Arriving later than usual to Basseterre, St. Kitts, we found there were already two ships docked. One was the Tui Marella Discovery, and the other was the Carnival Freedom. The Captain backed the ship into the pier next to this larger ship, so we had the view of their starboard side all day. Actually it was amusing as we got to watch their guests leaving and arriving through three gangways. For the most part, they were much younger than our crowd. And louder, as we learned later.
St. Kitts is an island consisting of 65 square miles, and the nearest island of Nevis (2 miles away) is 40 square miles. If you are looking for beaches and bars, then St. Kitts is the place to stay. However if you choose quiet, we read that Nevis is much more reserved with luxury resorts. To be very truthful, the downtown area of Basseterre is not a tourist's destination, as it is quaint, but slightly dilapidated. The most famous claim to fame is the Brimstone Hill Fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built in the late 1600's, it was destroyed by a hurricane in 1834, but was rebuilt to what you see today.
What is there to do here? Try visits to beaches, diving, horseback riding, hiking, golf, or boat rides. If you are lucky, you might see the green vervet monkeys that live in the mountains. If not, you can see some little baby monkeys (in diapers) at Port Zante, where their handlers let you take a photo holding one. By the way, not for free.
Speaking of Port Zante, this is where we docked, and this is where the vendors expect folks to stay and spend money. There are at least 25 shops here, with upscale stores like Effy, DI, Milano, and Gems and Jewels to name a few. In addition, The Pelican Mall is the original shopping arcade , also with 26 stores. In the center of Port Zante, there is an area where feathered and ribboned dancers may appear and put on a show. It happened on our way back from our walk.
As for us, one of us made a quick visit to DI for the complimentary charm, which happened to be a monkey. Each island has their own symbol, so it has been fun adding them to the free bracelets. Girls can never have enough trinkets.
We took a left turn out of the complex, and walked to downtown, past the ferry terminal, which is always busy, then along the narrow beach front. This is one area no one should be swimming, as several drains run under the road, and into the bay. And the water looks and smells nasty. We left our masks on while walking here just in case. We happened to run into one of our nice breakfast waiters in this area. Warning him not to swim in these waters, he agreed, and seemed to be headed back to the terminal. He admitted later that he felt uncomfortable walking alone where we had gone.
Going further up the road, there is a college in this area, with fields and stands for sports. There is also a War Memorial obelisk dedicated to WWI we believe. It seems to double as a good place for locals to park a car or taxi, and eat lunch. Today we continued up to the top of the street, passing some really nice homes with a view of the town and sea below. Then there was a point that the housing changed to very old and damaged properties. That's when we decided to head back.
There was a restaurant that we wanted to check out called Fisherman's Wharf, of all names. No, not the one in San Francisco, but spelled the same. It can be accessed by a side road, then down a steep driveway or stairs to the water's edge. Although the sign said it was opened at 6:30pm, we are not sure it was still operating. Something to Google. On this hillside, were some very nice-looking bed and breakfast inns. One building even had a set of three cannons on the roof. Pretty cool reminder of what the old days may have looked like.
This time, we skipped going into the center of town, as it has been rather crowded with the local shoppers. One job for the day was to try and download jigsaw puzzles and other updates on the Kindle. No matter where we tried, every possible wifi site was poor or not working. Never did have any success. Furthermore, back on the ship, we found out that the internet had been down all morning until the late afternoon. Perhaps with so many ships in port, the internet crashed.
We ran into a group of the local dancers near the center bar in Port Zante. As well as many onlookers, there were some younger cruise passengers dancing with the locals. Always good for some funny videos on Facebook we suppose.
Back at the ship, we caught up on photos while enjoying several ice cold sodas. Never made it to lunch again. We did want to save our appetites for a special dinner this evening. We had been invited to a private reception for two President's Club eligible members to be inducted. And this is the time for a funny story. Getting ready early, putting on the ritz, so to speak, one of us went out on the veranda to get some air. Remember we said that the Carnival ship faced us very closely? Well, when Bill appeared in his tux, several Carnival guests relaxing on their verandas complimented him on his formal wear. He gave them a thumbs up and came right back inside. Somehow, I knew that was going to happen when I heard the veranda door open. Wisely, I stayed inside and pulled the drapes. We had been watching one of the most harrowing jobs the ship painters have….that was sprucing up the red stack of the "whale tail" stacks on the Freedom. You never realize how huge that stack is until people are up there. On the ground level, were who we assume were shore ex staff waving signs saying "MAKE NOISE" as the guests returned to the gangways. Make noise they did! At one point, one of the dancing girls rolled on the ground with her legs over her head, still holding the sign. No, we are not making this up. Carnival folks are really fun-loving.
The Captain and Hotel Director met the nine of us in the Ocean Bar at 6pm for cocktails. It was requested that we dress for a gala evening. The fact that the pillow chocolates have disappeared as well as the popcorn onboard, was a subject of conversation with Rene, the Hotel Director. He had no good reason for why these items were being taken away, except for gala nights, and claimed it was a recent memo to discontinue this tradition. By pulling these items, is HAL going to save a ton of money? We doubt it. It was suggested to him that he read Cruise Critic and see what is being said about these changes fleet wide. According to him, only one other guest had commented on the loss, but then, it just happened. Towel animals are only left on gala nights. A little loss here and there, eventually ends up with everything gone in time. Hard to even Savor the Journey, let alone have the old Signature of Excellence. Enough for now, we all agreed.
By accident, one of the glasses of wine spilled while being served, and the two of us got the brunt of the splash. Better it be white wine than red. The officers joked that we can have our gala wear dry cleaned for free. Yeah, we do know that and, yes, we might have to do that, or we might smell like a winery. After 45 minutes of cocktails, the new inductees received their almost gold pins, then we all joined them for a group photo. The Captain gave a short speech, read from cue cards, but it was a nice jester. With that, they left the room.
From there, we were seated in the Pinnacle Grill restaurant for a very long dinner. Not sure why serving nine people should take so long, as the rest of the restaurant was not really busy. It was a casual dress evening for everyone else, so this venue was not crowded. The best part of the dinner was being able to get to know Gyl and Howard better, as they sat across from us. Too full for dessert, the four of us were the first to leave. We have to say, the wines flowed and we are sure the rest of the group lingered well after dessert to enjoy it all….as they should. Also, we should add that the Captain and Hotel Director were not allowed to join us for dinner. Deep down, we believe they prefer it that way.
The ship must have left by 8pm, although where we were seated, we could not see outside. Now we are on our way to St. Thomas, another nice place to take a long walk.
Bill & Mary Ann
Thursday, March 3, 2022
Report #75 Basseterre, Saint Kitts Wednesday-March 2, 2022 Partly Cloudy With Sun 80 Degrees
