Barbados

19th January

Barbados is the most easterly island in the West Indies out of the chain of Leeward and Windward Islands. It stands in a splendid location with the powerful Atlantic Ocean on its East coast and the clear, calm waters of the Caribbean Sea on the South and West Coasts. The island is only 21 miles from north to south and 14 miles from east to west, so no part of Barbados is far from reach. The island is only 166 square miles, scarcely larger than the Isle of Wight. The climate is a holiday-maker’s dream – tropical, but tempered by the sea breeze from the north-east, with temperatures hardly varying from 24-27 degrees C (75-80 degrees F) and humidity is pleasantly low.

From its founding in 1627 to its independence in 1966, the island was a British colony and, unlike the rest of the Caribbean neighbours was never taken by force. It has an endearing blend of British and West Indian cultures and has the reputation of being the friendliest people in the Caribbean.

Our ship berthed just outside Bridgetown, the Capital of Barbados, and almost at once you realise why Barbados is know throughout the Caribbean as “Little England”. The market-town atmosphere, Georgian houses, Parliament Square and cricket ground to say nothing of the signposts to Hastings and Worthing. The principal industry is tourism closely followed by sugar and its by-products (more than 3/5ths of the island being under the cultivation of sugar cane.

Barbados does not have the striking heights and lush tropical forests of some other West Indian Islands, but there is plenty of variety. The Atlantic coast is not unlike Cornwall, with its long stretches of superb and surprisingly under-crowded surf beaches interrupted by dramatic rocks. The flora is mainly pink and purple bougainvillea, oleander (in many colours) and hibiscus. These are dwarfed by rows of royal palms raising their plumed heads high against a gentian blue sky.

Our tour today was called Coast to Coast. This scenic drive had been specially designed for those people who’d prefer an overview of Barbados with little walking, which was needed after yesterday’s hectic schedule. The coach took us out of the harbour down through the centre of Bridgetown (and a another traffic jam). The guide showed us the shopping areas that Doreen would explore later on in the day. We then proceeded out of town towards the centre of the island, passing many colonial buildings, into the countryside, where we saw the sugar cane fields. Our first stop was at St. John’s Church, some 800 feet above sea level, where you could see the Atlantic coastline beyond. After a 30 minute stop we continued to the Atlantic coast, down some very narrow, steep and bumpy roads, to our next stop Bathsheba, which was an idyllic and picturesque location (see photos). Geoffrey headed to capture pictures of the beautiful views and Doreen headed to the craft stalls, and later said “what beautiful views?”.

Unfortunately all too soon we were off again, where we drove north along the coastline before turning inland again up to Mount Hillaby, situated in the heart of the island, 1000 feet above sea level, where the landscape swept down to the Atlantic coast, here we had a welcome rum punch why we relaxed and took in the scenery.

From here we continued our drive back to the Caribbean coastline to Holetown (where the first settlers landed in 1627). As we drove through town we went down the opulent Sandy Lane area, where the rich and famous live and holiday (including Tiger Woods, Cliff Richard and possibly Simon Cowell). We then returned to the port at Bridgetown.

On arrival at the cruise terminal, which resembled Bluewater on a busy day, the week before Christmas. We decided to walk and leave the port and head towards town. On route we found a small craft shopping area, where we sat and had a drink and some lunch. Doreen chatted to the owner and enquired whether she knew the location of a bead shop, within minutes we had a policeman joining in the conversation, who said he knew of a place in town and said he would walk with us into town, which would take approximately 15 minutes. On route Geoffrey chatted to the policeman about crime levels and cricket. On arrival into town he took us into a small shopping mall and took us right to a bead jewellery shop – not quite what I was looking for, but very nice nonetheless. After telling us not to pay more than $4.00 for a taxi ride back to the port, we shook hands and he left. After making a small purchase we left and walked round the corner into Broad Street, which is the main shopping street in town After half an hour walking around we took a taxi back to the port and ship.

Another successful day.

Tomorrow is Nicola’s birthday and needless to say we will be thinking of her and we wish her a Very Happy Birthday, Love from Mum and Dad.

St. Lucia

18th January

Today we arrived in Castries in St. Lucia. The sun was shining and it looked as though we were going to have a nice day. St. Lucia is one of the Caribbean’s little treasures, with colourful fishing villages, secluded beaches, magnificent rain forests and exotic blossoms. The scenery is just stunning. Dazzling beaches surround a patchwork in shades of green, made up of tropical fruit fields, rugged jungles with wild orchids, giant ferns and bird of paradise flowers.

St Lucia is the second largest of the four islands making up the Windward group of islands. It has a mountainous backbone with Mount Gimie at 3,117 feet, the highest point. Although much more spectacular are the Gros Piton and the Petit Piton, old volcanic spines rising sheer out of the sea on the west coast near Soufriere.

Possession of the island was a subject of constant dispute, war and bloodshed for nearly 150 years, with the island changing hands 14 times between Britain and France. On 22nd February 1979, St, Lucia became fully independent, but remains a member of the Commonwealth. Tourism is its main money earner.

Today we went on a 7.1/2 hour tour, which I think was entitled See and Sea. This meant that half of the tour was by coach and the other half was by catamaran along the coast back to Castries. We started our tour by boarding a coach for the “ See” part of the excursion. We drove briefly around the town through the morning rush hour (which was fun), then we climbed inland to view the harbour from up high. We had a charming tour guide who related the history of the island as we drove further up into the hills. We again stopped at a vantage point overlooking the famous Marigot Bay, where we also sampled the local ketchup (yellow in colour) made from Bananas. The coach then drove down the hillside to a small fishing village, where we stopped and Doreen walked around the many market stalls. After a short stop we again drove inland up into the hills again to get spectacular views of the Pitons.

Again after a short stop we drove round the valley and up to the source of the volcano, where they still have active hot springs. After a brief tour taking in the pungent smell of the sulphur at the same time negotiating with the many vendors selling their wares (needless to say Doreen succumbed to their sales patter).

We were on the move again, this time into the tropical rain forest, where ferns and palms are huge. This was where we stopped at a Botanical Garden which, although small, was well stocked with interesting and unusual plants, many of which Doreen recognised as our house plants at home. At the top of the garden was a “diamond waterfall”, which was unusual because of its many colours. Whilst wandering around this garden Doreen saw several hummingbirds, feasting on the plants, but unfortunately Geoffrey was never there with his camera.

Next we then drove around the corner and stopped at an old mill, where we were served with a superb buffet luncheon. Believe it or not we were only half way around the tour. We then drove out of the forest down to the town of Soufriere, where our Catamaran was waiting for us. This is where the Gros Piton and Petit Piton just seem to rise out of the sea.

In front of us was a trip of 2.1/2 hours back up the west coast of St. Lucia to Castries where our ship was berthed. With fantastic coastal views as we went along, halfway up we pulled in to a secluded bay and anchored for about an hour, to allow the passengers a dip in the sea. Even here anchored off the shore the local peddlers reached us in small canoes, trying to sell their wares. Geoffrey was very tempted to go for a swim but decided just to tip his toe into the water from the ladder. All too soon we were off again. However, this was when the crew broke out the rum and we drank rum punches as we partied back to port.

We arrived next to our ship at 5.00pm, after a fantastic eight hour trip. On the way back to the ship we saw a couple of friends in a karaoke bar, so we joined them for a “quick” drink or two, or three, listening to the karaoke, which was really excellent with the compare give wonderful singing performances. He was also joined by Ricky Zalez, the cabaret singer off the ship, together with several other members of the ships company.

So ended our day in St. Lucia, a very enjoyable experience.

St, Maarten

17th January

Today we docked at our first Caribbean Island, St. Maarten, which is one of the Windward Islands. St. Maarten covers 37 square miles and has a “dual personality”, with the smaller, more developed southern side belonging to the Dutch (St. Maarten) and the northern part belonging to the French (St. Martin). The island is best known for its sheltered beaches and shopping. The ship docked at Philipsburg, which is the largest town on the island, in the Dutch half. Today there were three ships docked, the South Seas Navigator, one of the Costa Cruise liners and us.

This morning we were supposed to go on an excursion Sea and See, but unfortunately it was cancelled at the very last moment, after we had hung around for about 30 minutes. This was because of visibility and the fact that we wouldn’t see much in our semi-submersible craft.

However, we went along to the mini bus hire and were able to join six other people on a guided tour of the island. On this tour we visited many parts of the island which included Marigot, a charming market town in the French section. Here we stopped for morning coffee and patisserie (sorry about spelling) see photo of us seated round a table with our driver. The patisserie was absolutely first class and the coffee was not bad either. After a wet walk around the local market we boarded our taxi and continued our trip around the island via Grande Case Bay and stopped at Bay Orientale, which was conveniently next to the nudist beach. Geoffrey says that unfortunately due to the weather no one was out on the beach. However, he stripped off his shoes and went paddling in the warm sea.

We again continued our trip back into the Dutch half of the island to Philipsburg, where we got off the mini bus and walked around the shopping area, where Doreen was in her element, looking in all the jewellery shops which were there in abundance. After two hours wandering around town dodging the rain showers, we made our way rather sodden back to our ship for a lovely cup of tea.

A slightly disappointing day mainly because of the weather. No one told us we were in the middle of the rainy season!!!!!! We do not think we have been the island at its best, perhaps next time the sun will be shining. We are just sailing out of port at 5.30pm and would you believe it the skies are getting bluer and bluer and the sun is shining. It’s just not fair.

The captain has just been on the tannoy apologising for the bad weather and has promised us a good day tomorrow in St. Lucia. He also says he will postpone our departure from St. Lucia from 5.00pm until 10.00pm, so we will be able to have an evening doing the town.

All at Sea - The Azores to the Caribbean

14th – 16th January.

All at sea!!!!! Travelling from the Azores to our first stop of St. Maarten. Weather seems to be improving day by day, with temperatures today at 21 degrees. It sounds nice, but believe me with the wind it can still feel a little chilly on the open decks. In fact because of the weather conditions some of the decks have been closed off for a couple of days.

Doreen is continuing on her craft course, making a small black evening bag with ribbon embroidery on it. She had a few problems with this one but she is still progressing.

Life on sea days is settling in to a pattern. Starting with the silver service breakfast at 8.30am, followed by trip to library to pick up news sheet and puzzle of the day. Doreen does her round of the shops to see if anything good is on offer and the off to her craft class at 10.00am. Geoff wanders the decks (which are open) and then reads the news and tries to complete the daily puzzle. At 11.30am we go to the Crows Nest for a floater coffee and then at 12.30 we go to lunch (Doreen usually has a curry and Geoff watches his weight and goes for the salad, but we do both have desserts!!!!}. After lunch we walk the decks again and find a nice spot out of the wind to sit and relax. All too soon it is 3.00pm – time for afternoon tea and sandwiches and the odd cream cake. After a further walk of the decks and shops we return to the cabin to wind down and get ready for our evening meal at 6.30pm. Oh Boy, just reading this makes me feel guilty – I shouldn’t be eating all this food in one day.

The evening meals consist of five courses: A starter/A soup/A main meal/A dessert and then coffee and sweet canapés and cheese and biscuits for Geoffrey. At 8.00pm we rush down to the theatre at the front of the ship to get a seat for the evening show, which starts at 8.30pm. The standard of the shows has been very good so far, consisting of a female singer, a male singer, a comedian and the on board production company, called Headliners and one cancellation because of the bad weather.

After the show we usually meet up with friends for a drink in the one of the many bars, listening to music groups varying from easy listening piano play, jazz band to a calypso band, getting us in the mood for the Caribbean. Sorry Elsie, we haven’t yet ventured in to the ballroom, where the dance teachers are Robert and Virginia Verrico, although we have hovered at the door listening to the music from the seven member band.

Depending on our mood we return to our cabin at about 10.30pm or as late as 12.30 (but of course, this would be 2.30am at home). It seems every other day they give us an extra hour in bed as we have to put the clocks back as we go further west. We assume we will have to give all these hours back on the way home.

Today,. (Friday 15th), to keep us amused on our long sea days the crew set up an exhibition area, showing off all the ships different departments, from the engine room to the spa, and the navigation to the kitchens. All extremely interesting, including a demonstration of their bed making skills, where they can strip and make a bed in three minutes (and sometimes a lot less than that). I found out that the ship runs on four engines and when asked, the guy said not all of them had broken down at the same time (and he then touched wood). Doreen resisted the temptation to try out the chocolate fountain, which did look delicious.

Today, (Saturday, 16th) the temperatures have crept up to 24 degrees – nicely warm with a little cloud about and wind has eased to Force 3. It looks like this afternoon we may be doing a little sun bathing at long last and, of course, that is if we can find a free sunbed.

We are all looking forward to arriving at St. Maarten tomorrow the first of three consecutive days ashore (St. Maarten, St. Lucia and Barbados). We are hoping the weather will be kind to us as we have a full schedule of excursions which we hope to report on in our next blog.

The Azores

12th January

After a very rough night at sea (up to Force 10) we docked in Ponta Delgada (The Azores) at about 7.00am. The captain said if the wind had been in another direction we would have had to forego this port. In fact because the wind was changing direction we had to leave Ponta Delgada by 3.00pm, instead of 4.30pm. The first picture is of the ship arriving in port, and as you can see it is quite early. We had to put our clocks back one hour on 11th January.

After a quick breakfast we boarded our coach for a tour of the Furnas Valley and Hot Springs. This tour worked out quite well for us as we didn’t have to go up into the cloud – one of the tours saw absolutely nothing because it was so cloud up higher. We drove across the island and then along the north coast, stopping at a couple of places for photo opportunities. The Valley and Lake was formed inside an old volcano, with Hot Springs down in the valley. These Springs are the richest in Europe and there are twenty three different mineral springs, which apparently cure all sorts of ailments. Doreen tried out the iron Spring!

On our journey to the Furnas Valley we passed the only tea plantation in Europe and learnt about the benefits of green and black tea. Here they grow Camellia Sinensis – using the same leaves for both teas but the black tea is dried longer before use. The leaves are pick mechanically and harvested every two weeks through the growing season, which is April until September. The island is also famous for growing pineapples and we found out that it take two years for a pineapple to grow!

Before visiting the Springs we visited the Botanical Garden at the Terra Nostra Hoteland had half an hours guided tour. Doreen was very interested in all the Camellias currently in flower.

All in all it was a very good excursion and the weather was kind to us with temperatures of 16 degrees, although our guide described the unusually harsh winter they had had, where temperatures dropped to plus 13 degrees. To which everyone laughed.

On our return to port we strolled around town before returning to the ship for the sail away party at 3.00pm.

13th January

After another very rough night we woke to calmer seas (Force 7) and now at lunch time they are down to Force 3, and temperatures rising to 18 degrees. We have just been informed by the Captain that we can expect temperatures of 28 degrees at our next stop at St. Maarten. Sorry for you folks back home where we understand it is still snowing and temperatures barely above zero. (Of course, we are thinking of you).

We have a further three days at sea before we arrive at St. Maarten. We probably will not do another blog until our next port of call.

On the way to the Azores

7th and 8th January

We arrived in a not as snowy Southampton, but it was very icy on Thursday. Checked in to the hotel and then went to John Lewis for last minute shopping. We met many of our cruise friends staying at the hotel having travelled from all around the country, just to be sure to be at the docks when the Oriana arrived.

Watched the Saga Ruby sail away from Southampton on its World Cruise accompanied by a spectacular firework display at 9.00pm, of which we had a grandstand view from our hotel window. Boy, it seemed to be a small ship and I certainly wouldn’t fancy going round the Bay of Biscay on that one.

Woke on Friday morning, looked out of our window and saw the Oriana safely in port waiting just for us. She certainly looked bigger than the Saga Ruby – thank goodness. After an argument with the taxi driver about the amount of luggage we were carrying, we left the hotel at 12.00 and were on board by 1.00pm, better than boarding times at Heathrow or Gatwick.

After a quick lunch we were told our cabin was ready and went down to unpack our many cases, which all fitted in the space very nicely thank you. We were very pleased with the size of the cabin, much improved on our last trip on the Artemis.

It was then time for our first dinner on board and to meet our fellow dining companions for the cruise. We were lucky once again – we have a good table with very nice people. After dinner we went to look around the ship and get our bearings, before going to the welcome aboard show in the theatre.

Saturday, 9th January

Up early for our full English breakfast, after which Doreen went off to her first craft class, and of the three things to make she chose to do a necklace. Whilst having coffee in the Crows Nest there was a snow storm – some of the crew had never seen snow before and were out on deck having snowball fights. After an afternoon lazing around attending a lecture we had to prepare for our first formal evening. It was the Captains Cocktail Party (free drinks and nibbles). Tom, one of our dinner companions (an ex military) used his organization skills and Geoffrey managed to end up with three gin and tonics and a glass of champagne, before we went to dinner.

After dinner we went to the theatre and had Jade Adams, a lady singer entertain us with songs from Shirley Bassey, Barbara Streisand, Ella Fitzgerald and many others. She was very good. After this we went to Andersons Bar and sat and talked with some friends until 12.30am, when we staggered off to our cabin.

Sunday, 10th January

A quiet day at sea. Doreen crafting and Geoffrey walking the decks looking for land without success. Just for your information the sea is getting quite choppy and the ship is bouncing around quite a bit. Lots of people have disappeared from the decks and gone to their cabins. Let’s hope it doesn’t last for too long.

Just been to dinner, a few people missing, followed by a comedy show starring Gerry Graham, a new comedian to the P & O group. He was excellent.

Thought we would post this blog, just to let you know what is happening here. As you can guess – NOT A LOT. We will send another blog after our visit to the Azores in a few days time.

We're off to the Caribbean

It is now Saturday and we have six more days before we sail out for the Caribbean. We are really looking forward to some sun after our very cold winter. This blog is mainly for our children, so other people, please excuse.

We are just posting this to see if we can remember what we have to do.

We look forward to keeping you all up to date on our travels to the Caribbean and especially our trip up the Panama Canal.