I Am A Celebrity!: November 2025

Sunday, November 16, 2025

Grenada

Celebrity Summit - St. George's, Grenada
Copyright Andy Richards 2014 - All Rights Reserved

OUR GROUP was all pretty well- educated and up to date with political current events. We were all approaching middle age (late 50's) at that time, and all remembered the events in 1983 with the "invasion" of Grenada by U.S. troops under then President, Ronald Reagan. As all military actions are, it was controversial, but its ostensible mission was to rescue U.S. students attending St. George's Medical School, in the Grenadian city of St. George's, founded by some wealthy American physicians as a place for students who were unable to get into any of the U.S. medical schools - all of which were at the time extremely competitive and had very limited openings. As a political coup was in the works, there was real concern for the safety of these students and much disagreement among Caribean nations about the "need" for the U.S. operation. It went forward.

We were a very congenial group. But not really cohesive

LOOKING BACK, I am actually surprised, given our backgrounds and political interests, that we didn't do some kind of tour - which maybe involved the University. As I think about it - and it was a pattern at all of our stops - there were a number of contributing factors. First, as I mentioned, this whole group/trip came together rather quickly and - at least in terms of planning - at the last minute. It was one of those things where we found a cruise that fit our time schedules and we just all started jumping into it. I will add to that that the "nature" of the group probably also contributed. We were a very congenial group. But not really cohesive. Part of that is - in my view - size. Having organized and having joined a few golf-outing groups over the years, I can say with some authority that there is a "manageable" number, after which it just gets too hard to try to be "organized." In the last years of our golf trips, it was not unusual for all the guys to show up at the Tee-times, and then for us to go in two or more different directions for dinners. Those factors all conspired together to make this more of a tropical vacation in the sun than a serious cultural trip. And that is o.k. For us, that has become more and more the "norm" for Caribbean cruises.

THE UPSHOT is we didn't. We did find an "island tour" down at the port entrance, in a multi-person golf cart. We were all in, and on the way to board, my wife had a (thankfully minor) "medical issue," which forced us to back out at the last minute. Of course we had to tend to things, but it sounds like they had a nice excursion, and I always was disappointed we ultimately weren't able to join. When we returned to Grenada in February of 2025, we remedied that, signing on with a several hour tour that gave us a great overview of the island. At the end, our driver did a "drive-through" of St. George's (now a full-blown university with undergraduate and other professional schools). The campus is beautiful, and if I get back, I would love to get some time to walk around and make some photographs. Until then, I'll be satisfied with the memories that we did have there.

BECAUSE WE basically stayed behind and only spent just a few minutes off the ship, I didn't see much and I didn't really make any pictures (the ones that I did make, were mostly of the City of St. George's from on the ship. I did make one nice image of the Summit moored at the pier, but for the rest, I liked my "take" in 2025 much better). Fortunately, though, I did make several photographs of our recent visit to Grenada in 2025. By then, I was also writing blogs about my cruises, so we will have been caught up by the time we get to 2025. You can read about Grenada and the St. George's story in much more detail in Another Year; Another Caribbean Cruise, complete with pictures.

Sunday, November 9, 2025

Dominica

Roseau, Dominica
Copyright Andy Richards 2014 - All Rights Reserved

THERE ARE 2 places that are kind of on the "regular" Eastern Caribbean lineup that we have only been to twice: St. Croix, and Dominica. Until this past spring, we could add Grenada to the list, but we finally visited it again in 2025 and got our trip around the Island (more on that in the next post). We will be in Dominica again for only the second time (good lord willing and the creek don't rise - hey that rising creek thing is real here in Florida 😅), in February of 2026. It will be interesting to see the changes that may have ocurred, as at least 2 major hurricane devastated Dominica since our 2014 visit.

Roseau is the capitol and primary city in Domica

WE SPENT the least amount of time here. It was a mostly rainy day. We walked around for about 1/2 hour, and then found a bar in view of the ship, where we had a couple rounds of the local stuff, before concluding that with our drink packages, we were probably better served to find a spot to sit on the ship.

Colorful Cafe and Quirky Sign - Roseau, Dominica
Copyright Andy Richards 2014 - All Rights Reserved

THE ONE thing that - for whatever reason - really stuck with me was the really long pier that stuck out into the water from the shore. Unlike most of the Caribbean Islands that we have ported at, Dominica does not have any large, protected harbor. The cruise ships stop at Roseau, a city on the west side of the island, almost to the southern end. Roseau is the capitol and primary city in Dominica. Over 15,000 of the roughly 65,000 inhabitants of Dominica live in Roseau. As you can see from the view from our ship deck, like most Caribbean Islands these days, they favor the bright, pastel "Caribbean" colors on many of their buildings, making them fun to photograph.

Cruise Pier - Roseau, Dominica
Copyright Andy Richards 2014 - All Rights Reserved

THE ROSEAU cruise port seemed more on the rustic side and not nearly as commercial and built-up as many of the more popular stops. They still had their share of shops and street sales points, though. Though we missed it, there is a cobblestone marketplace very near the cruise port that was once a slave trading spot (the French brought slaves from Africa through Dominica to work in their coffee plantations in the Caribbean).

Bright colors in one of Roseau's obligatory, Portside tourist shops
Copyright Andy Richards 2014 - All Rights Reserved

DOMINICA's "INDIGENOUS" settlers were the Arawaks (now mostly extinct). In the late 17th century, Dominica was colonized by the French, who controlled it until the end of The Seven Years War when it was taken over by the British in about 1763. The British controlled it until it gained its independence in 1978. English is the official language of the island nation. Although we didn't explore, I later learned that Dominica is noted for its natural wonders, including a boiling lake and the endangered Sisserou Parrot which is only found on Dominica. It is also the youngest of the Lesser Antilles archipelago and is supposedly still undergoing its geological formation (hence the boiling lake). I will try to do more detailed research before our trip next February. But this time, we didn't even venture far from the port.

Double Rainbow over the island of Dominica - off the stern of Celebrity Summit
Copyright Andy Richards 2014 - All Rights Reserved

STILL, THERE were some distinctly memorable things about that day. First, the long dock is what I always think about when Dominica comes up. It made a great diagonal element for my photograph of the cruise port (such as it is). Perhaps equally (maybe more) memorable, was the most stunning formation of double rainbows I have ever seen, of the coast of the island, just as we departed. I was able to make a few shots off the stern railing at the back of the ship - but really didn't do it justice. But a pretty cool ending to another laid back day of socialization and fun with friends. And a nice "garnish" to our sunset cocktails.

Sunday, November 2, 2025

St. Kitts (Again)

Port Zante Entrance to St. Kitts from Cruise Ships
Copyright Andy Richards 2014

WOULD OUR third time stopping at St. Kitts be "a charm?" Not really. In the next several years we would stop there 2 more times, with a planned 6th stop on a scheduled cruise in 2027. Having done the island tour/catamaran ride and the narrow guage railway on our first two trips, we were kind of "excursioned - out." For the next 3 trips, I didn't really do much. Time will tell what we do in 2027.

St. Kitts Cruise Pier - Port Zante - St. Kitts, West Indies
Copyright Andy Richards 2014 - All Rights Reserved

ON THIS trip, we had 5 guys and 3 of them were pretty active and athletic. Two of us were less so-inclined. The three "athletes:" Bob, Mark and Bob decided to join an excursion that was designated a "volcano" climb. The 5 ladies decided to take a Jeep tour (which they reported later, was fun). Jon and I demurred on both counts (for the volcano climb, we made the right choice - even our "athletes" agreed and said it was torture). Instead, we met in the buffet for breakfast and agree to meet up down in the port later.

St. Kitts Cruise Pier - Tug - Port Zante - St. Kitts, West Indies
Copyright Andy Richards 2014 - All Rights Reserved

I SOON got a little "stir - crazy," so I grabbed my camera and went ashore. Its always enjoyable for me to get some time off to myself with my camera - exploring. On our first two stops on St. Kitts, we really didn't get much time to just walk around. Not knowing much about our port city (Bassetere), I didn't really leave the port area. But I always seem to find some interesting, often colorful subjects in the ports. I have always liked "marine" subjects - especially boats of every description. I started with the Tug. It has been in the marina every time I have been there. Usually it is berthed over a bit from the ship pier, but today it was moored right on our pier, so I was able to get rather close to it. I like the colors and reflections, but probably my favorite shot was a closeup I made of the bow and reflection. I have photographed it a number of times over the years - an probably will do so again.

Looking around, I had a funny sense there might be a photo here

ONE OF the unique features of Port Zante at St. Kitts is its classic arched, bright yellow entrance portico. Not only must you walk through it to get to shore, but it has become - for me - a kind of beacon of familiarity whenever we approach (or leave) St. Kitts. It immediately attracts the eye.

THE PORT Zante cruise port is one of the largest, most modern, and clean of the tourist/cruise port entrances to any island we have visited in the Caribbean. It is very commercial, but also very lively. Directly inside there is a large courtyard area. It is not uncommon for performers to be out there (hoping, of course, for "donations"). There is also a large area of bar - seating, with a Gazebo style bar in the middle. It is always hopping. The drinks are good, but it is probably not your best bet. Especially if your drink of choice is beer. There are several spots in the port where there are "specials" on one of the local beers (Caribe). I would be meeting up with Jon in a short while, and we would probably be finding one of those spots.

As an unkowing viewer, my first thought would be to wonder who belonged to those sandals?
St. Kitts, West Indies
Copyright Andy Richards 2014

ON MY own time, I wandered some of the side streets of the port. It is really kind of misleading to call them side-streets, as there is not very far you can go in either direction before hitting water, while in the port area. So these "side-streets" were mainly just more tourist shops. And St. Kitts has all the "regulars:" Diamonds International, Kay's, Luis Vuitton, Nike, Duty Free stores, Cigars (remember my admonition: "Just Don't Do it"), and even a Harley Davidson store. One of my partners at the time had a thing for Harley Davidson "stuff" (he didn't - nor had he ever - owned a bike 😕), but thinking of him, I wandered down that side street. I saw a young woman (she worked in the Harley store), sitting on a picnic table, but as I walked that way, someone entered the store and she quickly walked back in. I took the brief opportunity to make what I thought was a kind of interesting photo before she returned.

BUT I probably enjoyed the next two images as much as any I have ever made - certainly one of my lasting memories of St. Kitts. I had seen the little shack with the Caribe Beer sign (3 for $5 USD), and wandered down that street; the colors attracting me as usual. I made a few images from that spot, including some of the street activity. Finding a shady spot,I sat for a few minutes. Shortly, this very attractive, well-dressed, local woman came walking down the street. She was clearly on her way somewhere with a purpose. Looking around, I had a funny sense there might be a photo here, so I got ready. I immediately knew this was one of those "moments" that happen on the streets. Watch the guy in the blue shirt from the first to the second image. 😈 LOL. I don't blame him for looking. I did! I doubt either of them even knew I was there.

I HAVE seen the National Museum of St. Kitts a few times when we have visited. I have never been inside. It is one of those places that I probably should visit. Maybe on our next stop. It is, as you can see, a very photogenic building, and as I was looking at framing it up, I was having a hard time isolating it for any kind of interesting shot, when I realized that the people in the foreground were the interesting shot.

WE KNEW the beer would be cold and cheep somewhere in the port, so as soon as Jon and I met at the appointed time and place, we began our search. I had done some scoping earlier, and it turns out we didn't have far to go. Out of the arch and immediately to the right. Caribe at The Sweet Lime for $0.99 USD! 😋 The other guys met us there at the end of their excursion and we "reminisced" about our "eventful" days before returning to our ship to clean up and get ready for sunset cocktails.