Caribbean Cruise
Upon arrival in Florida, we spent two nights at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina so that we could adjust our body clocks and explore the area. Fort Lauderdale is situated on the southeastern coast and is known for its beaches and boating canals. If you’ve got a couple of million dollars tucked away, it’s the place to own an incredible holiday home.
Our first stop was Cococay in the Bahamas. This privately owned, self-made island is owned by Royal Caribbean and is reserved only for the company’s cruise ships. You won’t be short of things to do with a water park and water sports on offer and plenty of bars located in the clear water.
Antigua was our next destination where we had a tour of the island. For those of you that have been fortunate to explore the Caribbean, you’ll know that bumping along the roads in a ‘coach’ is quite the experience!
In St Lucia, the home of the Pitons (and a very good local beer) we boarded the Hibiscus Trolley Train where we explored Castries, the capital of the island. Thankfully in the afternoon we took advantage of a couple of free hours where we relaxed on the stunning white sandy beaches.
We docked in Grenada but unfortunately didn’t have the opportunity to disembark and explore the island.
Barbados has lively calypso beats and some of the best beaches in the world, it’s the most popular island for holidaymakers. Our trip included a visit to Harrisons Cave a natural phenomenon and very much worth the visit.
Arriving in Martinique, it was clear that this was going to be very different to any other of the Caribbean islands we visited. It’s a French island and has a more European edge to it. The culture reflects a distinctive blend of French and West Indian influences - it was here that we visited a rum factory and also went on a banana plantation tour.
St Kitts was by far my favourite Caribbean island. We were incredibly lucky to tour the island via two forms of transport. Originally built to carry sugar cane from the plantations to the capital, Basseterre, the scenic railway has double-decker style carriages. The top deck offers unobstructed 360-degree viewing of the incredible scenery. We were transported back via catamaran. The memory I have of sipping rum cocktails on the back of the boat will stay with me forever.
With a heavy heart, we left St Kitts to sail back to Fort Lauderdale. I remember landing in New York to change planes and everyone was wrapped in coats, scarves and gloves against the biting cold winds and chilly 2 degrees! What a huge contrast to the 80 degree heat, the stunning white sandy beaches, crystal clear waters and brilliant blue skies that I had just experienced!