So Many Lovely Little Islands

This particular cruise through the Southern Caribbean visits seven different islands and, naturally, I have pre-determined what I would like to do at each of them. Maybe this will also help you, dear reader, when you are trying to plan out your day!

Aruba is our first stop and we get to spend the whole day on the island (8am - 11pm). Of course, I wanted to play golf and there is a beautiful Robert Trent Jones course....BUT...then I discovered this little hidden jewel: a 9 hole course that is part of the Divi Village resort. As an added bonus, it appears to have been built right in the area of the old Divi Divi & Divi Tamarijn hotels which Mike & I stayed at on our first trip to Aruba in 1984 so it's almost like karma that we should play there. I got us a 10:30 tee time which will hopefully be early enough that we are not baking in the sun for 4 hours (only 3!). Post golf, we'll return to the ship for a bite to eat, then it's off to Palm Beach to soak up some rays on the beach and soak up some of my favorite sounds (ka-ching, dingdingdingdingding) in the Casinos! I'd also like to take a peek at Playa Linda which was a timeshare resort being built when we were there in '84. We actually considered buying one (mainly because it was named Linda) but the price seemed too low (we actually had enough cash on us in our pockets at the time we were there to pay flat out!) and we thought it might be some kind of scheme. Timeshare ownership wasn't something we were very familiar with anyway but we did enjoy the free cocktails and buffet they put out for those of us touring the trailer stuck in the middle of a bunch of empty sand! Anyway, it will be interesting to see what it looks like 25 years later.

Curacao is our 2nd island stop and again we have the whole day (8am-11pm) to spend here. I thought I was so brilliant in deducing that we should rent a car and drive around the island rather than cab or bus it everywhere. We'll see how intelligent that decision ends up being now that I discover the rental car kiosk closes at 5pm. Anyway, I have booked us another tee time, this one at Blue Bay Golf Club and though they have a complete resort there right on the beach my heart is set on KonTiki Beach (aka Cabana Beach which is the new name I believe they have given it). Post golf, my plan is to again return to the ship for a quick bite to eat and a quick change into beach attire. Then we will head up the coast to find the elusive beach. From what I understand, they are doing quite a bit of construction on the outside/parking lot area so it looks like a war zone when you approach from the road; but a few steps through the palm trees and aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh, Paradise! I've seen the pix posted by a recent traveler so I know it's true. And I also know that topless sunbathing is acceptable which is important because my dress for dinner tonight has a plunging halter neckline and I don't want to have any bathing suit lines. Plus I was going to get Mike a beach massage under one of the grass huts but instead I've decided I'm just going to get one for myself (he knows why but I certainly can't post that here!) Since we have to have the car back to the pier by 5pm that is going to cut my beach time short but later on at night perhaps we will take a walk around town by the pier. This is probably going to sound really spoiled, or at the least really jaded, but we've been to so many Caribbean islands so many times they really do start to all seem the same. Sorry.

Bonaire, our 3rd island, is supposed to be like THE place for diving. Which of course I don't do. In fact, snorkeling kind of makes me gag if I start thinking about this rubbery thing in my mouth which has been in someone else's mouth and then that's really embarassing when the guy running the snorkel tour thinks something is wrong with you like you are sick or choking and how do you tell him that "no, I'm just mentally defective" so I try not to think about the act of snorkeling while I'm doing it. So, anyway, we only have about 4 hours on this island which doesn't give me enough time left to my own devices to be sure I'd be back on the ship in time for its departure which leads me to booking a ship sponsored excursion and since I don't want to be stuck sitting in a crowded bus for a couple hours, I have booked the Mushi Mushi Fun Sail which appears to be a catamaran party boat with snorkeling and rum punch! The FUN begins at 7:30AM however, so I'm not sure how much rum punch I can consume at that hour! Aaaaw what the hell, it's vacation!!! I am hoping that a similar situation occurs in Bonaire that happened in St. Kitts with Mike a few years ago.....but if you weren't with us, you're gonna have to wait until I get done with the Fun Sail to hear about it! I just don't want to take a chance of reminding Mike before we board the catamaran :P

Our 4th island, St. Lucia is like Bonaire in that we have only a few hours here so I had to book a ship excursion. This time it's a Countryside Tour/Beach Getaway and supposedly we are transported via off-road vehicles which I'm hoping is more like a Hummer and less like a Bus! Not to belabor the bus tour situation but you weren't with us (15 jammed like sardines in a 12 passenger mini-bus) when we suffered for hours through Dominica -- and I'm the one who had to hop out before the tour was even over (thank God for red lights & traffic!) and then find my way back to the ship on foot. Anyway, back to St. Lucia, so apparently we'll be zipping by some interesting sites including a stop at some kind of fruit grove or something (which was really part of the attraction when I started thinking about biting into a juicy mango with the warm juice dripping down my chin) and then make our way to a beach for some swimming & relaxation. Anse la Vouette....never heard of it, and the St. Lucia chat board is not much help, so I'll become the expert after January 21!

St. Kitt's is our 5th stop and I'll probably not even get off the ship. Or at least that's what I was thinking until I discovered that the Royal St. Kitts Golf Course has changed ownership and it looks pretty damn nice! Nothing like the cow pasture it was when I was there....hmmm when was that?......2002 I believe it was. I rented a beachfront condo with 3 other friends for a week, and trust me when I say that 7 days in St. Kitts gives you plenty of time to see EVERYTHING that island has to offer. And I mean EVERYTHING. So when Mike and I went back in 2003 and then I had to show him all the stuff we did the year before, I got to experience EVERYTHING a SECOND time! Needless to say, I could just stay on the ship and bone up on trivia questions. As an aside, and this just popped into my head, but from reading other passenger reviews, it seems like the Regent crowd is perhaps just a little too competitive when it comes to winning tokens: baggo, trivia, wacky golf...... all I can say about that is. WOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOO bring it on!!! Finally, some competition....I'm gonna fit right in :-)

San Juan is our 6th island and Mike & I have been numerous times. Unlike St. Kitts, though, San Juan does have many many interesting things to offer...things I have yet to see. Unfortunately I'm sure I won't see them this time either because the most interesting thing San Juan has to offer ME is (ka-ching, dingdingdingdingdingding) the casinos. If something different occurs, you, dear readers, will be the first to know!

Grand Turk is our final port and my original plan had been to rent a golf cart to do a self-guided tour around the island. Then Hurricane Omar struck. As of last week, 80% of the island is still in disrepair. Residents are living in tents and shacks. Most of the island still has no electricity. I don't know about you, but I know that if my family was living in a tent and all my possessions were gone, I sure as hell wouldn't want some visitors driving around treating my neighborhood like a tourist attraction. So, anyway, as is to be expected, it looks like they worked double time to get the Cruise Center operational (except for the FlowRider, damn!) so my day at Grand Turk will be spent laying at the beach right there or swimming in their lovely pool. I won't be giving any of my $$$ to corporate Margaritaville or that ilk, but if approached by a native selling baubles I am sure I will end up buying stuff I don't want or need. Did that sound preachy?? Sorry, didn't mean it to!