February 10-17
Tammy Cane is a great travel agent – and a super friend. If you need some high-end travel, she’s your ticket (email her at tammycanetravel@gmail.com).
We had a week open in February and she suggested a booking on Sea Dream I departing from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its a small ship – they call it “yachting, not cruising” – with about 90 well seasoned passengers and 100 crew.
After one night in Old San Juan, where we picked up some cool Panama hats, we made our way to the ship.
Check-in was a breeze. Cocktails flowed freely and the Thai masseuse team generously doled out the backrubs. But it was a bit nerve-racking. With everyone checking each other out, Shawn said “this feels just like sorority rush!” But an hour later as the boat motored out of the harbor and the bartenders lured us in for a couple of chardonnays and a Pain Killer (that’s an island cocktail, not oxycontin), its all good. Actually, way more than good!
There are the mandatory sailing rituals which can be attended to after opening wine in your state room.
First the safety briefing. Then, a presentation of the ship’s itinerary by Gopher the Chief Purser and a greeting from Captain Stubing and this voyage is off and yachting.
The Sea Dream was first commissioned in the 80’s and in some ways it shows its age. But what it lacks in youth is made up in class and superb service. Every chair and lounge cushion looks new. The furniture is high quality and in great shape. The crew is as friendly and service oriented as I’ve ever seen. They know your name after one day and – oh, excuse me, they are just bringing around another tray of shrimp – will get you pretty much anything you’d like.
Did I say that drinks are complimentary? Again, pretty much anything you’d like. Except for high end wine, which they do have for an extra (not obscene) charge and top shelf scotch or even a caviar splurge (seen below) , its all included. By the way, the complementary wine selections which change each night are quite good and the food is excellent.
Enough about the ship. Or is it a yacht? Somewhere in between I guess. A rough ride out of San Juan – one of the roughest we were told, which caused Shawn a bit of yacht sickness – leads us to the first port of call, St. John, USVI. We take the tender off the “yacht” and end up at The Hideaway – a little beach bar – where we try to get our bearings and another Pain Killer. We meet a very nice couple from upstate New York that tell us to somehow get to a bar/grill called Skinny Legs on the other side of the island in Coral Bay. It’s roof was blown off in Hurricane Irma and Kenny Chesney had just bought them a new one. Guess we had to go, right?
So we look for a cab, just like tourists, when a local guy name Alphonso whispers – “hey mon, you need a car”. So, hoping there really would be a car to rent, we followed him down an alley to a little fast food place that, in the back, had a sign saying Happy Trails rent-a-car. About twenty minutes and $60 cash later, we were driving a Toyota with every “needs service” idiot light on the dashboard illuminated. The island is only about 12 miles long, so we went with it.
Driving out of Cruz Bay you pass by several beautiful beaches and bays. Caneel Bay, Hawksnest Bay, Maho Bay and more. You can see the blue water, bright white powdered sugar sand and lush palm trees. We drove by a particular very private development called Peter Bay with huge homes perched on cliffs above the light blue sea. If you ever get invited to Peter Bay, I suggest you go. Super blingy!
After about 30 minutes on winding roads, Shawn gets us to Skinny Legs in Coral Bay. It’s just like you would think. A small bar that will make you any kind of drink you want as long as it has rum in it. And will serve you any kind of food so long as it’s a cheeseburger.
After the gourmet experience, we got back in the Toyota and headed to Hawksnest Beach for the water, palm trees, white sand – and some donkeys.
Next port was Anguilla. That’s an-gwee-lah. Like Hava Nagilah. Gareth, the Club Director was leading a bike ride to Shoal Bay – so we decided to go. 16 miles total. Not the most scenic trip through the middle of the island. But the finish line at Shoal Bay is pretty impressive. A great beach bar and beautiful resorts on another amazing white sand beach.
That night we set sail for St. Barths. On the way, Gareth told us that the next day would be the island’s Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras celebration – and that they took it pretty seriously. BTW – St. Barths is a standout in the Caribbean. Gustavia, the main port is very glitzy. This is where the big blingy yachts park. Designer shops line the streets along with awesome bars and restaurants. Jimmy Buffet has a house overlooking the harbor and they say that he wrote “Cheeseburger in Paradise” while sitting at Le Select.
After Shawn did some quick and decisive shopping – all the shops were closing at 1:00 for the festivities – we settled in at a bar right on the main thoroughfare. Shawn started a conversation with the cute twenty-something girl next to us because they had both been eyeing the same skirt at a nearby shop. She told Shawn that a boutique around the corner also had some good stuff but she better get there fast because they were about to close.
While making a beeline for the exit, Shawn bumped their table and knocked over her drink. We both offered to buy a new one but were rebuffed with a smile. “No need”, replied the thirty-something kid from New York next to me. “But why don’t you buy us all a round of shots?” And that’s how it started.
Shawn returned to a table of five empty Patron Silver shot glasses. And we were now best of friends.
The two young guys were brothers from New York who had been coming to St. Barths’ Mardi Gras for the last fifteen years. They said that their parents send them and their girlfriends to this particular bar every year to hold one of the street side tables before the Fat Tuesday parade revs up. So, it seemed, we were in a good spot.
Then they decided to return the favor with a second round of Patron shots. About 30 minutes later their parents showed up – probably a little concerned about the lurky fifty-somethings hanging out with their kids – and they bought another round of shots. I think there were a couple more rounds of shots and we were ready for the parade. The bar was packed. The street was rocking. Lots of costumes, music and just a great deal of fun. I could write more, but I think the pictures tell the story better.
The next couple of days were spent in Nevis and St. Kitts. We didn’t see too much of them, just some great beaches and bars. Again, we never missed a meal or a complementary wine or cocktail!
We met a bunch of cool people on the boat. We hung out with Mickey, Vikki, John and Stephanie from Virginia. And Sylvia and Junior from Sao Paolo. Also Adnan, the extraordinary waiter and the staff of the on-board Thai Spa which we sampled a few times. Great massages and facials!
It’s now time to disembark Sea Dream I, just as we’re starting to hit our groove in the Caribbean. We’re off to St. Thomas for a couple days and then Barbados till the end of February.