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.