Grenada, Aruba and Bonaire
Grenada is known as the Spice Island, so no first time visit is complete without a little spice added to it! Again, after researching our options, we decided to go with a local tour guide. Mandoo started our excursion at the still operating spice plantation. We had a show and tell (and smell) of the local spices by Mandoo and afterwards were able to purchase spices to bring home.
A very scenic drive led us to Grand Etang Lake next, where we had the pleasure of seeing the adorable Mona monkeys. Mandoo and his guides stopped on the way there to pick up some fresh bananas for both the tourists and the monkeys to enjoy. Concord Falls was very pretty, but unfortunately we had some rain that day and it cut our stop there and the rest of the tour short. Mandoo was very knowledgable and professional and perhaps some day we will see more of Grenada on one of his other tours.
Bonaire is part of the “ABC” islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao) in the Netherlands Antilles. It’s pristine reefs and clarity of water offer a divers paradise. The waters around Bonaire are designated an official marine park. Bonaire is a small island (only 111 sq. miles) and unless you are interested in marine life there’s really not a lot of other excursion options. However, you do not have to be a scuba diver to enjoy the unspoiled treasures “under the sea.” There’s terrific snorkeling right off the shore. We decided the best option for our group was to head to El Eden Beach, a quick taxi ride from the pier. Some of us had snorkel gear along and some were able to rent quality equipment at El Eden. The snorkeling was wonderful right off the beach. And, for those not interesting in snorkeling, there were lounge chairs, beach bar and restaurant and facilities to use. The water was so clear that the colorful Parrot fish could be viewed from the dock.
Aruba, our last port of call…! Beach lovers will enjoy beautiful Aruba as a cruise port or destination for a land package. We had a nice full day in Aruba (7 a.m. until 7 p.m.) and decided to take advantage of that. Prior to departing for our cruise, we pre-reserved the Swim, snorkel and swing excursion on the Jolly Pirate through Celebrity’s excursions. We reserved the late afternoon time as an open bar was part of the excursion. After a leisurely breakfast, we disembarked the Summit and took a taxi to Palm beach, found a nice area to rent chairs and enjoyed the sand, surf and sun. You can walk the powder white sand strip of Palm beach for what seems like forever. There are numerous hotels, resorts and watersports stands along the strip. The public can use the fresh water showers and facilities at some of the resorts (like the Radisson, which is beautiful, by the way) but others like the Riu are closed to the public. After a very enjoyable morning, we caught a taxi in front of the Riu back to the ship for lunch, and to meet up for our shore excursion booked through the cruise line. While we were on the beach, we did see signs for the Jolly Pirate excursion and at first thought that we should have forgotten about the cruise line excursion and just caught the Jolly Pirate from Palm beach. We later discovered that we would have missed out on part of the fun had we done that.
Our excursion through the cruise line included transportation on the “Banana Bus” which was brightly painted and “open air” bus.
On the way to the Jolly Pirate, the driver played some nice tunes and everyone was happy enough with our ride to the excursion.
However, the ride back to the ship after the Jolly Pirate (and open bar) was a total blast! Every passenger on the bus sang along with the songs pumping out of the speakers the entire way back to the ship. Tourists and locals alike waved and hooted and hollered at us as we passed by. What a way to end the day in Aruba! Oh wait, I didn’t even tell you about the Jolly Pirates!
Our excursion on the pirate ship included snorkeling at the Antilla, also known as the German Shipwreck or Ghost Ship and at a reef. After snorkeling, the crew took us to a quiet cove to “walk the plank” or to be more exact, swing of the plank. The crew also showed off by performing back flips and dives off of the swing. What fun!! Especially after a few Pirate’s Poison drinks!
The last day on our 7 night cruise was our one and only full sea day. After our eco-adventures, touring, shopping, sunning, snorkeling and swinging in our ports, it was a very relaxing way to wrap up our cruise. I highly recommend this itinerary and ship to anyone that has cruised before and is looking for a nice ship, great service and food and a wonderful combination of Caribbean islands to experience and enjoy.
To make your reservation on the Summit’s Southern Caribbean itinerary, or any other cruise for that matter, contact Amy
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