Seabourn Exotic Caribbean Odyssey 23 Jan 2021 with Deluxe Cruises

01202 767926 Voyage highlights Barbados Bridgetown, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is an elegant capital city proudly displaying its 400 years of British heritage. Although, originally settled by Amerindian peoples 1,500 years ago, in the 17th century Barbados became one of the largest and most successful sugarcane producing areas in the world. A stroll through town will guide you through Bridgetown’s history, to the statue of Admiral Horatio Nelson, past the Parliament Buildings, St Michaels Cathedral, St Mary’s church, Jubilee Gardens and eventually over Chamberlain Bridge. A picturesque seaside boardwalk will lead you to one of the many exceptional shoreline cafes and restaurants. Port Elizabeth Bequia’s Admiralty Bay is a favourite yachtsman’s anchorage. They ferry ashore to join the friendly, low-key locals “under the almond tree,” the chosen meeting place. Stroll along the Belmont Walkway to the Gingerbread for homemade nutmeg ice cream, or Frangipani, run by the daughter of a former prime minister. Continue to lovely, golden Princess Margaret Beach, or round the bend to Lower Bay. Don’t miss the excellent craftsmanship at the Sargeant Brothers Model Boat Shop, it’s a Bequia specialty. Trois Ilets Martinique is one of the most colourful and interesting islands in the Caribbean. Trois Ilets lies just across the Bay of Fort-de-France from the capital, on the peninsular arrondissement of Le Marin. Perhaps the most famous attraction in this area is the colonial plantation called La Pagerie, the birthplace and childhood home of Josephine Beauharnais, the Martinique-born woman who became the second wife and Empress to Napoleon Bonaparte. Basse-Terre Located on the smaller of Guadeloupe’s two “butterfly wing” lobes, Basse-Terre is the capital of the French overseas department, although smaller than Point-a-Pitre on Grand Terre. The island offers many picturesque fishing villages now welcoming tourists, including Deshaise near Grand Anse beach and Saint Claude in the forested hills. The towering volcano of La Soufriere is part of the National Park, as is the Reserve Cousteau at Pigeon Island, where divers and snorkelers flock to reefs that enchanted the late undersea explorer. Charlestown Pretty, unassuming Nevis might be the definition of laid-back. Charlestown gets excited by the arrival of the daily ferry from St. Kitts. Stroll by the Museum of Nevis History, built on the foundations of the birthplace of U.S. founding father Alexander Hamilton. St. Johns Antigua is blessed with an abundance of shining white beaches, and many of these have sprouted top-end resort hotels that engender golf courses and other amenities counted among the best in the Caribbean. A pleasant drive up through farms and tiny villages leads to the commanding fortress on Shirley Heights, from which you can survey the town and the harbour of Nelson’s Dockyard across the island. Once a carenage for British frigates, today it is an enclave of shops and restaurants. Carambola Beach A classic golden arc of sugary sand at South Friar’s Bay, Carambola is home to the island’s most luxurious beach clubs and restaurants. Umbrellas, loungers and optional water sports abound for those so inclined. Otherwise St. Kitts has other attractions, including a number of lovingly preserved plantation great houses, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Brimstone Hill Fortress and a scenic narrow gauge sugarcane railway. Philipsburg Since 2010, Saint Maarten has been a constituent country within the kingdom of The Netherlands. It comprises the “Dutch Side” of the island of Saint- Martin, the other half being a French overseas territory. Philipsburg is its capital and a busy deep-water port city. It is a popular port for cruise ships, and consequently boasts a thriving duty-free shopping community, a range of resorts and villas, and numerous leisure and sightseeing activities, as well as a well- served airport. Sopers Hole This snug harbour at the West End of Tortola is the classic Caribbean yacht haven, tucked between the high ground of West End on one side and Frenchman’s Cay on the other. It was a notorious den for pirates in the past, who used the high ground to watch for naval ships or potential victims. There are numerous restaurants, cafes and bars providing hospitable rest stops for people-watching and yarn-spinning. Gustavia Tiny St. Barts, as it is commonly called, lies 125 miles northwest of the French island of Guadeloupe, of which it is a dependency. Its geographic features include steep, green, once-active volcano hills, deep valleys, and beautiful beaches. Founded by the French, ceded to Sweden then returned to France, the toy-scaled capital of Gustavia is built around the harbour on the island’s southwest coast. Basseterre “The Beautiful Sisters,” St. Kitts and Nevis are separated by a two-mile-wide strait but joined together as an independent island nation. Known and loved for their sleepy pace, these islands are awakening to become an “in” place among well travelled North Americans and Europeans. A small, green volcanic speck in the blue Caribbean, St. Kitts offers quiet beaches, remnants of the old British plantocracy, and dreamy days under silk- cotton trees, soothed by the scents of flamboyants and frangipani. The native Arawak and Carib Indians called St. Kitts the fertile isle, and until as recently as 2005, the island was still dependent upon sugar for a large segment of its economy. Terre-de-Haut The Iles des Saintes, a tiny cluster of islets off the southern coast of Guadeloupe is what the doctor ordered, if he ordered an unspoiled Caribbean experience. No franchise duty free, no big hotels, no casinos. It is what much of the Caribbean used to be like. Stroll around the little town of Bourg de Saintes. Shop for real French cosmetics from the sidewalk vendors. Grab a seat and a beer and revel in the weather and the pace of the past. Castries St. Lucia is the sort of island that travellers to the Caribbean dream about - a small, lush tropical gem that is still relatively unknown. The Atlantic Ocean kisses its eastern shore, while the beaches of the west coast owe their beauty to the calm Caribbean Sea. St. Lucia seems like an island plucked from the South Pacific and set down in the Caribbean. Its dramatic twin coastal peaks, the Pitons, soar 2,500 feet up from the sea, sheltering magnificent rain forests where wild orchids, giant ferns, and birds of paradise flourish. Brilliantly-plumed tropical birds abound, including endangered species like the indigenous St. Lucia parrot. Saline Bay Blessed with breathtaking beauty yet very little development, the compact palm-covered island of Mayreau is the authentic Grenadines dream. With only a handful of vehicles, no airport and just a smattering of residents, it often feels like the fabled dessert isle. The island is so small you can’t help get to know the friendly locals who are famed throughout the Grenadines for their hard-partying ways. With around a dozen bars for its 400-odd residents it’s fairly clear it’s not just a myth. It’s said that tiny Mayreau’s weekly beer order is more than twice that of Union Island, its far bigger neighbour.