April 19, Bridgetown, Barbados

We woke around 8am and took our time getting ready. As we were getting ready to go for breakfast there was an announcement “Bravo, Bravo, Bravo” and then a location on the ship. I know Bravo means fire but there was no other announcement. We headed off to 270 for breakfast. We saw lots of crew just standing around.  We also noticed the emergency lights were lit in the hallways and stairs.  

There was another announcement and we finally realized it was only a drill. Got back to the cabin and all the lifeboats on our side of the ship were lowered down to deck level for the drill. It was pretty neat to see.

We got off the ship and there was a free shuttle to the port building. 

We then took a taxi van to Bridgetown which was $2pp.  Since it was Sunday none of the stores were open but we walked around and then found a little tourist area at the marina with a few stores open.

Upper stairs was a bar with a deck facing the marina so we decided to go up and enjoy the view.

We had a few beers and lunch - cheese nachos and chicken samosas.

We then decided to walk back to the ship. It was a nice walk along the water. We did pass a craft area but since it was Sunday it wasn't open…

 

 

We saw this sticker on a car window :)

Back at the port we walked around and then had an ice cream. 

We were back on board by 3pm and went back to the cabin to rest.

Dinner tonight was Izumi which is a Japanese restaurant. I sent Wayne back to the cabin to get my phone so I could take a photo because the food here looks really good. We had Miso soup (which I didn’t take a photo of) and a Chicken appetizer (Chicken Kara-age). For our entrée we shared a Spicy Crispy Shrimp Roll and Izumi Ryu Futomaki Roll.

It was delicious!

After dinner we did our nightly walk around the jogging track and since I had my phone I took some nighttime photos of the ship.

 

 

We stopped into the buffet for some warm cookies for desert and then headed back to the cabin.

Tomorrow St. Kitts!

April 18, 2015 Fort de France, Martinique

We woke to a gray day in Martinique.

We took our time getting ready hoping the weather would clear. Around 11am we got off the ship.

We walked around the town enjoying the sites. 

We went into a beautiful old library – Bibliothèque Schoelcher

More walking and we came across an outdoor market. Wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables.

We then saw a modern shopping centre. We stopped in, enjoyed the air conditioning and had an ice cream and a water.

We walked up and down lots of very narrow streets with even narrower sidewalks.

We found another large market – this one was indoors. Lots of flowers, colours and smells. It was great!

We stopped for a local beer which was cold and delicious!

Around 2:30pm we headed back to the ship with tried feet. We read/napped in the cabin.

Dinner tonight was at Silk again. The menu changed mid cruise and this time the food was not as good as our first visit there. We did sit next to a lovely couple from Ohio. We had a nice time talking to them.

Walked around the ship looking at all the people shopping at the $20 watch sale. These use to be $10 watches and that is really all they are worth. It was fun people watching!

We walked a few laps around the jogging track and then called it a night.

Tomorrow Bridgetown, Barbados!

April 17, 2015 St. Maarten

We woke at 7:30am to an overcast morning. Wayne went and got us coffee/muffins. We docked in St. Maarten at 9am and we were off the ship by 9:15. We went to find our tour with Bernard’s. We used them the last time we were in St. Maarten and really enjoyed it so decided to use them again. The tour was a little late leaving because we had to wait for late comers…

We left at 10am and headed off to a photo stop and beer - free with the tour. You know you are on vacation when you are drinking beer at 10:30 in the morning. :)

Next we headed to a place to see and hold sea life. It was pretty neat to see these sea creatures up close and the view was really pretty.

Next off to see some iguanas. It is just a stop on the side off the road but the iguanas know they will be fed so they come out of the bushes. There were lots of them but it was hard to take photos since they blend in with the bushes.

Now it was beach time. We went to Orient Beach and had 1 ½ hours there. It was overcast but still really nice. Wayne and I walked the beach toward the nude part. I guess nudists can’t read because a group of them were on our side of the sign warning you about nudists past the sign! Some things you really don’t need to see… We walked back and sat at a beach bar for another beer.

When we left the beach it was time for lunch so we were dropped off in Marigot on the French side. We went to a French bakery Sarafina’s for lunch. We each had a ham and cheese croissant and we split a chocolate eclair and Wayne had a cappuccino. It was delicious!

Our last stop was Maho Beach to watch planes land. This is always lots of fun! The beach was really busy.  We watched a few small planes and a large plane land. Then it started to rain. That is one way to clear a beach. Everyone took off for cover at the Sunset Bar at the end of the beach. We only stayed there a few minutes and then it was time to leave.

We were dropped off at the port and the rain had stopped so we walked around for a while.

We were back on the ship by 4pm and headed to the cabin for a nap.

Around 6pm we went up to Johnny Rockets burger restaurant for dinner. It is a pay restaurant but the food is inexpensive. The burgers were greasy and just ok and the fries were not very good. (Carnival’s Guy’s burger/fries are so much better and they are free.)

We then wanted to try and walk off dinner. We walked around the jogging track a few laps. It was a nice and quiet evening. Sometimes I wonder where all the people are because the ship is so quiet.

We had reservation to see the Mentalist/Illusionist at 7:30. He was really slow and we didn't enjoy the show. After we walked around a while and then called it a night.

Tomorrow Martinique!