Live(ish) from Britannia B404A

[July morning]

I really enjoyed reading your posts, it's always interesting reading about what people do and it always brings back many happy memories.

Well done and if you go on another cruise I'll look forward to your posts 😁

 

[Eddie99]

That was smashing!

Thanks very much

I’ll look out for your reports from your future cruises

[Megabear2]

I loved following along with you, particularly as my own Britannia trip was somewhat curtailed this year by the dreaded lurgy.  It's been great visiting everywhere with you and extremely interesting to get another view on something that is a great love of mine.

 

Regarding overnights, next Caribbean season P&O are cutting a port of call for Britannia - St Kitts - and including an overnight in St Lucia.  Personally I'm a bit disappointed with the choice of overnight stop as St Lucia and would have preferred somewhere like Curacao, Aruba or Antigua, but at least it seems they're getting the message.

 

Again, thank you very much for taking the time and trouble to take us all along, I know it's a huge commitment to do so and am very grateful.

[Eglesbrech]

Really interesting to read about your cruise. Thanks for doing the “live”, much appreciated.

 

We are really lucky on this part of CC to have so many interesting travel blogs. On some of the forums there are next to none.

[Presto2]

Just reread chunks of this as it reminded us so much our cruise. We sailed on the 13th so just missed you. 

We too had a great time and it was wonderful to relive it through your memories. Its taken a lot of hard work to write all of this .. thanks :-)

 

ps we have booked for next year and aren't too keen on the St Lucia over night. One of our favourtie days was St Kitts and we are sad not to be returning. :-(

[Megabear2]

8 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Just reread chunks of this as it reminded us so much our cruise. We sailed on the 13th so just missed you. 

We too had a great time and it was wonderful to relive it through your memories. Its taken a lot of hard work to write all of this .. thanks :-)

 

ps we have booked for next year and aren't too keen on the St Lucia over night. One of our favourtie days was St Kitts and we are sad not to be returning. :-(

I agree St Lucia is a bad choice. It's not a particularly nice area around the port on the town side and unfortunately it has considerably more crime than other islands.  Personally I wouldn't consider going out in the night time unless on some sort of excursion which there doesn't seem to be at present.  

 

A rather idiotic friend of mine forgot he had on a rather lovely gold necklace he'd had for years and had the misfortune to be robbed in broad daylight while walking from one side of the port area to the other - it's him who gets the safety mention in Horizon!

Edited March 12 by Megabear2

[Presto2]

1 minute ago, Megabear2 said:

I agree St Lucia is a bad choice. It's not a particularly nice area around the port on the town side and unfortunately it has considerably more crime than other islands.  Personally I wouldn't consider going out in the night time unless on some sort of excursion which there doesn't seem to be at present.  

 

A rather idiotic friend of mine forgot he had on a rather lovely gold necklace he'd had for years and had the misfortune to be robbed in broad daylight while walking from one side of the port area to the other - it's him who gets the safety mention in Horizon!

Think we will be going for the sunset cruise or something. 

Made us laugh in the Horizon news when they kept asking us to avoid looking like tourists. Seriously???!!!

[Megabear2]

2 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Think we will be going for the sunset cruise or something. 

Made us laugh in the Horizon news when they kept asking us to avoid looking like tourists. Seriously???!!!

The Government safety and security site makes interesting reading on that front too!  

 

"Crime 

There have been incidents of crime in St Lucia including murder, armed robbery and sexual assault. 

There is a continuing serious risk of homicides, primarily gang related and involving guns. Some incidents have taken place in public areas. 

Take precautions to protect your personal safety: 

• make sure your accommodation is secure – this also applies if you’re staying on a yacht 
• take care when walking alone off main roads and during late night street parties 
• avoid isolated areas, including beaches, after dark 
• only use licensed taxis 
• do not carry large amounts of cash or jewellery 
• leave valuables and travel documents in your hotel safe or a safety deposit box "

[Presto2]

2 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

The Government safety and security site makes interesting reading on that front too!  

 

"Crime 

There have been incidents of crime in St Lucia including murder, armed robbery and sexual assault. 

There is a continuing serious risk of homicides, primarily gang related and involving guns. Some incidents have taken place in public areas. 

Take precautions to protect your personal safety: 

• make sure your accommodation is secure – this also applies if you’re staying on a yacht 
• take care when walking alone off main roads and during late night street parties 
• avoid isolated areas, including beaches, after dark 
• only use licensed taxis 
• do not carry large amounts of cash or jewellery 
• leave valuables and travel documents in your hotel safe or a safety deposit box "

Not paradise then ...sounds like parts of Stoke on Trent ....

[Megabear2]

1 minute ago, Presto2 said:

Not paradise then ...sounds like parts of Stoke on Trent ....

At least it's better than Jamaica.  Unfortunately most of the Caribbean is extraordinarily poor, third world countries mostly.  They are between the devil and the sea needing tourists but being ill equipped with roads, infrastructure etc and having a lot of very under privileged people not happy with the tourists ignoring their plight and visiting only for sea, sand and rum. Hence I find the whole region fascinating and do a lot of reading and research on individual islands and their history and it seems the British, Dutch and French in particular left a lot to be desired. Interestingly out of the blue the Dutch government apologised to the islands they were involved with in 2023 but it remains to be seen what they will do.

 

 

[doog442]

6 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

The Government safety and security site makes interesting reading on that front too!  

 

"Crime 

There have been incidents of crime in St Lucia including murder, armed robbery and sexual assault. 

There is a continuing serious risk of homicides, primarily gang related and involving guns. Some incidents have taken place in public areas. 

Take precautions to protect your personal safety: 

• make sure your accommodation is secure – this also applies if you’re staying on a yacht 
• take care when walking alone off main roads and during late night street parties 
• avoid isolated areas, including beaches, after dark 
• only use licensed taxis 
• do not carry large amounts of cash or jewellery 
• leave valuables and travel documents in your hotel safe or a safety deposit box "

 

It says the same almost word for word for Antigua, St Kitts, Barbados and others.

As regular visitors to Antigua and St Lucia it really is a case of just using common sense.  The majority of serious crime in St Lucia for example is locals on locals and gang related.

 

The only area to really avoid at night in St Lucia is one small area of Castries which was pointed out to us by our driver. One of the Islands most regarded hotels (Rendezvous) is literally the other side of the small runway adjacent to the port on Vigie Beach in Castries. We've stayed there without issue, walked into Castries with no problems. 

 

Incidentally Martinique (French) Aruba and the Dutch Islands are deemed much safer by the foreign office of course still funded by France and the Netherlands respectively and you can tell infrastructure wise. 

 

You have more chance of being a victim of crime in any UK seaside resort. 

 

[Presto2]

To be honest wherever we go we are careful and treat all the same. Best to take care wherever.  Have yet to find Utopia in today's world .. 

 

Have to ask PO how we can avoid looking like tourists.. did make us chuckle....

[doog442]

 

10 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

To be honest wherever we go we are careful and treat all the same. Best to take care wherever.  Have yet to find Utopia in today's world .. 

 

Have to ask PO how we can avoid looking like tourists.. did make us chuckle....

 

We also had a decent chuckle at that. As for Utopia, we found that in the Maldives but not if you read the Foreign office advice 🤣

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, doog442 said:

The only area to really avoid at night in St Lucia is one small area of Castries which was pointed out to us by our driver.

Great.  I'll look out for him then!  

 

On a serious note I wasn't singling anywhere out as unsafe but just replying as to why P&O say try not to look like a tourist.

 

As I said my friend was very stupid and didn't think. The chain wasn't something he ever thought about as it was worn every day and not removed for 30 odd years, he said almost a part of him.  He had a large knife waved at him, probably for show the police thought.  His insurance paid out nearly £8,000 but as it was Turkish gold and old the thieves got something worth far more. Lesson learned

 

[TigerB]

I've finally managed to binge read your reports; a great read despite the absence of food porn.😉

You had some cracking trips, and it looked like you packed a lot in.

 

Yes, folk who walk across the front of the middle bulkhead seats on aeroplanes; that really winds me up.  We tend to have the side bulkhead seats these days, as it's better for our lass, but when we have been in the middle ones before, I have, more than a few times, had to stretch my legs out and tell the interlopers to find another route.

 

The price of those photos!😯  I even thought £25 for a regular one, as they were on Iona, was steep.  The company that does them is Tempest, the ones that go into the schools.

 

By the way, well done for marrying someone who isn't a magpie; I bet that's saved you loads over the years! 😀