We knew months ago that we'd be in Dominica today, instead of visiting St. Lucia as we normally would on this itinerary. We weren't thrilled about the switch, but that's life. It can be correctly asserted that these islands were assigned their Eastern or Southern Caribbean labels by Princess; on their own, they're all kind of eastern. And southern. If you look at a map, Dominica and St. Lucia are as close as two cities in the same state.
But of all the islands we visit on these itineraries, Dominica is our toughest. Whereas some islands (Barbados, Antigua, Aruba, Bonaire, St Thomas, even Grenada) have things we can do within a walk or a public bus ride of the cruise ship pier, Dominica has one: walking around the town of Roseau and up Jack's Walk to the Morne Bruce overlook. Its one saving grace is the generally reliable free wifi we can get at the Fort Young Hotel, right next to the cruise ship pier.
We had resigned ourselves to making today a walking day, and planned to do Jack's Walk for the first time this winter after internetting a bit to check on things at home. Which is why, when we awakened early and turned our TV to the "front of the ship channel", we weren't thrilled to see that we were not docking at the cruise ship pier at all, but at the freight pier on the northern end of Roseau. There's nothing there but a warehouse full of cheap Chinese souvenirs. No free wifi, no worthwhile walks...nothing. It just seemed fitting, then, when, to top it all off, it started to rain. Oh joy. (And how did the much smaller Norwegian Sun get the cruise ship pier??)
With nothing to do and plenty of time to do it, we headed to the dining room for breakfast. Determined to turn the day around, I looked to food to do the trick, and placed a special order for the always available pancakes prepared with the always available mixed berries. I've had pancakes just once so far this winter, the blueberry pancakes that are on the menu once per cruise, so they really are a treat. But after this morning, knowing that we can get them everyday with mixed berries....that is dangerous knowledge indeed. They were fantastic. In fact, they were so delicious that G, when he finished his Eggs Benedict, also placed an order for them. Things were looking up!
As we sat there enjoying our leisurely breakfast, it began to rain harder. It was quite funny...it was sunny on one side of the ship and pouring rain on the other, which usually means we're going to see another gorgeous Dominica rainbow. And we did. I ran up to the Promenade Deck to get a photo...I don't think we've seen a Dominica rainbow yet this winter; our weather on our past visits this winter has been unusually sunny.
Shortly, the sun came out on both sides of the ship,and we contemplated our options for the day. They weren't really numerous...I can't go anywhere on Dominica by taxi due to their twisting, turning, up and down roads; at least, not without being miserable. A walk into town along the waterfront was really our only option, but not anxious to get sprayed with puddles of water, we held off. I decided a workout was in order, and so headed up to the fitness center; G watched a movie in the cabin. He said he napped, but with a crew safety drill taking place this morning, it was frequently interrupted by related announcements.
He was still engrossed in the movie when I returned to the cabin, so I grabbed my iPhone and ear buds and went up to Deck 19 to walk a bit. It was alternately blistering hot and showery. Finally I gave up, tired of getting wet and then steaming when the sun showed up again.
By the time I returned a second time to the cabin, G was refreshed and ready to walk off the ship. We decided to walk down to the cruise ship pier, about a 15-minute walk, just to find some wifi of high enough speed to check on things at home. We knew Jack's Walk was not an option...even on sunny days, the trail can be muddy and slippery.
Walking through the narrow exit of the operational freight dock into the barrage of taxis made us appreciate the times we've been at the cruise ship pier this winter. Although there was a nice sidewalk about a third of the way into town, the other 2/3 were a caution of no sidewalks, broken sidewalks and a narrow bridge shared with cars. We were disappointed, but not surprised, that we couldn't get on Fort Young wifi at all. It was early afternoon by that time, and their wifi is usually only reliable first thing in the morning. But we learn more every cruise...last time we were here, we walked up the hill behind the Fort Young Hotel and finally found wifi that allowed us to check the webcams at home. We did the same today.
The taxi drivers where the Emerald Princess was docked promised that the shuttle from the other pier back to the freight pier was free; all we had to do was pay $2 to get to town. Don't believe it...it would have been $2 to return too. I don't begrudge people the right to make a living, but I despise liars!
I couldn't get back on the ship fast enough. I have just kind of had it with Dominica this winter. Having it squeezed in on this itinerary plus being at the freight dock didn't help, of course, but we're here just one more time this winter and that's fine with me.
All on board time was scheduled for 4:30pm, and we showered and were up in Skywalkers at 5.00pm for what was a gorgeous sailaway from Dominica. There isn't an island in the Caribbean that doesn't look even prettier at sailaway, and Dominica was shining tonight. It was light enough late enough that we were able to view the entire western coast of the island as we made our way northwest. It really is a gorgeous island, very mountainous (hence, my car sickness), and dotted along the coastline every few miles is a small town with a cluster of about 50 houses. G thinks that there is farming on some of the hillsides (I don't know how), but most of Dominica is undeveloped.
We were so engrossed in what we were seeing out the right (starboard) side of the ship that we missed the sunset on the left side. We arrived in the dining room after 6:00pm, had a wonderful meal of just two courses, and then went up to the Adagio Lounge for this cruise's Most Traveled Passengers party. Whereas the cutoff for the 40 most traveled passengers last cruise was 430-some days and we squeaked in, this cruise it was 398 and we were right in the middle of the 40. Things can vary widely from one cruise to the next!
We had the best time at the party talking with new friends (the bar staff takes care of me TOO well!) and then several of us stayed to listen to the Emerald Princess orchestra playing jazz again tonight. We love that; in fact, we love it so much that we missed the Beatle Maniacs' second show tonight in Club Fusion. With our cabin just two decks below the Adagio, it's like having seven talented musicians performing for us in our own home. We listened until we were nearly falling asleep, then walked home down two flights of stairs. Nice!
For all that the day lacked, the evening more than made up for it. I see how people can stay up late enjoying the music and parties on the ship...they either aren't the ones playing hard all day in port, or they're napping during the day. We had an easy day, which allowed us to have a most enjoyable evening.
Don't get your hopes up for tomorrow either...we'll be in St. Kitts with no plans for the day. But stay tuned; it a changes next cruise!
Photo 1: G's mixed berry pancakes and what's left of his Eggs Benedict...a day changer!
Photo 2: one side of that gorgeous rainbow (too big to fit in my camera frame)
Photo 3: a bit of a second rainbow
Photo 4: the Norwegian Sun at the other (cruise ship, good) pier
Photo 5: the Norwegian Sun sailing away
Photo 6: Roseau, Dominica in the sun at sailaway