Anthem of the Seas FlyCruise - Day 9: Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis | Journeys
A relaxing day at the beach for our last port call of 2021
Anthem of the Seas docked alongside Basseterre, St Kitts & Nevis. PHOTO: SINGAPORE CRUISE SOCIETY
We are in Basseterre, St Kitts & Nevis today, and this will be our last port of call for this cruise! We pulled into port very early at 6.15am today, with our tour meeting an hour later. It was a very early morning for us, hence we decided to skip breakfast, opting for a quick sandwich from the Café Promenade.
Going Ashore
Many that were on my tour shared that we all did not hear a clearance message from the Captain, hence was unsure if we were actually cleared to go ashore. However, this may have been the reason why the process of going ashore was clear this morning.
We opted for the “Day Trip to Nevis with Lunch” tour, with our group taking a ferry ride over to Nevis, the sister island of St. Kitts. Upon arrival onto Nevis, we had a choice of the open-air or air-conditioned ride. With the weather, we thought the open-air ride was great.
The tour brought us along to discover the history of this island. We toured Charlestown, the Capital where many buildings remained their Georgian architectural designs. Other points of interest we visited were the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton, and the Artisan Village, where members of the tour group had a chance to purchase arts and crafts produced by the locals.
The highlight of the tour would be visiting Pinneys Beach. We had two hours to relax at the beach and cabanas, while enjoying a ‘Caribbean Lunch’. We were given a meal ticket and two drinks vouchers to exchange for alcoholic beverages like Rum Punch, or other soft drinks. Food wise, we had the option of grilled fish, barbecue chicken or vegetable wraps served with fries.
The beach cleared out after an hour, as many other tours that visited the Pinneys Beach had a shorter time than we did, allowing for a private and quiet time at this location.
This tour was one of the longer, but more relaxing ones available. St Kitts & Nevis was originally one of the ports of call that required a ship/government-approved tour, but that has since changed during our time onboard.
Don’t get stuck!
While accessing the pier on our return journey to the ship, the local security wanted to check our SeaPass/cabin card (as usual), but required a Photo ID to match our names. This was the only out of the six ports we visited that required an ID to re-board the ship. This left many scrambling to see if they have their driving license or passport along with them.
We - being Singaporeans, never allowed our ICs (Identity Cards) to leave our wallets, hence we were able to smoothly pass through. However, remember always to bring some sort of a government-issued IDs whenever you go ashore.
Protocols Changes Onboard
Royal Caribbean made changes to their masks policy yesterday, requiring all guests to wear a mask while indoors at all times, except when actively eating/drinking. This will take effect onboard Anthem of the Seas from December 21, 2021.
This will take precedence over the no-masks policy in vaccinated-only areas as well. The Casino will also become a non-smoking area, with the ship redirecting smoking to outdoor areas on Deck 5 and 14.
This is the letter received from the ship earlier tonight.
Tomorrow is Day 10 and the Anthem of the Seas will start its 3-day return trip back to Cape Liberty, New York, arriving on Day 13.
Preamble: Anthem of the Seas 12 Night Southern Caribbean FlyCruise
Day 1: Embarkation at Cape Liberty
Day 5: Philipsburg, St Maarten
Day 9: Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis
A Note on Pandemic Travel
All international travels conducted by the Singapore Cruise Society will be done in accordance with prevailing health and border control measures of our home & the destination country. Our admins and staff have been advised and will follow a strict set of health guidelines set out based on current measures published by the cruise lines and local authorities.
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