Christmas markets in Europe and Caribbean cruise (RTW)

I'm hearing a lot of people on cruises currently are having trouble loading on the internet and yet some of the premium packages are on Starlink. Which is normally brilliant. And many posting randomly upside yet all photos taken with the same camera.

We can see the pictures.
Starlink works well when the traffic can be offloaded to the terrestrial fibre based internet via a groundstation nearby (known as backhaul), otherwise it will bounce to other birds until it gets a groundstation, clogging the network. All mesh networks have similar problems, it’s a bit like Aussie Post when they send a parcel to the wrong location, taking up space needlessly in sorting centres and transport.

We have quite a few earth stations here, in the middle of the ocean, not so much Starlink Ground Station Locations (2024)
 
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That evening sailed for Castries, the capital of St Lucia. Sorry, no restaurant/food pics! The tucker has been pretty good, but I've been fighting some off my dinner seating assignments and the ship's Formal dress policy - see other threads.

A lovely morning we docked at Castries - the 4th of 4 cruise ships. Castries has a population of about 30,000 and the district about 80,000 and you have to wonder at the ability of resources to swallow what was probably 10,000 passengers on excursions.

P&O Arriva, 5-6,000 pax

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Vista. 4,000 pax plus Wind something

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B \ow thrusters getting us in snugly

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Castries - very pretty

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I'm hearing a lot of people on cruises currently are having trouble loading on the internet and yet some of the premium packages are on Starlink. Which is normally brilliant. And many posting randomly upside yet all photos taken with the same camera.

We can see the pictures.

I've just has a 'little word' with the communications Director, or whatever he's called. Clearly very embarrassed about the performance of the 'standard' wi-fi on board. "management ... variable conditions ... not guaranteed .."

I said I was looking to upgrade to Premium package but there is no indication whatsoever of what I can expect (not guaranteed) if I shelled out.

Apparently just gone onto Starlink (I doubt that - in Antarctica last year on SilverSea we had Starlink and it was great standard package). A few other caveats ... I'm afraid I cut him short and said to the effect "if I'm going to by something I should know approximately at least what I'm buying. Will it be c1 MBps, 5 Mbps, 50Mbps, more?". Answer "Unofficially 5-15 MBps ... depending on demand ..." OK that ets the parameters.

He also aid it it doesn't work out in an hour or so, can have a refund. Was left with no doubt I was unimpressed with the info available.

Speed test: 10Mbps. I can live with that for a day, A$50 to back up stuff.
 
I've just has a 'little word' with the communications Director, or whatever he's called. Clearly very embarrassed about the performance of the 'standard' wi-fi on board. "management ... variable conditions ... not guaranteed .."

I said I was looking to upgrade to Premium package but there is no indication whatsoever of what I can expect (not guaranteed) if I shelled out.

Apparently just gone onto Starlink (I doubt that - in Antarctica last year on SilverSea we had Starlink and it was great standard package). A few other caveats ... I'm afraid I cut him short and said to the effect "if I'm going to by something I should know approximately at least what I'm buying. Will it be c1 MBps, 5 Mbps, 50Mbps, more?". Answer "Unofficially 5-15 MBps ... depending on demand ..." OK that ets the parameters.

He also aid it it doesn't work out in an hour or so, can have a refund. Was left with no doubt I was unimpressed with the info available.

Speed test: 10Mbps. I can live with that for a day, A$50 to back up stuff.
We used starlink on the Viking cruise throughout Middle East and Suez Canal and the speed was amazing. And they only have a basic free package. 10mbs is acceptable.
 
Excursion: Highlights of St Lucia. And a confession I should have made before. I no longer occupy any high moral ground when it comes to excursions off cruise boats. When pax get decanted off a boat, into a bus, hermetically sealed, little interaction with locals, few $$ into community. Now done it, and will continue to do it throughout the trip. I have to say, not a great feeling. At least there are dozens and dozens and dozens of bus drivers, guides and other organisers getting paid. ANd many pax don't do a tour but spend time in town.

And those on tours - some simply cannot go past a trinket or a fridge magnet stall, however tacky.

Off the boat

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Organised a bit sharply into lines ... keep them strait, close them up ... sign this waiver... Welcome to St Lucia.

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A voluble guide on our cramped minibus. Said the tour would be about 5.5 hours (advertised as 4) and the first leg of the drive would be 90 mins driving, including 1hr stuck in traffic in Castries. She wasn't wrong!! An hour crawling through the docks and downtown area of Castries, frequently at a standstill.

Independence monument, showing the various strains of the population pulling together

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Then ... a left turn and free of traffic, as we wound our way up the first of many hills & mountains, feeling sorry for the sods queued for a km or so wanting to enter the town.
 
St Lucia is volcanic, and it shows in the topography. Amazingly narrow roads winding up and around really steep hillsides, hairpin on hairpin. Never felt dangerous, as they have planted bamboo all along the roads to stabilise the soil and you rarely got a decent look-out.

So, an hour to get from the port as marked to the location indicator.

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A few snatched views

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After 90 mins we stopped at the 'Fortune lookout'. It was a commercial place; admission paid but still US$1 for toilet, if you needed. Souveniers etc and a lesser view than many spots along the way. However impossible to stop as narrow, bendy road the whole way.

The road surface was much better than this bit - mainly decent bitumen but incredibly winding!!

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The view. Doesn't give any idea of the terrain in general, but you do go right through the dense rainforest.

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10mbs is acceptable.

Yes, Starlink on Silver Wind to Antarctica last year wifi was great (IIRC). 10MBps for A$50 per day not really acceptable but I'll swallow it for a day.

I have relied on eSIM coverage for mobile data in 2/3 days prior to this but no more mobile coverage.
 
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The actual highlight of this trip was to view the Pitons, two eroded volcanic cones, or rather a view of them and the town at their base, Soufriere. Didn't know it then, but its a corruption of 'Sulphurous air'.


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About 10 mins out of Soufriere was another commercial viewing platform, (toilets not paid for)

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But this time, the views were terrific.

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if you look carefully, to the upper left of the terrain in the upper pic, you can see a white smudge.

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Steam from fumaroles! Hence the name 'Sulphurous air'

The whole field of view here is 'Qualibou' an old caldera (collapsed volcanic cone), 3.5 x 5km, aged 32-39,000 years old. The large dome to the left is the most recent volcanic formation, where there was a mainly gas eruption ('phreatic') in 1766 but there was some ash & tuff. Again, the fumarolic area is down to the right of the lighter green area of the dome and the light green area itself is due to retardation of plants by sulphur and CO2

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The twin Piton peaks (the one in the foreground is the smaller) are two large lava domes that formed 200 to 300,000 years ago before the formation of the caldera. You can think of them as the central throats of volcanos choked with hard, solidified lava, where the softer outside of the cones, consisting of ash, have eroded away,
 
We then drove down to the town; only pics out of the bus, but the place has a bit of history. Wikipedia

French colonizers built large estates in Soufrière, and their descendants still live in the area. The French Revolution of 1789 resulted in many Royalists being executed and the enslaved Africans were released from enslavement. However, Napoleon reintroduced slavery when he came to power.

The British invaded St Lucia shortly afterwards, but the enslaved Africans and French deserters fought them in a guerrilla campaign until 1803 when they were defeated and St Lucia became a British colony. Also, during that time, Castries became the capital of St Lucia.

Over the years, Soufrière has had to deal with hurricanes in 1780, 1817, 1831, 1898 and 1980, a major fire in 1955 and an earthquake in 1991. Many of these events have resulted in the town being rebuilt.

Soufrière inhabitants have included the future Empress of France Joséphine de Beauharnais (who spent much of her childhood in the area), and George Charles (the first Premier of St Lucia). When Queen Elizabeth II visited St Lucia in 1966, she landed at Soufrière rather than Castries.


She probably didn't want to be stuck in traffic. :)

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We visited the Diamond park and waterfalls just out of town before a (late) lunch.


Bit of history from that website:

In 1740 the three Devaux brothers came to St. Lucia to claim the land which at that time included the present site of Soufrière Town, as well as the Sulphur Springs.

This historical estate has been transformed from a working plantation that once produced limes, copra, and cocoa, into one of the major heritage sites in the region, as well as a viable and spectacular tourist attraction that includes the Botanical Gardens, Waterfall, Mineral Baths, Nature Trail, Old Mill Restaurant, and the historic Soufrière Estate House.

In 1784, the Baron de Laborie, who was at the time Governor of St. Lucia, sent samples of the mineral water to Paris to be analyzed by the “Medicine du Roi”. The waters from the Diamond Springs were found to have the same properties as the famous Aix-les-Bains in France and Aix-la-Chapelle or Aachen in Germany.

Bathing in these therapeutic waters have always been recommended for persons who suffer from chronic rheumatism, respiratory complaints or ulcers, an opinion supported by John Davy in circa 1850, M.D., the Inspector General of military hospitals in the West Indies.

The King Restores the Baths
King Louis XVI was impressed by Medecin de Rois analysis of the waters. He allocated the necessary funds to have a stone building containing 12 stone baths erected. The baths were put to good use for several years, but during the Brigands War circa 1794- 1798 that followed on the heels of the French Revolution, the bath house, like so many other buildings, was destroyed. The baths stayed in a state of ruin until André du Boulay, the previous owner of Diamond Estate, restored them for his private use. Later with further restoration and the addition of changing facilities, these baths were then made available to the public.


Unfortunately we were only shown the walk to the 'Diamond water falls, and the plants therein, and later lunch at the old sugar mill.

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The problem with the internet on cruise ships using Starlink is that in May this year they increased their prices significantly. This means on Silversea and some other ships they decreased their basic service considerably. So comparison to cruises prior to May this year are meaningless.
 
Also sorry to hear, but take the time you need. Those flower photos are gorgeous! I do tend to book garden and nature excursions where I can. Unfortunately that is not one of the places my ship will dock when it is returning to port through the Caribbean. Look after yourself. :)
 
Sorry, this TR will be put in abeyance for a while. A bit upset this Christmas night.

Might give AFF a rest, too; will see how I feel in the morning

EDIT - nothing to do with TR posts.
Very sorry to hear, hope you can get some rest. Been enjoying the TR particularly photos of the fauna.
 
Under the policy of illegitimi non carborundum , and a gorgeous day in Willemstad, Curacao where it was

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lets continue. Many thanks for the kind words - it was a tough night. Flying roos have long memories.

The 'Diamond waterfall; abt 9m high. very popular - a queue to see it!

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Interesting calcic and iron rich travertine deposited there. The river drains straight off the fumarole area and we were told that it was very iron rich.

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It was - but actually containing grey colloidal iron sulphide - pyrite, not iron oxide, red colour.

Then we had lunch at an old sugar mill, built in the mid 1700s to process plantation sugar cane. Just a hospitality venue now.

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Aqueduct to bring water to the waterwheel.

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Buffet lunch. We were told all about local cuisine which tends to be spicy but "as the ship asked us not to make it spicy, its not". :rolleyes: Wings and noodles & stuff. Like you'd get almost anywhere :p

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Unfortunately, we were running late so lunch was a bit rushed before we had the long haul back to the ship. Several of us had an evening cruise to meet. Oddly, there was little way for the tour not to be as long as it was to this point - we didn't dawdle anywhere up to and including lunch. Heading out of Soufries

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And back to the ship, in good time. The driver 'floored it' all the way back, much to my delight and the horror of some others in the group (we could never go that fast nor actually go off the road due to the bamboo edges).

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A few hours later there was a sunset harbour cruise, a paid-for excursion, US$70

As we made our way out, the Vista was underway


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We headed south past the oil storage tanks - a very large facility, US owned.

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Beers were handed out - Piton, the local brew was OK and it was announced over the PA that these are complementary as well as 'Champagne'. I was enjoying my beer when an announcement came over to the effect "Ooops, sorry, beers not free, they are US$6 ea." Fortunately, no-one tried to collect the $$

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As the sun set, we reached Margiot Bay, apparently a hangout for the rich and famous. Dr Doolittle was filmed here and James Michener, in his 1978 novel Chesapeake, described the bay as "The most beautiful bay in the Caribbean" (Wikipedia).

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Michener would know, I guess, but it wasn't that special when we poked our catamaran's nose in.

We then headed north again, back past the oil refinery tanks.

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