Upon docking in Bridgetown we were met by an array of taxi touts eager for our business. Somehow we

I went to the customer desk of the Celebrity Summit and found the answer. It turned out it wasn’t an “X” at all it was a “Chi”. That’s Greek, and so too is the founder of the Celebrity line John Chandris. It happens that the Chi or X is part of his name and became the corporate logo.
Ok, on with the cruise. A quick tour of the ship took me instinctively to the martini bar. Man has gone to the moon, come up with the digital revolution and now apparently has figured out how to keep a martini cold. The counter top was made out of ice.
I had booked the cruise by having travel agents bidding car rental salt lake city against each other to provide the best deal. Doing that through Cruise car rental salt lake city Compete I ended up with a travel agent in Orlando. While signing car rental salt lake city me up he informed only “open seating” was available. Eating when I want sounded like a good idea anyway. The only catch was that I had to pay my tips upfront at the same time as purchasing the cruise. I guess that made sense from the point of view that we might not be getting the same waiter every night.
car rental salt lake city With a full itinerary of islands to visit, starting with a day at sea was actually a good idea. Most of the 2000 people car rental salt lake city on board seemed to gather around the pool where a game of water volleyball was promptly organized. Those who weren’t in the water were encouraged to join in the contest by sitting on the sides of the pool. Their job was to serve as human bumpers (you know like in bowling with your children, the bumpers keep the ball in play).
Alongside the pool was a barbeque buffet. car rental salt lake city There was certainly no shortage of food on board. The rotund cruise director warned the passengers that could mean adding car rental salt lake city a pound a day. The dining varied from bland to absolutely delicious (more on that later). The waiters, like the rest of the cruise car rental salt lake city ship staff could fill a good many of the seats at the United Nations. The Philippines, India, and eastern car rental salt lake city Europe were among the more common locations represented.
The entertainment was a lot like the food. By that I mean simply that there was a lot of it and a wide range of style and quality. My favorite was a British magician named Jamie Allan whose mission is to blend 21st century computer and laser technology with the standard fare of card tricks and sawing a poor woman in half. He carried it out beautifully in the Celebrity Summit’s large theater.
Upon docking in Bridgetown we were met by an array of taxi touts eager for our business. Somehow we ended up with a driver named Henderson car rental salt lake city Todd ( phone 2343010) who turned out to be great. For $150 the four of us enjoyed a full day tour of the island narrated with his encyclopedic knowledge of the history of Barbados.
These are Hawksbill sea turtles car rental salt lake city whose arms seem more like wings. They aren’t the least bit afraid of humans and a little bribery with snacks brought them even closer. The boat provided snorkels and masks. With our eyes gazing beneath the surface we were suddenly guests car rental salt lake city in their world. There were maybe 10 or so turtles around us where we swam.
90 minutes after dropping us off our guide Henderson picked car rental salt lake city us up continuing our tour. We viewed the lifestyles of the rich and famous on the west coast or so called “Platinum Coast” and the poor and anonymous living in small weather beaten homes inland.
I had always pictured Barbados as flat, but that was sure wrong. We descended down a steep road that took us to the rocky east coast of Barbados. Giant boulders decorate the golden beaches ripped by strong Atlantic Ocean waves that stand in great contrast to those on the much calmer west side. The vistas car rental salt lake city are like impressionist paintings visible from cliffs that overlook this less populated side of the island.
To me this place is a Caribbean version of Hawaii, but with rough edges. The iconic picture of St. Lucia is its pyramid shaped mountains called the Pitons. Unfortunately car rental salt lake city the Celebrity car rental salt lake city Summit docked in Castries up north and the Pitons car rental salt lake city are further south closer to the town of Soufriere. No problem, again we opted for a taxi at a similar price. What we did not realize is that what looked like a relatively short distance on the map turned out to be an hour and a half in each direction. If you have driven the Hana hiway on Maui then you know what the curving car rental salt lake city of the roads are like in St. Lucia. A brief stop at Marigot Bay, where Dr. Doolittle was filmed car rental salt lake city in part, was worth the view.
After that long drive we did not opt for the drive-in volcano, gardens or other attractions. We were ready for the beach. For some reason car rental salt lake city our request to go to Marigot Bay’s beach was discouraged by our driver and so we ended up at one near the cruise ship port in Castries called Choc beach. It was fine looking, but in the shade were some very “shady” looking people. car rental salt lake city Someone warned us to stay at one end of the beach which didn’t help our confidence greatly. Any concern, was outweighed by the experience of watching my boys tossing a football with a smiling child from St. Lucia.
From the moment we emerged from our cabin I knew this was a place that would agree with me. Antigua car rental salt lake city boasts 365 beaches, one for each day of the year (except leap years). The obligatory shops at cruise port were laid out in a manner that didn’t make us feel like we were in a maze where you had to buy in order to get out.
With not enough time to survey each individual beach we chose one recommended in guidebooks at Dickenson Bay. Our taxi driver Walter couldn’t have been nicer on the $24 roundtrip ride and he promised to pick us up at 3pm.
Walking onto the beach I felt like I was “photoshopped” into an ad for Sandals resorts. That’s probably because its Antigua outpost lines a good 75% of the beach, but the waterfronts are all public. Sandals catamarans, diving boats and other aquatic facilities sit on the beach emblazoned with their logo. If they use this in an ad there is definitely no need for computer enhancement.
It was hard to leave this beach, but we didn’t want the Summit to set to sea without us, especially on this night. It was New Year’s Eve. Recommended attire was formal, but not strictly enforced. Wearing a blazer on this night my family and I went to a special shipboard car rental salt lake city restaurant called The Normandie. It boasts part of the original Normandie ocean liner from the 1930s. This was an elegant, but not stuffy restaurant which cost about $50 extra per person, but this was New Year’s car rental salt lake city Eve.
The concept of a half Dutch, half French island always intrigued car rental salt lake city me. To capture the flavor car rental salt lake city we rented car rental salt lake city a car and headed first for Mullet Bay beach. Like the day before in Antigua this was picture perfect, car rental salt lake city but more fun was right near by at Maho Bay. The beach there is a unique narrow strip of sand occupying the space between the sea and the runway at Princess Juliana airport on the Dutch side.
The planes are so close landing overhead you can practically reach up and touch them. The beachgoers cheer as each one thunders onto the runway. The bigger the jet, the louder the cheers. There’s a sign that warns “Do not stand. Danger, jet blast.” So of course most people ignored that. As the jets roar for departure a massive blast of hot air involuntarily removes hats from heads and sends sand blowing into the eyes, ears and hair. That sign was obviously there was for a good reason.
Next, we drove across a causeway to where flags welcomed us to the French car rental salt lake city side. The town of Marigot was what you might call “charming”. It had a bit of the feeling of being in France mixed with the Caribbean, but too many signs in English to truly feel in a foreign land.
We then traveled to the Pic du Paradis, the highest spot in the island. Our guidebook promised an amazing view. Let me warn you, they don’t make roads here like they do back home. The narrow strip of asphalt was barely car rental salt lake city wide enough for one car let alone another headed the opposite way. When a car approached it became a gentleman’s game of “chicken”. Who would back up first? Usually it was me fearful of slipping off the road in reverse.
So you might ask, “Was reaching the top worth it?” In a word, no. The peak of the mountain is so overgrown car rental salt lake city that it is difficult to get any view, let alone an amazing one. Oh well, back to the main road. It bends north and east through car rental salt lake city the French car rental salt lake city side past turn offs for beaches car rental salt lake city like Orient Bay which we read features a “naturalist” section (swim suit optional).
There are no customs or immigration between the territories, just a flag informing us we were reentering the Dutch side. From this point of view it appeared poorer than the French part of the island. Seeing the poverty once again brought home an uneasy feeling of guilt that comes from being an American tourist on a poor island.
It’s not very far to the U.S. Virgin Islands from St. Martin so we cruised slowly arriving at St. Thomas at 8am. It was another portrait of paradise having breakfast on the stern of the Summit in the harbor. We had been here before so felt somewhat confident renting another car, but this was a bit tricky. They drive on the left here, even though the steering wheel is on our side of the car.
Being on the opposite car rental salt lake city side of the road from the day before is bad enough, but even tougher when you are driving car rental salt lake city nearly straight up. That’s the route we took from the port at Charlotte Amalie to the Mafolie Hotel/restaurant car rental salt lake city where we had dined on a previous trip. It offers a fantastic view of the town, the island and beyond. Our destination was the funky Coki beach near East End. There are too many beautiful strips of sand on this island to go wrong, but Coki is my favorite. It is lined with shacks that serve as bars, restaurants and a soundtrack for the local flavor.
At Coki you look out at nearby Thatch Cay. The water in between is a great place for snorkeling and you don’t have to get wet to see the fish. Coral World was built a few years after my first visit here which provides a submarine’s view of without leaving the shore.
Currently you have JavaScript disabled. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and