Summits and Fascinations 2016

Sint Maarten

We woke up in St. Maarten this morning docked next to the Viking Star….again. Debbie and I had ordered room service who came before we were even up. The coffee is horrible on this ship so we have gone to the coffee shop a few times and bought it. We got off and went to look for shirts I wanted for the kids. After checking a few places, I bought them and we headed back.

We had the Mongolian Wok today for lunch and the guy cooking wanted to chat with us while he was cooking for us….we couldn’t understand a word he said but nodded and smiled a lot. Lunch was good and we are back to packing again. I forgot my luggage scale but I think the big piece is too heavy so I need to rearrange things. We got our immigration forms and luggage tags and we are first to get off after the self assist passengers. My flight is two hours after Debbie’s so I will be at the airport a long time.

Tonight was the worst of the week for drunkenness and obnoxious yelling in the halls all night. We can't get off this ship soon enough. I am so tired. No restful sleep on this ship the whole week.

I will miss my BFF but have to say I am looking forward to getting home to my own bed and to the English speaking world! Debbie and I both said we would never do this ship again. The price I’m sure has a lot to with the mood of the ship but it is what it is and tomorrow we can say we lived through it. Sorry I haven’t been able to post this week because we did not buy the internet package. I will upload it with the photos when I get home Sunday.

Infinity pool on back of Viking Star

I didn't know Sint Maarten was a pegleg

It was quite windy here and we had the most motion
in the ocean tonight.

P.S Before posting I will add that I watched Debbie’s flight take off and went to my gate which was already full. The comedian we saw on the ship sat behind me on the flight home. Both of us made home safely.

St. Kitts….the Shell Station is on the right and the grocery store is on the left. 

We arrive second today and the Viking Star for the second time is docked next to us. It is very sunny today and Debbie and I are hoping this means that most of these obnoxious passengers will get off today. We went to breakfast and again it starts another day with people cutting in front of you and then acting as if you were the one who did something wrong. Debbie and I walked around the ship after and took some photos while the crew was doing their safety drill. It is as hot as it was last week when we were here. Somehow we got separated and I came back to the cabin to finish the blog I started yesterday. I sent her a text to let her know where I was. She came back fuming. She went to use the restroom on lido and said it was disgusting….so bad she wouldn’t use it. She said she told some crew members standing around outside the door and they seemed unconcerned but when she got back to the cabin, she called Guest Relations and gave them a piece of her mind.

We think naps are in order for an attitude adjustment. Tonight is elegant night again…oh joy. We gave our cabin steward the day off.

We ran into Jackie and Chris waiting to go to dinner. She is such a beautiful girl and they are cute together. They just married a few weeks ago. Would like to keep up with them if we can. Dinner was the usual then for the first time on the cruise they had a show that we could stay awake for! We went to the comedy show first and he was funny, then we went to the opposite end of the ship for the Motor City production show. Irritated again because these people with strollers entering half way through the show (as they do with dinner) that they had to lift over people in the dark to get to the seats they wanted. As soon as they sat down the show was over….Debbie and I laughed….does that make us bad people? We went to the casino for a short while and I left Debbie there and came back to the cabin.

One of the suite balconies on the Star

Ships calling for the first time paint their logo on the dock.

St. Lucia 11-3-16

We are in port today with Silver Seas Whisper. It’s a beautiful ship. Since we had no plans for the day, we got ready and went to the promenade to check our cards for balances and charges. It’s a touch screen machine that you must bang on to make it work. It wouldn’t read the cards and wouldn’t type on the screen. An experience in frustration for both of us! Then we decided since it was still early to go to the dining room for breakfast which turned out to be a bad decision. We were seated and a elderly waiter asked if we wanted coffee. He was speaking Spanish to people at another table and wasn’t even looking when he was pouring the coffee and it splashed all over the table. We should have taken this as a bad omen and left but instead we continued. Next his assistant asked if we wanted juice and instead of bringing it and pouring at the table, he took the glasses from our table and the one next to us, brought them back filled but pushed the tray in front of us so we all had to take the glasses off his tray while he stood there holding the tray! The older waiter took our order and left and never came back to ask if we wanted more coffee. We chatted with the ladies at the next table and wondered what happened to our breakfast as what seemed like hours passed. Forty five minutes later, he brought our breakfast as the dining room was closing….it was cold and dried out…..so much for breakfast.

We decided to go and look around the stores in the port area just to pass the time and we had only been off a few minutes when the skies opened up and it poured. It did slow down long enough for us to move on to some other stores to look around and it poured again. There really wasn’t much to see that was different from any other port so we hung out until there was a little let up in the rain and headed back to the ship. It continued to rain the entire day. We went to the buffet and although there is no Guy’s Burgers, I wanted one and Debbie wanted the Mongolian Wok. We split up and I got in line to wait for them to finish cooking a tray of burgers. He gave them to the people in front of me and behind me and ignored me! I finally yelled at him and he made some smart remark in his language…maybe he didn’t think I needed one.

We came back to the cabin and I wrote the blog and we exchanged photos. Debbie tried to send Andy a message and the internet was horrible yesterday either because of the rain or because we were sitting in between two mountains. Regardless, it was frustrating for Debbie.

The Platinum Diamond Party was at 5:15 today so we went and there weren’t many people there. Our friends from the 3 card poker table from Raleigh were there. Two young brothers who are really nice kids and so funny. We had a good time with them there and later in the casino.

Dinner was good but we always have to laugh because on the new American Table menu, on the deserts it always shows a “surprise pie a la mode”. Last night he brought us a whole pie to the table with a huge bowl of vanilla ice cream….it was blueberry pie Ms. Kay! Not Maine but quite tasty nonetheless!

Too much wine order for us by the brothers at the Platinum party caused me not to be feeling very well so I was up half the night again….ugh. No photos today as it rained and we never left the port area.

Barbados 11-2-16

We are in port today with the new Viking Star (Viking River Cruises Ocean Division new ship) and Royal Princess. Although there are clouds, there is also sun…yay! In all the times Debbie and I have been here, we have never taken a tour of the island. We got a cab and went into Bridgetown before but that was as far as we have gone. I didn’t sleep well and was tired. We had to meet at the end of the pier at 8:15 AM and really they were still trying to get us docked at 8:10. We had ordered coffee and fruit from room service and at 7:30 AM it still hadn’t arrived. We were afraid one of the kids in the hallway had removed the order so Debbie called. They did bring it a few minutes later.

We went to the tour people at the end of the pier (well outside the other side of the terminal building) and they said they were not ready for us yet and we should go sit. It was another 45 minutes before they called us and we got on the bus and left. Apparently they were waiting for people to show up that were late….I would have left them….just saying. They bragged about partying late so just had a hard time getting up! The tour was nice and we did see the entire island this time. We saw Rihanna’s old neighborhood which wasn’t far from the docks and then her new one which she paid 22 million for in “One Sandy Lane” which was gorgeous….and very private. All of these exclusive places have so much foliage and vegetation for privacy you can’t see a thing. Also, the bus driver/tour guide barely slowed down on the bumpy roads for us to take photos. The most beautiful side was on the Atlantic side at Bathsheba. This is where the surfers are and once you see it you can understand why. The waves here are huge! We watched for a while and took lots of photos. There are huge boulders and rocks in the sea around here. Michael , our guide, told us that you can walk out far and it may be at your knees and the next step it drops off 20 feet or more….yikes. Debbie and I both took lots of photos so you can see how beautiful it was there. We then went to the south side of the island which is where the tourists are and the hotels, bars and restaurants. We had a drink here and then moved on back to the ship. It was 3 PM before we got back on the ship.

We did go to the dining room for dinner last night. It is one other girl and Debbie and I at a table for 10 people. Debbie asked for a small table but I guess VIP doesn’t get you much anymore. The waiters did a dance to “Happy” Kay…..a room without a roof! They all wore Pharrell hats too. Our waiter really got into it too. We went to the casino to play and found even the dealers are new and “trainees” on this cruise. I felt sorry for the guy because he had no clue what he was doing but Debbie and I didn’t want to lose money either so we moved from the Three Card Table to Blackjack. We at least held our own there but decided to go back to the cabin.

We put the TV on and got ready for bed and I fell asleep and didn’t wake up again until they started the thrusters coming into St. Lucia this morning…..yay! Debbie said I missed the lightening show again last night but that’s ok. Totally missed the Cubs winning the World Series.