AllWays Travel LLC

07/04/2025

Bridgetown Barbados led us on a self-guided walking tour of the city today. We started at National Heroes Square, where eleven people are honored, with the title “The Right Excellent”; only four of those honored, including Rhianna, are alive today. Next stop was the Parliament Building, where the Chambers of the Senate and the House of Assembly are located; we were given a very nice tour. St. Michael’s Cathedral is made of limestone, and features one of the largest pipe organs in the Caribbean. We passed through Swan Street, which is lined with shops and restaurants. It was a tiring and lovely first day here!

06/04/2025

Fort-de-France is the capital of the Caribbean island of Martinique, known for colonial architecture, ornate iron balconies, tropical flowers, and beaches. La Favorite Distillery is renowned for its rums and authenticity. One of the last two family distilleries on the island, La Favorite is deeply attached to its roots, preserving tradition from generation to generation as the only distillery that still runs on steam, just as it did in the early days; their 1906 steam engine still hums with each harvest. Fort Saint Louis is a seaside fortress, that has evolved from earlier strongholds that were erected on the site as early as 1638. The modern-day Fort Saint Louis is both an active naval base and a listed historic site of France.

04/04/2025

Kingstown is the capital and largest city of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. (sometimes known simply as Saint Vincent or SVG, an island country in the eastern Caribbean. Dark View Falls are two spectacular waterfalls, one above the other, cascading down high cliff faces and plunging into natural pools. A natural Bamboo bridge spans the tumbling river. Wallilabou Anchorage was the primary Caribbean location for Disney’s movie ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’. The entire bay was bustling with cast and crew for the duration of the filming, and they decided to keep the set, preserve it, and are constantly in the process of restoration. The Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Botanic Gardens in Kingstown is the oldest botanic garden in the Western Hemisphere; it is one of the most visited sites in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

02/04/2025

Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. St. George’s, the capital and largest city of Grenada, is surrounded by a hillside of an old volcano crater and is located on a horseshoe-shaped harbour. We visited the Grenada National Museum, and learned about their history with African slavery. We then enjoyed the House of Chocolate, Grenada Mini Museum, where we learned about and tasted their local dark chocolate varieties, hot chocolate tea, and nutmeg ice cream. A lovely waterside lunch at Sail’s included a conch salad, bruschetta, and coconut shrimp, plus bonus entertainment provided by a local flying fish. The local mall offered local honey products, teas, more chocolate, T-shirt, and some salty snacks to take back to the ship. What a lovely and relaxing day to welcome us to the Caribbean!

31/03/2025

Sea days offer lots of opportunities. I usually start my day with stretch class ( I try for 8:00, but there’s also a 9:00 class when I need more time, followed by buffet breakfast, then laps on the Promenade deck 5 (four laps = one mile). After that, the choices include other fitness classes or independent use of the fitness center, trivia, meditation, arts & crafts, dance classes, port talks to learn about upcoming ports, and guest speakers for a wide variety of topics. Many residents enjoy playing pickle ball, using the pool, and/or sunbathing. Indoors, the library offers puzzles, board games, poker, mahjong, and books, or just relaxing in the Observatory or other quiet places for another place to enjoy the ocean view or read. Several residents are digital nomads who work full or part time on the ship; many use our business center, and some choose to work in their own rooms. Lunch and dinner are available at the buffet or sit down dining room. Evenings can involve guest speakers, karaoke, plays or skits put on by residents, concerts by our ship choir, or occasional fun theme parties; recently we had a silent disco night.

27/03/2025

It’s going to be a quiet few days. On March 25 we crossed the equator. Can you see it in the photo? Just kidding, but the map shows where we were. I had previously crossed the equator on land but not sea, so I have now graduated from pollywog to shellback. Today we were supposed to visit Ile Royale near Devil’s Island, which was a notorious penal colony with harsh and brutal conditions; public outrage eventually led to its closure in 1953. The movie Papillon was based on the true story of a convict of that penal colony. Unfortunately, two tenders were unable to position to board passengers to visit.

25/03/2025

Yesterday was magical. A boat tour from the waterfront of Belem took us along the Guama River, around Combu Island through two channels (Furo de Benedito and Furo do Paciiencia). We saw up close the Amazon environment and visited a local riverside community. We watched an 83 year old local machete open a Brazil nut shell (similar to coconut shell) so we could try a raw Brazil nut, and tried some mango fresh from the tree. So very happy to have experienced this for our final day in Brazil this trip!

25/03/2025

Belem Brazil, a fun day included experiencing a small Amazon rainforest in the amazing Bosque Rodrigues Alves Botanical Garden, followed by Emilo Goeldi Museum, Mangal das Garças, and lovely lunch at Ver O Açaí restaurant.

22/03/2025

16/03/2025

Visited Olinda (who couldn’t love that name!) and Recife, including Sao Francisco Monastery, Casa da Cultura (Cultural Center) in a former Penitentiary Building, Praça do Marco (Mark Zero Square), the House of Giant Dolls, and the beach… what a lovely day!

13/03/2025

Salvador Bahía shopping day, with a group of us checking out a large local market, then a few of us balancing it out with a visit to a shopping mall, before this evening’s sail away.

12/03/2025

The historic center of Salvador Bahía Brazil was charming and interesting, and accessed via the Elevator Lacerda. Salvador is recognized internationally for its cuisine, music, and architecture. The African influence in many cultural aspects of the city makes it a center of Afro-Brazilian culture. As the first capital of Colonial Brazil, the city is one of the oldest in the Americas.

11/03/2025

Our last day in Rio de Janeiro, spent at Copacabana Beach and seeing Ipanema Beach. Many of our residents spent the night at the Rio Carnival Champion’s Parade at the Sambadome.

10/03/2025

Christ the Redeemer is the most internationally recognized Brazilian icon, with about 2 million people visiting each year. It is located on Corcovado Mountain, was dedicated in 1931, and was declared one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007. It is 98 ft tall, and is struck by lightning an average of three to six times per year.

09/03/2025

More amazing sights in Rio de Janeiro included an excellent visit at the Museum of Tomorrow, the Maracanã soccer stadium, the Harry Potter-like Royal Portuguese Reading Room, and the biggies, Christ the Redeemer statue and Sugarloaf Mountain!

08/03/2025

We did some really fun exploration on Wednesday, since many places were closed for Ash Wednesday. There’s lots of art throughout the neighborhoods of Rio, and some great views from some of them as well!

04/03/2025

Arrived in Rio de Janeiro a bit early (due to crew member medical emergency), in time for Fat Tuesday. Our first evening we got to experience a block party for Carnaval, quite interesting!

01/03/2025

Visited Paraty Brazil via tender, they were preparing to celebrate their 357th anniversary as well as Carnival. It was a charming albeit hot visit for a day, starting with a delayed departure and difficulty docking, and ending in paying $2 to sit in some shade on a boat while waiting for the return tender. Some of our ship residents chose to spend the night ashore to enjoy the celebrations.