People kept telling us that Holland America’s World Cruises and Grand Voyages are more special than a regular cruise and I am beginning to understand what they mean. We have received a lovely gift each evening: a leather-bound diary, a canvas bag, a canvas bag lined with plastic for beaches. I wonder if we will receive a gift again tonight.
There has also been a lot of champagne flowing. First at the welcome aboard and sail-away, then the Captain’s party, and another cocktail party yesterday. Looks as if this will be the first day without champagne.
Our first port of call, St. Bart’s, is a small wonderful Caribbean island, apparently quite popular with billionaires judging from the yachts in the harbor and Hermes, Prada and other elegant shops lining the streets. It is a good town for walking with Shell Beach being about a mile from the tender pier. The beach consists of small and broken pieces of shell up to the turquoise water. The people were friendly and several teen-aged people greeted us in English as their school let out for mid-day recess.
The Anglican Church is a local landmark on the way to Shell Beach from the tender pier.
The most important thing about today is that I finally got the name of our ship right. We are on the HAL Prinsendam not the Prisendam. As we left the ship on the tender to St. Bart’s I looked at the name on the ship and finally saw that it has two of the letter “n”.
Another French island tomorrow: Guadaloupe.
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No photos yet. I keep getting server error messages. Sorry but will keep trying.
Sounds great! You may have to buy another suitcase to carry home the loot! Duchesss of the Stairwells praises the ship. I am looking forward to the ms Amsterdam in January --- come on and join that World Cruise!
ReplyDeleteGlad your liking it Sharon. Although it was not a Grand Voyage, I really loved my Voyage of the Vikings last year.
ReplyDeleteSusan