St Lucia - and kids club comments...

The kids slept in! Till nearly 9 AM! Which meant that we didn't have to get up as early either. And as we are not in port until 12 noon, we let them sleep...

A nice lazy morning followed for us (well mostly). We went back to Tritons for a sit-dwon breakfast, as opposed to breakfast buffet. It's mostly the same food, but a bit lazier for us, and rather more attractively presented. My wife and I were talking about the food quality, and we were agreed that we both think the food is actually pretty good. I think I will take a while later to enlarge on this, as it is a topic that is always worth remarking on, when thinking about a cruise, as you are a "captive audience" to a large degree.

The girls both wanted to go to the kids club for activities this morning, and getting there was our one moment of business in the morning as both Captain Hook and Captain Jack Sparrow were posing for pictures and signing autographs AT THE SAME TIME... how to see both?... so with a bit of divide and conquer, Kiara met Captain Hook (and gave him a hug!! - he must have hated that...) and Gabriella and I met up with Cap'n Jack.

From there both kids happily joined with their new friends as we signed them in, and we got to go on deck and watch the approach to St Lucia. All ages of kids clubs will take the kids to lunch/dinner (or bring food in, for the littlest ones) at the appropriate time - included as part of what they do - if you want that. Kiara wanted to eat with her friends today, and Gabriella wanted to come and eat with us,

While we are on that topic, the staff of Oceaneers Club and Oceaneers Lab are totally wonderful and as parents you are under no pressure to make sure that the kids come exactly at the start of a particular session and you are equally free to take them out early if you wish. You really could leave your kids with them there for a whole day. Activities really are planned non-stop from 7.30 AM through 1 AM each day, something that sounds like brochure-speak, but is really true!

There are plenty of staff, and the system for signing kids in and out is so well thought-through, computerised (of course) that the staff actually playing/working with the children can concentrate on that and not be worried about the logistic of who is supposed to be there at any given time, and the parents are secure knowing that their kids can't escape, wander off, or be signed out by anyone else, and that the kids clubs work around them and not the other way round. I think that this is something else that I had to see in action to really "get it".

It is also tip 1 in my "How to have a relaxing vacation, even if you are not naturally a very relaxed person" - use the kids club! The counsellors are excellent, the games interesting, and the hours couldn't be more open and flexible. The kids love it. Parents should love it too, as long as they don't mind being away from their little dears every so often. If is truly going to be a family vacation, Mom and Dad need some of that vacation to be for them too...

Anyway, back to St Lucia...

We took a taxi, again, to Rodney Bay, the closest nice public beach. No good for snorkeling, but the water is gently shelving, warm, with a very gentle surf, which is very suitable for little ones, actually providing a lot of the "soft action" that our kids needed. The taxi fare - again fixed - of $20US per car each way was pretty reasonable. We got a bit hassled by a couple of beach traders - I hate the way that they can make you feel guilty for only paying twice what the trinket it is that you just bought (probably imported from China or the Philippines) was actually worth. They have the spiel down to a fine art. I was taking notes and when I get back I am going to try to be a Caribbean Beach hustler when selling Disney Cruises. "Well, this cruise is usually going for $4000 per person, but because I understand what it is like to have kids and need to find the money for everything, I'll give it to you for $3000. Respect. One love. Here, little girl, look at this brochure, here are my pictures from the cruise, think how much you are going to enjoy the cruise that you Mommy and Daddy are booking with me right now. Look, if you book right now, I'll take off another $500... Respect... a man is just tying to make a livin' you know what I mean? One love..."

It has potential I think.

But I digress...

We stayed all of the way to 5 PM, and though we were in no danger of missing the ship (which was leaving at 7.30 PM), we did want to be back in time to see the Hercules show at 6.30. Unfortunately, 5 PM is a terrible to try to drive back to Castries as the main road is backed up for miles and miles with heavy traffic every day. After sitting in this traffic for at least 30 minutes (the entire trip to the beach had taken less than 20), our taxi driver was able to turn off the main - flat, but unbearably busy - road and treat us to a cross-country short-cut like no other! Narrow, winding, incredibly hilly roads thorough little villages (some built on stilts due to regular flash floods down the mountains), with stunning views of the lush hillsides that make up St Lucia's breathtaking landscape. It was a little nerve-wracking at times. Thankfully, the girls were both asleep for the whole journey! We finally got back an hour after we left the beach. I gave the driver an extra few dollars for getting us back on time, giving us an unexpected scenic tour, and to help pay for the extra gas, and new brakes and shocks!

Really. Quick. Shower.

The Hercules show was fantastic. A lot of fun. Humour sophisticated to keep the adults laughing, while in no way being inappropriate. Lots of slapstick, costumes, lights, pyrotechnics. Very entertaining for everyone.

The meal at Animators Palette was Tropical-theme, and again, the choice was large (except the kids menus, but getting our kids to eat anything other than the "safest" choices - fries, chicken nuggets, pizza has been a real challenge, even though they eat lots of veggies at home). I think both adults had four courses...

The evening finished with a tropical deck party, which was fun too. The cruise staff have a lot of energy, and the band as usual were very good. A highlight was a great song-and-dance number from the Disney characters, who are surprisingly nifty dancers.

We have a shore excursion scheduled for tomorrow, so I may need to get to bed, rather than post this tonight... That is what happened, hence the "wrong" date on the post... another one will still follow...

On to... Beautiful Barbados, and a note about comments to this blog...

[Back to... St Thomas - US Virgin Islands]