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April 20, 1998 Polynesia Singles Cruise (BVIs)
by Sheri Goodman (aka Jammerjaws)
This by far was the best vacation I have ever had! The people were sensational, the ship was phenominal and the islands were incredible! This was the first solo trip I had ever taken. There was a group of us who had become acquainted via this BBB, and for the most part we all meshed perfectly and hung out together for the duration of the week.The trip began with a group of us meeting at the Tortola/Beef Island Airport and piling into a van. The roads in Tortola are interesting to say the very least. After about a 30 minute taxi ride we caught our first glance at the Poly docked in Roadtown with the Flying Cloud anchored a slight distance away. We would only come across the Flying Cloud one other day (4/24) during our journey when we saw her being stocked by the Amazing Grace.As we walked onto the Poly we were quickly greeted with Rum Swizzles and shown to the Salon in order to set up our cabin accounts. There was no stress in the air -- it was just wonderful being aboard the Poly sipping swizzles. My new motto for the week was "no problem mon". After getting all the official business taken care of, including the purchase of my first round of dubloons, one of the crew members was quick to help with my bags and show me to BQB. My home for a week. Yes -- I stayed in the Bachelorette Quarters and it was GREAT! Granted, the room was small and there were 6 of us in there, but everyone was great. It is true that the room could be declared a disaster area by the second day -- due to the fact that there isn't much room for stowing things away -- but this was not a problem since most were barefoot and extremely casual after day 1.The first night (stowaway) was wonderful getting to know everyone. There was a lot of dancing, socializing and plain old PARTYING! It was GREAT! Everyone was extremely friendly and willing to mingle. Therewas a vast variety of age groups represented aboard this cruise. I was amongst the youngest (27) and seemed to fit in fine.Since the Poly didn't set sail until noonish -- a group of us explored Tortola via jeep. Tortola was incredible! The roads were VERY narrow and extremely hilly. I realized that I was definitely in paradise when we pulled up to a little bar, which resembled a child's lemonade stand at 10am-ish. The view from the bar was beautiful and the rum punch was very tasty. We toured Tortola a bit more and made our way back to the Poly for lunch.FOOD!Since I brought up the food -- I may as well discuss it now :) The food aboard the Poly was nothing extravagant, but it was good and fullfilling. I was always up on deck by 6am-ish so I was treated to sweet rolls (doughnuts, muffins etc) and juice at the bar. There was also always coffee and tea available for those who wake up a bit foggy-eyed. At 7:30ish one of the crew members would roam down the hall ringing a very loud bell alerting people that breakfast was being served in the salon. Breakfasts consisted of fresh fruit, toast, juice and a different hot dish every morning. The hot breakfast dish usually alternated between eggs then pancakes, then eggs again, then french toast, etc. You get the idea :)The British Virgin Islands were quite warm (90s) during the April 20 cruise so our lunches were all served aboard the Poly. They were all buffets andwere set up on the top "sex" deck under the canopy. Lunches usually consited of pasta salads, salad, sandwiches, Roast Turkey, hamburgers etc. Lunches were very enjoyable and could be taken to the Salon if one wanted to get away from the sun. I believe there were two or three sit-down dinners which consisted of Grilled Mahi Mahi or Lamb and the Captain's dinner which consisted of Sirloin Steaks or Lobster. We also had BBQ ribs and chicken one night. I'm a little foggy on the food thing, due to the fact that Windjammer isn't about eating like the foo foo ships -- the food was great, but definitely not the best thing about a Windjammer. The best thing, in my opinion, about a Windjammer is the casual atmosphere. It is pure relaxation and a total escape from life. It was wonderful.Getting back to the typical Windjammer day (I got sidetracked by the food thing :) ) After breakfast one heads up to the top deck in preparation for the Captain's storytime. This is where Captain Neil told everyone what island we would spend the day at, as well as telling a few of the Captain Neil infamous jokes. After storytime, most headed for the tenders and cruised over to the islandof the day. The BVIs are truly beautiful and definitely known for their beaches. The beaches were quiet and lush. Sit back, snorkel and sip on the island specialty drinks. Life was good! Aaaaaaaaaa.....Hmmmmm -- I don't want to bore you anymore with specific details of the individual islands. We visited Torotola, JostVan Dyke, Marina Key and Virgin Gorda, etc. I also had the pleasure of experiencing Rudy's famous lobster dinner! It was EXCELLENT! Well worth the $20. After dinner at Rudy's there was entertainment (band) and most people hung around there and danced the night away. One of the nice things about visiting the BVIs was that Captain Neil ran the tenders well into the night since we didn't have to do any night sailing. All of the BVIs are very closely situated and one never loses view of Tortola.I apologize if I have bored anyone with my anecdote. It is very hard to put into words the wonderful time I had aboard the Poly. I am not known as a party-type person, but that all changed on this trip. Ihad a blast and have never met such wonderful people in my entire life. There are still a group of us emailing one another and we are planning a reunion cruise next year. OH YEAH -- Beware of a drink called Pirates Punch -- it's lethal -- but enjoyable ;0 If you have any specific questions, or just want to chat, please do not hesitate to email me.
Jammerjaws (Sheri)
April 1998 Polynesia PagesBEFORE THE CRUISE
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