not your average blogger: 02/10/19

This cruise went to the Caribbean. 10 days, sailed out of Miami, Florida.
Here were the stops:

Tortola, Road Town
St Kitts, Basseterre
St Johns, Antigua
Guadeloupe, Pointe-A-Pitre
St Maarten, Philipsburg

This ship is an Italian based ship. Lots of international people, mainly French and Italian.

First stop Tortola:

Didn't do a whole lot here. Got a taxi to the beach and spent the day there. Got a little tour of the town on our way to the beach. There was lots of hurricane damage still being fixed throughout the island. It cost money to rent a chair and umbrella. Cant remember the price though. The water was perfect temperature and the beach was clean but crowded. This beach is called Cane Garden bay. It was quite busy but we still had fun. There is a restaurant there but very expensive.

St Kitts, Basseterre:
Basseterre is the capital of the Caribbean island federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. It’s the gateway to popular Saint Kitts beaches like South Friars Bay. At the city’s heart, Independence Square has an Italian-inspired fountain. Just off the Circus traffic circle, with its Victorian Berkeley Memorial Clock Tower, is the National Museum. In the stately Old Treasury Building, it explores the islands’ colonial past. (Wikipedia)

This place had a lot more to see. We did a island tour and beach. No one decided to go to the beach at the end. There was lots to see on this excursion.

Baby monkey

This place was so green and the water was so beautiful!!
During our excursion we would make stops. We stopped by a guy who had a baby monkey. We paid $1 to hold him, and he was so cute.

One of the stops was at Romney Manor where we paid to get in the gardens. It was beautiful!! They had a little store there where they do wax art. Clothes, purses, headbands you name it, it was done with wax art. There are so many steps to make a single piece of art. The more detailed the more wax they have to apply.

Many visitors frequently express a sense of spirituality while enjoying the gardens and grounds. An all-time favorite is our magnificent Saman tree, the largest living organism in St. Kitts. It is over 400 years old, 24 ft in circumference, and covers ½ acre. Just imagine the stories it could tell. Many visitors return time and time again to savour this memorable experience. The present owner feels more a sense of stewardship than ownership, recognizing the magnificent Saman tree as the true owner of all it surveys.(caribellebatikstkitts.com)

The former residence of the owners of the Wingfield Estate sugar plantation has since 1964 been the home of the Caribelle Batik workshop and store. Horticulturists will feel in floral heaven in the surrounding gardens (note the 350-year-old saman tree) that also hide an old bell tower used to regulate the working-day routine of slaves. Stand in the viewing gallery, from where plantation owners kept an eye on the sugar works.( lonelyplanet.com)

This place was just full of history!! We learned so much about the culture and the grounds of the manor. Below are more pictures of the grounds and the little lighthouse.

Demonstration on how they make the wax art.

Lighthouse overlooking the grounds

You can see the sheets being hung to dry
from the wax art.

After the Manor we went on to Timothy hill overlook.

Your 360-degree view includes the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, Friar’s and Frigate bays, Nevis, and the hilly peninsula itself. (afar.com)

This place was absolutely breathtaking. There was even little shop on top so you can enjoy some food, fresh coconut water or a cold soda.
Below are pictures of this incredible sight overlook. I could not fit all the amazingness in one picture. When you arrive on the left is St Kitts and on the right is Timothy hill overlook. Luckily we had enough time to enjoy both scenic overlooks.

Other side on top of Timothy hill

After the over look we went to Black Rocks.

Also referred to as Black Stone, is the name of a notable rock formation on the northeastern coast of the island of Saint Kitts. Located close to the town of Saddlers, the rocks consist of lava flow from the volcanic Mount Liamuiga which dominates the northern half of the island of Saint Kitts.

When you get here you have quite of stuff to look at. They have a circle of shops and snacks around
while you look at this beautiful formation. While we were enjoying the scenery a guy walked around
a monkey. You could hold him and the guy would take pics for us. He was super nice. We paid him
because that's his income. We got quite a few pics with this cute monkey whos name was
"Jack Daniels". He even had Jack drink coke from my husbands hand.

Black rocks

Me and Jack

Jack drinking coke

The owner of Jack and my husband

After the beautiful Black rocks we stopped Mount Liamuiga:

Mount Liamuiga is a 3,792-foot (1,156 m) stratovolcano which forms the western part of the island of Saint Kitts. The peak is the highest point on the island of Saint Kitts, in the federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, and in the entire British Leeward Islands, as well as one of the tallest peaks in the eastern Caribbean archipelago. The peak is topped by a 0.6-mile (1 km) wide summit crater, which contained a shallow crater lake until 1959. As of 2006, the crater lake had re-formed.^[1] The last verified eruptions from the volcano were about 1,800 years ago, while reports of possible eruptions in 1692 and 1843 are considered uncertain.

Mount Liamuiga was formerly named Mount Misery. The renaming took place on the date of St. Kitts' independence, September 19, 1983. However, many older citizens still refer to it as Mount Misery. The name Liamuiga is derived from the Kalinago name for the entire island of St. Kitts, which means, "fertile land." ( Wikipedia)

We didn't actually go to the volcano we went to a place where there was an amazing view of the whole volcano. It was huge!! There was an overlook and little shops there.

Behind me while taking this pic was Mount Liamuiga

Pic of the over look by the shops

Close up of the overlook
Though this looked pretty

Close up of the overlook

Sadly I did not get a pic of the volcano. I was to interested in the other one at sea and the overlook.
Seriously how beautiful are those views.

Cute puppy at the shops

St. Johns Antigua:

St. John’s is the capital and key port of the Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda. The city is home to the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda, with exhibits on indigenous tribes and plantation life. St. John’s Cathedral, a 19th-century Anglican church, is on a hill near the 17th-century Government House. A monument to the nation’s founder, V.C. Bird, is next to the Public Market, which sells crafts and produce. (Wikipedia)

This place was super fun!!
We walked around the port for quite a while trying to find the right taxi.
Someone approached us and offered a private taxi and tour of the island and beach stop. I remember the guy mentioning his license plate was 711 or something like that.
I can't exactly remember the price but we went for it. This turned out to be an all day adventure.
He took us everywhere and he knew everybody.
At this time there was a Yacht Charter show going on at the harbor and we decided to just look at the ships from afar.
Well somehow our driver got us in a day before it opened!! He said we had 5 minutes to look around and that was enough time for us. I could not believe some of these Yachts. They were huge!! as we went along the dock they would just get bigger and bigger. We had a blast! we all picked our favorite Yacht and wished we could buy it.
Below are some pics I took of the show.

Entrance to the Yacht show

Our original view of the Yachts

This one was my favorite

Antigua Yacht Club

Another of my favorite one.

This Yacht was INSANE! There's our taxi driver

The back of the insane one

After the awesome Yacht show we went to the beach. Ffryes beach was just perfect and beautiful to end our adventure. They had a nice restaurant and beach massages. A guy was walking around selling fresh coconut water. They were $5. He would leave for a while and come back with a huge coconut that's been cut open with a straw inside. There was a lot of water in it and it was so delicious!!

Slightly to the right of this pic is the entrance and restaurant.

Below are some pics of the beach.

This is how big the coconut was

Guadeloupe, Pointe-A-Pitre:

Pointe-à-Pitre is a city on the island of Grande-Terre, in Guadeloupe, a French-governed archipelago in the Caribbean. It's known for its lively markets, like the Marché de la Darse, where fishermen sell their catch from boats at the harbor. Cafes and colonial homes cluster around the grassy Place de la Victoire. The Saint-John Perse Museum features 19th-century Creole interiors and exhibits on the poet Alexis Léger. (Wikipedia)

Was super disappointed at this port. They really need to clean things up, especially in the city. I didn't bother taking a lot of pics of this place. Everything was over priced including the taxis to the beach. Everything was in french so you couldn't understand anything..... unless you understand french.
We went off walked around for 10 min and came back on the ship. Decided to lay by the pool and enjoy free food and drinks.
Below are pics I took from the ship. The graffiti was pretty cool.

That white building is all shops. fun to look through

Last stop, St Maarten, Philipsburg:

Philipsburg is the capital of Sint Maarten, the Dutch side of the Caribbean island Saint Martin. Beachfront bars line the boardwalk along Great Bay. Voorstraat, or Front Street, has duty-free shops and casinos. The St. Maarten Zoo is home to parrots, monkeys and a playground. Sint Maarten Museum displays artifacts from the indigenous Arawak people. The ruins of 17th-century Fort Amsterdam stand on a nearby peninsula.(Wikipedia)

This place made up from the gloomy Guadeloupe. Absolutely beautiful!!! Beach and the food was just amazing.

We wanted to go to Maho beach which is the beach you watch the airplanes land. Lots of locals were saying that the hurricane did some damage to it and not worth going at this time.

We took a bus to the beach. We purchased the Rum and Rege package which includes.

2 free drinks, alcohol or non or mix
umbrella
beach lounging chair
water sports (paddle board, body board etc)

I think it was around $25 per person.

We get to the beach and we had to go to the dive shop and get our drink vouchers. We had to wait a certain time to get our beach items. So we browsed the boardwalk. It was so much fun!! lots of vendors selling decent priced items. Lots of shops were still being worked on from the hurricane.

We finally got our beach items and stayed all day. There were ladies walking around offering massages. We all got one and my girl did my feet and legs and oh did it feel good. They used actual aloe Vera that they grew themselves. I was going to fall asleep!! It was literally paradise.

Water was perfect temperature. I paddle boarded for a couple of hours and just swam and found some beautiful shells.

Paddle boarding!

Right is MSC left is Oasis of the seas Royal Caribbean.

Shops

This was my all time favorite port. I would love to visit this place again. For lunch we went to a small restaurant on the boardwalk and i got fish and chips.... it was the best fish and chips I have ever eaten. No joke! they weren't fried they weren't greasy like how in American make them.

See the greenish building with the yellow? I cant remember
the name of the restaurant we ate at but this is what
it looked like. I got this pic from google and the
name is blurred out.

Pic credit to Google

Pic credit to Google.

Pros and Cons of the ship:
PROS-

Room was very roomy and clean
Getting on and off the ship at ports was smooth, fast and easy.
All employees approached with a smile on their faces and always happy
Ship was very classy and had a calming mood
I was super impressed with all the bar tenders! they all seemed like they loved their job.
Food was delicious!
Theres a little cafe over past the shops that is open 24 hours.
Depending on the bar, drinks were good
Entertainment was the best I have ever seen. Do not miss one show!!
Sometimes there was free ice cream by the pool
Lots of massage deals, wait till halfway toward the end to get better deals.
Gym was spacious, clean and lots of equipment.
Free mimosas and champagne if you go to the EFFY raffles.
The restaurants included were delicious! Especially the sports bar!
Just take in those swarovski crystal stairs. My all time favorite!
For Christmas you get to enjoy a huge gingerbread house. They use actual gingerbread. The whole piazza smelled like it.
Good deals on alcohol. Tax and duty free.
Stairs weren't ever super busy. Take a lot of pics while you can though.
YOU HAVE TO EAT THE PIZZA!! JUST AMAZING!!

CONS-

Quite a few stuff was only available for Yacht club members.
If you catch Sports bar on busy days your food will be cold.
You get sick of the buffet food.
You have to register your ship card right when you get on. There are only like 3 kisosks and they always had a huge line. If you don't register it you won't be able to buy anything or get in your room.
You cannot use cash or your credit card on board. Hence the registering of the card.
Was disappointed in the Moscow mule I ordered. YUCK!!
Old people going topless in hot tubs!!!
Hardly any coffee in the morning. Would take me a while to hunt down some.
Coffee mugs were ALWAYS out!! The employees could not keep up with them and the coffee.
Coffee actually wasn't all that great. But hey its coffee.
Not a big dessert selection.
Sports bar: the bowling was $8!! expensive and not worth it.

Heres a couple stories i have to share while on our cruise.

During muster drill we were all waiting to get the ok to go than we heard someone yell "someone get help, call a doctor now!"

We were all confused we kinda peeked over to see whats happening and an lady has collapsed and looked like she was having a seizure. We walked back over to our spot and looked over again and they started CPR on the lady!! It was so sad. She ended up passing away seconds later. So our ship was a couple hours delay cause the had to do an investigation. I really felt so bad for her and her family, what a horrible way to start your vacation.

After muster we went and ate and did some small browsing. I wanted to change, so we went to our room and our luggage still wasn't there and we were about to sail off. I was getting super annoyed so I went down to customer service to ask. I waited in line for almost an hour. When I asked the lady she said our suitcase has been confiscated because of an iron. I told her we don't have an iron in our suitcase. She told me to go to a room she pointed at to claim it. This room was small and it was FULL of confiscated suitcases. I found mine and told them. They said I had to open it and take a quick look at it. I opened my suitcase and they pointed to my hair straighter. I said that's an iron for my hair. They said that's fine to have but the scan thought it was a clothes iron. They looked for the second thing which was my fitbit charger. (remember this is a foreign ship and everybody is international) I told them it was a charger for my fitbit as I pointed to it. They apologized for the inconvenience and offered to take my luggage to my room. I told them its fine, they were busy as it is.

They really didn't give me any notice about my luggage being confiscated. I was a little annoyed that they didn't say anything. Instead I had to wait ALL DAY than wait in line to figure out whats going on.

Me and my husband decided to get a couples massage on the first port. They were having a deal going on and thats what we wanted to do. We booked it when we got back to the ship.

I gotta say it felt amazing!! They took us to a beautiful room to get us ready. ( i was not able to take pictures of the room or spa) We got an hour massage and it included full body and lava rocks. Oh those lava rocks were just pure bliss!! After the massage we got time to enjoy the steam room and sauna. It was like a dream!! So relaxing. Hardly anyone was in the spa. They had a room with big windows and lounging chairs and 2 saunas and steam rooms, for men and women.

Although if you plan on doing a spa day wait till towards the end of the cruise. They had a lot better deals. This deal was $99 per person.

For this specific cruise we got a drink package included with booking. It included some alcoholic mixes, beers and soda. The only thing was paying taxes. So like a corona was I think 20 cents maybe a little more. Mixes it included Moscow mule, jack and coke, cranberry and vodka etc. They had a list handy at every bar to let you know what you could get without paying extra.

The daily special drink wasn't included but when I would ask certain bar tenders they would give me one.

For the sports bar. They usually had soccer games or football on which was entertaining. Nice place to chill and hang out.

We had the mozzarella sticks, hot wings, spinach and artichoke dip, salsa and chips, Reuben sandwich, and Chicago dog. All delicious!!

Menu is below.

Overpriced bowling

Below are more pics of the ship and some videos:

Video below is the Queen tribute show. They are singing Bohemian Rhapsody.

The video to your right is one of the top overlooking a ton of other cruise ships. I don't think I have ever seen this many ships at once. My favorite is when I see them at night!! Oh so beautiful.