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March Carnival Victory Cruise:Heading to Accra Beach

Written by T.I. Cruiser on May 3, 2010 · Leave a Comment

The weather is perfect and I really have a craving for some flying fish and macaroni pie, I guess it’s a good thing we are docked on the island of Barbados. I have been to Barbados many times and have developed a fondness for Bank’s beer and flying fish; I also have a strange desire to play in the waves. This craving makes my decision on where to go an easy one. Today I would be headed to Accra/Rockley Beach. Accra is a different type of beach than the ones I usually frequent, because it has a bit of a surf. Usually I look for beaches that you can snorkel off of, but today I wanted to turn back the clock a bit. Today would be all about playing in the water as if we were kids once again.

We arrived in Barbados at 8 in the morning and had decided we would be off the ship as soon as possible, so we skipped breakfast. We walked around inside the shopping terminal taking note of things we would want to pick up on the way back to the ship. Being someone who enjoys cooking I like to pick up spices and sauces when in the Caribbean for use in dishes I make when at home. I’m sure I can find anything I pick up in the islands locally if I was so inclined to try, but getting them in the Caribbean makes my dishes seem more authentic (at least in my own mind).

Since we hadn’t eaten yet we wanted to grab something before heading to the beach so we decided to eat at the little stand/cafe outside of the shopping area, big mistake. Although the prices are reasonable the food isn’t very good, so I can’t recommend this place for anything other than basic sustenance or a cold beer. Years ago they used to serve incredible macaroni pie but that was when it was more like a shanty than the full blown cafe it now resembles. This time around I didn’t even see macaroni pie listed on the menu. She had a burger and I had something that was supposed to be flying fish. While I am thankful that I was able to put something in my stomach I could have just eaten a stack of napkins without sacrificing much flavor and it would have been a hell of a lot cheaper.

Next we headed to the area where you secured taxis, and headed into town to do some shopping. I’m not much of a shopper but she wanted to check a few things out so I tagged along. We walked around for about an hour; we picked up a few gifts and decided it was time to go play in the water. Taxi drivers were everywhere; it took less than 60 seconds to get a ride to Accra. The driver quoted as the price of $15, we agreed and were on our way.

March Carnival Victory Cruise: Dominica

Written by T.I. Cruiser on April 29, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Today we would be in Dominica, since this is a very port intensive cruise we had decided we would sleep in a bit and stay on the ship. Sounded like a solid plan but it didn’t really work out that way.

I rolled out of bed at about 8 am and stepped out of my Lido deck cabin about an hour later. The plan would be to have a leisurely buffet breakfast and then change into our swim wear in order to a relaxing day at what would surely be a relatively empty pool. The problem is after we got done eating breakfast we looked out at the scenery and were treated to a breathtaking view of the gorgeous island of Dominica. So, we decided that getting off the ship for a bit couldn’t hurt.

We had been to Dominica a few times before so there was no need to explore since we had done it all before. However, I was curious when I looked over the side of the ship and saw that the shopping area had been built up. So, we decided that getting off the ship would become part of plan for the day.

The last time we were in Dominica there was barely a shopping area, in fact it consisted mostly of a huge pavillion/warehouse with vendors. Now there there a full blown strip of stands as well as some stand alone shops. The streets were in bad shape, in some places you had to walk across wooden planks placed above the drainage system. This is definitely something you wouldn’t want to try after downing a few 2 dollar beers.

We wondered from stand to stand and shop to shop picking up some cheap knick knacks and souvenirs along the way. However, after about an hour and a half the heat and humidity started to get pretty bad so we headed back to the ship in order to enjoy our leisurely day at the pool.

March Carnival Victory Cruise: St. Thomas March 15th

Written by T.I. Cruiser on April 29, 2010 · Leave a Comment

The first stop on our March Carnival Victory cruise was the island of St. Thomas. I’ve been to St. Thomas a bunch of times so I was not looking to explore and instead was looking for a nice beach to spend my day. When anyone talks about St. Thomas beaches the conversation inevitably turns to Megan’s Bay. While I do agree that Megan’s Bay is a beautiful beach I do feel it is slightly overated. My memory is a little fuzzy but I think we had about 5 ships in port that day meaning I wanted no parts of Megan’s. So instead of Megan’s we decided to go to Coki beach.

Upon exiting the ship we immediately caught an open air taxi and bolted to Coki in order to get there before the crowds. The cost of the taxi was $9 per person each way. The driver asked us to come up with a time for us to return to town, but I tend to improvise too much for that to be a viable option. Instead we told him we would just pick up a return taxi when that time came. Upon our arrival a young woman greeted us and gave us a welcome speech. She told us about chair rentals (10$), where to rent snorkel equipment and where to find food. We got two chairs, kicked back on the beach and ordered a bucket of beer (6 for 13 dollars).

A little later in the day I took my new snorkel equipment for a spin and did a bit of snorkeling. Although I am far from an expert on snorkeling I feel comfortable making the statement that Coki beach has the best snorkeling that I have ever seen. I brought along a couple of bagels to feed the fish and they were swarming around me. The next thing I have to invest in is an underwater camera because there were some spectacular photo opportunities.

After I had my fill of snorkeling I headed back to the beach to relax for a while. The young lady who got us the chairs and beers then asked me if I was ready to order lunch. I placed an order for red snapper, rice and beans. She was to inform us when lunch was ready. It took about 20 minutes or so for our lunch to be ready and we walked up to a little food shack and sat at the counter to eat our lunches. The meal was great especially if you like authentic Caribbean dishes and the cost for the both of us was around 30 dollars for two lunches and 2 drinks.

We spent the rest of the day playing in the water and taking in all of the beauty my new favorite St. Thomas beach had to offer. Even though we didn’t make arrangements for a taxi to take us back to the ship, the young lady who took such great care of us secured a taxi for our return is less than 5 minutes.