The Spanish American Club, Inc.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise: Spectacular scenes, fun, food, music and friends

By Herman Santa

What a cruise.  Where to start? I guess St. Maarten (Dutch) or St. Martin (French) would do, since that was the real start to our wonderful cruise journey through the Caribbean.  On Sunday morning, 19 members and their guests of the Spanish American Club, Inc. (SACI) went on 7 day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean.  We met our cruise guides Nora Candelario and her sister Delia Diaz from Vacation Superstore, Inc. at the parking lot of Public’s Supermarket in Jensen Beach and boarded our motor coach for the 2 hour ride to the Port of Miami, where our ship Liberty of the Seas was ducked.

We cruised for 4 days until we reached the Island of St. Martin.  Some of us decided on a city tour with a trip to Philipsburg, the capital of St. Martin.  As our tour guide explained the history of the island, the natives named it “Saualiga” or Land of Salt”, one can immediately notice the Dutch influence by the pastel-colored houses with their 2^nd story verandas and courtyards filled with flowers.  When we arrived at the French side, we stopped at the Flea market.  We shopped for jewelry, clothing and tasted the exotic cocktail made with the native rum-base guava berry liquor.

The next stop was San Juan, Puerto Rico; some took the Old San Juan (Fort El Morro) tour but Lucy and I decided to see my brother Tomas and his wife Nilda who were waiting for us near the ship.  They gave us a tour of the Capitol Building or “El Capitolio” which is located next to the fort.  After the tour we shopped in downtown old San Juan, then stopped for some “picadas” such as “alcapurrias” and “bolas de yuca” at “The Latin Store Restaurant” before boarding the ship.

The following day, our ship was ducked at the island of Labadee in Haiti.  The Island is leased by Royal Caribbean.  After the bar-b-cue, we took a tour of the island and visited the old Bell Tower, the Columbus Trading Post or Nellie’s Place, the main historical monuments on Labadee.  According to our tour guide, Christopher Columbus landed there on his 2^nd trip on November, 1492.  We were fortunate to have beautiful weather during the entire trip.

We enjoyed the food (Beautiful dining rooms), the ice-skating ring, the theatre (Good comedians), the water parks, the decks with big swimming pools and spas, the gym, the bands (Latin, Caribbean, rock and roll and the orchestra), the disco and of course the shops on Royal Promenade and the Casino Royale.  On the last day, we cruised at night between Haiti and Miami.  A beautiful night with a full moon and a nice sea breeze, a calm night to seat back and watch Mother Nature go by.  It was beautiful end to an incredible journey that we never forget.

L to R (Back Row) Ron Bryson and Joe Abatte. (Front Row) Herman Santa, Lucy Santa, Isa Bryson and Alicia Abatte

L to R: ucy Santa, Ron Bryson and Isa Bryson

L to R: Angel Quiñones, Lucy Santa, Nora Candelario, Robert Candelario, Diana Sperl, Dick Sperl and Josh Casiano