Sailing the Caribbean seas

This week I am live and in living color on the MS Westerdam, one of
Holland America’s ships. I captured one of those great deals and am
sharing a cabin for a week with my girlfriend for under $600 per
person. We have a lovely, spacious outside cabin – our
view is a tad obstructed, but we wake up every day to the fabulous rays of the sun
and can see the ocean.
I have often visited islands in the Caribbean via air and sea but
opted for this trip to San Juan, St. Barths (aka St. Barts), Nevis and
Holland America's private island. Because I had not been to Bart's/Nevis. St.
Barths. St. Barthélemy and Nevis were new territory
to me and opened my eyes to a different culture. When it comes to St. Barths, can we say
"money, honey"?
This is the lifestyles of the rich
and famous – fancy shopping, fancy food, warm and wonderful ambiance.
I was not there long enough to get the full taste, but
this is one of those places I would certainly like to visit again. My
group headed to a known entity, Nikki Beach Club. If you know South
Beach, you are probably asking why on earth would we select a place
that has a spot on Miami Beach? Well, let’s say the experience was
suitable to the neighborhood. It was a fabulous afternoon of eating,
drinking, relaxing and chatting with friends; some of us took a swim
in the beautiful blue bay. Nikki Beach was the right place to soak up
the local environment. The euro is the currency here, and I am
positive most folk were taken aback at shopping and dining.
Rarely do I want to go back to a place, but this is one of those
islands I would like to visit again; the fact that it is a ferry ride
to St. Maarten (one of the few islands I would like to visit on a
frequent basis) may have something to do with it since I am very fond
of that island's shopping and fabulous dining experiences.
Next stop Nevis – the "ball" of St. Kitts – I learned this from my
taxi driver. It seems that if you look at a map of the Caribbean, you will
see that St. Kitts looks like a bat and Nevis appears to be the ball - of
course, this is referring to a game of cricket. We had only a short
time on this island, arriving early, around 7:30ish and getting back
on board by 3:30.
Since we kept late night hours, it was a struggle
to get off early, so I made it a point to run to visit the island for a
taste of Nevis. I was not disappointed. The taxi driver, Bentley,
assured us that if he dropped us at Pinney’s Beach we would be completely
satisfied – he was never wrong! We went to Sunshine’s. Mr. Sunshine, or Sunny as his crew calls him, fixed up the best
yellowfin tuna I have ever had – a green sauce of parsley, cilantro,
onions – let’s call it a Caribbean chimichurri sauce that coated the fish.
It was served with a fresh garden salad with deliciously crunchy long
beans and some of the best rice and peas you can find. My roommate
had the fish but also sampled the wings and could not walk away without
getting an order to go, so you know what we had after a late night of
dancing.
You cannot go to Sunshine’s and not order the signature drink:
"Killer Bee" – it was a killer! Taste just like great rum punch that
you wanted to drink way too fast.
Tonight, my friends and I will be dining in the Pinnacle Grill – the
"high-end" restaurant of the Westerdam. I forgot to tell them I snuck
away and had dinner there the other night with friends, and it was
delish – the lobster was simply outstanding.
More to come as I sail the seas. I'll share a few photos
and notes on Holland America’s Westerdam. Tune in to Join Us at the Table
at 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning as I broadcast live from the Westerdam with its two
executive chefs.


Local spots:
St. Barths, West Indies
Nikki Beach Club
PLage de St. Jean FW1 97133
590.27.64.64
Nevis, West Indies

Sunshine’s Beach Bar & Grill
Pinney’s Beach
Open 7-days a week for great food and dancing