Caribbean Cruise: Saint Kitts Beach Day

We woke up docked in Basseterre, Saint Kitts. Fun fact: Saint Kitts and Nevis is the smallest independent country in the western hemisphere (in both population and geography). It’s home to around 55,000 people.

Basseterre, Saint Kitts
After breakfast in the Oceanview Cafe, we walked off the ship at around 9:30am and made our way down the pier to Port Zante.

Port Zante, Basseterre, Saint Kitts
In planning the Caribbean cruise, we wanted one day on the islands to be a “beach day,” so we decided to make it Saint Kitts. We thought about doing the train ride, but it seemed a bit pricy. We just wanted to relax.
So we booked a beach excursion through Celebrity – the Saint Kitts “Beach Break.” It was $40/pp. I just liked that everything was handled for us–transportation to/from the pier, beautiful beach, 2 reserved chairs, and a free rum punch drink. R-E-L-A-X!
We found our group quite easily under the pavilion at Port Zante. We waited 10 minutes or so before everyone was in attendance. Then they separated us into smaller groups to put us on shuttle buses. There were around 14 people on our shuttle.
Our driver, Agatha, took us from Basseterre on a 25-minute drive to gorgeous Cockleshell Beach. We made one stop at Timothy Hill for a photo op. At Timothy Hill, you have a birds-eye view, with the Atlantic Ocean on the left and the Caribbean Sea on the right. Breathtaking!

Timothy Hill, Saint Kitts
I’m a geography nerd. If you look at a map of Saint Kitts, you will see it is shaped like a drumstick. This beach we were going to is at the bottom of the drumstick.
The driver let us off at the Spice Mill where the beach is located. We were each handed a cup of rum punch (or just fruit juice if you wanted). The food and drinks looked good there, but we did not partake. Other people in our groups said the food and drinks were good!

Cockleshell Beach, Saint Kitts
The beach was perfect! We got two front-row lounge chairs. Umbrellas are not included, but we purchased one for the both of us for $10.
Here’s a view of Nevis across the way…

Cockleshell Beach, Saint Kitts
I can’t say enough good things about this beach. It wasn’t crowded when we were there. The sand was soft. It’s in a protected bay, so you don’t get huge waves. And the beach doesn’t have a huge drop off at all. Just great for relaxing, swimming, or wading in the water.

Cockleshell Beach, Saint Kitts
Here I am thinking about all those poor suckers back in Wisconsin!

Cockleshell Beach, Saint Kitts
We had about 3 hours at the beach…and we didn’t want to leave!
The shuttle bus took us from the beach back to the Port Zante area in Basseterre. We did some souvenir shopping and grabbed a bite to eat.
Here’s Basseterre:

Basseterre, Saint Kitts
Then it was time to head back to the ship. Saint Kitts was perfect–great weather, friendly people, and a beautiful beach!
More pics from Saint Kitts:
For more photos, check out my Flickr album.
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