Today was our first trip to the island of Antigua! We were pretty excited because we love stopping at new places. Nancy and I got up early and went to Cabanas for a quick bite and some coffee, then headed back to the room and woke the girls up. After they got ready, we all went back to Cabanas so the girls could eat.
Once everyone was fed, we left the ship for a bit of shopping in the port area.
The shopping area of the port is really nice. There are a lot of shops crowded relatively close together right at the end of the pier. Most of your common port stores are located here, including the notorious Diamonds International. This port area was an enclosed security area with guards near the entrances. We wondered outside the area and still felt very safe.
While looking around for souvenirs, we stumbled on a small shopping village off to the side. It was really nice with a number of smaller cafes and artist shops. We really enjoyed looking around this area. After getting some iced coffee, we headed back to the ship to get ready for our tour.
The quickest path back to the ship took us along a wood pier. This was a nice opportunity to get a different view of the ships.
We got back on board and went to grab another quick bite from the quick service restaurants before we left. We didn’t want to get too hungry on the tour. Our scheduled excursion meeting place was in Azure on Deck 3, so we arrived 10 minutes before our scheduled time. We were going to participate in the “Amazing Antigua” Tour.
According to Disney Cruise Line’s website, this is advertised as:
Visit English Harbour, home to the famed Nelson’s Dockyard, Blockhouse Ruins and Shirley Heights Lookout.
On this adventure you will…
- Board an air-conditioned minibus with an experienced, knowledgeable tour guide and ride approximately 30 minutes through Antigua’s countryside, rich in daily West Indian life. Explore local villages and see old churches that exemplify West Indian culture. Travel past the magnificent view of Falmouth Harbour to English Harbour and Nelson’s Dockyard. Built in 1725, the Dockyard served as the base for the English naval squadron patrolling the West Indies.
- Enter the historic park, the only working Georgian dockyard in the world, and meet a National Parks Guide, who will lead you on a short, informative walking tour through the Dockyard with its beautifully restored buildings, detailed plaques and many points of interest.
- Enjoy a complimentary and refreshing rum or fruit punch followed by free time to explore the Dockyard, museum, art gallery, gift shop and boutiques.
- Conclude your roughly one-hour visit and continue by minibus to Dow’s Hill Interpretation Centre at Shirley Heights, where you will view a fascinating 15-minute multimedia presentation tracing the island’s history.
- Continue on up to the former signal station, Shirley Heights Lookout, for a picture-perfect view of Nelson’s Dockyard and English Harbour.
- Travel back through Antigua’s picturesque villages en route back north to St John’s.
Once we got organized, we were assigned a Donald Duck sticker and then led off the ship to an awaiting Mini-Bus.
The mini bus was air conditioned, but some of the seats were more comfortable than others. Our party got split up and I ended up sitting in the back in a seat that had a hump for the wheel. My knees ended up uncomfortably high. I also ended up next to some excited individuals that talked for a good portion of the trip, making it hard to hear the guide as she gave a narrated tour.
The bus left quickly and we were off. We got a good description of the general day to day activities in the main town and of the various locations that we passed, including schools, churches, and stadiums.
We passed an old sugar mill and got an explanation of its history.
This is the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, which was used in the 2007 Cricket World Cup.
We also passed a number of historical churches on the tour.
After about 30 minutes, we arrived at Nelson’s Dockyard, which was an English Naval Base and shipyard. Nancy was really excited about visiting because she liked Duran Duran and they filmed a couple of videos at this location (including their video for “Rio”).
After we left the bus, we were assigned to a guide specifically employed by the Dockyard. She explained the history of the dockyard and its unique capabilities in the colonial period. She explained that we would get a quick tour of the dockyard, followed by a drink that was included with our tour.
After a short walk down the hill, we got to see the various buildings that comprised the dockyards. Some were barracks, officers’ quarters, and shops that made sails.
We also got to see the captans, which are large wheels that were used to help clean the bottom of the ships. Lines would be attached to the masts of the ships and they would be pulled in to tip the ship on its side. The bottom could be cleaned and repaired.
After we saw the captans, we were directed to a bar to collect some rum punch. We relaxed for a little bit and looked at the ships.
After we finished looking at the ships, we headed back towards the bus, making sure to look into the shops as we walked. The meeting location was back at the entrance where we were dropped off. I definitely didn’t want the same seats we had on the trip here. Once the bus came, we loaded up right away and sat together near the front. The entire group eventually arrived and got on board as well. We then headed to the Dow’s Hill Interpretation Center. This consisted of an elevated platform you can go up on to look around as well as a visit to an interpretative history of the island.
The views from the elevated platform was amazing, including a great view of English Harbor.
The interpretation center visit was really nice, but we weren’t allowed to take photographs inside. There was a restroom and a small shop there as well. Once we finished at this place, we were hurried off to Shirley Heights Lookout for another quick photo stop.
When I say quick, I meant like we had 5 minutes to get off the bus, get a quick photo, and then jump back on the bus. There were a few vendors selling items here, but we didn’t feel like we could spend any time looking.
We got back on the bus and began the long drive back to the ship. The guide kept us fairly well entertained trying to teach us some aspects of the local dialect. She then answered any questions that were posed from members of the tour. Overall, it was a good tour. I don’t know that we would sign up to do it since we already did it once, but we all enjoyed it.
We got back to the ship right before sail away. Once on board, we dropped off our bags in the room and headed up to the pool deck to get a snack. I ended up back at the shawarma station (again), along with a plate of fries. We took our food to the top deck and enjoyed it while watching the sunset.
Around 7:00, we headed back to the room to shower and get ready for dinner. We decided to go watch “So you think you know your family” in Azure. Its a great family game show and had us howling with laughter.
Once the show ended, we headed for Tiana’s for dinner. The menu was the Princess night menu (not the traditional New Orleans menu).
After dinner, Nancy and I went to Cove Cafe for Cognac tasting. Once that was over, it was time for bed. It had been a long night and the cognac was making us really tired. We headed to back to our room to discover another great towel animal creation!
Tomorrow, our destination will be the French Island of Martinique!
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