Conference abbott::cruise_travel

198.0. "The Ocean Islander Cruise" by TLE::BENTLEY () Mon Mar 12 1990 15:08

    If you want to take a cruise that is out of the ordinary and exciting,
    if you want to visit more than the usual Caribbean islands, if you
    hate large crowds, and love impeccable service, then this is the cruise 
    for you.

    The ship's name is the Ocean Islander (Ocean Cruise Lines), and it's 
    small.  Maximum capacity is 250 passengers; there were 155 on our trip.  
    The ship sails out of Barbados (home base is Nassau), but the officers 
    seemed to be mostly Greek.  The dining room and bar staff was Philipino 
    and the cabin stewards were Italian.  The ship was immaculate and the 
    service superb.  The food was very good.  The fruit bar at breakfast and 
    the poolside lunches were excellent.

    The ship has all the amenities of a larger ship -- just smaller in
    size:  beauty parlor, pool, tiny exercise room, large lounge and smaller
    piano bar lounge (the entertainment was fun but not as fancy as on a
    larger ship), casino, shop, and movies (in the lounge).  

    I thought I'd make this note like a little journal to give you an idea
    of what our days were like on this cruise.

    Sunday

    Boarded the ship at 3 p.m. and the first thing we did was have a buffet
    poolside.  Then we familiarized ourselves with the ship, and then to 
    dinner, which they served from 6 - 10.  We sailed at midnight, while 
    attending the first of many magnificent midnight buffets.  As you can 
    see, like most cruises, we ate a lot!!! 

    Monday

    Ahhh. Palm Island -- our first stop.  I loved it.  It is only 110 acres 
    nestled in the Grenadines (a gorgeous area of the Caribbean) and owned
    by one family.  There is nothing on it but a small hotel with 24 guest 
    houses, a bar, a restaurant, small boutique, five white sandy beahes, 
    a jogging trail (highway 90!) and hundreds of palm trees.  A truly 
    beautiful spot and very relaxing.

    The ship's crew served us a barbeque on the beach, complete with steel
    band, and there was a schooner cruise and glass bottom boat ride for 
    those who wanted it.

    That evening we sailed for the coast of Venezuela.  This was the only
    time we had rough sailing.  The boat pitched for 12 hours until we 
    reached the mouth of the Orinoco River, one of the great rivers of the
    world.  (If you're prone to seasickness, put a patch on before leaving 
    Palm Island.)

    Tuesday

    Spent the entire day going up 182 miles of the Orinoco River (a calm
    ride).

    The Orinoco is interesting.  It's muddy brown -- like the Mississippi.  
    The Warao Indians live along the shores much like they have for 
    centuries.  No electricity, no cars, no HBO, no computers!  Thatched 
    houses stand on stilts and they navigate in canoes dug out of tree 
    trunks.  They come out to meet the boat and we noticed the crew 
    throwing over trash bags that seemed to be filled with food for them.

    At 11 p.m. we docked at Ciudad Guayana -- the first civilized area
    we saw since leaving Palm Island.  

    Wednesday

    This is probably the most looked-forward to day of the trip.  We were 
    up at 5 a.m. and on a bus in early morning commuter traffic at 6:30. 
    Our first stop was at a park to see some beautiful waterfalls.  Then 
    the bus took us to Camp Canaima, where we boarded an airplane that would
    fly us by the Angel Falls, tallest falls in the world.  I thought the
    plane would be small, but no, they put us all (about 50 of us) on a 
    big 727 and off we went!  The pilot flew us up between the tepuys 
    (te-poo'-eys -- mesa-like crags and mountains).  This was a ride and a 
    half!!!  He flew up the canyon, turned on a dime and flew back down -- 
    twice so everyone in the plane had a good chance to see the scenery on 
    both sides -- and it was spectacular!  Then the pilot invited us up 
    to the cockpit one-by-one to take pictures!  Can you imagine them 
    allowing this in the US?

    Angel Falls was intriguing for its height, but many people were
    disappointed because it is not a big falls -- very narrow.

    When the plane ride ended, we took a dugout canoe ride past some
    very beautiful but low falls to an area where our "jungle" walk began. 
    I had hoped to see many exotic flowers and plants, monkeys, parrots, 
    colorful birds, and other strange wildlife.  But it was the dry season 
    so the flora was dull, and the fauna has escaped to other areas.  They 
    told us nothing lived there any more because the tourists tramping 
    through the jungle and the noise of the airplanes going up the canyons 
    had driven all the animals away.  What an ecological shame.

    The walk was strenuous -- up and down hills.  We stopped for a swim, and
    then walked under some waterfalls, getting wet (bring trashbags to stow
    your cameras and stuff).  Then across the top of a mesa.  It was very 
    hot, but they had rum punch and fruit juice for us when we returned.  
    It was a happening!  Everything after this day seemed anticlimactic.

    We sailed at 2 p.m. and went back down the river, this time seeing the
    part that we hadn't seen the night before. 

    Thursday

    We anchored off of Tobago and took launches in to the beach.  I was
    disappointed with Tobago -- at least the area where we were.  It was
    very commercial and very much a Coney Island atmosphere.  You might be
    better off taking the island drive or going snorkeling. 

    Friday

    Ah, St. Lucia.  We had been here on another cruise and it is my favorite 
    island for its lush and mountainous beauty.  The ship anchored at 
    Soufriere (tying up to a palm tree -- honest!).  It stayed in Soufriere 
    for the morning then sailed to Castries (the capital of St. Lucia) at 
    noon.  We jumped ship at Soufriere.  With another couple, we hired a taxi 
    to take us to several of the more interesting sites.  We went to the 
    volcano and to Diamond Falls, a lovely area with many exotic plants -- 
    stuff I had hoped to see on the jungle hike.

    Then we drove across the island to pick up the ship in Castries.  This
    was a 2-hour ride on a narrow bumpy road over the mountains -- a real 
    cliff hanger of a ride!  The scenery was magnificent and spectacular.

    Saturday

    Arrived in Martinique.  This was our third time on Martinique, and
    although it is a beautiful island, it is not one of our favorites.  
    We had done the island tour before (which is good) so we just took a 
    launch to one of the topless beaches and spent the day there.

    Sailed for Barbados in the evening.

    Sunday

    Arrived in Barbados at 8 a.m.  The ship arranged for us to be able to
    go to Sam Lord's Castle (or Carlisle Bay).  This trip included taking
    us and our luggage to the castle (which is a Marriot resort area),
    feeding us lunch, giving us use of all the facilities -- including the
    beach and three swimming pools -- and then taking us to the airport in
    time for our flight out.  It was a very pleasant way to spend our time
    after the cruise and before our flight.

    We flew to San Juan for a few days after the cruise.  Spent some time
    in Old San Juan doing the shops and going down to the piers to see which 
    cruise ships were in.  There were three:  The Golden Odyssey, the Star 
    Princess, and the Sovereign of the Seas.  We were flabbergasted by the 
    size of the Sovereign and Princess.  They were humongous -- and seemed 
    even more so after our little puddle hopper.

    But our little puddle hopper was an excellent ship and we would like
    to sail her again.  I highly recommend her.  She also does the 
    Mediterranean and the fjords in Norway.  If you're interested, see 
    your travel agent for information about Ocean Cruise Lines and Pearl
    Cruises.  (We got a good deal on this cruise through Cruise, Inc.,
    which is discussed in Note 141.)
    
    It was a great cruise -- different, exciting, and relaxing all rolled
    into one trip.  Try it, you'll like it!