Windjammer Polynesia: Barefooting in the Caribbean
Written: Mar 30 '01 (Updated Mar 07 '04)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Casual atmosphere, visiting less crowded smaller islands, other passengers, no shoes!
Cons: bathrooms, low ceilings for tall people
The Bottom Line: Would we take another Windjammer cruise? You bet!
|
|
|
| jdhauer's Full Review: Windjammer Polynesia |
My husband and I decided to take a Windjammer cruise to celebrate our first anniversary. Unfortunately, we were unable to get a cruise on our actual anniversary so we celebrated a month early.
I looked into Windjammer when we were planning our honeymoon. We decided on Kauai instead (a wise choice), but we knew we'd like to cruise eventually. We settled on Windjammer because of the informality. We liked the idea of never having to dress up, the small number of passengers, and of getting to see some of the smaller islands in the Caribbean. The idea of a sailing ship also appealed to us even though we knew that the majority of the power would come from the engines. We chose our ship based upon the ports of call.
Arrival Day - St. Maarten
We decided to go to St. Maarten a day early and stay over the night to be sure of not missing the ship. Our air travel was arranged through Windjammer's Fare Share program. We probably could have done better on our own but as this was our first cruise, we decided to leave the arrangements to the cruise line. Our departure went from Dulles to San Juan on American Airlines, followed by a short flight to St. Maarten on LIAT after a four hour layover. You'll go through a long line to get your passport stamped at the airport. We grabbed a cab to get to Philipsburg.
We stayed at the Horizon View Hotel on Front Street in Philipsburg for the night. For $79, we couldn't go wrong. This is an all suite hotel where we had a bedroom with a twin and a queen-sized bed, a separate bath and laundry room and a kitchenette/living room, which overlooked the harbor. From our room, we had a nice view of Saba and we could see the Polynesia anchored in the harbor.
If you arrive a day early and you'd like to see Philipsburg, Saturday morning/afternoon is the time to do that. Everything closes early (unless there is a large cruise ship in town) and Sundays are very quiet.
Stowaway Night - St. Maarten
We had to be out of the room by noon so we went down to Captain Hodges Wharf to leave our baggage with a Windjammer crew member to take to the ship. Sundays are great days to catch a cab to take you to the French side of the island for a day on Orient Beach or in Margiot.
In the late afternoon, after a wait on the wharf, the purser gathered everyone waiting for the ship around her for a talk about what we needed to do for embarkation and gave us our cabin assignments. Finally, 5 o'clock came and we were allowed to go out onto the ship! It's not that we were so anxious to board but that we were so excruciatingly bored after walking up and down the street dozens of times all day. We were on the second launch to the ship where we were greeted with rum swizzles and shown to our cabin. I believe they ran three or four launches to get everyone aboard. The first thing we did was to remove our shoes!
Our cabin (39) is directly to the right of the stairs on the lowest deck. It's quite small with bunk beds, a tiny closet combination and a do-it-all bathroom. I unpacked our things onto the closet shelves and stowed our suitcases underneath. We had packed light with one small case apiece and another empty case packed inside for souvenirs. Our life jackets found a place on the floor because there wasn't anywhere else to put them.
We quickly discovered that the ceilings aboard ship are not designed with 6'5 people in mind. My husband spent most of the trip banging his head in he hallways and near the bar area. He also discovered that he needed to be in the top bunk of the bed, but even there, he was scraping his knees on a ceiling covered with sharp little bumps.
Dinner was a buffet which was nothing to write home about but it was filling and good, just not outstanding. That was true of all the meals (except for breakfasts which are outstanding) served aboard. A local band was up on deck playing but we chose to go to the stern of the ship to look at the stars instead. One of the crew members pointed out the Southern Cross to us without us even asking him. He was fishing for snapper back there and enthusiastically answered our questions about his fishing prowess.
St. Maarten & St. Barths
We got up early to watch the sun rise and then went back to bed but not for very long. A crew member ran up and down the ship, ringing a cowbell while shouting "Breakfast Time! Time to Get Up!" Later in the week, he'd ring the bell and shout, "It's just my job! They make me ring the bell!"
The Captain has Story Time each morning where he tells you about the islands and things to do. Usually the island history is the same: The peaceful Arawaks were eaten by the warring Caribs who were wiped out by the French/British/Dutch/Combination of the Above.
For this morning, we chose to do the 12 Metre America's Cup Regatta. First we had an instructional briefing where we had a short, humorous history of the America's Cup given by an Aussie so it was quite biased. Then, we were split into three teams. We were lucky enough to end up on Stars and Stripes, which Dennis Connor still owns. It was very exciting. My husband was a main grinder that moves the mainsail and he also helped raise the mainsail. I was a primary grinder. We operated the jib. There were four of us plus a spare. I thought that grinding looks harder than it is. Anyway, we nosed out the other two boats (Canada II and True North) by six feet for a victory. All day on the ship, we were telling everyone we were winners. We didn't have time to go ashore to their show for crew shirts (which we did on Saturday) but we did buy the picture of our team on our boat.
After raising the sails to the strains of Amazing Grace on the bagpipes, we ate buffet lunch and sat on deck during an afternoon's sail to St. Barths. Sail raising is a lot of fun and everyone can participate but no one is forced to do anything more than sit back and enjoy watching. We ended up spending the majority of our on deck time each day up at the bow with a number of other friendly couples. The people on board were the best part of the trip and everyone seemed to mesh fairly well.
In the late afternoon, the Captain stopped the ship in about 70 feet off water off St. Barths. He put out the gangplank and we were able to go swimming off the ship. It felt just right after a hot and sweaty afternoon of lounging. We took a deck mat down and floated in the cool water. That's an experience you definitely won't get on larger ships!
We followed up with a shower. If you choose to take a Windjammer, pack a short bungee cord with you for the shower. Your bathroom contains a toilet, sink and shower, all in the same tiny room. You need to hold the faucet to keep the water flowing. That can be difficult when you have shampoo running down your face and you're trying to rinse properly. The cord will allow you go have hands free operation of the shower. Be aware that the water temperature is not adjustable and it will depend upon the location of the ship and the time of the day how hot or cold your shower is.
St. Barthèlemy
The first thing we did was go to the Eurocar counter to rent a car for the day. It was $50 for a Suzuki something or other with a slashed top and a plastic bag for a gas cap but off we went. Our first stop was a wine shop to buy a bottle of a very nice rose for $9. During Story Time, we were each charged with bringing back a bottle of wine for the wine and cheese party later in the day. The roads in St. Barths are very narrow and winding, made up of concrete disjoined sections. The island is comprised of steep hills and at some points, the road would be so steep that it disappeared in front of you.
The first beach we went to was Flamages where we did not swim. It was deserted but we wanted something a little further from civilization. You could see some past hurricane damage around here and although it was empty, I felt as if we were being watched!
You couldn't get much further than the next beach we visited: Columbier. Columbier Beach is advertised as having "a scenic 15 minute walk down a rugged goat path with stunning vistas where you can eat in the shade. Let me tell you, guide books can be deceiving!
There is a twenty-five minute hike down the side of a mountain across private property marked with "No Trespassing" signs on a rocky, unmarked trail. There are ants and stinging bugs everywhere on the ground so you wouldn't want to eat anywhere. The only shade comes from cacti on the trail. As for the trail itself, it gets harder the closer to the water you get. We were very glad to have brought water from the ship with us! I've only mentioned going DOWN here. Going up was much, much harder. The snorkeling was pretty good here. We saw sea urchins and I saw a two-foot long barracuda.
We drove back to Gustavia for a cheeseburger lunch at Le Select. This is supposedly the bar on which Jimmy Buffet based his hit song, "Cheeseburger in Paradise". After lunch, we got gas for the car next to the St. Barths airport. This is a small airport with a short runway. There is a mountain at one end and a beach at the other.
We drove off to Saline Beach after conquering the gas station where my husband had to communicate in sign language because he does not speak French. It features the most beautiful turquoise water. Unfortunately, it was a bit overcast and rainy but still beautiful. No snorkeling here because there was nothing to see but the water was crystal clear.
After showers, we participated in the ship's wine and cheese party. There were close to 100 bottles of wine and the ship provided pates and cheeses. We went back into town for a party at Le Select.
St. Kitts
Late in the evening, we set sail for St. Kitts. When we awoke in the morning, we were already docked at Port Zenta in Basseterre. Actually, we were docked near Port Zenta. St. Kitts has suffered terribly with hurricanes and all of the money they had put into development of a huge port on the southern Atlantic Ocean side of the island disappeared. Because of conditions, the captain was forced to back into the dock and later in the day, moved the ship away from the dock to drop anchor.
This was our busiest day, which began as usual with a full breakfast and Story Time. The captain hoped that the weather would cooperate so we could go to Saba the next day.
The Island Tour we took through the ship in the morning was very interesting and turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. We were encouraged to take the tour instead of renting a car because renting is very cost prohibitive on this islands because of licensing restrictions. Also, traffic is on the left-hand side of the road. Our tour was in an 8-passenger van. We drove through Basseterre, past Bloody Point and out to Romney Manor, home of Caribelle Batik. It was fun listening to the driver talk and seeing the drivers all honk at one another just to say hello.
Some of the more interesting things we saw on the way included a huge flock of white doves in a tree on the side of the road which looked like cotton bolls, Bloody Point itself where the British or the French slaughtered the Caribs and the water ran red for three days, and the Carib beer bottling plant.
We also drove past a number of hurricane damaged buildings including St. Thomas Church. Our driver even pointed out to us the house he grew up in with 14 brothers and sisters. It was very well maintained and a sea foam green color. We also saw an extremely narrow gauged train hauling sugar cane to a refinery.
Romney Manor and Caribelle Batik were just breathtakingly beautiful. Romney Manor is an old sugarcane plantation and the grounds are filled with beautiful flowers, trees and stone buildings. There's a tremendously large 350-year-old Saman tree overlooking the ocean.
Our driver showed us baby avocados growing on a tree. However, the main reason people go to Romney Manor is to see the Caribelle Batik factory. There are women there painting with wax onto white cotton fabric. The fabric is then dyed and dried, as many times as needed using as many colors as the artist decides. The fabric is then used to make clothing items.
After dropping large amounts of money into the St. Kittsian economy, we piled back into the van for the ride to Brimstone Hill. On the way, we learned about the very smart goats on the island that know how to get home each night. Sheep can't find their way back but the goats are smart and they know where to go.
Brimstone Hill Fortress dates back to 1690 when the British mounted their first cannons on the site when the British were attempting to take the island from the French. The British knew it was a good place to build a fort so they did. They held Brimstone Hill until 1782 when it fell to the French because according to Captain Neil, the British ran out of whatever alcoholic beverage filled the cask that Lord Nelson's remains were sent home in. According to Captain Neil, his shipmates also drank the said beverage from the cask after Lord Nelson was removed from it. Anyway, the French were forced to give the Fortress back to the British in 1783 with the Treaty of Versailles so the British continued strengthening the fort until 1794. They occupied it until 1852 and then it fell into disrepair. Now, the St. Kittsians are restoring the Fort and it is a grand place. I can't imagine trying to invade it. We didn't have clear weather but I've heard that you can see six islands from the top of Brimstone Hill.
We went back to the ship for lunch followed by a sea kayaking trip. My husband and I are NOT good sea kayakers. To be honest, this was the only shore excursion I did not enjoy. We were told not to bring our fins for snorkeling but to bring masks and snorkels only. The trip began by us piling into a van, which first went to the Jack Tar Resort/Casino to pick up other kayakers. We saw some monkeys on the way to the drop off point. Then we went into the ocean by Cockleshell Bay to snorkel out to see an old ship that was unearthed by the last hurricane. The guide was unable to tell us much about the ship other than that it was old. It was very murky in the water and we couldn't see much, especially since without fins, people were kicking with their feet making lots of bubbles and there were about 20 of us which was a fairly large group. Next we got in our kayaks to travel to another snorkeling spot. My husband and I were not cooperating very well so we were going in circles and then he would bonk me in the head with his paddle. I hurt my wrist and neither of us was having much fun. The guide said at the beginning that he'd go at the pace of the slowest kayak, but as the slowest kayak, we can attest that it was not true. They'd be off looking into caves at and at herons and things and we'd be way back trying to catch up. We had to beach our kayak and had a slight accident doing that but our taxi driver came over to help us, which was very nice of him. The guide then brought out fruit and juices for everyone.
We then piled in the van to go back and the taxi driver stopped to let us take pictures of where you can see the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea meeting.
After dinner entertainment was a 40-piece steel drum band
St. Eustacius
Again, we sailed overnight and upon waking, we found out that we hadn't made Saba. There were many disappointed passengers as we discovered we were at Stacia. Not only were we at Stacia, but it was Ascension Thursday which meant that if we thought St. Maarten was locked up tighter than a drum on a Sunday, we hadn't seen ANYTHING yet. The only things happening on Stacia were some snorkeling (not recommended because of undertows), diving for certified divers (also not recommended), a possible historical walking tour, a hike into the Quill volcano and lunch in town. It was HOT (about 95 degrees), HUMID and not a cloud in the sky.
We stayed aboard in the morning and after lunch, went ashore. The first things we saw were goats at the Charles Woodley Pier. These goats were tied up, unlike the ones in St. Kitts. I guess either they don't know how to get home like the smart goats on St. Kitts or they are troublesome goats who eat things they shouldn't if they aren't tied up.
There is a lot of hurricane damage on the island and it just seems dirty and run down and no one seems to care. Stacia used to be the happening place in the Caribbean and was the first country to recognize the United States as a sovereign nation. This was the wealthiest island in the world and was the principal free port used for transshipment of goods to and from America. Her shores used to be lined with warehouses stuffed with all sorts of goods and her harbor filled with up to 200 ships at a time. Today, the warehouses have all been swept into the sea by hurricanes and her primary income comes from oil refining/shipping.
We spent all of our time in the Lower Town because we were too lazy to hike up the slave trail to the Upper Town in the heat. There's an old Jewish cemetery there and the ruins of a synagogue but we did not see it. A local Stacian offered us a ride up at one point but we were intent on going to the beach and passed on the opportunity. The beach is very small. It's comprised of black volcanic sand and it gets everywhere. When we showered afterwards, the floor of the bathroom was completely black. Black sand also gets blisteringly hot. Put on your shoes before leaving the beach! We tried to snorkel a little and saw some warehouse ruins offshore but there were some rough waves and the aforementioned undertow. We didn't spend too long in the water.
A PPP party followed dinner where everyone is requested to come dressed as something starting with the letter "P". Both my husband and I were awarded prizes for our costumes of a "package" (he covered himself with a rope and pasted a stamp on his shirt) and "poetry in motion" (I taped a poem to my back).
After the party, it was time to raise the sails to the stirring sounds of the bagpipes again. The sails went up and the captain turned off all the lights on deck for us to see the stars. This was the most amazing experience of the entire trip. We brought up pillows and blankets from our cabin and dragged some deck mats to the bow of the ship where we spent the night gazing up at the universe.
Anguilla
The sunrise was spectacular this morning up on deck. It was a perfect way to cap off such a magical evening from the night before. After breakfast and Story Time, we had our only wet landing of the trip.
We decided to take a taxi over to Shoal Bay Beach, which is rated as one of the top ten beaches in the world for $10 each, round trip. Wow! This beach was so beautiful! We spent the money ($13) for beach chairs and an umbrella rental that was worth it because there is no protection here from the elements. The sand was superior to that on Kauai, which I thought was really great sand. It's like fine sugar between your toes and as soft as silk. The water was the perfect temperature and was a bright turquoise color as you see in commercials. There are no reefs to stumble over right offshore on your way to snorkel. You can walk out into the sea and start swimming out to the reefs. They're shallow so you need to be careful.
We chose to return to the ship for lunch and never left during the afternoon. We could have gone to the marine park or swum off the ship but we just wanted to relax and do nothing.
In the evening, the captain brought aboard a Scottish folk singer for a party. We raised the sails a final time before heading back to St. Maarten. The singer was very good and the Captain's Dinner was too. We had New England clam chowder, Popeye's Caesar salad, a choice of prime rib or either duck or lamb or fish (I do not recall).
After dinner, we went back to the cabin to get packed. I was sure glad I brought plenty of large Baggies for wet clothing and an extra folding suitcase that came down inside our wheeled case.
St. Maarten
We took our time getting dressed and showered this morning before putting our luggage out into the hall. We took the 9:30 launch over to Bobby's Marina where we went shopping at the Regatta Store to buy crew t-shirts.
We took an 11:30 taxi to the airport and waiting in line to check in with American Airlines, to pay our departure fee, and to go through customs. This time we had a direct flight on American Airlines to Miami followed by a connection to Dulles.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
jdhauer
|
 in Kids & Family |
 - Top 200 |
|
Location: Virginia
Reviews written: 687
Trusted by: 184 members
About Me:
This is the People's House - not Pelosi's Politboro!
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.