Mark and Lisa Hersant
Dover, Delaware
"Our Honeymoon On the Fantome" ( note.... the good stuff has
been edited out, sorry)
A friend from work, Dean Dey (a diehard Windjammer)
suggested we take a Windjammer Barefoot cruise. It sounded
like so much fun, so we took his advise.
We booked our honeymoon cruise on the Fantome from 31 Dec
1995 to 6 Jan, 1996.
Sunday
We stowed away on the ship Sunday, New Year's Eve day.
When we arrived in Antigua we dropped off our luggage and
walked down to the Crazyhorse Saloon a nice little bar right
around the corner from the dock. I must say we were a little
surprised to find a T.V. inside playing a video tape of a
Johnny Cash concert. Not exactly the island music we were
expecting to hear. However, the atmosphere was just right.....
laid back and friendly. We were introduced to our first Caribe
beer...yum, this could be the start of a good relationship.
And of course we had to try the drink of the day...a mango
colada...yum again. At the bar we met up with a small group of
people we could tell were fun from Long Island N.Y.
They too were going on the Fantome. We also hung out with
Tony, a Navel test pilot/navigator from Maryland,
also a Fantome buddy. At 1700 we paid our tab and headed for
the ship, let the fun begin. On board we had our first swizzle
and checked to make sure the cabin quarters, well, really just
the bed, were o.k. Yep, just fine, as we predicted. So it was
up stairs for dinner. The food throughout the entire cruise
was fantastic. I even managed to get chef Baggs to tell me his
secret bread recipe at the end of the cruise.
There was a great island band set up on the deck to
provide entertainment and dancing for a New Year's Eve party.
Unfortunately, we were both too exhausted from the wedding to
partake in the fun. Not to mention the fact that each toe on
both feet was broken from being in those awful heals for
forever during the wedding, so I couldn't dance if I wanted
to. But that was O.K. with us, we just propped ourselves up on
the upper deck where the wheel was (please excuse my lack of
knowledge about ships and the proper names of their parts) and
watched everyone else make fools of themselves, knowing that
they would all have their turn to laugh at us later in the
week. Windjammer provided us with a complimentary bottle of
champagne to help us celebrate our first day of marriage. That
came in very handy at midnight. We didn't last much past that.
Day 1
We had set Mark's watch for 0630 to get up and go have
complimentary bloody mary's and sticky buns, and yes, you
guessed it, we did not get out of bed until the bell rang and
someone yelled "last call for breakfast". After breakfast we
went up deck for story time with Capt. Sean Cassidy. Sean had
a great sense of humor and was a fine Captain, not once did we
get lost. Louise, the activities director, was up next to
explain out options for the day. With took her advise and
decided to take a cab ride around Antigua. First up to
Shirley's point, the highest point on the island. Beautiful
view, our pictures of the view look fake kinda like a
postcard. Can't believe how beautiful and blue the sky and
water was. And 85 degrees is my kind of weather. Next we went
to Lord Horatio Nelson's Dockyard an old navel ship dockyard,
now inhabited by beautifulsailboats that we all dream of
owning. Checked out the bar, very good foofoo rum drinks.
Antigua still had some evident hurricane damage, and is
very green now due to the abundant rainfall. Back to the ship
for rum swizzles and to prepare to set sail for St. Barth's.
We helped hoist the sails as they played "Amazing Grace" which
brought tears to your eyes. The ship truly is beautiful, along
with the weather. At this point we're already trying to figure
out how we can: not go home, quit our jobs, and go to work on
one of the West Indies islands, heck, why not the ship! Later
that night we relaxed on the top deck under the stars, and
enjoyed conversations with our new friends and sampled the
foofoo drink of the day.
Day 2
Same morning routine. After breakfast we took a launch
into St. Barth's. A great little quaint french island. The
people speak French, the signs are in French and they use
French money, the people even walk around with loaves of French
bread in their hands, just like in the movies. Being aviation
nuts of course we had to go see the airport. Being fitness
fools we decided to walk rather than take a taxi ( plus we
wanted save our money for Caribes). Well, it was quite an
upward hike but worth it to see the worlds shortest runway and
to watch the planes come inbetween the two mountains and land.
Got some great pictures while the men were discussing the
proper instrument/airplane procedures to go through while
trying to land a plane on this football field. We walked
around the island some more and then headed back to the ship
for lunch. Later that afternoon we went snorkeling....great
time, saw lots of pretty colored fish and even a barracuda.
After dinner we all ventured back into town to check out the
night life at Le Select, the bar where Jimmy Buffet wrote
"Cheeseburger in Paradise". Great bar, people leave their
business cards on the wall. I tried to find someone famous
but had no luck. Nice cold cheap Caribes. Our Long Island
friends did their best to get us happy on Caribes. They
succeeded and didn't do so bad themselves. Our turn to make
fools of ourselves. The men all decided to do the electric
slide in the street. On the walk back to the launch we stopped
to admire the boats in the dock and sighted Donald Trumps ship.
We were standing there waving when I noticed that the boat
next to it was from Dover DE, wow, what a small world. We
wondered if the owners had ever been to DE since many a person
registers a boat in DE due the "no tax" deal. Back on the ship
we danced more. Late that night we set sail for St. Maarten.
Day 3
Same morning routine only this time we were smart enough
not to bother setting the alarm for 0630. After breakfast
everyone on the ship went ashore to participate in the regatta
race. I decided that was too much work for vacation and opted
to stay on the ship and catch some rays. I love the sun and
the ship. Everyone had a blast on the regatta. After lunch we
went to tour the island. This one is great if you like to hop.
(I personally wasn't there to shop) we did however, buy a pair
of binoculars for half of what we would have paid in the
States. Electronics are cheaper there too. This island is
more touristy. We found a great rum store that sells flavored
rum, of course we had to sample several flavors in the form of
a colada before we decided which 2 to buy. We settled on
Guavaberry and Mango. We walked some more till we found a cute
little bar on the beach, it was yellow and pink and served
great foofoo rum frozen drinks. Can't remember the name of it
but the owner was very nice. A storm blew over us, it rained
for 5 minutes and then cleared up again. Well, you guessed
it....back to the ship for swizzles and dinner. By the way
very few people got sea sick and we actually found the rocking
of the ship very relaxing (the rocking from the water of
course).
Day 4
same morning routine. This time we are ready to go check
out St. Kitts. In the morning we went into town and took a cab
up to the Brimstone Hill Fortress. Very cool to climb around
on. It is huge and the view is magnificent. This day we had
lunch on Frigot Bay beach and then left to go on a hike through
a rain forest. The rainforest was beautiful, and very
peaceful. I was however, a little disappointed that there were
nofunky birds, animals, or bugs. We did see some normal birds
and some greenback monkeys., oh and a colorful centipede made
my day. The tour guide, Greg, was very knowledgeable and nice.
We talked to him on the way back to the dock about how obsessed
Americans are with time, from the moment the alarm clock goes
off in the morning. The Kitticians are laid back, and are not
concerned with time. This island impressed me the most
because of the friendly, warm people. I'm convinced that New
Year's is their favorite holiday because the whole time we were
on the island people were constantly shouting "happy new year
to you mon" to eachother. And it wasn't unusual for someone to
look at you and say "hi, have a good day" for no reason. It
really makes you realize how materialistic, unfriendly, and
unreasonable we Americans can be. If the mail doesn't get
delivered one day on the island their response would be "oh
well, we'll get the mail tomorrow". Whereas in the States if
that was to happen 500 people would be on the phone cussing
someone out. Now I'm going to change the subject to my
favorite topic , agriculture. There is a fair amount of
sugarcane grown on the island. They harvest the cane and load
it onto old rail carts and transport it to the processing plant
where they use it to make CSR (Cane Spirit Rothchild) and
molasses. The CSR is a spirit made directly from the juice of
the cane. It is very potent. Greg had several juices and a
bottle of CSR waiting for us when we got out of the forest.
We tried the Tamarind Bean tea, the Papaya, and the mango all
with CSR of course. They say the stuff is supposed to be
smooth, I thought it smelled like grain alcohol and I could
taste it right up to the point when it numbed every nerve in my
mouth. I think they call it a "spirit" because you see
things after you drink it, or shall we say, it haunts you!
From the molasses they make rum, and good rum might I add.
This night was designated party night (costume) on the ship (as
if you needed a designated night) and the theme for costumes
was "anything that started with a P'". The ship provided some
costumes and stuff but we got back too late from the rainforest
hike and everything was already claimed. So Tony made a letter
P' and tied it around his neck and blackened his eyes with my
mascara, hence the blackeyed pea. I tied a sign around Mark's
neck that read Passenger 57' and a sign around mine that read
Passenger 57's wife". We danced and played a drinking game
with dice at the bar.
Day 5
The last island on the tour, Nevis. Nevis was a
beautiful small island that used to be all sugarcane
plantations but now all the plantations have been turned into
hotels. The island was very well kept and had tons of
flowers.
In the morning we walked around downtown Nevis and went
to see Alexander Hamilton's birthplace. We went back to the
ship for lunch and then back to the island to hit another
famous bar on the beach. This bar known for a drink called the
"killer bee" On the way, us women collected small beach shells
and conch shells to decorate out bathrooms with, as all women
do. We went swimming and then decided to try a killer bee.
what's in it? who knows, they won't tell you. We do know that
like all island lowcal foofoo drinks it contains rum, rum,
more rum, several splashes of exotic juices, and a splash of
bitters and some fresh ground nutmeg on top. and let me tell
you, that thing will knock you on your ass. I finished half
and was seeing two of everything so I switched to good ole
Caribe.
Again the people on this island are very friendly and
warm. While waiting for the launch to pick us up at the dock
we witnessed a food and supply ship pull up and unload. I was
surprised... Here we were on an island where they have perfect
conditions for growing fruit and veggies and they import all
their produce from the States. I guess they make more money
selling Killer Bee's .
Friday night's supper was Captain's night with a choice
of prime rib or grilled wahoo. Definitely had to try the wahoo
and glad we did, it was wonderful, kinda like shark or tuna, a
steaky fish. yum. One of our Long Island friends had bought
some new strings (specifically a GString) on the island that
day so that he could fix the Fantome community guitar. We all
thought he was in search of a new bathing suit to wear back
home to show off his tan. He was able to repair the injured
guitar and after dinner we all gathered around and sang songs
from the past. It was a very nice relaxing even, perfect for
our overstuffed stomachs.
Day 6
Saturday Morning we arrived back in Antigua, somewhat sad
knowing that the vacation had come to an end. Our flight
didn't take off until 4 p.m. and my football team, the
Steelers, were playing in the first round of playoffs. So our
objective was to find a bar to watch the game in. We inquired
about a bar with a T.V. and were told to go to the Big Banana.
We walked around downtown looking for this bar for a while.
We came to the conclusion that the police are the least
informed people on the island. We asked 3 different cops where
the bar was and each one replied "umm, go down there 2 blocks
and then ask someone else. They all had the direction right
but couldn't tell us exactly where it was, I guess that's a
good sign obviously there must not be any fights in bars on
Antigua. For those of you who have some time to spend in
Antigua and would like to check out this nice bar/pizzeria, it
is in the Heritage Quay, quite hidden (Look for the Heritage
Quay sign and don't bother asking the police for directions)..
We didn't sample the pizza but it looked and smelled good.
Funny how the main menu item at the "big Banana" is pizza. They
had a huge T.V. and willingly put the game on for us and then
laughed at the Americans, particularly a female, as we (mainly
she) became obsessed with the game. At halftime we sadly left
for the airport. We caught our flight to San Juan and then
Philly and got home 6 hours before 2 feet of snow fell. Quite
a shock to go from 85 to 18 .Regardless, we had a wonderful
time and met some great new friends. We had to go to several
AA meetings after we returned (just kidding) and had a bad case
of sea legs.
The ship and islands offered such a wide variety of
things to do, something for everyone, you pick. The staff of
the Fantome was very friendly, fun and accommodating. Our
cabin steward "Treads" was a great worker and friend. Again
the food was fantastic. We will definitely be back.
Many Thanks to Windjammer and the crew of the Fantome for
a wonderful and memorable honeymoon and vacation!...see you
next year!
Lisa C. Hersant
Lisa is now in Texas with Mark. She will soon have an e-mail
address again.