31st January Arsing about in Antigua

 



During the course of this trip we have encountered some of the huge cruise ships that are currently afloat. In San Juan we were the smallest of 5 ships in port. Yesterday in St Kitts we were moored up against Celebrity Ascent and looked as if we could fit inside her, like a series of nautical Russian dolls. 

This morning in Antigua, big just got even bigger as we were the third ship into the port of St John's alongside the Norwegian Viva (BIG) which itself was dwarfed by Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas (Massive) which is I think one of the biggest ships out there.

It has also been, I have to admit, a physically and mentally draining couple of days. Not because of the amount we have done but because of how little we are doing. I don't know it it's his increased age, declining health, the hot and humid weather or just a case of CBA syndrome (Can't De Arsed) but I wish Tom would show more interest in what we could do whilst out here.

 He doesn't want to go to a beach, doesn't want to go for a sail on a catermaran, doesn't want to do another island tour, doesn't want to do a 4x4 off track jeep trip, doesn't want to see rainforest and or waterfalls. In fact at times I wonder why he wanted to come to the Caribbean at all for all he has wanted to see and do. Although in fairness we both don't seemed to have learned the lesson form our previous trip out to the Caribbean on Brittania, in that if you haven't booked an excursion the ports themselves often have little to offer. Some have even less than little to offer. Cruises around the Mediterranean are so much easier to do things, easier /closer to get to and far less mentally demanding for one of us ar least.

Last year when we were here in Antigua we did the island tour with Lawrence which was great, but not something we wanted to repeat again so soon. But out of the 14 different options available via Marella today including the chance to go swimming with Stingrays, TOM chose for us to wander round the God forsaken backstreets of St Johns without a map and then back on ship to sit and read a book about Timothy West and Prunella Scales. I in turn am doing my utmost not to show 'the Face' or unleash my inner Basil Fawlty!!!

I think it's fair to say that whilst this has been a really good trip and pretty much hassle free, it's also been the least enjoyable of our 4 cruises with regards ship layout, itinerary, entertainment and just making the most of what we could have done rather than what we have ended up doing.

Another good show by the Marella show cast tonight during which we channeled our inner Dolly and Kenny as the country themed show called 'Six Strings' got our feet tapping even if the sequined cowboy costumes and matching boots made the whole event as camp as Christmas.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

6th May Olbia

Image
  A chance to stretch our legs today with our first port of call; Olbia, Sardinia. And it was a quick stretch too due to it being only a five hour stay. Up bright and early, so early in fact that the hot food at the buffet wasn't even ready to be served. Still it gave us a chance to watch the ship glide into port past a host of oyster/mussel beds, before performing a 180 degree turn to reverse into it's berth. A couple of short bus rides later and we were in downtown Olbia. But there an hour or so before anything appeared to open, the disadvantage of being early birds and something we don't seem to learn! Not that Olbia had a great deal to see or maybe if we had done the slightest bit of planning beforehand there might have benn but we didn't. It was pleasant enough but that's about it. It was pleasant enough but nothing special, indeed we were back on the ship after just a couple of hours ashore and then managed to sleep away most of th...
Read more

7th May Naples

Image
 I'm sure I've heard the phrase 'see Naples and die' suggesting that it is perhaps not the nicest location in the Mediterranean but if it's good enough for Diego Maradona fir a few years then it's good enough for me for 10 hours. Although the millions of tax free pounds he was paid might have eased his stay. By the time we got up, washed, dressed and up to The Kitchens, the rest of the ship were already there. Compared to the Marie Celeste of yesterday it was absolutely packed, presumably with people having breakfast before heading out on 8am excursions, our excursion was simply going to be the city of Naples itself as possible trips to Vesuvius, Pompei or the Amalfi coast would have been too much / tired.  So on a day when the weather initially seemed uncertain, we jumped aboard route A for the Hop on Hop off bus and headed out into the mayhem that is the Napoli traffic where it was every van, car and scooter for the selves. I think it's bes...
Read more