two of us. Finally, two crew members showed up wanting to go to the beach and, in the end, we still paid the $16 as a gift to them, but that way G was fine with it. At least we weren't wasting money. ;-)

We wanted to go to the beach bar on the east end of South Friars Bay Beach called Shipwresk. Carambola on the west end is far more upscale and trendy, but there is a charge for chairs and umbrellas and an even higher charge for food and drinks. Shipwreck is a dive through and through, and the beach is quite narrow, but the chairs and palapas are free and there is no pressure to buy food and drinks. Since we weren't sure at that point what the day would bring, weather-wise, we decided a no investment day gave us the opportunity to return to the ship if it started to rain. 

We first went to Shipwreck over ten years ago, when it was even more of a shack, selling just beers and drinks. Now there is a kitchen and small restaurant/bar with a sand floor. We settled into two loungers and I wasted no time getting in the water. As far as beaches go, none of them on St. Kitts compare to St. John yesterday (the sand is browner and coarser and the water rougher), but we love the atmosphere on St. Kitts. I plugged in ear buds and listened to an audiobook (Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher; I read/listen to it every December), and we enjoyed watching the five masted sailing vessel Royal Clipper tendering its passengers directly into Carambola. Carambola has built a huge business since it opened just a few years ago, with Royal Clipper and Azamara tendering passengers there instead of Basseterre where Port Zante is located. 

 

 

 

Carambola Beach bar is down by the white canopy  

 

Cheeseburger in paradise

I swam and played in the waves app much that by 1pm I was starving. We walked into the beach bar and I ordered a cheeseburger (I only crave them after being in the water) and G got nachos and cheese and we drank a couple of beers and enjoyed the phenomenal views east towards Nevis. About 3:30pm we decided to walk down the beach 10 minutes to Carambola because it would be easier to hook up with two more passengers to share a taxi back to the Pacific Princess from there, and it was. By shortly after 4pm we were reboarding the ship. 

After quick showers, we watched sailaway at 5pm from the Panorama Terrace. At the same time, the Royal Clipper raised its many square sails and made quite a picture sailing away with Nevis in the background. We went to dinner at 5:30pm. It featured a menu that was new to us. I ordered roasted asparagus with  bacon and a warm vinaigrette dressing and -wait for it- an Austrian pot roast with red cabbage for my entree. I mostly hate German food but I do love red cabbage, and the beef pot roast was surprisingly good. 

 

Nevis

 

The southern end of St. Kitts

 

Port Zante

 

 

 

The Royal Clipper sails away

 

G and Maitre d'Oscar

 

G and headwaiter Petros

At 7pm we were gathered in the Atrium for what I had been looking forward to since we booked this cruise. The Pacific Princess crew and officers (including Captain D in a Santa hat) stood on the T-shaped stairs and, accompanied by Jere Ring on the keyboard, we all sang Christmas carols. It was my favorite part of Christmas on the Pacific Princess in French Polynesia and will no doubt be my favorite part of it this year too. There is just something so homey and fun about doing that, especially with Captain D waving his Santa hat in the air during Jimgle Bells. Both Decks 4 and 5 were full of passengers, but it wasn't crowded. It's the Pacific Princess!

 

Jere Ring at the keyboard

 

Caroling in the Atrium

 

Captain D sings along

Tonight's entertainment was guitarist Duncan Tuck. We had seen him in French Polynesia two years ago and he is so talented and does a very entertaining show. Following that, we listened to Jere Ring in the Casino Lounge playing mostly Christmas carols but other songs too, and he played Do You Hear What I Hear, which he announced is my favorite song (it's certainly my favorite Christmas song he sings). We stayed until I could stay no longer, but when I returned to the cabin to prepare this blog post, G went into Duncan Tuck's late show. He has just returned to the cabin as I am finishing up this post, so that worked well. 

We are at sea tomorrow, which I think is a perfect way to spend Christmas Day. It will also be an opportunity to recover from two beach days and prepare for five port days in a row. Thankfully, even days spent playing in the waves are less strenuous than walking 20 zillion steps in a European port. We've been cruising for more than ten weeks, and less strenuous is a wonderful thing. 

Finally, I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday. All the best from me and G. :-)

Day 94: NFL Wildcard Playoffs...and St. Kitts

While we were at first disappointed at Captain Forteeze's announcement that we would be tendering in to Port Zante on St. Kitts because it changed our plans for today, in the end we appreciated the break it provided. While I had left the Steelers v. Bengals game at the end of the 3rd quarter last night, G had stayed until the end, around 1am this morning, I was asleep when he came in, so he had to wait until today to tell me all about that very exciting 4th quarter, and I was kicking myself all day for having missed it. Perhaps that just made me all the more determined to watch today's games, even though we had no dog in these fights.

G joined me for my usual breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room (fruit and a veggie omelet, accompanied by a decaf skinny cappuccino). He had just a fruit plate, and then I accompanied him to the Horizon Court Buffet where he had his favorite Frosted Flakes cereal. As we sat there, we enjoyed the view of St. Kitts' verdant Mt. Liamuiga (so much like the mountains above Lahaina, Maui), and watched as tender operations began (45 minutes early, at 9:15am). A P&O ship (we think it's the Adonia but we're not sure), which looks just like the Royal and Regal Princess, was already docked when we arrived and we watched as the Costa Favolosa docked opposite it. It felt a bit like we were stuck in the naughty corner, and we had quite a long tender ride to reach the small boat harbor. 

The southern end of St. Kitts with the island of Nevis in the distance

We ended up not going ashore until nearly noon, just after open tender was announced. We enjoyed the ride from the top tier of the tender, but once we reached the pier, it was obvious that mobility challenged passengers were going to struggle to get off the tenders and then navigate their way up the ramp with two steps at the end. 

We had no mission for today other than to walk around a bit and buy two postcards. There is no shortage of souvenir shopping in Port Zante, but postcards seem to be getting harder and harder to find. It was sunny and hot and fairly muggy in the port area, something we had missed out on during our beach days. We didn't dawdle on land and were back on the Emerald Princess by 1:30pm. 

We went immediately to the Calypso Pool area, intending to get two loungers from which to watch the Seahawks v. Vikings game, which started at 2pm. We were relegated to two loungers on Deck 16, overlooking the pool, and while our view of the MUTS screen was great, we were in the hot sun for hours, just what we were trying to avoid today. We left, one at a time, to get drinks and pizza, and I returned to the cabin to get SPF100 sunscreen and lip sunscreen. I covered myself with both at least four times during the game, and even used pool towels to block the sun and managed to survive the game unscathed. But, oh...that was one disappointing (and shocking) outcome. 

We could tell by the few waiters we saw walking through the pool area wearing red and white striped pullovers that tonight was going to be Italian night in the dining rooms. We decided to miss the first half of the Packers v. Redskins game and returned to the cabin to shower (and wash off all that sunscreen) and dress for dinner. We enjoyed a feast:  I had a seafood starter with calamari and shrimp, followed by a spinach salad with pecorino cheese and pine nuts and then penne arribiata made by headwaiter Ali from Turkey. It was scrumptious. Accompanied by merlot and followed by lemoncello sorbet, it was a meal for which it was worth missing football. We watched from our table as the Emerald Princess slowly turned to the north and began its course to St. Thomas tomorrow. 

We were shocked, when we went up to MUTS after dinner, to find that there was no football on the screen. Instead, preparations were underway for tonight's Love Boat Disco Deck Party. Every lounger had been removed, and the only chairs were around the tables that were set for diners from the Horizon Court Buffet. Hmmm...the lack of seating did not bode well for the prospect of our attendance at the party. But first we had to find the football game, and finally did, in Club Fusion. It was fairly full in there but we found some comfortable seating and watched the second half the game, joined by Suzan and Greg. I truly didn't not care who won that one, but G is a kinda, sorta Packer fan from years ago.

G was already half asleep by the end of the game, and we're skipping the deck party in favor of an early bedtime. Well, not so early...it's nearly 10:30pm as I finish this post. I feel badly that I have nothing more to report for the day, but if you've vicariously cruised with us in the past, you know that we find watching football on a ship, specifically on MUTS, to be a hugely enjoyable part of our winter cruises, one that we missed last year on the Pacific Princess. We have a few more weekends of this...oh, and tomorrow night, too, the national championship game. This is the time of year we plan the ports around football; there is nothing more attractive than a day at sea during the playoffs. No island can compete with that!

But after our day 'off', the alarm is set for 6:30am tomorrow. There is another beach with our names on it on St. Thomas, and we're going to try to get there via public buses. 

Pray for us. ;-)

Day 136: St. Kitts

We were awakened this morning by Captain Stenzel sending an announcement into the passenger cabins, and, in a split second, I remembered where we would be today (St. Kitts), the fact that we almost hadn't been able to dock last time we were there, and that we'd missed St. Kitts in the past due to its narrow entrance channel (in terms of water depth; you'd never know it from what appears above water). I immediately gave up hope that we would be able to dock today, and that part was correct, but Captain Stenzel is made of sterner stuff than that. Apparently, the causative issue was not wind, but a malfunction with the thruster control function. It's interesting; when G had gone down to the Promenade Deck to watch sailaway yesterday from Barbados, he told me that two tugs had been deployed to help us move away from the pier and out of the turning basin in Bridgetown. That's unusual; the ship's six thrusters generally eliminate the need for tugs. We hadn't given it another thought until this morning. 

Captain Stenzel said that, instead of missing the island, the Emerald Princess would be at anchor today and running tender service to Port Zante, just north of where the cruise ship pier is. Our plan today (assuming I wasn't going to have to fly to Michigan, but Mom is slowly improving) was to take the local ferry to the neighboring island of Nevis. This was immediately put in peril; we would likely miss the morning ferry we had been intending to take, and there was not another workable option.  No worries. We've taken the ferry to Nevis on our own in the past, and will again someday, I'm sure. 

We lingered over breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room, avoided the first rush to the tenders, and finally got to St. Kitts about 10:30am. Numbered tender tickets were being distributed in the Explorers Lounge, and passengers were being called to tenders by groups of 80.  A revised tour schedule had been almost immediately compiled and distributed, and those people on tours were being tendered to St. Kitts separately. We had never tendered to St. Kitts before, and our seats on the upper level of a tender boat provided a different view of the island. 

Once at Port Zante, we decided to use some free wifi courtesy of a friend at Del Sol, and then do a bit more souvenir shopping. The kids always wonder why everything we bring them is from St. Kitts, but, frankly, it has some of the best souvenir shopping on these itineraries. G found a not-hideous tropical shirt in two different colors for himself, and purchased both of them. 

Eventually, we made our way back to the ship, and our tender ride featured wonderful 360 degree views of the town of Basseterre, St. Kitts, the volcanic hills in the background, the Emerald Princess and the island of Nevis. 

Basseterre, St. Kitts:

The Emerald Princess with Nevis Peak in the distance:

Once back on the ship, it was a perfect opportunity to do two more loads of laundry. That's getting a bit tiresome, but G brightened my laundry room stay by popping in to promise me that one day, God willing, we'd move out of this apartment and buy a house with our own washer and dryer. What a concept!

On our way to grab two pieces of pizza for lunch, I took a chance and walked through the Horizon Court Buffet. Jackpot;  cioppino was being served. I skipped the pizza and feasted on squid and mussels and scallops and shrimp and...well, those are a few of my favorite things. G decided to tender back to the Port Zante shopping area on the outside chance he could find that tropical shirt in a third color; I opted to read.  He was unsuccessful in finding another shirt, but I had a most enjoyable 90 minutes to myself to sit and read.  Glory hallelujah!

Our lunch had been late enough that we weren't particularly hungry at Dinner with Darko. We both had salads topped with a chicken breast and a glass of wine and called ourselves done. The moon (is it full?) over the southern peninsula of St. Kitts was quite a sight. 

(That's a reflection of a dining room light on the right):

Singer Mark Preston was doing a new show in the Princess Theater tonight, but only twice, at 7:15pm and 8:45pm, and we knew seats at the 7:15pm show would be at a premium. We did find two together, and spent a most enjoyable 30 minutes listening to the Emerald Princess orchestra accompany Mark while he sang songs from the past 50 years. He is one of the top five performers we've seen all winter (and right now I can't name the other four, but do recall another singer and two pianists). 

I am heading out again tonight to watch the movie Philomena on MUTS. G is talking about going to the 10:15pm performance (the only one tonight) of Ye Olde Pub Night. 

And, finally, an update on our technical issue with the thruster control mechanism...

Captain Stenzel announced, just before we left St. Kitts, that the problem had been worked on today, and we would notice that the ship would be doing some tests before we started to cruise north to St. Thomas. Based on the outcome of those tests, we would either dock at Crown Bay tomorrow as planned, or tender into downtown Charlotte Amalie.  He assured us that, whatever the outcome, we would have no difficulty docking in Port Everglades on Wednesday, as Port Everglades has very strong tugs and very competent tugmasters. Well, the tests indicated the thruster control mechanism is not fully operational, and so we will be tendering from the Emerald Princess into Charlotte Amalie in St. Thomas tomorrow morning.

Those people who despise Crown Bay might be happier with this turn of events. Or not. ;-)

Day 96: St. Kitts

The sun did rise again this morning, so the world had not come to an end last night. Unfortunately, I was physically and emotionally exhausted after yesterday, and slept until the crew safety drill announcements began at 9:30am. I took my first shower in over 36 hours and ventured from the cabin.

The first person I saw was our room steward Raymond, another Broncos fan. Bless his heart- the first words he said to me were "You were right". After watching the Seahawks v. 49ers game, I had predicted a Broncos loss. I did not predict a Broncos blow out. But Raymond's first thought was to tell me I was right, a very appealing trait in a man. ;-)

I was not in the mood for breakfast. Instead, I got a frozen decaf skim milk vanilla bean coffee (with whipped cream, to cheer me up) and walked off the ship. We were in port today with the Celebrity Summit, a ship on which we'd done the Panama Canal several years ago. Celebrity does "welcome backs" very well; they not only have cool towels as Princess does but lemonade and water and even a seating area which provides a great meeting point for passengers right on the pier. 

I knew where to find G...he was using the free wifi provided by our friends at the Del Sol store in Port Zante. I had taken my own iPhone, and so used wifi to download the news and phone my mom using Vonage (for free- get the app!). 

It was sunny but very windy, and every so often a 20-second rainshower passed over. We walked around Port Zante near the cruise ship terminal for awhile, just to get some exercise, and I did some minor souvenir shopping but we returned to the Emerald Princess in time for lunch in the buffet.

It was my lucky day: cioppino (Italian seafood stew) was being served today. If I had to choose just healthy food to live on the rest of my life, it would be cioppino.

While I was getting my food, Darko passed over from the buffet line on the other side of the Horizon Court Buffet just to see me. He took one look at me and the first thing he said was, "We will never speak of this again" (the game). He then told me he'd have penne arrabbiata with chicken breast and broccoli waiting for me tonight. He knew that would cheer me up. 

Have I mentioned we love Darko? I know I have, but have I mentioned it lately?

And we spent the rest of the afternoon sorting through some mail, making a list of phone calls we need to make tomorrow in St. Thomas and soaking in the hot tub on the back of Deck 17 with the gorgeous hillsides of St. Kitts rising up behind us. 

Sailaway wasn't until 6pm, so we skipped the Elite Lounge in Skywalkers and instead went right to Dinner with Darko. We had heard last night that the dining rooms were empty during the game. "Only the Europeans are there", we were told by a waiter who was reassigned to the Horizon Court Buffet for the night. Tonight was not much different; at one point, Darko and Komang had only six guests. I don't know how they plan for staffing or food; every cruise seems to be different in terms of where people eat their meals. 

We are sitting in the Explorers Lounge listening to the Emerald Princess orchestra play big band dance music and awaiting the start of Ye Olde Pub Night, back on the schedule this cruise now that new Deputy Cruise Director Adam is up to speed. It will then be popcorn, fuzzy water and bed.  A defeated heart needs lots of sleep to heal. 

Day 73: St. Kitts

We had another mostly sunny day today, but still oh-so-windy.  I offer as proof a photo of that huge Bermuda flag on the back of the ship:

Our plan had been to go to Shipwreck Bar on South Friars Bay beach today, but some cloudiness and rain showers early in the day, not to mention that wind, deterred us. I had another mission to accomplish, and so, with a fall back, we talked ourselves out of the beach. 

Shortly after we returned to the cabin after breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room (still wildly busy), during one of those brief morning rain showers, we heard an announcement for a man overboard drill. These are always interesting to watch, so we headed down to the Promenade Deck to see what we could see. The rescue boat was already deployed, running a zig zag pattern across the harbor of Basseterre. On deck was a member of the medical team instructing crew members about spinal injuries and the recommended handling of anyone rescued after going overboard.

Unlike last year when we watched this, there wasn't an actual dummy in the rescue boat; it was more a conglomeration of weights and life vests.  The rescue boat was reattached to the launching wires and pulled back up (that has to be a rush, to be swinging in the air seven decks off the water).

The rescued...whatever you'd call it was put on a back board and transported to the Medical Center for "treatment". 

Meanwhile, the sun had come back out to stay, so we walked off the ship, me carrying a plastic CVS shopping bag for my hunt. After stopping for a few minutes to use wifi at Del Sol, I took off (alone!) and walked left along the waterfront past the Saturday market, the bus depot and the ferry dock to where some fishermen were cleaning fish on the beach. You know, I guess I'm just one of those people who love seafood but only when it's served hot on a plate with a lemon wedge on the side. 

I had received some great information from fellow sea glass collector Jane that, instead of going to the right when I got off the ship in St. Kitts, I should go to the left, along the beach there to find some treasures. Well, this is truly a black sand beach...

...but what I'm showing photos of is the cleanest part of it. However, I've learned that, to find sea glass, you really have to look in the trashy areas the surf rarely reaches. And so there I looked, all the way down the beach. At first, I picked up every piece of sea glass I found (sadly all white or shades of green...no blues or reds), but, after I had several pounds worth, I started to get more fussy. I was thrilled to find several bottle necks, and a couple of pieces with specks of a deeper hue of green. 

I was never far from the ship, and thoroughly enjoyed my hunting-gathering.

On the way back to the ship, I took some time to look at the produce stands along the way, and particularly enjoyed seeing this old- really old- scale. Mom and Dad had one like it for years in the basement and I used to love to play with it when I was a kid. 

 In response to my question, I was told this was sorrel:

And I was intrigued by this homemade cure-all sold in recycled bottles:

Once back on the ship, I couldn't wait to wash my hands. And feet. And Teva sandals. And hands. And hands. And hands.   And then I washed the sea glass, and what a pile of it I had!

I will pick out a few of my favorite pieces and recycle the rest in the glass recycling container on the ship. It was a true treasure trove of sea glass, and I want to get back there again before the winter is over. 

I met up with G in the buffet for lunch (we call the little desserts there "dessertlets" because they don't seem so fattening that way), and then went to the MUTS pool to chose my chair for the Saints v. Seahawks game. G is not so interested in this one, and so is going to dinner in the Michelangelo Dining Room. However, I'll have to leave by half time to get cleaned up for tonight's Most Traveled Passengers cocktail party. Thank God 1000 times that the party's not being held tomorow night, because we'd end up with a photo of Captain Nick...and G. I'll not miss tomorrow's games for anything. I'll be back out poolside as soon as the party is over to watch whatever remains of the first game and then the second game. Tomorrow, the entire day revolves around football, but we might visit the beer garden at Pointe Seraphine and use some free Internet before we settle in pool-side for the games. 

I doubt I'll sleep much tonight; my stomach already hurts!! ;-)

Day 37: St. Kitts

After IC and breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room (in a total break with tradition, I had a toasted bagel and cream cheese with smoked salmon), we packed for another beach day. The Emerald Princess didn't arrive in Basseterre, St. Kitts until 9am, and thank God for that little extra sleep this morning. We met Greg and Suzan at the IC and left the ship as soon as it was cleared with one goal in mind:  to get to Carambola beach bar/restaurant on South Friars Bay Beach. The day looked a bit questionable weather-wise, with blue sky peeking through big, fluffy clouds, but we'd all been to St. Kitts enough times to know that it's a rare thing to encounter a day without at least a brief shower.

We got a taxi for $4 per person to Carambola and asked the driver to stop for a moment on Timothy Hill to take photos of the southern end of St. Kitts and the island of Nevis. 

True to form, shortly after we arrived at Carambola, the skies did open up for a heavy but brief rain shower. I stayed busy in the restaurant using their wifi, as the Emerald Princess Internet, which had gone out last evening, remained out this morning. With the cold spell marching across the US, I wanted to check the Nest thermostat to make sure all was still well at home. By the time I finished that and a bit of business, the rain had stopped. Meanwhile, G had rented a sun bed on the beach, and it worked well for the four of us to each relax on a corner to chat. We spent the day alternating between the beach and the water. 

The sand on South Friars Bay Beach is volcanic in origin, and of a different color (much darker) and texture (more coarse) than we'd enjoyed yesterday on Barbados. The beach entry is steeper, but, despite the increasing wind, the water was as clear as we had ever seen it there, and the views south toward Nevis were spectacular. 

At about 3pm we got a taxi back to the ship. The driver showed us where new dolphins are being constructed at the freight dock south of the cruise dock at Port Zante to accommodate two additional cruise ships for a total capacity of four a day. Plan your visit to St. Kitts soon...I have a feeling it's going to become another St. Martin. The development of multimillion homes and condos on its southern peninsula has already changed St. Kitts dramatically since our first visit there 10 years ago, but its natural beauty remains unchanged. 

G and I stopped for him to buy another St. Kitts hat ('cause the 37 he already has aren't adequate for his needs) and we soon saw a horribly ominous looking storm moving in from the Atlantic coast of the island. As we rushed back to the ship, we were caught in a wind tunnel between the Emerald Princess and the Carnival Valor, also in port with us. As the storm barreled down on us, the wind swept us down the pier and we had to cling to the gangway to reboard the ship. We were just ahead of the torrential rain that accompanied the storm, but once in our inside cabin could still hear the lightning strikes and thunder clapping. 

By the time we were showered for the evening and up in Skywalkers, the rain had mostly stopped but the evening had turned dark early. Still, when we walked out on the promenade deck on our way to dinner, there was a beautiful hint of a sunset. 

Captain Nick warned of a rough night and day tomorrow (he was right), and as we sat at our table in the dining room, huge flashes of lightning accompanied our 6pm sailaway and soon rain was pelting against the window. Cozy!  

Dessert tonight:

We followed up dinner with a performance of the production show Boogie Shoes, and then bed. Bouncy or not, we are going to sleep well tonight. We've had four beach days in the past five days, and though relaxing, they've worn us out. 

Day 117: St. Kitts

Oh, I was moving slowly this morning after too many rum punches yesterday on Barbados! Still, we made it to breakfast before the dining room closed at 9:00am. (Special treat: mixed berries pancakes). Our scheduled arrival in St. Kitts wasn't until 10:00am, and it was nice to have a later morning.

We walked off the ship with no firm plans for the day. G wanted to use wifi on shore to check out the webcams back home, and I had to pick up a couple more presents. St. Kitts is always a great place to do that, with an abundance of shops right near the cruise ship terminal of Port Zante. I had mentioned last fall that all the previously unlocked wifi was gone now at Port Zante, or locked, but we've found that if we ask, the merchants won't give us their password, but they will enter it themselves on our iPhones, allowing us to access their wifi. This is especially true after making a purchase, so I took advantage of that today and not only updated all my apps, but updated my operating system on my phone too.

Not too much longer, and doing all that will be nearly automatic and very simple. Honestly, I can't wait for that part of being home.

While I was interneting away, two guys on Segways rolled past, and I used my 2-way radio to contact G and tell him about it (he was in another part of the shopping area). The next thing I knew, G rolled up to me on a Segway...he was taking a quick 30-minute tour on one. I preferred to stay there using the Internet, so he went alone with two guides, Segway-ing north along the coastline of St. Kitts.

I eventually returned to the ship, but G wasn't long behind me. We went to the buffet for a late lunch (lunch for me on port days is either salad bar or pizza...I'm still not that impressed with the buffet) and then G used a hot tub and I used the Terrace Pool until it was time to get cleaned up for dinner. We joined Jenny and Bill in Skywalkers for pre-dinner drinks and hors doerves and finalized plans for tomorrow on St Thomas.

After a pretty basic dinner (salad, broccoli and salmon for me), we went to the 8:00pm Team Rootberry show in the Explorers Lounge where Jonathon and Bill did some wild and crazy stuff...and some juggling too.

I forgot to mention that, yesterday on the beach on Barbados, G was trying to juggle three oranges...until a local guy came by and hinted strongly that he'd like one. Then G was juggling two oranges...until a local kid came by and hinted he'd like one. And when he was down to just one orange. G offered it to the guy renting chairs at Lobster Alive. I guess that the concept of food for anything other than eating is foreign on Barbados!

Photo 1: G ready to Segway on St. Kitts

Photo 2: the eastern sky at sunset

Photo 3: St. Kitts at sailaway

Photos 4 and 5: those wild and crazy guys of Team Rootberry performing in the Explorers Lounge

G Segway-ing on St. Kitts

St. Kitts- Part 4

Photo 1-3: the beautiful southern coasts of St. Kitts from Timothy Hill

Photo 4: Frigate Bay Beach

Photo 5: almost twins- the P&O Ventura and the Emerald Princess docked at Port Zante, Basseterre, St. Kitts