Fort-De-France, Martinique

Tuesday, March 28

Fort-De-France was established by the French in the early 17th Century as a naval base. However today it specialises in rum, sugar, fruit and cacao exports, along with tourism of course. 

Today the ship literally docked in the old town area, so it was easy to walk to all the main attractions. We got a map with a walking tour on it and set off, aiming for the local market. This place was alive with colours, smells of cacao, vanilla and cinnamon, and people, so it was a good choice to get to know some locals.

We then checked out the theatre, the Hotel de Ville (or city hall), the Cultural Centre and the Saint-Louis Cathedral - unfortunately this was undergoing renovations so we couldn't see inside it. Nearby was the Schoelcher Library which is housed in an architecturally brilliant building. This building was erected in France for the Paris Exposition of 1889, and then shipped piece by piece to Martinique, and now stands as a monument to slavery abolitionist Victor Schoelcher.

We passed a colonial style pavilion building which is now used for computer studies, then Government House, and then the Museum of Archaeology on our way to the Saint-Louis Fort. On our way back to the ship we walked through La Savane park and then along the waterfront.

We really enjoyed it here as it really felt like a French seaside town but with a Caribbean flavour - the currency used here was even the Euro, so we felt at home. 

Bridgetown, Barbados

Monday, March 27

Today was a lot brighter so we decided to include a beach stop on the tour we did. From the ship we could see a modern looking building, and it turned out to be part of Kensington Oval, the famous cricket ground here. There was a statue of Sir Garfield Sobers in the grounds, and nearby was a museum on the cricketing greats of Barbados but unfortunately we didn't have time to visit it.

Our driver Chico took us past these places and pointed them out, but we were the only ones interested as the rest of our group today were Americans! Barbados was colonised by the British nearly 400 years ago, but has been independent for 50 years. Bridgetown and the nearby Garrison area is UNESCO World Heritage listed, and we passed lots of colourful old houses as well as lots of big, expensive ones. Chico showed us the house where Rhiannon lived, and apparently Oprah interviewed her sitting on the little front porch.

We drove along the east coast of the island and passed lots of magnificent beaches. Chico drove us through the Sandy Lane Golf estate, which is where lots of movie stars have very expensive houses, and it's also where Tiger Woods got married. On one of the little lanes Chico spotted a Green monkey and managed to coax it to move so we could see it - a great experience as these monkeys are unique to Barbados.

From there we visited St James Parish church, which was first established back in the early 1600s after the British came, and lots of politicians and royalty attend church here when visiting. Then it was into the interior of the island and the Highlands area (about 1100 feet above sea level) where we enjoyed rum punch, some wifi and magnificent views over the east coast and the Atlantic Ocean coastline.

On our way back to Bridgetown we passed a flower plantation where there were acres of red ginger lilies in bloom, then some sugar cane plantations as well as spotting some black bellied sheep - again unique to the island. We wanted to swim so Chico dropped us off at a beach on Carlisle Bay where the tropical multi coloured water was so inviting. Again it was a case of "walk right in" and it was so clear with a nice sandy bottom. Both of us swam and enjoyed the sun on this island in paradise.

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.