Castries, St Lucia

Sunday, March 26

After a leisurely breakfast we headed off on a 2 hour taxi tour of the island with some other passengers from Koningsdam. Being a Sunday most of the shops and markets were closed in town, so it was good to get out and see some of this island. Again the weather wasn't the best for the beach, and we had a few showers during our tour.

First stop was a lookout which gave us a great view over the harbour and made our ship look small! Next up was an old fortification where the British and French had fought one of their 14 battles for this island. It was 7 all but as the British won the last battle St Lucia became part of the British West Indies. They achieved their independence 20 years ago but are still part of the Commonwealth, so they have a Governer General and we drove past Government House where the GG resides.

A bit further on we came to Morne Fortune, which is where some battles were fought and is where the old British barracks are located. Now they have been converted into the main college on the island, but they still have that old time look. There is also a cemetery here, with monuments to the island's two most famous people (apart from cricketers) - both of whom were Knights, with one winning the Nobel Peace Prize and the other won the Pulitzer Prize. Derek Walcott only died last week and was buried here last Friday, so that was really recent!

We then visited an art studio where they carve wood (mostly local woods) and make other genuine souvenirs - these were a long way ahead of the "everywhere" Chinese souvenirs! Our final stop was at a banana plantation where we tasted some local spiced rum and other products made from bananas. All in all it was a good tour, and just before we left the sun has finally come out!

Philipsburg, St Maarten

Saturday, March 25

It was a bit overcast and windy, but nice and warm, however it was not the best day for enjoying the beach, so we decided to walk into town and see some of the sights. In addition we only had 6 hours in port, and after 2 days at sea we also needed to catch up on emails, etc.

There were 5 ships docked in port today, so there were lots of people about. Around the port area there were some nice statues and memorials to local people who had played an important role in St. Maarten's maritime history, which made the walk into town very interesting. Some of the old heritage buildings have been preserved, and these have been converted into shops - lots of shops, mainly jewellery, watch, clothes and duty free shops! There were also lots of bars and restaurants along the waterfront, and you could hire deck chairs, umbrellas and towels to use along the beach, so it was a colourful site.

We tried the local liquor made from guava berries that are local to this island, and it certainly packed a punch. Philipsburg is on the Dutch side of the island, which covers about 16 square miles while the French side of the island covers about 21 square miles. We will aim to see more on a future visit!

Two Days at Sea - Take 2

Thursday - Friday , March 23-24

We left Fort Lauderdale a little late on Wednesday night, but we have 2 more relaxing days at sea before our first stop on this part of our Caribbean cruise. One of the new specialty restaurants on the Koningsdam is Sal de Mer, a French style brasserie, and we enjoyed a lovely seafood meal there on Wednesday night.

The next morning we walked around the deck, then enjoyed some time in the sun. However it was a bit windy and the clouds were rolling in, so we went and watched a movie before dining at the Pinnacle Grill. They do the best steaks and we had a delicious French red to go with it.

Friday we awoke to rough seas, grey skies and rain, so the outside decks were closed to passengers! As the day progressed and it became mistier it looked more like an Alaskan cruise instead of a Caribbean cruise! We walked around inside for our exercise today, but also attended a talk on future cruises, and spent some time chatting to new friends.

We had an early meal in the main dining room, then went to the show. Tonight was a ventriloquist comedian and he was excellent - he had everyone in stitches with his gags about travelling, people and places. We finished our night with a movie, so we're catching up on some we missed when they were in the theatres. 

Fort Lauderdale turnaround

Wednesday, March 22

The Koningsdam docked around 6am this morning and the disembarkation commenced about 7am for those leaving today. However we are staying onboard for another 11 days, so we exited for a few hours while they prepare the ship for the next batch of passengers. We caught a shuttle to a nearby shopping centre and checked out the local shops before getting a shuttle back to the ship in time for the emergency muster drill at 3pm.

We will be at sea for the next 2 days so again won't have wifi until we arrive at our first island on this leg of our Caribbean cruise.

Two Days at Sea

Monday - Tuesday, March 20-21

To return from Aruba to Fort Lauderdale we have 2 relaxing days at sea to enjoy the luxury of the Koningsdam. On Monday we had an invitation to attend a Mariner's award ceremony and lunch - this is Holland America's loyalty program, and the top recognition was a couple who have cruised 1188 days with HAL! We met some interesting people as well as enjoying a lovely lunch.

To fit into our clothes for the formal dinner tonight we walked around the ship for about 40 minutes! Tonight's meal was "surf and turf" which was delicious. The final big production show for the first leg of this cruise was excellent, with the singers doing most of the entertaining tonight, ably assisted by the band.

Our second day at sea was even more relaxing, with a get together with our American friends for farewell drinks before dinner the highlight of our day. We will miss them but at least we get to visit the Brooks and Buchanans in Texas when we do our land tour after this cruise.

Oranjestad, Aruba

Sunday, March 19

Noelle's English cousin Sheila and her husband Peter have retired in Aruba, and they were at the port gate to meet us at 8am. It was great to see them again and we were all very excited to catch up after last seeing them in London in 2008!

They took us to their favourite restaurant for brunch, and it was right on the beach with a beautiful view to enjoy while eating an Aruban breakfast. The ham and cheese were in little pastries the shape of a pastie and went really well with the eggs. After brunch we went on a sightseeing tour of the main attractions, passing some lovely hotels and resorts as we went. Aruba seemed more developed than the other Dutch Antilles islands we've visited, and we could see why they chose to retire here. As well as direct flights from Europe it's not in the hurricane belt!

Our first stop was the California lighthouse where we had great views over the coast, and could clearly see where the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean met. Next stop was the Alto Vista church, set on a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean coastline, and it was very quaint. From there we visited the Natural Bridge, which is on very rugged part of the coast, but the "big" bridge had collapsed 2 years ago, so there is just the "baby" bridge left. At another stop we saw some amazing impressions in the rocks of different corals, kelp and seaweeds, and it was easy to tell which was which. 

They then drove us to their home where we enjoyed some refreshments around their pool, chatted and had a lovely relaxing time. Unfortunately the time to return to the ship came around all too soon, but they allowed time for a quick swim at their favourite beach so we could do some snorkelling. It was sad to say goodbye but we know we'll see them again - who knows where?







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Willemstad, Curacao

Saturday, March 18

We met up with our friends and arranged a 2 hour tour of the island with a taxi driver. The 8 of us were taken on a tour of the various neighbourhoods within Willemstad, taking in the downtown area where we saw a floating fish market, a fruit and vegetable market, the historic colourful colonial buildings (which are UNESCO listed) and some of the forts located around the harbour. Another highlight was the pontoon pedestrian bridge, which opens to allow small boats through by moving the bridge!

We were also taken across the huge bridge that crosses the inlet that goes inland to the oil refineries, with the oil coming from nearby Venezuela. Our next stop was a nice beach resort and port on the other side of the island, and apparently a lot of Dutch people come here for holidays. On our way back to the ship we passed through some of the expensive housing estates, and we saw some impressive houses with hedges of magnificent bougainvillea and other tropical flowers. We even saw some iguanas on these hedges and some colourful little birds.

The final stop was the Curacao liquor factory where the famous Blue Curacao is produced. It was interesting reading about how it is made, and at the end of the tour we got to taste the blue liqueur , a tamarind flavoured liqueur and a coffee liqueur - just what you need when it's 30C outside!

After lunch we walked from the ship to the downtown area and took in all the sights again by foot, so we got to see the sights up close and personal. This included enjoying a beer by the waterfront, and even saw the bridge open very wide to let a big ship into the inlet. When the bridge is open they operate a ferry so people aren't inconvenienced. Again it was another enjoyable day in paradise on the biggest island we've visited so far.