If your idea of vacation is dressing up for dinner and partying with a crowd, stop reading because Island Windjammer cruises won't be for you. If wearing shorts, a swim suit, and flip flops are your thing, read on. With a passenger total of 12, and a crew of 6 we could not have been more pampered aboard Diamant. Oh, we enjoyed fine dining...in fact at several stops our chef was spotted bagging baguettes or local fresh fruit for our meal, so that each dish was a taste of the Caribbean and we looked forward to every meal. Our refurbished tall ship (we had a/c in our cabin) could go places cruise ships cannot travel. My favorite stop had to be snorkeling with the turtles in Tobago Day Marine Park. We were often dropped on a private sunny beach with a cooler full of Carib beer and Ting with the choice of snorkeling or just relaxing on the sand. I swung from the deck of the ship on a rope swing, and I visited a bar built on a reef accessed by dingy only (Happy Island). The ship mostly motor sails, but if the winds were just right, we free sailed.

The trip was too short, and I dream of being back on my favorite perch on deck with Bolo the steward bringing me my morning coffee (just the way I like it--he knows and remembers because we are so few). We LOVED the cruise. In fact, of our fellow sailors, all but one couple were repeat customers! From the fabulous service to the fantastic destinations, this trip was special. One needs to be able to board the dingy (crew helps) and it IS a sailing ship...take your Bonine (sea sick medicine)! Grenada is a terrific place to end the cruise and explore.