DECEMBER 2025

26

We flew into Barbados a day before the ship departed to make sure we did not have any weather or travel issues. Susan had already booked an all-inclusive resort on the west coast, but the resort was all booked up by the time John decided to join us. Two buildings to the north was another all-inclusive resort called Treasure Beach Art Hotel, part of the Autograph Collection. The resort was a small 35-room compound with access to a private beach. John, Susan, and I arrived at the airport together, but we split up on our way to the resorts. We were greeted with rum punch and settled into our suite. We had a relaxing stay, great food and drinks, and walked a gorgeous beach to unwind from the Holiday season. The following morning, Susan and Sarah walked over to take a look at our resort before we departed for the port to find our ship.

BARBADOS: The Azamara Quest is a smaller ship of about 700 passengers. By now, you know that John and I typically like small ship adventures, so this is a big ship for us. We loved it. We had bid on an upgraded suite right after we booked the cruise. Our bid was accepted in early December, so we were staying in a Continent Suite (which is over 1 1/2 times the size of a standard Veranda Room). Our spacious room had a very large balcony, large bathroom (very unusual on a ship), tons of storage, and also came with full butler service. We settled in quickly and toured the ship before our departure. We met up with everyone for a lovely sunset toast before dinner.

DECEMBER 2025

27

DECEMBER 2025

28

ST VINCENT: We had to take tenders to the shore to go on our first excursion in St Vincent; the sea was a little choppy, but nothing bad. Once we boarded the catamaran to Union Island and Mayreau, the skies got a little darker. It was still lovely sailing, but we did get a couple short showers along the way (the rum punch didn’t hurt).

DECEMBER 2025

29

ST LUCIA: The day of the Banana Farm… Our excursion to see an active banana farm [that we had booked a month in advance] was canceled unexpectantly when we boarded the ship. Instead of being waitlisted for another excursion, Chad, John and I decided to just hire a local guide in the port when we got off the ship. Our guide, Joy, said he could take us to see a banana farm. Chad negotiated Joy from $350 for 4 hours down to $150 for a 2-hour tour out to see the active banana farms. We got an expert tour of St Lucia. We saw the governor mansion, university, a neighborhood bodega/bar (with a couple shots of rum), and even the beach. When Chad finally said, “OK, we are ready to see the banana farm.” Joy said that they were too far away and there would never have been enough time. I suggested he take us into the farmer’s market in the town center to buy some bananas. Off we went. When Joy jumped out of the van to go buy the bananas, I casually told Chad that John and I don’t really like bananas… It was a fun tour anyway, but I think Chad talked him down to $100 at the end.

DECEMBER 2025

30

DOMINICA: Off on a river-tubing adventure in beautiful Dominica! Despite the smelly life vests, we had a blast! Susan even had a hitch-hiking dog on her lap for a portion of the trip down the river. On our way back to the ship we stopped an hiked down to gorgeous waterfall.

DECEMBER 2025

31

ST KITTS: The last day of 2025 found us in port at St Kitts. It was beautiful. Susan had previously chartered us a sunset catamaran cruise that afternoon. The Orange Cat was awesome. Just the group of 7 (no Sarah due to sickness) of us on a sail out to a protected harbor area for a quick swim. We were able to watch the sun set as we sailed back toward our ship for New Year’s Eve on the top deck of the Quest.

JANUARY 2026

1

DAY AT SEA: After the very late night celebrating the New Year, it was perfect to have a day at sea just relaxing.

Sarah finally emerged from her self-quarantine in the cabin, so she got to catch a lovely sunset before dinner.

JANUARY 2026

2

SINT MAARTEN: The half Dutch/half French island is a fun way to see two very different cultures. Sint Maarten/St Marten was a beautiful island. Our excursion (for Chad, John, and me) was to see both sides of the island and end with a wine and cheese tasting at a Dutch cheese shop. We enjoyed our leisurely tour of the island, but were disappointed when it was discovered that our tour operator had not booked the correct time for the wine/cheese tasting. We were told we could wait 45 minutes for the tasting and then walk back to the ship or just get a sample of cheese. Of course we waited. We walked the shops to kill 45 minutes before returning to the shop. Hmmm, they have a different comprehension of what a wine tasting is… we were poured a glass of sangria (very sweet) and given 5 little bites of cheese. We should not have waited, but the walk back to the ship was wonderful. Azamara has a specialty event on every cruise where you go into port and see a cultural event. Sint Maarten was the Azamazing event night.

JANUARY 2026

3

TORTOLA / BVI: This was my favorite day of the cruise. Our excursion took us by catamaran over to the Baths/ Virgin Gorga. A hike down to perfect beaches strewn with giant boulders. As you climbed through and under the giant rocks, you found pristine water and vibrant colors dancing all around you.