An unforgettable sunset on seldom visited Bequia

By WALLACE IMMEN for The Avid Cruiser

All right, so you’re an experienced Caribbean cruiser.

You’ve docked in places like Phillpsburg and Bridgetown so many times you qualify for frequent visitor status. You’ve slathered yourself in sun lotion on more palm-lined beaches than Columbus ever claimed. But I bet there are still big gaps in your Caribbean life list; places that hardly ever show up in cruise itineraries. Maybe it’s time to look into some islands off the well-churned cruise routes that are places that can only be visited by smaller ships. The experience is sure to be one that won’t have our friends saying “been there, done that.”

BEQUIA BECKONS

There are some that say Bequia (pronounced beck-way) lost its innocence 20 years ago when they built a little airport on this green dot in the southern Caribbean that previously was being visited by only a handful of sailboats at a time. But compared to many other islands in the southern Caribbean it’s still pristinely authentic, with its restaurants serving freshly caught fish and lobster and locals who have plenty of time to strike up conversations with cruise visitors. The beaches are gorgeous and expansive as well. Only small ships can get into shallow Admiralty Bay, so even at the odd time when two ships arrive on the same day and set up beach barbecues, there’s no sense of crowding.

Who visits: Seabourn Cruises, Silversea Cruises, Star Clippers, Windstar Cruises

On Carriacou you can have the beach to yourself

CARRIACOU CALLING

Carriacou is definitely a connoisseur’s stop, with miles of uninhabited white sand beaches and gorgeous coral reefs for those who can get to the island in the first place. It’s only accessible to relatively small ships because the water around the island is shallow — which makes the sea gorgeously blue because the sunlight reflects from the white sand on the bottom. Some passengers doing a port stop in Grenada take a catamaran water taxi to the island and it can be a bumpy ride because the current sweeps around an undersea volcano aptly nicknamed “Kick Em Jenny” that makes the water choppy.

Who visits: Sea Dream Yacht Club; local sail boats and motor launches from Grenada

GOOD MORNING MONTSERRAT

Montserrat is a lush green island in the northeastern Caribbean that was an up and coming cruise port attracting a well-heeled clientele of vacationers when its Soufriere Hills volcano erupted in 1995 and again in 1997. Fortunately the resiidents had been evacuated to the other side of the island or to nearby Antigua before the capital city of Plymouth was buried by ash like a modern-day Pompeii.

Two thirds of the island remain a no-go zone for tourists. But, the island is attracting tourists again to its unique black sand beaches and divers to its reefs. There’s a lot of development happening around Little Bay Town, where the few ships that have the island on their itineraries now pull in.

Who visits: Sea Dream Yacht Club, Silversea Cruises

STEEP & SUBLIME SABA

Saba is really rare on cruise itineraries because the Dutch Antilles island is literally a steep-sided volcanic peak. It’s such a long way to the bottom that ships can’t anchor so they have to drift offshore while passengers go in to the island by tender. But those who do make it in will be amply rewarded. There’s no traffic on the roads and only a handful of people hiking the nature trails. Scuba divers are attracted to the off-shore marine park that’s a sanctuary for endangered turtles. There are four villages with a scattering of tiny wooden houses and the laid-back residents see so few outsiders that they are eager to find out where you’re from. It’s definitely one to put on your life to do list.

Who visits: SeaDream Yacht Club; Seabourn Cruises; Star Clippers

There are no traffic jams on Sint Eustatius

SENSATIONAL STATIA (Sint Eustatius)

If you get an opportunity to add St. Eustatius to your life list, it will put you one up on almost everyone. It’s not on itineraries of the major cruise lines because it’s difficult to reach and there’s no shopping to be had ashore. Its few inhabitants are living a life virtually unchanged from the time when sails were the only source of power for ships. Arriving by tender at its ramshackle and quiet dock today, it’s difficult to believe that 250 years ago, this was one of the most bustling ports of the Caribbean, with 20,00 residents, many make rich by being willing to trade whatever anybody needed—slaves, guns or duty free tea and sugar.

A major trading center for the Dutch East India Company in the 1700s, the coast of Oranjestad was lined with docks and warehouses. It was in the right place at the right time to help the rebellious colonies in North America in their dispute with Britain. The Dutch traders could sail around the British navy, and they provided weapons and even mail service to Europe for Americans. Those were glory days, but unfortunately they couldn’t last. Statia’s support of the rebellion ultimately led to bad blood between Great Britain and the island’s Dutch masters, and the British admiral George Rodney decided to sack the port in 1781.

Perhaps fortuitously, the robber barons decided to move on rather than rebuild, leaving Statia as a haven of quiet and unspoiled nature. There are no big hotels here, no chain restaurants, no traffic, just a remarkable historic fort, flocks of birds and a small population of people who consider everyone who finds their way to their shores friends. That’s the original Facebook.

Who visits: Grand Mariner (Great Lakes Cruise Co.); live-aboard dive boats.

Available itineraries range from five to 14 days, all departing between November 2009 and March of 2010, and the sale is based on double occupancy for a 277-square-foot ovean view stateroom. Of course, Seabourn’s personalized service, complimentary open bars throughout the voyage, fine dining in an open-seating restaurant and, on many itineraries, free watersports from the yacht’s unique Marina.

The voyages included in the one-week sale are:

Seabourn Legend

• 11/23/2009 14 days Ft. Lauderdale to Caldera, Costa Rica from $3599
• 12/07/2009 14 days Caldera, Costa Rica to Ft. Lauderdale from $3599
• 03/20/2010 5 days St. Thomas to St. Thomas from $149
• 03/25/2010 7 days St. Thomas to St. Thomas from $1999

Seabourn Spirit

• 11/15/2009 12 days Lisbon to Ft. Lauderdale from $2765
• 12/16/2009 5 days St. Thomas to Ft. Lauderdale from $1349

Seabourn Pride

• 02/13/2010 14 days Singapore to Hong Kong from $4999
• 02/27/2010 14 days Hong Kong to Singapore from $5249
• 03/13/2010 14 days Singapore to Hong Kong from $5249

Seabourn Odyssey

• 11/28/2009 12 days Ft. Lauderdale to Ft. Lauderdale from $3999

The first addition to the luxury market for quite some time, the Seabourn Odyssey promises to be quite an elegant experience, with accommodations, cuisine and entertainments to suit its upscale target audience.

The 450-guest ship, with 225 ocean-view suites, will summer in the Black and Aegean seas. While you may have missed the maiden voyage, do not despair. The Seabourn Odyssey will experience several firsts in the coming months:

• Maiden Transatlantic is October 31, 10 days, Malaga to Fort Lauderdale

• The maiden Caribbean is November 14, 14 days roundtrip Fort Lauderdale

• And the maiden World Cruise is January 5, 108 days from Fort Lauderdale to Athens

The voyage starts in New York, and after a call in Fort Lauderdale, the ship will head to the Caribbean and South America, calling on Barbados, Brazil and Uruguay before arriving for an overnight stay in the magnificent city of Cape Town in South Africa, the ship’s second visit to this exceptionally beautiful destination. From there she will sail to the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean before an exploration of Australia that culminates with an overnight stay in Sydney. The ship continues on to New Zealand and Guam before sampling some highlights of China and Japan en-route to an overnight stay in Hong Kong, followed by visits to Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand and India en-route to Dubai. From here, Queen Mary 2 will call in Egypt before making a transit of the Suez Canal that will take her to European calls in Italy, Monaco, Spain and the United Kingdom, her last call before ending her 103-day odyssey in New York.

Segment voyages aboard Queen Mary 2 range from 15 to 25 days, and consecutive segments can be combined.

In a conference call to Wall Street analysts Carnival Corporation CEO Micky Arison said, “We have started tweaking pricing on a variety of brands.”

Read: Prices are increasing. However, some incredible deals are still to be found.

Despite the global economic slowdown, nearly 20 million people chose to cruise in 2008, a healthy increase of 7.9 percent growth over 2007 that contributed to the five-year growth rate of 6.9 percent, according to reseach by Shippax Information.

The Caribbean continues to be the largest market for cruising, representing one-third of the passengers who cruise. However, the European cruise destinations, particularly the Mediterranean but also the Baltic and Northern Europe, showed some nice growth and may be overtaking the Caribbean.

The economy did have an impact on orders for new ships, which were low at just seven. However, with annual and long-term growth trends such as these, it would seem that the cruise lines are being understandably cautious and will probably place orders for magnificent new ships once the economic picture appears more stable.

OnboardSpa Co. is a new partner with Windstar Cruises, providing a full menu of products and services through the spas, salons and fitness centers aboard the Windstar ships.

For instance, O SPA London is a certified organic spa experience designed for the face and body. The products are created with essential oils, extracts of aromatic plants and herbs, and earth and sea botanicals. All ingredients are sourced from organic, sustainable sources, such as The Eden Project, the largest biosphere project in the world; Lisadell House, an organic medicinal co-operative on the West Coast of Ireland; and Georgina Koomson’s FairTrade women’s co-operative in Ghana. Body treatments feature pure botanicals, ancient stones, crystals and muds.

Balinese, Swedish, classic, reflexology, sports as well as fire and ice stone massages are available. Ayurveda and aromatherapy options are designed to rejuvenate and harmonize the chakras of the body. Facials include an intensive eye masque experience. Acupuncture is also offered. The salon will offer cuts, hair coloring, styling and treatments using French Kérastase products. Guests can also choose to take part in a Pilates Institute at Sea Program, yoga, personal training, mediation, and fitness classes led by a team of fitness professionals.

While we long ago dismissed the complaints about getting fat at sea as a personal choice that people exercise when they choose to eat to excess and fail to take advantage of the fitness opportunities on the ship, we have to say that the treatments, fitness classes and products available on Windstar through OnboardSpa should help people finish a cruise feeling better than when they started.

Highlighting the entertainment and enrichment roster, John Cleese will sail with the Silver Spirit on the segment from Buenos Aires to Santiago starting Feb. 20. A writer, actor and comedian, Cleese is probably best known for his madcap television work on Monty Python’s Flying Circus and the series Fawlty Towers. Cleese will share insights and anecdotes from his long career and will entertain guests.

For the trip from Los Angeles to New York starting April 2, Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, the first female Astronaut to walk in space and a veteran of three space shuttle missions, will provide her perspective on her space career during the voyage.

The Silver Spirit will depart Fort Lauderdale on Jan. 21. The voyage will take her down one side of South America and up the other, to the Mexican Riviera and through the Panama Canal before heading back up the Atlantic Coast to finish in New York. During the 91-day voyage, she will explore more than 20 countries and 45 ports. Of course, travelers who would like to see the new ship can sign up for any one of several shorter segments if they cannot commit to the full three-month adventure.

For guests who can sail 70 or more days, Silversea has arranged four complimentary onshore events to kindle the spirit of celebration:

**Naming Ceremony Gala — In Fort Lauderdale, on January 20, the evening before departing on the Grand Inaugural Voyage, guests will enjoy a welcoming gala dinner and overnight accommodations aboard Silver Spirit. The following day, guests are invited to attend the Naming Ceremony festivities including a special VIP luncheon.

**Spirit Cup Polo Match — During the ship’s call in Barbados on January 30, a special polo match has been arranged for Grand Inaugural Voyage guests. Spectators can cheer on two fast-paced chukkas (a seven-minute playing period), have some fun “stomping the divots” (a tradition of smoothing the field) while sipping champagne, and at the end of the match applaud the victorious team as they are awarded the Spirit Cup.

**Carnaval! — The centerpiece of this Grand Inaugural Voyage is the ship’s arrival in Rio de Janeiro on February 14, at the height of Carnaval. Following an early dinner, guests will have the chance to experience the magic of the Rio Carnaval parade from prime seats reserved for them at the Sambadrome. The atmosphere promises to be electric, the floats and colorful costumes spectacular and the thousands of dancers and drummers passionate as they exert every ounce of energy in competition with rival samba schools.

**Panama Hat Party — The historic and picturesque city of Montecristi, birthplace of the original Panama hat, is the setting for an event arranged exclusively for Silversea guests during the March 16 visit to Manta, Ecuador. Guests will experience the unique culture of this colonial town as they enjoy local dances and demonstrations of hat-making by master weavers. As a memento, each guest will receive a traditional hat rolled into the customary balsa wood box.

Additionally, all guests aboard the Grand Inaugural Voyage will enjoy three complimentary Silversea Experiences including an innovative children’s ballet performance at the grand Teatro José de Alencar in Fortaleza, Brazil; a visit to one of the world’s largest Magellanic penguin colonies, home to thousands of penguins, near Camarones, Argentina; and a delightful folkloric presentation of dances that portray the history of Panama, staged at one of the country’s most treasured landmarks, the National Theater of Panama, during the ship’s call in Fort Amador.

Additional services and amenities available to guests sailing 70 or more days aboard the Grand Inaugural Voyage include complimentary perks such as private car transfers, luggage forwarding service, business class air upgrade, a commemorative gift, and Onboard Spending Credits of up to $2,000 per suite.

I’ll be on board a July 25-August 1 sailing, so please mark your calenders to visit this space then.

Like the current Seabourn fleet, the Odyssey will be an ultra-luxury, all-suite vessel distinguished by extraordinary levels of personalized service, with nearly one staff member per guest. Along with the Seabourn Sojourn, which will debut next spring, and a third, unnamed ship scheduled for 2011, the Odyssey is the smallest new vessel to be planned or introduced by a major cruise line for several years, and all three new additions will make the most of their intimate scale, with yacht-like atmospheres and the ability to access uncommon and interesting destinations.

The Seabourn Odyssey makes her maiden voyage from Venice on June 24, and her inaugural season will continue in the Mediterranean and then move to the Caribbean in the fall. The yacht will also host Seabourn’s first-ever World Cruise starting next January.

We do know that the Seabourn Odyssey, and her identical sisters, will carry a maximum of 450 guests in 225 suites, nearly 200 of which will have balconies. The spacious suites will range in size from 295 to 1,182 square feet of indoor space. Verandas will add an additional 65 to 505 square feet of outdoor living area, spacious enough for private al fresco dining.

All suites, fully appointed with luxuries and conveniences, will have expansive ocean views framed by either a picture window or the glass doors of the veranda. Menus will be planned by renowned celebrity Chef Charlie Palmer, and an open-bar policy is maintained throughout the ship. Sailing with Seabourn is a sublime travel experience, and we expect that the Seabourn Odyssey will raise the service standard for luxury at least a bit higher.

Remember to mark your calender to follow my July 25 sailing on Seabourn Odyssey.

The $100-a-day spending credit is available to families that book verandah staterooms.This special offer is available on most Disney Cruise Line itineraries, including three-, four- and seven-night sailings to the Bahamas and the Caribbean. Guests may use the onboard spending credit to treat themselves and their family members to special indulgences, including rejuvenating spa treatments at the Vista Spa and Salon, shore excursions at ports of call, shopping onboard the ship and at Castaway Cay, and purchasing keepsake photos at Shutters.

Offer valid on most sailings for the next two months:

• Seven-night cruises: June 20 to Aug. 8, 2009

• Four-night cruises: June 28 to Aug. 9, 2009

• Three-night cruises: June 25 to Aug. 6, 2009

The Disney Channel stars, who may be well known to the teens and pre-teens who enjoy that programming, are scheduled to appear on eight special sailings during the first-ever “Disney Channel Summer at Sea.” During the special sailings — three- and four-night Bahamian cruises taking place July 9 through Aug. 2 — Disney Channel stars will participate in onboard deck parties, join guests for Q & A and autograph sessions, preview screenings of Disney Channel programming and participate in live musical performances.
Participating Disney Channel stars include Roshon Fegan from “Camp Rock” (July 9-12, July 12-16), Chelsea Staub from “Camp Rock” (July 23-26, July 26-30), Oleysa Rulin from “High School Musical” (July 16-19, July 19-23), musical act KSM (July 30-Aug. 2),  Mitchel Musso from “Hannah Montana” (July 19-23), Jason Earles from “Hannah Montana” (July 16-19, July 19-23), Tiffany Thornton from “Sonny With A Chance” (July 9-12, July 12-16), Alyson Stoner from “Camp Rock” (Aug. 2-6), and Debby Ryan from “The Suite Life on Deck” (July 30-Aug. 2).
Go ahead. The kids will love it.

Silversea Cruises is reporting that last week it set a corporate record for daily call volume, part of a three-week surge when bookings exceeded the same period of 2008 by nearly 150%. Silversea, like most cruise lines, particularly in the luxury segment, has been sweetening the pot to attract more guests.

The line has been offering 50 percent savings on more than 50 worldwide voyages. Also, the cruise line has recently expanded their popular $1,000 Onboard Spending Credit offer. For example, the $1,000 Onboard Spending Credit is available on Silver Whisper’s September 12, sevven-day cruise from Istanbul to Athens with calls in Marmaris, Symi, Volos and Nafplion.

The recent flurry of activity may indicate that travelers are feeling more confident about committing to a luxury vacation. Alternatively, it could be a sign that advance-booking trends are growing shorter and shorter.

Silversea’s onboard spending promotion allows guests to use the Onboard Spending Credit as they choose — without limitations. The credit can be applied toward any shore excursions or onboard services including spa treatments, dinner in the Relais & Châteaux Wine Restaurant, rare wines, premium spirits, boutique and Internet Café purchases. In addition, the offer can be combined with other available discount promotions, including Early Booking Incentive, Advance Payment Bonus, Silver Sailing, and Free Air programs.

The booking deadline has been extended to July 31, and it applies to itineraries on the all-suites ships Silver Cloud, Silver Wind, Silver Whisper and Silver Shadow to the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Seychelles, South America, the Far East and the South Pacific. Of course, Silversea is an innovator in the ultra-luxury cruise vacation business, having won numerous awards and earning top ratings from several publications.