April 18, 2012
For some reason during the entire Caribbean season I had not ventured ashore in St. Croix. That was intentional, combining the need to have a few ports each cruise in which I stayed ashore to do more work and the fact that St. Croix from the dock did not look particularly interesting. It came across as a sleepy little island with just a few shops and bars at the port. Since I can never go much beyond the dock I wrote it off as just another Caribbean island, one like so many others. Since today was going to be the last visit to St. Croix I felt I owed it to myself to at least go ashore for a couple of hours, if for no other reason than to get free WIFI.
I’m pleased to say that St. Croix was a pleasant surprise. After making my way down the long boring dock I saw that there was a nice little green space that divided the sea wall from the shops. I took a stroll along the sea wall and stopped to sit on a bench surrounded by the greenery and with a beautiful view of my ship at dock to the front. I eventually cut across the greenway to the store fronts and encountered our photographers out for a ride on the free bike rentals we provide for crew on ship. They pointed out a number of small establishments to get free WIFI but when I explored them they were each too crowded for a lazy afternoon. It’s amazing what a cruise ship at dock can do to the local businesses . . . all of it good, of course. So I headed past the shopping area toward the beach that I could see less than ten minutes away by foot. On the way I passed a small plaza with a monument and decided that was the ideal place to stop for a few minutes in the sub-tropical sun and watch the world go by.
But I could hear the beach calling my name. I traversed the last few blocks of ‘civilization’ and kicked off my shoes as I reached the near end of this little oases, only minutes from my ship. As I walked down the beach I passed several gatherings of crew members, most getting ready to head back as our report time was only an hour away. I continued down the beach my eyes locked on a small bar with a small deck hanging right over the sand. When I checked to see the drink specials I also inquired as to whether WIFI was available. The answer was ‘yes’ which made the drink specials even more enticing. The watering hole was virtually empty, so I set up my computer at a table and logged on while sipping a cool Caribbean cocktail and staring at the magnificent blue ocean. As I cast my eyes up and down the sparsely populated beach I saw several groups of Celebrity crew. As they started heading back to the ship each waved to me in turn as I completed contacting the mainland.
With great regret I excused myself from the local dog which had curled up at my feet and packed up to head back to shore. Why hadn’t I taken time to come here before? I’m honestly not sure but I knew I wouldn’t pass up this opportunity again on a future contract. However, I’ve checked the Silhouette itinerary for the next spring season and I concluded that we won’t be stopping in St. Croix, again. Opportunity . . . lost.
And the adventure continues . . .
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