DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY

Bobby McFerrin’s 1988 hit “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” is a staple of every calypso band playing on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. My guess is that we heard snippets of that eternally optimistic song at least twenty times these past two weeks. That is definitely the motto for most tropical vacations.

We flew to Ft. Lauderdale on December 2 & set sail the following day for an eleven night cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas. We chose this cruise for three reasons. 1) It had two sea days at the beginning & two at the end of the cruise for relaxing. 2) The itinerary included five new islands for us with only one repeat. 3) It was past hurricane season so we shouldn’t have any diversions like our last Caribbean cruise in Nov 2010.

What better way to start our cruise then with the drink of the day - a Bahama Mama!

The Solarium adults only pool was a quiet retreat that became one of our favorite spots.

Some Enchanted Evening Lounge on the Vision of the Seas.

We had a female captain of our ship who was Japanese & Danish. "Captain Lis" was a tiny, little woman who regularly interacted with the guests. Her weather & location talks started with "Good morning, good morning OR good afternoon, good afternoon" - always said twice.

After our first two days at sea, the next six days were spent at a different island port. I’ll give you a few impressions of each island then let my photos do the talking. As you might expect the tropical scenery is a photographer’s paradise.

St. Johns, Antigua

The island is pronounced “An-tee-gah”. We did an island tour which included a view of Eric Clapton’s house on a thin bluff overlooking the turquoise waters – what a setting for your home. Our tour around the island included ruins of a fort & Nelson’s Dockyard National Park.

A view of St. Johns from our ship. The bow on the right is another cruise ship.

Some of the gorgeous shoreline of Antigua. Check out the close up below of the thin peninsula in the middle right of this photo.

This is a zoomed in shot of Eric Clapton's house on the tip of the peninsula. It is designed to blend in with the landscape.

More amazing scenery. There are 367 beaches on Antigua. As the locals like to say, "One for every day of the year."

Castries, St. Lucia

St. Lucia was one of the islands we missed last time due to Hurricane Tomas that directly hit this mountainous island. The Pitons (two pointed peaks) are its defining landmark. They are on the other side of the island from where the ship docks. We took a private tour that went up a mountain, down to the ocean, up another mountain, & down to the ocean where the Pitons & La Soufriere (an active volcano) are the major attractions. The roads were really steep & winding – plus they drive on the “wrong side of the road” in St. Lucia.

About the only flat land in St. Lucia - the airport taken from our ship.

St. Lucia's most famous landmark - The Pitons.

From this angle only Petit Piton is visible, the other one is behind it.

The Diamond Falls Botanical Garden in Soufriere, St. Lucia.

A colorful villiage at the base of two mountains.

A natural arch bridge that our tour guide pointed out.

Bridgetown, Barbados

Barbados was the most populous island we visited. It has a large upscale area called Holetown that caters to the rich & famous. We were told that Oprah Winfrey, Simon Cowell & Mick Jagger among others either own property or are frequent visitors. Tiger Woods married his ex-wife, Elin, on the island. Pop singer Rihanna is a native of Barbados & returns often.



Downtown Bridgetown.



I loved the way the clouds, palm tree & flowering bush blended together.

The beach at Bathsheba, Barbados.

Looking the opposite direction in Bathsheba - that was one huge rock.

Bridgetown taken from our ship.

Kingstown, St. Vincent

This was our ship’s first time stopping at St. Vincent.  While the scenery on the island was gorgeous, the city of Kingstown was aptly described by a fellow cruiser as “a toilet.” Our bus drove along two of the three downtown streets without stopping. They have a long way to go to improve their city as a tourist destination – the town is really rundown & shopping is minimal at the “cruise port”. Our tour guide said that the unemployment rate is 60% plus people who work are not taxed until they make more than $10,000 per year which few do. They need the tourism but it was my least favorite port on this trip.

One of the three big churches in downtown Kingstown.

This is what most of the town looked like - definitely needs a facelift.

A man preparing our coconut water refreshment which was part of the tour.

Lou enjoying the coconut water. I tasted it & opted for the rum punch.

Another beautiful St. Vincent beach.

Kralendijk, Bonaire

Bonaire is billed as one of the three best dive sights in the world which is why I chose it to make my snorkeling debut. The story of my maiden snorkel adventure is a separate post prior this one. I would have liked to spend more time exploring Bonaire with its colorful buildings & inviting downtown streets but our schedule didn’t allow for it. The island had a nice “feel” to it & I wouldn’t mind visiting again. Both Bonaire & Aruba are flatter & more arid than the other islands on this trip. 

The town of Kralendijk from our ship.

Bonaire's colorful main shopping district.

A church in downtown Kralendijk.

Oranjestad, Aruba

We had visited Aruba on our Panama Canal cruise a few years ago. Last time we did an island tour so we just walked ourselves ragged all over the town this time around. Oranjestad is a big shopping destination with an upscale mall. After finishing up our souvenir shopping, we headed back to the ship & rested by the pool. Island hopping is hard work & we were ready for two more days at sea.

Some of Aruba's ornate buildings.

It seems that Caribbean islanders love pastel colors & Aruba is no exception.

More of Aruba's colorful shopping area.

Of course, we had to take some formal portraits of us all dolled up! Few people seem to enjoy the formal nights but Lou & I like to dress up once in awhile.

I’ve been on enough cruises now that few things seem to be that different on any of the major cruise lines. Royal Caribbean had two things that stood out – they had a rock climbing wall & they had far more varied entertainment. 

Lou & I tried the rock climbing one morning. He made it to the top easily but I only made it about halfway. My son did some rock climbing years ago so I knew the basics – use your legs, stay close to the wall, etc. But I got to a point where I couldn’t straighten my leg & couldn’t reach any higher. I knew I was doomed to fall with my next step. The rope caught me & eased me back to the deck. At least I tried.



Lou doing his best Spiderman immitation.



Success!





Me at my highest point - I know kinda pathetic.



The obligatory singers & dancers only did two shows. They were better than some we’ve seen but nothing special. There were several comedians, a juggler, a singing impressionist & a hypnotist. All were good except the hypnotist – it was a boring show but maybe old people don’t hypnotize well.

My two favorite shows were a singer/comedian/philosopher named Judy Kolba. She is billed as a combination of Joan Rivers, Liza Minelli & Charo. Her humor was unique & she made you think about life without being too serious.

A pleasant surprise was the tribute show “Ricky Nelson Remembered” by his twin sons, Matthew & Gunnar Nelson. You may remember them from about 20 years ago when they looked like “hot Swedish chicks” (their description) with long, blond hair. I loved Ricky Nelson as a kid so it was quite a treat to sit in the front row & sing along with his sons!

Matthew & Gunnar Nelson with a photo of their father on the video screen.

And as if all that wasn’t enough we had about six hours to kill before our flight so we rented a car & drove to South Miami Beach for a whirlwind Art Deco tour.



One of the hundreds of Art Deco buildings in South Beach.

 

A restored Packard looks right at home along Ocean Drive.

Even the lifeguard shacks have an Art Deco theme. We decided we need to spend a few days in Miami before our next cruise!