Monthly Archives: February 2026

A Day at Sea

Posted on February 10, 2026 by julieallen36

Just to finish off yesterday ..after our lovely trip out, we had dinner at 47 Degrees..the main waiter service restaurant. Then we met up with Shami and Jo for the 80’s music quiz where we scored a magnificent 21/21. I made a fine contribution with my obscure answers of T’pau and J Giles Band. Hurrah but unfortunately we lost out on the tie breaker question. We had planned to go to Karaoke later but somehow the girls persuaded us to go to see the ‘Truly Lionel’ show which featured a Lionel Ritchie tribute act. The place was absolutely packed by the time we got there and he was actually very good. We loved Mark’s video tribute to his Mum as he sang ‘Hello’. By the end Jane was Lionel’s number 1 fan up and dancing the night away. Another great night!

Waking up the next day we had our first Day at Sea whilst we sailed along to our next stop, Aruba. In the morning Captain Freddie announced a change to our itinerary due to bad weather (wind). We can no longer visit Curacao but instead we will be stopping at St Vincent and they swapped around our next day at sea. They’ve quickly sorted loads of activities for us to choose from so you really can’t fault it!

So whilst we’re having a lazy day at sea spent sunbathing on Deck 10 with the hordes, let’s talk about the ‘other people’ (OPs). I think a lot of people are put off cruising because of the presence of OPs on the ship. The thought of being confined at sea with 1000’s of them is indeed a worry.

Our ship Marella Discovery 2 has:

11 Decks, 918 cabins, approx 1800 passengers, 771 crew, 11 restaurants, 7 bars, and 2 swimming pools.

By comparison the current biggest cruise ship in the world, Royal Caribbean’s ‘Icon of the Seas’, has:

20 Decks, 7600 passengers, 2350 crew, 20 restaurants, 20 bars, 7 pools and 6 water slides. It is taller than the Eiffel Tower and is for no apparent reason, sponsored by Lionel Messi!

So we are relatively small but what’s it actually like? I must admit it is a little daunting especially today on the pool and sunbathing decks. By 7-30am, when we went to nab our sun beds with towels before breakfast, the place was already packed with sunbathing beauties toe to toe. Yes…you can nab your sunbed and I was quite proud that when we got back I had received a ‘Sunbed Parking ticket!

Once you’re on your sunbed and staring out to sea , it’s not so bad but it was very noisy – even though everyone’s pretty chilled. Elsewhere on ship the restaurants nearly always allow you to sit immediately or after a short wait with a buzzer. Bar service can be a bit random and slow. Trips off ship divide us up into smaller groups and there are plenty of areas to find a bit of quiet. We rarely seem to see the same people twice. That chap I chatted to on the plane? Well after an encounter in the lift on day 1 ,I’ve never seen him again.

OPs are generally v nice and friendly but we’re glad that the main restaurant no longer insists on you sitting at big round tables with randoms! Instead they do a great job of getting tables for your group size. Much better.

Now, if they could just stop making constant loud speaker announcements round the pool about what’s on offer in the shops or spa, that’d be perfect.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Caribbean, Cruise | 3 Comments

St Lucia and the Feeding Frenzy

Posted on February 8, 2026 by julieallen36

Well, before we get to St Lucia, we need to talk about the Silent Disco. This is a thing that’s been on my bucket list and finally we got to give it a go. So we were in the Squid and Anchor bar with about 50 other people and we all had our headsets on. This was a competitive Silent Disco with two channels to choose from Red or Blue. I think it was meant to be something like UK vs The Rest of the World. Who knows but it was far from silent as we all sang along to the epic tunes on our chosen channel with the two DJs encouraging each team to be louder than the other! We had a great time with Shami and Jo singing loudly and dancing the night away. It was hard to know whether the swaying was a result of the ship moving or something else but at least Jo said it wasn’t just me.

I had a good nights sleep again but we had to be up at 6-30am and by the time we went to breakfast we’d already docked in Castries, St Lucia. Our trip today was a 6 hours trip on a catamaran to Pigeon Island and then the famous Pitons. This would be another big bucket list tick for me. There was a bit of phaffing about whilst they got us organised and then we just walked a short distance along the dock to our beautiful, huge catamaran called Carnival of the Seas. On board there was plenty of space for the 50 or so people taking the trip and we wisely chose to sit in the shade. The crew were introduced by Samantha the tour guide and they were all lovely and friendly and helpful all day.

We set sail along the west coast of the island upto Pigeon Island National Landmark. St Lucia did not disappoint with its lush tropical vegetation, mountainous backdrop and beautiful blue waters. Pigeon Island is a fortified rocky outcrop right at the top of the island. It’s famous for being the site of the battle between the French and the British who swapped the control of the island 14 times between the mid 1600s and early 1800s. There is a lovely park where the St Lucia Jazz Festival takes place and there are a couple of gorgeous sandy coves with turquoise waters.

But this morning we fancied a hike so we made our way to the fortifications at the top of Pigeon Island. It was a steep and hot climb but the 360 degree views were well worth the effort. There was no time for a swim as when we got back it was time to get back on board.

Now we turned round and sailed south again and as we did they announced that it was time for lunch. It was only 11am but as soon as they put a big bowl of salad on the table, the whole boatful of starving wretches jumped up and formed a disorderly queue. It was like some sort of feeding frenzy and Jane and I watched agog as the queue went twice round the boat and out onto the sunbathing nets . How come these people were so keen to eat? Was it because:

A) it was at least 2 hours since they’d eaten their full English breakfasts?

B) they’d read on Trip Advisor that the Cajun Chicken legs were likely to run out

C) they were all very keen snorkellers who wanted to fully digest their food before our next swim stop?

Who knows but eventually the crew got everyone organised and fed the starving masses. Jane and I meanwhile sat patiently and waited for the queue to shrink. Lunch was in fact very good and Jane particularly enjoyed her Bob Marley Fish!! Or was it Mahi Mahi that the lady said?!

After lunch we sailed a bit further and pulled into another tropical sandy cove where we could snorkel. It was called the Bay of Pigs but not THE Bay of Pigs. It seemed appropriate after the lunchtime feeding frenzy. Jane obviously did not partake in this activity after her recent history but I gave it a little go. It was a-bit crowded but I saw some nice coral on the huge boulders and a few fish. We only had about 30mins but it just wasn’t the same without Jane and her wonderment at the underwater world.

Now we’d finished snorkelling it was time for Ruby to serve the rum punch as we sailed along until we got the classic side by side view of the Pitons. These are ancient Volcanic plugs and truly impressive. We didn’t really get as close as I would have liked but I managed to do a little sketch.

On our way back we took a little detour into Marigot Bay. This was an absolutely stunning inlet with deep emerald green waters, white sand coves with colourful saily boats and skinny palm trees. Wow…now here’s a place we could return to!

We sailed back to Castries listening to gentle reggae music and drinking a few more rum punches! What a superb day it had been and it was only 3-30pm with the rest of the evening yet to come….

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Caribbean, Cruise, Saint Lucia | 2 Comments

Loitering around in Grenada

Posted on February 8, 2026 by julieallen36

At some point during the evening I am pleased to report that our suitcases did get delivered to our room. This meant that we could properly make ourselves at home including fixing our specially purchased magnetic hooks to the wall. This was a great tip from my lovely friend Sarah who had done this trip in the past. Unfortunately I’d purchased super strong magnets which meant that basically once they’d stuck to each other they’re virtually impossible to separate. However, they’re now doing a great job of holding up my hat and dressing gown.

Anyway…once we’d unpacked we had a reasonable nights sleep before waking up with the alarm at 6-30am. This may seem a little early (it is) but the trips ashore all start at about 8-30 to 9 so in order to be ready this is what’s required. We had breakfast back in the Islands Restaurant and then made our way off the ship and along the pier. Here we were greeted by the steel band and lots of people waiting for our various trips. Today we’d selected the Grenada Heritage tour. This involved us getting on a small traditional bus with wooden seats and open sides. We had a lovely lady tour guide who gave us interesting information about the island as we drove along. We started in St George’s weaving our way slowly through the narrow and steep streets. It was really colourful especially as the next day was Independence Day. In 1974 Grenada became independent from the UK and today they celebrate by covering everything, including themselves, in the islands colours of red, green and yellow. There were lots of interesting little stores with amazing colourful signs and it was very busy.

Once we left the town we wound our way up the mountainside through lush vegetation and colourful houses. There were plenty of roosters and a few goats to be seen along the way. At the top we made it to Fort Frederick which had 360 degree views back down to the port and our ship and over to the rainforest behind us. Our guide explained a little about the politics of the island. Basically after independence some friends from Aruba came over and decided they’d run the country. But they fell out and ended up having a bloody massacre in 1983 which then led to Ronald Reagan sending US troops in to stop the chaos. I couldn’t quite follow what happened next but by all accounts it didn’t go terribly well and our guide said that to this day, whilst it’s peaceful, lots of people are still afraid to talk about what happened. I’d thought it strange that, as we arrived at the fort, there was a lady with a rifle hanging casually over her shoulder. She didn’t seem to be wearing a uniform but it seemed a bit heavy handed for a parking attendant.

Next we continued our drive through the countryside. Stopping every now and then to look at a particular tree or other. Breadfruit, mango, avocado, nutmeg, cocoa and Akee. We passed the locals favourite beach which had beautiful milky turquoise waters and we stopped in a lovely park overlooking this where we got ripped off for $10 US for a couple of ice creams. But they were very welcome in the heat and mine was a particularly pleasing blue colour and Cotton Candy flavour.

Next stop was Grand Anse Beach. This is a spectacular stretch of beach with beautiful warm water and soft white sand. We sat in the shade of the palm and sea-grape trees drinking a Carib Beer. Stunning. We chatted to our new friends Shami and Jo who are sisters from Birmingham and the hour soon disappeared but it was lovely.

After this we joined the total gridlock on the way back to the port. We boarded the ship and spent the afternoon on the pool deck. I’m not a fan…it’s too busy and too noisy but at least we got sun beds (there are plenty) and discovered the indoor pool in the Glass House. This is a lovely cool and refreshing pool and very quiet. Hurrah.

Jane was intrigued by the fact that even this area had a restaurant offering. There is food on offer EVERYWHERE it’s really quite incredible.

In the evening it was the ‘Dress to Impress’ night so we did get all dressed up and gathered in the Atrium to watch the Captain introduce his crew leads. We met up with Jo and Shami and had dinner in the formal main dining area. We had a lovely evening getting to know them and as they are now our new best friends, we finished the evening off by going to the Silent Disco….but that’s another story….

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Caribbean, Cruise, Grenada | 2 Comments

Cruise News! Cruise News!

Posted on February 7, 2026 by julieallen36

Long before blogging was a thing, we went on our first and only cruise. For Jane’s 50th we went on a Thomson’s Red Sea Cruise with Joyce and Enid. We all really enjoyed it but for one reason and another, have not been on a cruise since.

Well, about 3 weeks ago we got fed up of the UKs miserable weather and booked ourselves onto a Marella Caribbean cruise. To be honest, we’d been keeping an eye out for some time, hoping the prices would come down. They didn’t but when I spotted that we could go on a 2 weeks cruise for less than just one of the weeks, it was a no brainer. So here we are!

The trip consists of two separate cruise itineraries joined together. Exotic Islands and then Coconuts and Cocktails or something like that. I’ve had Antigua and St Lucia on my ‘travel wish lists’ for many years and this combined tour ticks off both!

After a very easy 9 hour flight from Birmingham we arrived in Bridgetown, Barbados. We left behind the cold and wet and arrive to sun and blue, slightly cloudy skies and 28 degrees heat. Gorgeous. We loved the fact that a bus picked us up at the bottom of the airplane steps and then drove out of the airport straight to the docks. No need to enter the airport at all! The drive through Bridgetown was busy and colourful especially as it was the end of the school day.

The ship is called Discovery 2 and it’s bigger than the last ship we cruised on but not one of those floating megalopolis. Once on board we found our cabin 6533 which is an inside cabin but really very acceptable. When you’ve been staying in a campervan, everything is spacious in comparison and so much storage space! Our luggage hadn’t yet arrived so we soon set about exploring the ship. We visited the Atrium bar and sat outside looking at the docks and then wandered upto level 9 and the main pool area where the 6 Nation’s rugby was being shown on the big screen. We then had dinner in the fabulous Islands buffet restaurant with views of the sun setting as another huge cruise ship set off. We then went back to our room to check on luggage (nothing) but were handed our first copy of ‘Cruise News’ the daily update on what’s happening across the ship, I remembered this from our last cruise and I was very excited to see that they hadn’t gone digital!

This then led us to the rest of our evenings entertainment. A music quiz in the very pleasant ‘Squid and Anchor’ bar which is not at all as naff as the name might suggest. Then we went to check out the show lounge and their Country Music night which was really very good. Bless them all. We round off the night by poking our noses upstairs at the pool area where a local reggae band were playing at our Sail Off party. I think we’re going to enjoy this…..