Caribbean 2022
Caribbean trip February 2022 - Day 1
February 11, 2022
This is our first trip out of the USA since November 2019 before Covid invaded the world. Since the Omicron strain is still very active the airlines, islands we are visiting and the cruise ship all have strict Covid protocols. The requirements from each island seemed to change daily over the last week. We each got a PCR test 2 days before leaving, I filled out the health department form for St. Maarten and kept up with the ship requirements before leaving. Friday, February 11, bright and early we took one of the first morning flights out of CVG and headed to Miami. All paperwork and proofs of vaccination and testing were in order, whew! Our flight was about 30 minutes late getting out because someone didn’t fill out the maintenance paperwork properly. Flight went well once we got off. So, we arrived in Miami with 15 minutes to get to our next gate for boarding to start and 30 minutes before takeoff. The gate was in the same Section of the terminal, D, so we thought we could easily walk it. 2 miles later we arrived at our gate, a bit winded due to speed walking our way down the corridor. Next time we are in Miami we will find the train! We were one of the last ones on the plane so we didn’t have long to wait before taking off. We landed in St. Maarten about 2:30 in the afternoon on a beautiful day. Customs had the added health department requirement but it went relatively quickly and soon we found a cab and were on our way to Oyster Bay Resort. Our driver pointed out highlights during our half hour drive through some very poor looking dwellings as well as some very upscale dwellings. There doesn’t seem to be much in between here. The resort was bright and comfortable. We found a bar/restaurant on the beach for our first meal in 12 hours and enjoyed an unrushed meal and drinks. We could feel our blood pressure dropping as we got into island time. We walked on the beach looking at the large waves that were rolling in the bay and then called it a day. Our resort is on the Dutch side with the French part of the island being just across the bay. One tiny island split by two countries.
Caribbean trip February 2022 - Day 2
February 12
After enjoying a restful night and sleeping in to a decent hour we had a buffet breakfast where the server walked with us with our plates. We pointed and they filled the plate with each requested item. It felt like we were on the cruise already! Due to Covid, we didn’t touch anything until it was on our table. There was a strong rainstorm during breakfast that only lasted about 15 minutes. During our time in St. Maarten we experienced a number of short, intense rains. Guess this is why it is so lush looking, even in the dry season. The Windstar bus picked us up at 11 am and dropped us off at the pier. We were among the first folks to get on the ship. As part of the check in they administered a PCR and an antigen test and sent us to our room to wait for the results. While sequestered we enjoyed room service and drinks from our refrigerator. The rooms are small suites that are quite comfortable. It feels more like we are on a Crystal Cruise than on a small yacht that we are accustomed to with Windstar. Two hours later we were told that we could enjoy the rest of the ship. We decided to upgrade our room to one with a balcony and were very glad we did as it is very pleasant to have the French doors open and enjoy the outside while sitting inside. We have never been on one of the new Star fleet ships before. The ship also feels like a small Crystal Cruise ship, 300 passenger rather than 900, and is not a sailing vessel like the other Windstar ships we have been on. It was “stretched” last year when they cut the ship in half and inserted a new section, then all areas got a new face lift. Our room is in the new section and it looks new. There are only about 100 passengers on board with almost 200 staff. We feel sorry for the cruise line but are really enjoying the pampering. We tried out a new restaurant called Candles for dinner which felt like being in a fine restaurant at home. There are three special restaurants and the main dining room. Good thing we are here two weeks so that we can experience them all. Due to Covid they have moved the small restaurant dining outdoors in areas of the ship covered with awnings. It is beautiful eating by candlelight under the stars, every once in a while we see another ship, a small boat or an island. We haven’t been to the Caribbean in about 15 years so it is great to be visiting the Windward Islands and British Virgin Islands again.
Caribbean trip February 2022 - Day 3
February 13
Sea day. Today we rested, really rested, mostly on deck in the shade. There were some talks to listen to including a naturalist who is interesting. We tried out the exercise room which has wonderful equipment, and at night we found two separate places where live music is played and we could dance. We ate in the large dining room, Amphora, which looked and felt a lot like Crystal. The musical groups on ship put on a show called “Songs we wished we had written”. It was a nice ending to the day. They are talented folks and we all had fun listening to the songs, mostly from our youth. They did target the audience. It was a very nice day after the hectic days of travel.
Caribbean trip February 2022 - Day 4
February 14
We are in Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines (one island owned by two entities). In the morning we took a tour called Bequia highlights where we were taken to Fort Hamilton which was really a row of cannons high on a hill with a magnificent view of the harbor and the island. We then drove to a high point on the other end (south side) of the island called Mt. Pleasant. It also had a magnificent view and was very aptly named. You could see the Atlantic and Caribbean Oceans from here. I was surprised at the amount of cacti on the island, and it wasn’t as lush as I expected but it is a nice place to visit. Along the country road we would see sheep and goats, each tied to a stake, enjoying the dry grass. The goats and sheep looked very similar, both had short straight fur. You could tell the difference because the sheep’s tail was down and the goat’s tail was up and the goats often had horns. Every once in a while we would see a donkey or a cow tied up. No fences were seen to give the four legged critters room to roam. Our last stop was to Old Hegg turtle sanctuary. A retired diver and captain wanted to save the turtles as they were being hunted and their eggs were being taken, so in 1995 he started collecting eggs that he would find and raises the baby turtle for 5 years before setting them free. He has saved about 1000. It was fascinating to watch various sized turtles swimming in many different tanks. I particularly liked the tank full of 5 week old babies. They were so tiny and were constant motion machines.
We went back to the ship for lunch and changed into bathing suits. Then we enjoyed a walk along the coast and stopped at a beautiful beach for a couple of hours to swim. The water was refreshing and relaxing. Dean pointed out that spending time on an almost deserted beach was a great way to enjoy Valentine’s Day. In the evening we had a special dinner on the deck. It was the ship bbq with amazing grilled food, a roasted pig, huge appetizer table and a huge desert table, all decorated with beautiful sculptures made of food. Usually, guests walk through banquet lines filling plates, but due to Covid we each had a crew member carrying our plates and filling them with food as we pointed to what we wanted. You really get to know the crew members spending so much time with them. It helped make the cruise even more special. Dinner got moved under the protection of roofs of the top deck when it started to pour. With only 100 guests, it was easy to move everyone under cover. The tables looked like extremely long banquet tables once they lined them all up. After stuffing ourselves and the rain stopping we watched the staff squeegee off the deck and then lead line dancing for all who wished to participate. Then it started to pour again so the planned dancing didn’t happen. It had been a very full day, so this was ok.
Caribbean trip February 2022 – Day 5
February 15
St. George’s,Grenada. It is a beautiful morning as we pull into the port at St. George’s. This is a beautiful looking city tucked into the mountain which we are not permitted to walk around and explore due to their Covid restrictions. The only way on the island is to take a tour and stay in our ‘bubble’. So, we are going to go kayaking in glass bottom kayaks. We pull up to the small beach where our kayaks are all tied up waiting for us. After a few instructions we set off and kayak close to shore around two bays. Through the glass bottom we can see sea urchins, star fish and various kinds of tropical fish as we traverse Grand Mail coral reefs. On land we see brown Boobie nests and watch the boobies diving for food, and we see black Frigate birds waiting to swoop in and steal the food. They were quite the site, one type of bird crashing head first into the water to catch fish and another circling and waiting for a chance to steal it. We first encountered these birds in the Galapagos and they are just as fascinating here. We also see very large lizards enjoying the sun in the trees and bushes that hang onto the cliffs. The second bay we visited was Mollinere Bay where we enjoyed the underwater sculpture park. We saw a ring of people holding hands, a man watching TV, a man typing at a desk, a mermaid and many more. It would be a fun place to snorkel. The paddling in the first direction was a bit challenging due to the wind. The winds have been quite high the whole voyage and have made for a slow rocking ship while we are underway. The return kayak trip had even more wind! The guide just shrugged and said the winds change quickly here. Luckily, we have become pretty good at rowing together, which means Dean watches what I’m doing and adjusts. The one young guide told us we were a very good team. Good to know after 45 years of marriage. When we returned to the beach we enjoyed some of the best tasting rum punch I’ve ever had. Grenada is called the spice island as they have lots of nutmeg and cinnamon among other spices. The drink had fresh nutmeg which adds a lovely flavor to the fruit juices. Grenada is also known for its chocolate. We purchased some spices and chocolate bars to take home and enjoy the island flavors from our adventure. Our lead guide is a big believer in the power of the spices and herbs on the island and told us how he has left certain spice packages for neighbors with Covid to help cure it. Not sure if it really works, but he is a big believer. Maybe our medical researchers should check it out. We have found out why many old home remedies work by checking out the chemical make up of the ingredients. Who knows, nutmeg might have some ingredient that is an anti inflammatory or something.
Windstar has a reception for returning guests. It was quite nice and we joined some new friends we made kayaking today, Leslie and Terry. Afterwards we all enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Candles. Even with the social distancing and almost constant masking, we have made some friends. I wasn’t sure how that would happen with all the safety protocols, but humans like to build relationships and we find a way.
Caribbean trip February 2022 – Day 6
February 16
Pigeon Island, St. Lucia.
Today is an action packed day.We are up early to head to the far end, south side of St. Lucia to go zip lining in the rain forest.The drive was very long, about 90 minutes due to horrendous traffic through town.Once we got out of the city we started seeing sheep, goats and horses all tied up as we have seen previously.There are plenty of chickens roaming freely, too, which we have seen on other islands.Once we arrived at the Zip Line place we spent a little over an hour on 12 zip lines and several elevated bridges working our way over the tops of the rain forest.It was beautiful, and it was exhilarating.We saw birds and butterflies, but not any other wildlife.The bamboo is impressively tall, 30-50 feet tall in the rain forest.Our guide said it grows 6 inches a day which is why it is a sustainable resource. We were told about the pythons in the rain forest and are glad they are rather shy and didn’t come out!The plants were diverse, beautiful and very thick.The group we were with were fun and kept the conversation going during the long rides and cheered each other on through the zip line course.We were a diverse group with folks from Denmark, Washington DC, San Francisco and Cincinnati.Conversation was lively as we got to know each other.Our return trip to Pigeon island took over an hour so we didn’t returned until about 2 pm.This day was the cruise ships beach bbq.It started about 11 am with all the water toys out and a section of the beach made private for us.They had live music, lots of food and drink.They waited on us to return before tearing down the food and drink.I filled a plate with yummy food, Dean filled two.I laughed as he came to the table with a helper in tow bringing all his food.His response was “I really like picnic food”!We didn’t have to be back on ship until 4:30 so we explored Pigeon island. Including climbing a couple of hills to see an old fort and enjoy an amazing view of the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, and we enjoyed the beach for a bit before returning to the ship.After a well deserved rest, we enjoyed dinner with Leslie and Terry and compared our days.Tonight we were too tired for dancing and slept well once the day was over.It was a night of rolling seas which felt like we were being gently rocked to sleep all night.
Caribbean trip February 2022 – Day 7
February 17
Basseterre, St. Kitts
St. Kitts is known for the large number of monkeys on the island. They told us that the monkey population is about twice the human population. They are a greenish color and hide in the trees. We looked but didn’t find any! Today we had a relaxing morning. We enjoyed a slow, late breakfast, and light lunch before heading out on our excursion. The ship arrived in port about 11 am. It’s fun to watch us pull into a harbor and see the details of a new island start to develop. Today we chose to take a snorkel trip. We boarded a large catamaran that had two levels. There was a slide coming from the second level and a stair case down into the water making getting out of the water quite easy. We explored the underwater life in three different spots and enjoyed rum punch in between, during rides along the lovely coast of St. Kitts. We saw beaches, sailboats and yachts as we rode along the coast. The stopping points were well chosen. At each we enjoyed exploring the vast coral, sea plants, numerous fish, and star fish. We saw sand dollars alive in the sea and some of the largest star fish I have ever seen. A sea turtle swam by and a sting ray. It was a great afternoon in the water. After resting and cleaning up it was time for dinner. We went to the Star Grill tonight and were surprised to find Leslie and Terry there, so we enjoyed a new restaurant and had a chance to catch up on our days. They went on the island railroad which we plan on doing next week. We look forward to several hours of circling the island in an open train car.
Tonight the crew put on a show. There is a lot of talent hidden in these people who are feeding us, serving us, cleaning our rooms, and keeping this ship running. Some of the acts were country culture related which was fun as they taught us a bit about their homelands. Other acts were funny along with some amazing singing. What a fun show and we learned a bit about some of the Southeast Asia cultures! Tonight the seas are still rocking again as the wind is still blowing hard. Again, a good night to be rocked to sleep.
Caribbean trip February 2022 – Day 8
February 18
Gustavia, St. Barths. It was fun to watch the ship pull into the harbor as we awoke. It is very windy and the sea is rough. The ship determined that it wasn’t safe to run the tenders to shore so about 11 am we left to go to St. Maarten a day early. So, we enjoyed a relaxing time for a few hours while we sailed to St. Maarten. Since we are staying until next week, we got our new PCR test and then walked into town to see the shops and walk the beach. We found the Yoda Guys shop that we found 15 years ago when we were here with the kids. At the timeJessie was fascinated by the animatronics of Yoda. Who knew that she would end up studying how to make those creatures. Many shops were closed as no cruise ships were expected in. It is interesting how the tourist industry really relies on the cruise ships. We walked the town, mostly shops and used one to shelter us during one of St. Maarten’s typical strong and short rain storms. When it subsided we strolled on the beach. The feeling of sand and water under your feet is so relaxing. We stopped to watch some crabs scurrying about and then found a gelato shop. Gelato really hit the spot! We saw some friends and walked back to the ship. Tonight we enjoyed the Spanish inspired restaurant Quadro 44. Again, delicious foods. Dean isn’t a huge tapas fan but when he could get as many as he wanted and they included items like octopus, amazing potatoes, and spicy veggies, he was pleased. The staff really know us by now. Everyone greats us by name and the bar staff know what we like to drink. The food has been amazing but it is the staff that makes the cruise special. The music tonight was Latin and we danced after dinner until the music stopped. It was the end of a wonderful first week. We are wondering who we will meet on board the second week since only about 25 of us will continue on, and there are lots of new guests.
Caribbean trip February 2022 – Day 9
February 19
St. Maarten. Today is a relaxing day as most people are debarking and then new ones will start the process of embarking. We decided to take the island tour since we didn’t feel like walking to the beach to swim. We were driven around the Dutch and French sides of the island and stopped at Margot to explore. Since it is Saturday the open air market was bustling. Lots of vendors with hand made cloth items, fruit and vegetables vendors and fresh caught fish. We were pointed in the direction of a little bakery that made mouth watering pastries. We also stopped in Philipsburg, where we had been yesterday so after a quick walk down the beach one last time we went to the ship and enjoyed the pool and deck all afternoon while the new guests boarded, were tested and finally surfaced from their cabins. We enjoyed Quadro 44 again tonight. We had some of our favorite items from yesterday and tried some new items. Again, a tasty meal followed by dancing. Tonight’s music theme was “the Beatles music” so we really knew all the songs! It was a good ‘first’ day for the second half of the cruise.
Caribbean trip February 2022 – Day 10
February 20
Basseterre, St. Kitts. We are back at St. Kitts and had hoped to do the train ride around the island. Not enough people signed up so we ended up on an island tour that included a rum tasting. Again we were told about the many monkeys and part of our tour included walking through a garden, but no monkeys were seen. Lots of lizards and birds, but no monkeys. We did have a very nice tour of the island and heard about the history and the industries. Our destination was the Fairview Great House and botanical garden. This was an old sugar plantation that sits high on a hill. It’s view is beautiful! We toured the house and learned more about the plantations, slavery and life of the very wealthy. The home is very simple, quite airily and beautiful. It has many original and period appropriate furnishings. Even on a hot day the breezes and open home made for a very comfortable place to live. The surrounding gardens had many native trees, palms and shrubs, many of which had very colorful flowers, some of which had lovely fragrances. Many of the islands had sugar plantations with slaves until the end of the 1800’s. We then learned how sugar cane was turned into rum and of the rum production on the island. We sampled 6 different flavored rums, including vanilla, coffee, spiced, lime, mango, and coconut. It was quite the variety of flavors and alcohol strengths! After we returned to town we decided to walk around town to get a closer look at the architecture, a famous town clock, a park and the cathedral. The cathedral was quite simple and pretty with very bright green alter covering. It had every other pew marked off using cords in the same manner that our church is doing to keep people distanced. Some shops were open but not many as it is Sunday. Seems the many jewelry shops and trinket shops are always open. Tonight we enjoyed another delicious dinner at Candles and enjoyed the show “Songs we wish we’d written.” It has a few different songs from last week and was a fun show to see again.
Caribbean trip February 2022 – Day 11
February 21
Gustavia, St. Barthelemy. Today we pulled up to Gustavia for a second time and this time the winds were calm and the seas were not rough so we got to go ashore and enjoy this island. Our tour was to be a sunset cruise but it was cancelled, so we enjoyed walking around the most beautiful and upscale island we have visited to date. This island is known as one of the places that the rich and famous reside. The harbor is full of yachts large, larger, and huge. The sky was bright blue today and the sea many shades of turquoise. There were three hills to climb that we knew of so we climbed them all. The first took us to a place that is called a fort but it has been turned into the police station. The view of the harbor was breathtaking even if we didn’t have a fort to explore. The second was an old decayed fort that had a view of a secluded beach and another side of the island. It had a lookout platform that almost had a 360 degree view of the island. We decided to visit the beach we spotted from the top of the hill. It is called shell beach and is very aptly named as it is covered in tiny pieces of shells. The water was warm and inviting and the shells were a bit of a challenge to walk on but it was a nice place to stop and cool off. The third hill has a park with an old Swedish lookout/fort/community and is covered in gardens. Again, amazing views but this was the most interesting place to visit as there was a lot of information about the fort and how people lived in the 1700’s. There is also an airport on this hill. Small planes come in low close to a traffic circle as they land. We watched one come in and it looked like it wasn’t going to make it over the hill, but of course it did! We walked around the harbor, visited a small church that was built in the 1700’s and is still in use, and found ice cream to refresh us from our long walk. I particularly liked this little church. There was soft music playing and the windows and doors were opened wide. It felt like a place that one could worship and feel God’s presence.
After a day of walking we returned to the ship and rested before the ships’ signature deck BBQ. It is wonderful that they do this every week as it is a great meal and fun dancing. This time the weather was perfect! The food was amazing, the line dancing was fun and there was a dance afterwards.
Caribbean trip February 2022 – Day 12
February 22
St. Johns, Antigua. Today we decided to go on an excursion where we would snorkel and swim with stingrays. We were taken by boat to a shallow reef, about 4 feet deep. There were many stingrays at this reef because they knew they would be fed. Each of us got to hold a stingray and have our pictures taken. We also got to feed squid to stingrays. Their mouths are like a vacuum hose and they suction the squid very quickly from your hand. We were warned not to get too close as they will give your hand a hickey. One woman in our group admitted that she got one on her finger. It hurt a bit but wasn’t too bad. We snorkeled for about 45 minutes after feeding the stingrays and saw many rays and a couple of kinds of fish swimming around the coral. The coral had no color so was most likely dying but the fish life was active. After snorkeling we enjoyed rum punch, again. Each island seems to have its special version of rum punch and they were all fruity and good. When we drove back to town we decided to walk around a bit. The town is a bit run down but had a number of nice shops and restaurants. We walked to the cathedral we were told about only to find it locked. It is under reconstruction from a 2014 hurricane that blew out windows and damaged the roof. They still hold services there but it was locked mid week. Buildings in this town were locked tight so we suspect burglary to be an issue. It is a very dry island that is a center of government. Tourism is the main industry as it has been on every island we have visited, and Covid has hit all the islands hard. At dinner the maître d’ told us about the sushi that was served at lunch. We didn’t have lunch and Dean mentioned how much he enjoyed sushi. Next thing you know a plate of sushi arrived at our table. It wasn’t on the menu but they sure want to give us a great experience. After another delicious dinner the crew put on a show for us. It is rather remarkable how many talented people work on a ship. The show was very entertaining and a great way to end a day.
Caribbean trip February 2022 – Day 13
February 23
Soper’s Hole, Tortola. We are in the British Virgin Islands for the rest of the week. Tortola is one of the more populated islands but Soper’s Hole is quiet peninsula with only a few large homes tucked in the hills. It is a large marina filled with sail boats, mostly catamarans. The tour we wanted to go on was cancelled and the only available tour was a snorkeling adventure. Since we are doing this tomorrow we we decided to just go on shore and walk around. Soper’s Hole “down town” is quite small so it only took an hour to explore the area. The roads are narrow and curvy so we didn’t feel comfortable walking along the road. There are some wonderful beaches on the island but all require a taxi. Getting one at the pier is easy but being assured one on the return trip is not. Also, the swim platform behind the ship was down so we knew we could play out of the back of the boat and that is what we did. We swam and enjoyed the water floats from the ship’s marina until lunchtime. After lunch we enjoyed the pool. The ship was pretty empty so it was quiet and relaxing. We enjoyed a late dinner at the sports bar restaurant and enjoyed some music. This turned out to be a relaxing day!
Caribbean trip February 2022 – Day 14
February 24
Jost Van Dyke. Jost Van Dyke is one of the least populated islands we have visited. It has a population of about 300 and has a harbor full of sail boats. We got to ride on one of the sailing catamarans today. It was a lovely day for sailing! We sailed for over an hour between islands and stopped at a pristine beach on a tiny island. The waves were pretty strong today due to higher than normal winds. A few people swam to shore with fins. The dingy that was taking us to shore was surprised with a large wave. It nearly capsized became a swimming pool just as we got near shore. We were all soaked but we were going to be swimming soon, so it was ok. The rest of the group decided not to go to shore after they saw the fun we had getting to shore. We enjoyed this beautiful beach for a while and then it was time to return. The dingy couldn’t get into shore due to the strong waves so we all had to make our way through the large waves until we got out to calmer waters (just large rolling water). Dean and I both got knocked down to shore when trying to get past the waves as did some others. I lost my hat but my sun glasses managed to stay on my face. How that happened is a mystery. I had a few cuts from the coral pieces that were being throw at us as we worked against the water. The sore tendons in Dean’s arm didn’t appreciate the waves and neither did my wrist. One by one we made our way to the dingy and were pulled into the boat and taken to the sail boat. That was way more excitement that we would have liked! It was a short trip to a quiet cove where we snorkeled. It was beautiful with several types of coral and lots of different kinds of fish, mostly small fish but there were small Caribbean lobsters. When we were done we enjoyed some rum punch as we sailed back to the dock. The island had a nice beach and some shops and restaurants but we both were ready for a rest so we went back to the ship and washed the sand off and enjoyed a late lunch in the bar and actually won the trivia game. We both were rather exhausted and had had enough sun for one day, so we found some comfy lounges in the shade and enjoyed a couple of hours rest before dinner. Dinner was delicious and we enjoyed listening and dancing to Abba songs after dinner before bed.
Caribbean trip February 2022 – Day 15
February 25
Virgin Gorda and Prickly Pear. Today is our last full day on the ship. We left early for a tour of Virgin Gorda, a beautiful small island with views of the Caribbean and the Atlantic. It had numerous bays filled with teal colored water and lots of cacti on land. The prickly pear, a short squat cactus was very plentiful. Our main destination was the national park called the Bath. This island has many large and larger boulders that resulted from volcanic eruptions. The Baths consisted of many rocks that formed caves and interesting formations in one bay. We hiked around, over, under and through the formations and enjoyed the water that came through the formations. There were two small beaches to enjoy. Some folks snorkeled but we simply swam and enjoyed the beaches. Of course the tour ended with this island’s version of rum punch.
After the tour the tender took us to another smaller island named Prickly Pear which is also a national park, so we managed to see two parks in one day. Prickly Pear is not inhabited except for a shelter and bathroom. This lovely beach is where Windstar set up the beach BBQ. Lunch was happening when we arrived so we climbed off the tender, were handed plates and walked around some tables as the staff filled our plates. The bar staff then filled our glasses. The beach had all the water and beach toys and lots of lounge chairs. We swam a bit but mostly enjoyed the Caribbean band’s music under the shade of an umbrella while relaxing on the lounge chairs. This was a great way to end our two weeks! Back on ship we cleaned up, enjoyed the Captain’s farewell reception where we thanked the amazing staff for all they do before heading to our last dinner of the cruise. After dinner we packed and listened to the news for the first time since we left. With Russia attacking Ukraine we wanted to hear what was happening. This breaks my heart to think of the Ukrainian people and what they are going through right now. Time to get back to the real world.