Much can be said about cruise ships and their impact on ports in small countries, environmentally and visually. Sitting at a cafe in Devonport in 2003, all of a sudden a huge, white monster wall appeared before us, above the house tops. It was The World, then the world’s largest cruise ship, passing through the Gulf of Hauraki for the America’s Cup. For a moment, it felt as our lovely little Kiwi village was to be invaded by giants. Nine years later, that image still makes me a bit jittery.
St Lucia
However, I don’t think it’s always bad. Browsing through an old album, I stumbled upon this photo of a much less obtrusive cruise liner in the Caribbean port of Castries, St Lucia.
What a beautiful natural harbour and the cruise ship looks alright, though I’m not sure it’s as big as they go today.
I think you’re right. Some of the ships today are enormous!
We’ve cruised with our kids 5 times and my favourites were probably Alaska and the Baltics – places that I would have been unlikely to have traveled to on a land-based vacation. Particularly in the Baltics, the cruise gave us a taste of the area and we realized that we definitely wanted to return especially to Sweden and Norway. There are definitely advantages and disadvantages to cruising, however, it’s a style of vacation that we enjoy taking from time to time.
We did a cruise through the Panama Canal last year. I got a bit restless, especially on sea days, but my kids really enjoyed the whole experience, so we’ll probably do it again some time.
I’ve done two cruises, one in Europe and one in the Caribbean. Both were great experiences. I particularly liked the Europe trip because we only had one at sea day, as countries/ports were so close together. I have always wanted to visit St. Lucia.
Yes, I imagine one in Europe would be fun. You can get a little taste of so many different places, then decide where you want to return for a closer look.
Puerto Rico is one of the most beautiful places to visit. I haven’t gone yet to St. Lucia. Thanks for sharing this photo.
And I haven’t been to Puerto Rico. Yet. 🙂
Not that big on cruises myself, but that’s a sleek, beautiful boat.
I thought so, too.
Wow it’s almost as big as the island behind it. Its a good looking ship I must say. The is a great shot by the way!
Thanks, Alexa 🙂
We’re going on a cruise in April. it’s one of those big monsters but since it’s a corporate thing with all expenses paid, I shouldn’t complain 🙂
My grandparents took all their grandchildren on a cruise around the Chilean fjiords to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. There were three boats, the biggest had about 200m passengers so I’d like to think we were pretty unobtrusive. We had such a great time 🙂
That sounds like a fabulous anniversary for the whole family! Look forward to hearing about your up-coming cruise, too 🙂
They’re so incredibly massive and you never notice just how big unless you’re in a tiny town and suddenly confronted by one. I’m not the biggest fan of cruises but I can see the value of them in certain situations.
Personally I can’t be trusted around all that continuous inclusive food and cheap drinks, either =)
Yeah, there is that. I get tired of food after a few days, though. It’s just too much.
What a beautiful photo – St Lucia is top of my list of places to visit in the Caribbean. As for cruise ships….I don’t have much knowledge on the subject, but as long as every effort is taken to preserve the local environment, then I don’t see that much of a problem. However, if it’s one that regular dumps 500 passengers+ into tiny towns and islands, then it’s a bit of a nuisance.
A contentious issue, to be sure. Fortunately, at least some cruise lines act responsibly.
Wow! That island must be such a wonderful place! That bay looks really beautiful! I wish I could have the chance to sit on the board of that ship..
It has been many years, but I remember St Lucia as a very exotic place.
I`m not keen on cruise ships either, there is just something monsterous about them.
Yeah, nice and small does it.
Love your Blog and write up on St. Lucia!
My name is Corey Devaux, I am the Sales and Marketing Manager at Sea Spray Cruises. If you ever do visit St. Lucia again we would be more than happy to have you as a guest on one of our trips if not all! Its on the house! Below is some information on my company and the tours we offer.
The Sea Spray Cruises fleet comprises of three catamarans: Mango Tango (52′ long, maximum capacity 50 passengers); Jus Tango (65′ long, maximum capacity 110 passengers); Tango Too (80′ long, maximum capacity 150 passengers) and a Pirate Ship that is a spacious 18th century replica of a gaffed rigged schooner.
History of Sea Spray Cruises:
Sea Spray Cruises is a locally, family owned and operated company offering day sailing tours to Soufriere and our surrounding attractions. We started operations with our smallest catamaran Mango Tango in October of 1991. At the time it was a husband and wife running the business with two employees, a big change from our operations now which consist of four boats and 26 employees.
In 1994 we realized that Mango Tango (our 52 ft cat) was too small to cater for the fast growing cruise ship business. The cruise ships were getting bigger and we had to grow too. Our second catamaran, Tango Too (80 ft) was built and could carry 150 passengers comfortably. Buying this boat was a great decision because we not only had a boat for cruise ships but could also hold large groups for weddings, birthdays and company outings. Local rides are also very popular on Tango Too.
In 2000 we took delivery of Jus Tango (65 ft) licensed to carry 110 passengers. Jus Tango proved to be very popular with our guests, she is large, comfortable and has lots of area for tanning.
In February of 2003 we had a new and exciting challenged added to our fleet. The 138ft Tall Ship, Brig Unicorn. She was featured in several movies, most recently Pirates of the Caribbean 1, 2 & 3. We have been very successful in creating Pirate themed tours with cannons, pirates and fun activities for everyone, especially the kids. Unfortunately Brig Unicorn could only last so long and has since been retired and replaced by Liana’s Ransom.
We have received Two Thompsons Gold awards for excellence and have been recognized by the Ministry of Tourism for our excellent service. Additionally we recently received a Tripadvisor 2012 Certificate of Excellence, 5 star rating, and an award from Princess Cruise Line for the “Best High Volume Tour of the Season”. We now have a new saying, Come Do It All with Sea Spray Cruise. We offer numerous tours and adventures!