St. Vincent, St. Lucia, St. Maarten

Friday, December 31, 2021
Sint Maarten
Dec. 28. Tuesday. Partly Cloudy. 81, seas 3-5’. St. Vincent. Our tour today was called “ Bequia by Sailing Catamaran”. Apparently they oversold the tour, because about 75 went on a sailing catamaran, but we , along with 40 others got put on a diving boat-  no sail! We boarded at 9am, but then we had to wait 40 minutes for stand-by’s to straggle on. The trip from St. Vincent to Bequia is 10 miles. The good news was that out boat was fast, whereas the sailboat was much slower, so we actually did end up with a better tour of Bequia. We cruised by houses that are sort of cliff dwellings, then went around to the west side of the island to a quiet cove where we anchored for snorkeling. After, we were supposed to go to a town for lunch and free time, then to Princess Margaret’s Beach (where she had the infamous affair with the Gardner), but because of Covid we were not allowed to roam about, so we just went to her beach for 3 hours and were served a b-b-a lunch on the beach. It was very pleasant. By the time to go, the sea had picked up to the 5’ swells so it was a wild ride home! We got back just in time for Mensa, then knowing we were skipping the entertainment, lingered over drinks on our balcony until 8. 2 Covid updates; now we are at 9 cases, and they are suspending beverage service during the entertainment , thus requiring everyone to wear masks. We had dinner in Compass Rose. While there the Food and Beverage  manager found us and told us he is pretty sure he has procured Grolsch  in St. Martin in 2 days. We’ll see….We stopped by a lounge and got Chocolate Martini’s to go. 
Dec. 29. Wednesday. Partly cloudy, with an occasional tropical downpour. 85. Seas 5’. Today we are in Castries, St. Lucia. The cruise port is very pretty, but also quiet because of Covid. To go ashore today we had to have proof of a negative test , and they took our temperature! I’m glad these islands are being careful. Everyone everywhere, including in their own cars, wore masks. Our tour was called Island Splendor and was just a basic overview of the island with 2 scenic stops, a stop at a wood carving studio and a stop at a beach. It was all ok…something to do and see for the morning. We got back a little after noon, so had lunch and lingered over beers (not Grolsch yet) and margaritas. After a nap, we went to Mensa, dressed and met LIssy and Otto for drinks at Meridian Lounge before all going to dinner Italian. Again we skipped the show and enjoyed another chocolate martini on our balcony.
Dec. 30. Thursday. Partly cloudy, 85, seas 3’.  St. Maarten .  We are docked today along with 3 mega ships, so it still looks like the cruise industry is alive!?! Our tour today was a snorkel/beach adventure on a sailing catamaran. The boat , the Golden Eagle III, had a capacity of 90, but we were just 30, so had lots of space, whereas the sister Golden Eagle VI which boarded next to us, was full to capacity. First we motored to an area with a sunken helicopter for 40 minutes of snorkeling. Then we headed toward the beach. The captain took break, giving the helm over to the 1st mate, and he had a cigarette (it was a non-smoking boat), and set out a fishing line. When the captain returned, the 1st mate took a break and had a joint. Before he finished, there was a hit on the line and he and another crew fought and landed a beautiful Mahi-Mahi. Once in, then doused the fish with a bottle of rum from the bar (the cruise was open bar all the way). Their claim was the rum calmed the fish, so less blood and it didn’t fight so much. We motored past a Royal Caribbean Ship that was anchored 1 mile off-shore. This ship is being used by the line for quarantine of their crew as they are bringing them in from Asia.  We finally arrived at our beach, but they anchored about 50 yds out, so it was quite a swim to the shore. We both did get in the water and paddled about, but never did go all the way to shore. But the air and water temperatures were just about perfect, as was the clarity and beauty of the water. We didn’t get back in time for Mensa, so just had a drink on our balcony, got dressed and met O and L for drinks before dinner in Prime 7. During drinks, the announcement….7 more, so we are up to 18 with Covid on-board. We did see the F&B manager who assured us Grolsch was procured and will be delivered. However at Prime 7, they ran out of Champagne…and New Year’s Eve is tomorrow! Dinner was great, followed by chocolate martini’s in the Observation Lounge. 

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2025-02-13

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