Cindy and Big Mama
Ok, we can’t stay away from the Caribbean. We just got back from a Southern Caribbean cruise on Celebrity Cruise Lines with Cindy’s parents. We flew down to San Juan and spent 11 days on the Celebrity Galaxy with stops in Aruba, Curaçao, Grenada, St. Lucia, Barbados, Dominica, St. Kitts and Tortola.
It really whet our appetite for getting back out there in our own boat. The islands in the southern Caribbean are very beautiful with friendly people. One of the particular highlights was the Brimstone Hill Fort on St. Kitts. This UNESCO World Heritage site is an amazing hilltop fortification with great views of St. Kitts and the surrounding islands. They call it the Gibraltar of the Caribbean.
On Curaçao, we were really impressed with the Kura Hulanda Museum, which has moving and surpisingly thorough exhibits on the Caribbean slave trade as well as anthropological exhibits on Africa and the Caribbean. It is situated in a collection of beautifully restored local buildings, some of which comprise a high end hotel. We loved the sculptures displayed around the gardens here as well.
David the Goliath, Roseau, Dominica
This being a cruise vacation, we ate tons of food. Celebrity has made some changes to their dining since the last time we cruised with them (2005, around Cape Horn). The buffet has added an Asia section with foods from India, Thailand, Vietnam and of course, China. There is also a custom stir fry station with a large selection of vegetables and noodles as well as three choices of meat. The salad bar is open all afternoon, a healthy alternative to the usual pizza and burgers for afternoon snacks. The menu was more varied also. On our previous long Celebrity cruises, they start to repeat appetizers and entrees in the main dining room after a few days. The portions in the main dining room seem smaller than we remember. We appreciate that, particularly since you can always order more food if you want it. The highlight of Gray’s day, the sushi buffet, is still served in the early evening.
Brimstone Hill Fortress, St. Kitts
Early in the cruise, Cindy took advantage of the on-board salon to get a new hairdo. She went from having hair that was almost long enough to sit on to a new cut that comes down just below her ears. She saved her old ponytail to send to Locks of Love when we got back. Unfortunately, the hair was still wet when it was cut, so we had to hang the ponytail from a hanger in our stateroom for a few days. We hope that the stateroom attendant didn’t think we were in a cult or something, but we have to admit that the service was great and we almost never saw him!
Although the ship was full, there was some evidence of the economic downturn affecting the cruise line. Specifically, they seemed short of entertainers. There were a couple of nights where there was no show at all in the main theatre. Also, there was no comedian, juggler or magic act (some of our favorites). One entertainer we really enjoyed was Nadeen, the Queen of Hypnosis. Nadeen is a certified hypnotherapist that does stage shows to raise awareness of the benefits of hypnotherapy. In addition to her show, she did a couple of seminars that we found fascinating. We learned a lot about hypnotherapy and how it can help a variety of conditions.
Windward Barbados
The ship we were on, the Celebrity Galaxy, is going to be leaving the Celebrity fleet next month. After some refitting, it will go to work in Europe for another cruise line. Galaxy has a special place in our hearts since it was our first cruise ship (2003, Eastern Caribbean out of Baltimore, MD). We are looking forward to trying out the newer ships that have just recently launched including the Celebrity Solstice and the HUGE Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas. Of course, when it is time for another cruise-ship cruise, there will probably be something even larger!
Happy sails,
Cindy and Gray
