WE’VE BEEN BACK STATESIDE FOR A WHILE now and easily slipped into our old routine. Despite the tasty and plentiful food on the cruise, neither of us gained a pound. Besides our birding hikes and forays around ports-of-call, Connie logged many nautical miles on the Summit’s deck and I dutifully yoga’d and sauna-ed every day.
Words to live by
We had been to St. Kitts, Dominica, St. Maarten and Antigua before, so I didn’t take many photos this time. Truth be known, the only reason we left the ship on some of the islands was to buy a Diet Coke. Coffee, lemonade and ice-tea are complimentary on-board but one pays dearly for everything else. An alcoholic beverage package costs $50/day/person — top shelf is considerable more. That alone could double the cost of a cruise. Four or five shore excursions adds another $1000 and forget about spa treatments! Paying a couple of bucks shore-side for a Coke not only quenches the thirst, it makes you feel positively thrifty.
How the rich cruise, Wind Surf
There is always some form of on-board entertainment and the Summit’s band was superb — which is important since there is no way to escape the music on deck. They covered everything from the Beatles to Buffet, Eagles to Santana, and they did it well. We went to one evening show of Sir Paul McCartney’s music and other than the fact he played right-handed, it was spot on.
Every little detail . . .
We gave up on formal dining after our first cruise, preferring the evening buffet instead. You can dine when you want, take what you’d like and don’t feel obligated to eat all of everything, although many people do, in spades. We really liked one of the young busboys, Shamraj from, of all places, Mauritius. This is his first cruise, maybe the first time he’s been away. He was surprised that we had been to Mauritius and talked to us like we were his surrogate relatives. And we noticed the improvement in his English from day to day.
