Cruising Christine turns 40 on the Fascination: a Belated Review

[bakersdozen12]

One thing that is unfortunate about writing a review many months later is forgetting some details. Now that I'm looking through my photos, I'm thinking the ones that I took might have been at the dock at the beach. I really can't recall. But I can tell you that this is a picture of the boat that we road in that day.

 

 

Either way, we eventually arrived at the beach. But the sun didn't. It still had not come out. I mentioned earlier that looking at Mitsugirly's photos of this beach in her Fascination southern itinerary review make it look like absolute paradise.

 

Then there's my sad pictures...

 

 

 

I can't really complain though. Sun or no sun, the Pitons really were an impressive sight to see.

 

 

After getting my husband settled on a lounge chair, I decided that it was time to do some snorkeling. And wouldn't you know it, the sun actually started peaking out! Maybe things were going to clear up after all!

 

Here's a picture from the area where my husband was sitting. Spencer is the guy in the middle of the photo.

 

[Stinger-pr]

Having finished the with the "full" part of my review I have a bit more time to follow yours. You're doing a great job! So...It rained when at the waterfall and during the banana plantation-part of Spencer's tour in St. Lucia? It's like this island is on a clock!! It rained exactly at these two points for our tour as well. It also rained as we got to Jalouise beach. Although we were able to have our lunch at the beach.

[bakersdozen12]

The sunshine would be very short lived, though, because by the time I got in the water, it was already overcast again. I should have taken some pictures of the area around where you snorkel, because man oh man, it was rocky as heck. I always wear swim shoes on the beach, but because I was going snorkeling, I was barefoot. At one point it hurt so much while trying to make it to the water that I put my flippers on and tried to walk with them, lol. I almost fell a couple times. It must have been quite the sight!

 

My pictures from snorkeling are not good. Along with the fact that I don't have a great underwater camera, the water just seemed murky. I don't know if the weather and lack of sun had anything to do with it, but I'm guessing it didn't help. But, I will post some of the better pictures of the fish I saw.

 

 

This long fish was pretty cool.

 

 

And so was this coral.

 

 

More of those yellow and black striped fish that seem to be everywhere in the Caribbean.

 

 

And a good example of how you couldn't see very far because the water wasn't clear. I really do think this was related to the weather.

 

[bakersdozen12]

Since I'm a novice snorkeler, and I was snorkeling by myself, I was starting to get kind of creeped out because I was pretty far from shore, and the water wasn't clear. Plus, there were waves that were, at some point, pushing me into the rocks on the side of the snorkeling area. I contemplated getting out, then I saw something that cemented by need to get out of the water. I suddenly found myself in a school of squid! Eek!!! I literally had to calm myself down and talk myself out of a panic attack. I don't know why, I just find squid creepy. Once I collected myself, I managed to snap one shot, just as the last one was swimming by. It's kind of hard to see, but if you look closely, it's in right-hand side of the picture, in the middle.

 

 

I had had enough, and by this time, it had started pouring again. And pour it would. From this point on, it would not let up. I think that Spencer and his group really thought that it would stop, and didn't want to cut our beach time short, but we sat on the beach in the pouring rain for far too long. People in our group were miserable. When we finally left the beach, there was literally not a single spot on our bodies or our belongings that wasn't soaked. Thank goodness that I always bring a small dry sack with me, because we were able to put my expensive, non-waterproof camera in it, along with our iPhones. Otherwise, they would have been ruined.

 

The speed boat ride back to the ship was interesting to say the least. I don't know why, but for some reason they were speeding much faster on the way back. I can't imagine that we were running late, because our beach time was cut short. Maybe they just thought we wanted to get back to the ship and into dry clothes asap. Which wasn't exactly untrue, but the shear speed of the boat, plopping up and over waves, was terrifying to me. Remember how much husband was scared on the initial ride, and I was having a blast? This time it was reversed. I was scared s**tless and my husband was laughing his head off. He told me that at this point, it was just so ridiculous, getting pelted by rain water coming off the top of the boat so hard that it felt like hail, that he just couldn't help but last. One thing is for sure, it made the day forever memorable!

 

The last part of our day was supposed to be the tour by boat of the Bat Cave, the place where a scene from Pirates of the Caribbean was shot, but alas, that would end up being the final "supposed to" of the day. We never got to see any of that. Guess they figured we didn't care to see any of it in the rain. Instead they headed right back to the ship, and we headed right back on when we got there, anxious to change into dry clothes.

 

Well, that concludes my review of St Lucia. I enjoyed my day thoroughly, despite any setbacks we experienced. I wouldn't hesitate to go back again, and would also book with Spencer again. Any actually, I'm thinking that this port may end up being one that I really want a do-over of. Hopefully on a day with better weather. :D

 

Next up: St Kitts and our tour with Thenford Grey Tours.

[bakersdozen12]

Having finished the with the "full" part of my review I have a bit more time to follow yours. You're doing a great job! So...It rained when at the waterfall and during the banana plantation-part of Spencer's tour in St. Lucia? It's like this island is on a clock!! It rained exactly at these two points for our tour as well. It also rained as we got to Jalouise beach. Although we were able to have our lunch at the beach.

 

 

Omg, that's too funny! I'm actually glad that they made the decision to have our lunch indoors. If they waited until the beach, our lunch would have been ruined. This way, we were able to really enjoy it. So it all worked out in the end.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[easyboy]

Enjoying your review and the nice photos.

[okletsgocruisin]

Enjoying the review, thanks! Looking forward to St Kitts.

Edited February 18, 2017 by okletsgocruisin
mis type

[jimbri]

Enjoying your review and photos.

[Thrilled2012]

Thanks for this great review! Love your writing style. We're booked on this same ship/itinerary in August and this is getting me excited!

[mitsugirly]

Our Fascination cruise from San Juan is by far our favorite cruise to date. It was just simply amazing! I really want to do it again. So, I came across this review and just knew I had to read it.

 

 

I found so many things I wanted to comment on, but I just couldn't stop reading and I'll probably forget most of what I had to say. It's like a good book you just can't put down. :D

 

 

 

First let me say I'm so sorry for all of your losses, surgeries, and anything else that has happened along the way. You've had a lot to deal with lately. :(

 

DEFINITELY come in early (even days if you can) to PR and explore. I think this is what made it one of our favorite "extended" trips. There's just so much to see and do. The place is amazing!

 

I definitely want to make it to the rain forest next time we go. My uncle in Alabama has bamboo and it grows so fast. But, your pictures showing the bamboo and the people in it...WOW! That's amazing!

 

 

Well, I guess the lights in the atrium of the Fascination not being on wasn't just a fluke when we were on her in August. I was hoping that there was just a problem and they are normally on. That's too bad.

 

 

I have to agree with you on the size of the ship and that class of ship. I wouldn't hesitate to sail any of that class. I just loved the Fascination. It was a perfect size.

 

 

I just LOVE Lorikeets. Our zoo here has an area that you walk in and get to feed them and they are just everywhere. They are SO beautiful! We always make sure to not miss that area when visiting the zoo. They are so friendly...well, as long as they think/know you have nectar.

 

 

I am so glad you got to try snorkeling at Coki. I wish you would have headed over to the opposite side (to the left facing the water) against the rocks. There's some amazing purple coral over there! (If you've never seen my first review of going there with the snorkeling, check it out in my siggie...it was AMAZING!). Hopefully you'll get hooked and continue to snorkel. It's an entirely different world under there to explore.

 

 

That mosaic fish in the middle you were talking about...it's also a parrotfish. ;)

 

I have done so many caves in the past that they no longer interest me. However, I have never seen one that had a tram in it. Wow. That's pretty neat. Did the tram go the entire length of it? Like you never had to walk at all (other than getting out to take pictures)?

 

 

Aww, that sucks that the weather didn't cooperate with you in St Lucia and I hate to hear you had a few "bloopers". People sometimes gripe about they had a "lousy" cruise and bad weather and people always make the comment "it's better than being at work". But, I have to sympathize with those people because we have had some crappy port days in the past and it really does put a damper on things. It doesn't ruin my cruise, but I know exactly what they are experiencing and it does make for a crappy day sometimes. I hate that you didn't get a great snorkeling experience at Jalousie. That place is simply amazing and probably one of the best snorkeling places I have been to from the beach. I definitely want to try out the falls, volcano or mud bath next time around. They look so neat.

 

 

 

I'm going to stray from this review for a bit, because I want to explain the saying on my lampshade in the picture above (since I'm sure someone will see it and try to figure out what it says). The saying is one of my favorites: "Enjoy the little things in life, because one day you will realize they were the big things."

 

I believe this is true, and when I hear people complain about set-backs on cruises (or in any other aspect of life), I can't help but wish they would just slow down, breath, and not stress out about things they think are a huge deal, because they aren't. I guarantee it. In doing so they overlook the little things that really do matter. And I think it's sad. Life is beautiful, and experiences (good or bad) are what you make of them.

 

And, it's a good thing I believe this, because this way of thinking would come in handy later on in the day.

 

ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS!!!! It definitely describes how I feel about life, cruising, good times, bad times, and not sweating the little things.

[bakersdozen12]

Well, I think it's time to finish this very belated review! Unfortunately life has been just to hectic as of late, but I definitely don't want to not finish something that I started.

St Kitts

 

For this port I had booked yet another non-Carnival excursion that I was very much looking forward to. After our excursion was partially rained out the day before, I had high hopes that this day was going to be sunny and fantastic.

 

Our vendor for the day would be Thenford Grey Tours, whom like the others, came highly recommended on these boards. The specific tour we booked was called The Grand Tour of St Kitts. Highlights of this tour included a visit to Romney Manor and the Caribelle Batik Shop, Brimstone Hill Fortress, Timothy Hill, and beach time at South Friar's Beach.

 

After getting off the ship, we made our way down the dock towards the designated meeting place.

 

 

At the end, I stopped to take a quick picture of the mountainside. I'm not going to lie, the clouds had me a bit worried.

 

 

We proceeded to the little building at the end of the pier to wait for our tour to being. It was nice being able to get out of the hot sun. Even early in the morning, in November, it is quite hot in the Southern Caribbean! From inside the building, I was able to get a pretty cool picture of the Fascination. Well, after about a dozen tries. I really hate how long it takes for my camera lens to get used to the humidity. Which is why my first pictures at any give port are always cloudy, since you can wipe the lens off all you want, but it fogs up almost immediately after.

 

 

While we were waiting, we noticed a couple of familiar faces: the Cruise Critic couple! Just like with the excursions in Barbados and St Lucia, they would also be doing an excursion through Thenford Grey. We would not be on the same tour bus, however. I was sailing with a group, and since that group didn't have an excursion planned for this port, I had recommened Thenford to them. Almost the entire group signed, up, so Thenford decorated two tour buses just for us.

 

 

That day, I would be lucky enough to be on the bus driven by Thenford himself (pictured below). I have to say, Thenford is probably the nicest, most knowledgeable tour guide you will find anywhere in the Caribbean.

 

 

I just love all the beautiful colors that people paint their buildings and boats in the Caribbean. So much more fun than the neutral palates that you find here in New England.

[bakersdozen12]

Our first stop for this day would be Brimstone. Along the way, Thenford pointed out many different sights, most of which were rather difficult to take good pictures of from the bus. But here are a few that I did get pictures of.

 

This building use to be the entrance to the dock, years ago:

 

 

A park:

 

 

 

A church:

 

 

 

A farm stand:

 

[bakersdozen12]

Thenford stopped along the way so that we could take some pictures of the port area.

 

 

Pictures of the Fascination hiding behind the Thompson TUI Discovery:

 

 

 

More cloudiness, but still no rain. So far, so good!

 

 

Had the hardest time getting a shot of this little guy, bobbing along in the water:

 

 

Some buildings across the street from where we stopped:

 

[bakersdozen12]

Since Thenford knew we were bird lovers, he stopped near a bunch of nesting cranes, long enough for us to take some pictures from the bus:

 

 

A mother and her baby:

 

 

Baby getting fed:

 

 

Finally we made it to our first stop, which in hindsight was the Batik shop, not Brimstone. Unfortunately when you write a review this late, you have memory problems. But, pictures don't lie!

 

 

The grounds around the Batik shop were some of the most beautiful botanical gardens I have ever seen.

 

 

Thenford himself was so knowledgeable about everything that was growing in this beautiful place.

 

[bakersdozen12]

The next pictures were all taken in the grounds around the shop. If you are someone that likes taking pictures while on vacation, this place is the perfect place for it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bakersdozen12]

The Batik shop sells both clothing made from their batik fabric, but also the fabric itself, if you prefer to make your own clothing out of it.

 

 

 

 

 

[bakersdozen12]

I had never heard of this type of fabric before, but inside the shop, they give a nice demonstration of how it's made.

 

First they draw the pattern:

 

 

 

Unfortunately I wasn't a very good listener that day to be able to adequately describe the rest of the process (sorry, but I was in a store, and being the girl that I am got distracted by shopping). I do know that wax is involved:

 

 

 

And that there are at least 13 different different stages in the process, as illustrated in the next two photos (beginning to end):

 

 

[jimmysmom]

Great review! Did this cruise on the Liberty. My son is a freshman at college in NH too. Why did they pick that ? Lol. Miami would be better.

[bakersdozen12]

After having ample time to shop (my husband purchased a Hawaiian shirt and myself, a couple pillow covers), we loaded back onto the bus to head to Brimstone Hill Fortress.

 

 

I don't know why, but I didn't take wide angle pictures of the fortress. I can tell you, though, that when you get there, climbing up to the top is optional. But definitely worth it! The views from the top are amazing. It's a bit of a strenuous climb, but do it if you can. You won't be sorry.

 

Some pictures of the fort:

 

 

 

 

 

[bakersdozen12]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bakersdozen12]

Gorgeous views from the top:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bakersdozen12]

While it's tempting to spend a good deal of time at the top, to enjoy the views, the heat was unbearable at times. Luckily there are some spots inside the fort where you can come in out of the sun to cool off for a bit.

 

 

 

 

After our visit to Brimstone, it was time to make our way to the beach, with a stop a Timothy Hill along the way.

 

The views on the drive to Timothy Hill were lovely, and I started thinking that St Kitts would be a fantastic island to move to someday.

 

 

So of course, I started doing my usual "scoping out of potential real estate."

 

[bakersdozen12]

 

Thenford informed us that for a measly investment of $400,000 in property on the island, you can apply for citizenship. Guess I need to start saving! :D

Timothy Hill is this unusual place on the island of St Kitts where you can see the Atlantic Ocean on the left, and the Caribbean Ocean on the right.

 

 

It's a little difficult to see the Caribbean side from these pictures, but you can see that the Atlantic side definitely has more waves, and is probably not the best side for inexperienced swimmers to choose.

 

 

 

While we were stopped a Timothy, we saw some people parasailing off the mountain.

 

 

 

As much as I love experiencing new things, this is NOT something that I can ever see myself doing. But I have the most respect for people that are that brave!

[bakersdozen12]

Our last stop on this tour was our beach break time. If you read the description of the tour on Thenford's website, you'll see that it notes beach time at either Cockleshell Beach or South Friar's Beach. If my memory serves me, we ended up at South Friar's.

 

We arrived at a 5-star resort located on the beach, complete with a bar that served lunch, for those of us that wanted to eat there.

 

 

 

For those that wanted to swim, the beach itself was pretty crowded that day.

 

 

 

The water, however, seemed pretty empty.

 

 

Thenford told us how long we had there, and gave everyone the option of being driven back to port instead, if we chose, and he would come back later to get everyone who chose to stay. I don't know why, but as much as I love to snorkel, I just wasn't feeling it that day. Perhaps it was because we had gotten soaked the day before, but I was just thinking that staying dry and maybe doing some shopping at port seemed liked the better option that day. Probably a good thing we didn't stay, because I found out that they ended up closing the bar and restaurant shortly after we left due to a wedding being held on the beach. Which I suppose explains the tents that we saw set up.

[bakersdozen12]

The port itself was not far at all from South Friar's.

 

There's our ship! As seen from the bus on the way back:

 

 

Shopping at port was typical of most Caribbean ports, with way too many jewelry shops. But, definitely enough to keep you busy if you want to just stay at port and not book an excursion. Although I wouldn't recommend that, as you would be missing out on a beautiful island!

 

 

 

 

After spending a nice afternoon shopping, it was time to say goodbye to St Kitts and head back to the ship. As you can see, no more fogging up of my camera lens!