2026: Islands of the Caribbean

Getting away from England's chilly winter weather, we escaped to the West Indies to spend some time cruising around the sunny Caribbean Sea. Having previously enjoyed several river cruises with  Viking Cruises, this time we booked one of their ocean cruises. Although larger than  the river chips, their ocean ships are still much smaller than most cruise ships, carrying just 900 passengers so that you get a much more personal experience with them.

In just under 2 fun-filled weeks we visited 9 different islands, travelled by ay least 20 different methods (car, aeroplane, minibus, cruise ship, coach, speedboat, sailing catamaran, swimming, snorkelling, cable-car, walking, tuk-tuk, kayak, ferry boat, submarine, rowboat, 4x4 truck, cave swimming, narrow-gauge railway, and racing yacht), and consumed an uncountable number of rum-punch cocktails (sometimes so early in the morning that we had to temporarily switch our internal clocks back to GMT so that they became lunchtime drinks).

We had chosen to fly via Madrid because the journey would be quicker than flying via New York, but in the end it took just as long because our plane broke down on the tarmac at Madrid, and it took an engineer 2 hours to fix it, A strong headwind, and a spectacular thunderstorm over the Sargasso Sea, meant that we were unable to make up for lost time, but all the same, the Iberia Airlines plane was small and comfortable with good service and tasty food so we were very happy as we arrived in San Juan and finally, after almost 24 hours travelling, joined our ship the Viking Sea. We were very pleased to reach our excellent cabin, especially as our cabin steward had left a late-night meal on our desk, together with a bottle of very good wine; we slept well that night!

Puerto Rico

Old San Juan is dominated by a large fortress. Built 500 years ago, it is now presented as an excellent museum. With a good view of the harbour, its exhibits include the various everyday buildings (sleeping quarters, kitchens, armoury, etc) and include large cannons capable of sinking an enemy ship from a great distance, and small cannons capable of firing a wide range of shrapnel at an advancing enemy army. We also saw the prison cell, where prisoners had passed the time by scratching artistic pictures of their ships on the walls. The fort's different units are connected by narrow tunnels, which allowed its soldiers to move safely between units even when the fort was under enemy fire; these tunnels also featured hidden alcoves from which enemy soldiers could be ambushed - and as a last resort they were packed with explosives which could decimate the enemy as well as block the tunnel.

The fortress at Old San Juan	There is a commanding view of the harbour	These two large cannons have had a baby!	.Tunnels connect the various buildings	Drawings on the wall of a prison cell

A question for you: on which side of the road do cars drive in Old San Juan? Answer: whichever they want to, because ALL the streets there are one-way.

Back on board, as we sailed away from Puerto Rico the golden sunset shone beautifully on the fortress. Then, after an excellent dinner, the evening's excellent entertainment began with the presentation to us of the captain and crew, who walked on stage to the music from 'Pirates of the Caribbean' (of course).

The fortress at sunset

St Thomas (US Virgin Islands)

We had an early start to our day which began with a large sailing catamaran taking us out to a bay where we could try snorkelling. This was to be a totally new experience for us, and we were rather anxious about how it would turn out. In preparation, because I am so very short-sighted, I had bought a mask that was fitted with prescription lenses; how well would it work, I wondered?

The sea was calm and cool, but not unpleasantly so, as we lowered ourselves into the water. Debbie soon found that she had difficulties with the mouthpiece and mask, whereas for myself I found it difficult to co-ordinate my swimming and breathing actions, so I kept getting mouthfuls of sea-water. However I persevered and was rewarded with successfully swimming out to see a sunken shipwreck. After everybody had returned to the catamaran we continued to another bay; Debbie decided to stay on board this time, but I was pleased to find that my system had learned the lessons from my first swim and I was no longer trying to swallow the sea!. Happily I swam away, watching the sea-bed with great clarity through my custom lenses, until I was rewarded with a clear view of a sea-turtle swimming below me. I was exhausted by the time I returned to the catamaran, but the plentiful supply of rum punch that was served on our return journey managed to revive me.

The sailing catamaran	The steerer was very relaxed	We entered the sea from the catamaran	Yes, that's me !!	Rum punch was served when we had finished swimming

As we sailed back towards the harbour, people all around us were enjoying a side range of sea-based activities. The bays were full of craft from which people were snorkelling or scuba-diving, whilst a few people attempted other adventurous pursuits such as jet-boating and para-sailing.

This looked like fun!

After lunch back on the ship, we strolled around the town before taking a cable-car ride up to the top of the adjacent hill. The views from the top were spectacular, but there was not much else there apart from a few souvenir shops and a bar. Naturally we bought a few souvenirs before visiting the bar and then WOW what a selection of drinks, I decided to try their speciality, a Bailey's Bushwacker whose ingredients were Bailey's, Kahlua, Amaretto, Vodka, Rum, Coco Lopez, Creme de Cacao, Nutmeg, Whipped Cream, and a Cherry. After that drink, I felt as if I could almost have flown down the hill without the help of the cable-car!

Another question for you: on which side of the road do cars drive, on the island of St Thomas? Answer: on the left (because of its historical connections with the UK) but with Left-Hand-Drive cars (because it is part of the US). The sign below warns visitors, most of whom are from the USA.

Antigua

The next day started with a minibus tour of Antigua, during which we visited one of the hilltop observation points that used to communicate with other posts by means of flags by day and lamps by night. From this post we had a clear view of Nelson's Dockyard and its associated harbour. We were told that Horatio Nelson hated Antigua: it was too hot, he didn't like the people, and there were many insects which would bite you (sometimes fatally). As a result he hardly ever ventured out of his office at the Dockyard throughout the 3 years that he spent here.

Looking down from the Signal Post	A plan of Nelson's Dockyard	Huge capstans were used to careen the ships	Anchors large and small were arrayed	One of the main Dockyard buildings.

 For me, one of the most interesting features is that, having decided that it would be too difficult to remove ships from the water in order to clean the bottom planks, they installed multiple huge capstans which were able to pull even the largest of ships over onto its side for cleaning.

The roads on Antigua were absolutely terrible! The traffic was utterly chaotic, reminding us of our visit to India, and there were potholes just everywhere! We were glad to get back to the ship for lunch before setting off again for an exciting afternoon's adventures - which began with a tuk-tuk ride across the island, reminding us even more strongly of our Indian adventures. And so, here's another question for you: on which side of the road do cars drive, on the island of Antigua? Answer: on the left, and with Right-Hand-Drive cars because of its historical connections with the UK.

We were taken out to a jetty where our transparent kayaks were waiting for us		Debbie paddled from the front seat	Debbie makes friends with a conch shell

A speedboat took us out to the kayak base, where we were given a short lesson on how best to paddle them, and then we set off as a group to explore the seashore's mangrove forests. Travelling in the transparent kayak was rather like being inside a giant snorkel mask, as it gave a superb view of the sea bed beneath us. Our guide helped us identify the sea-creatures that we saw, lifting some of them up for us to see in close-up, and then we turned back to return to base. Unfortunately an approaching storm meant that the wind started to increase at that time, and together with an outgoing tidal current (not to mention our age and lack of experience) we found it difficult to make good progress, and we were very grateful when one of our guides in a motor boat assisted us with a tow for the last 200 yards.

The speedboats came and collected us again	On the speedboat we headed rapidly out  to the reef	Usually people would snorkel to the reef from this island	Today the sea was far too rough for snorkelling

We all headed out to the reef in the speedboat. There is a small island next to it, and normally people would be offered the opportunity to disembark there and go snorkelling on the reef, but the wind was generating surf which made that impossible, so instead we explored the area by speedboat until it was time to return to dry land. Finally, after yet more rum punch, we boarded our tuk-tuk and headed back to the ship for a fabulously relaxing meal in their speciality Italian Restaurant.

Leaving Antigua at Sunset - passing a small island with the storm-clouds in the background.

What an exhausting few days that had been! We were very glad to be able to relax in our beautiful cabin, getting a good night's sleep while the ship sailed smoothly onwards towards the rest of the Caribbean Islands ...

All pictures on this site are © Allan Jones unless otherwise stated.