December 8, 2025 – St. George’s, Granada – Mostly Cloudy – 87F

December 8, 2025 – St. George’s, Granada – Mostly Cloudy – 87F

New Passenger Information:  Total Passengers 566 – In transit 170.  That is a very high continuing passenger percentage.

Crystal Serenity is docked at the Melville Street Cruise Terminal - right next to the downtown area. We are the only ship here today.

I wasn’t sure how the new passenger contingent would deal with breakfast.  I was up there when the Marketplace opened – there were more people up there than last cruise but I still got my table.  The breakfast was, once again, perfect.

On the way down to the room, I spoke to the Concierge and told him we wanted to take up his offer and change cabins.  He made me two new key cards and told me to call down to Guest Services when we were ready and the bellhop would come up an move us. 

I called down and within 10 minutes the bellhop was there with his cart.  He told us we could go to breakfast and it would all be done when we got back.  We went to the late breakfast at the Trident Grill and then checked out the new room.  It was a nice, refurbed room – no bathtub but a big shower with two places to located the removable shower head.  Only one sink but lots of storage.  Very bright room with a built in night light.  A nice improvement. This room has a strategic location - the elevator (just two doors down) goes up to the Markeplace and down to the Waterside Restaurant.

We disembarked the ship and walked the very long pier to the shopping mall just off the end of the pier (I walked and Ellen sprinted to avoid the strong Sun).  I did get her to sit for a picture on the pier.

We got the obligatory picture of the Grenada sign along with Crystal Serenity

and checked out the Esplanade Shopping Complex (The Mall). I was looking for a cap but all of the stores were selling the caps at the same price - $15 or two for $20. I didn’t need two caps and Ellen didn’t want one so I passed on the caps.  

One very interesting store in the mall was a bagel shop, boasting that they served "New York's Finest Bagels".  We didn't verify that but I was amused by the ad for the store.  Perhaps an expat from NYC runs the place.  

We exited the mall and were on Melville Street, the main drag.  We walked a couple of rustic blocks along Melville Street.  One nice touch was the flowers and plants lining the sidewalk.  The palm trees completed the tropical feel of the port area.  

I also got a shot of the bustling shopping area perpendicular to Melville Street

 

and the St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church on the hill overlooking the town.

While out there, an older taxi guy asked us about a tour (we had been accosted in the mall by several pushy taxi tour guys).  We went back and forth on the price and settled on $60 for a two hour tour.  We walked about three blocks to his cab, which was a pretty comfortable, late model, black min-van.  We sat in the back seat, which had nice seat belts - the taxi was in good condition, contained a lot of tech, and did not smell of cigarettes or anything at all. 

The tour took us ocean to ocean – the Caribbean to the Atlantic.  We headed up the hill near town, passed the Grenada National Cricket Stadium, 

saw some nutmeg trees (the island’s claim to fame)

to the Allendale Waterfall – we opted not to buy tickets and hike down to the waterfall. Instead, he took us to a small waterfall for a picture.  

From there we went to a view point where we could see Serenity docked in St Georges (along with another passenger ship – a clipper).  

We drove on a bit further to Ft. George, which was closed but we were able to use the facilities. I was also able to get another shot of Serenity in the harbor from here.

We drove through the countryside with its heavy vegetation 

and simple homes. Our driver told us the island was indebted to Ronald Reagan for ordering the invasion of the island in October 1983 ("Independence Day" Holiday here).  The invasion was to prevent another Russian presence in the Caribbean (like Cuba) and to create stability in the government). Personal Note: In October 1983, Ellen and I were flying to Barbados for a DPC junket and we were concerned about the military activity in nearly Grenada. 

The next stop would be down the hill to the Atlantic Side of the Island.  We saw Woburn Bay and it’s islands (Hog Island).

We stopped for a few minutes at the Grand Anse beach.  

The beach was beautiful – white sand.  There was fruit of some kind on the sand – we were told they were almonds from the almond trees lining the edge of the sand.  There were lots of people at the beach as well as umbrellas and chairs. 

From there we headed back to St George’s passing the Port George Marina (lots of boats including some mega yachts).  

The taxi then encountered some serious traffic on the way to the shopping mall – we saw the oldest building in Grenada (from 1704) (photo below).  

We finally made it to the shopping mall.  Another note on the tour.  I saw only one stop sign and one signal light the whole way.  The roads were very bumpy – one very nasty bump actually resulted in some kind of damage to my back – will feel it tomorrow.  The roads were also narrow with cars missing each other by very little distance. And yes, this former British Possession does drive on the left.

We paid our driver – (I wish I had gotten his name) $60 plus a $15 tip for not kidnapping us.  We got off at the shopping center – made one more pass at the stores and went back to the ship.  At this point and I don’t know if the bumpy ride was the cause but I was really hurting and limping down the pier to the ship.  Yes, this pic tells you all you need to know about the length of the pier.

Ellen got to the ship ahead of me and we connected in the Trident Grill/Marketplace for lunch.  I had the salmon burger again along with the obligatory gazpacho.  Ellen explored the buffet for something to eat.

The gazpacho seemed real fresh and crunchy to me.  I also had a bottle of Lagunitas IPA, which took a while to locate but was good (very light with notes). 

We headed to the Forward part of the ship.  In the open area near the Theater (where the Bridge classes are held) is a large model of the Crystal Harmony.  When I first saw it I thought it was going to be Crystal's third ship.  Actually, it was built in 1990 for Crystal but was transferred to Crystal's Japanese parent company in 2006 and is currently sailing as the Asuka II.  So, not a new ship but a monument to Crystal's past. 

 

Again, we spent the afternoon in Palm Court, staying once again for Afternoon Tea (more delicious scones).  The new violinist on board, Ely Lee, treated us to an amazing version of "Hallelujah".

While up in Palm Court, I got a shot of the hillsides surrounding St George's and captured some rainbows both in the sky and along the hillside.

I also got the first photo of a sunset (over the Caribbean) this cruise (from the cabin).

Dinner was in the Waterside Restaurant, where we had pre-ordered Kosher Meals tonight. My two hot dogs were delicious and Ellen’s duck was also good.  I don’t believe I would get tired of the hot dogs (they are premium polish sausages – not the skinny little dogs were usually get).  We’ll probably take a break and then get back to them again.

We passed on the first show tonight (a combination of pop and disco – couldn’t tell what the show really was from the description.  The second show, at 9:45 PM, featured Steven Scott, NY Comedian. 

We had seen him a few years ago but my log had little intel on him.  It turned out he wasn’t as funny as we thought he would be so we stayed for just a short time.  We headed to the room – it was late.

The new room is pretty quiet – there is a little rumble in the background – maybe from the engines or “transmission” but that is manageable.

It was a nice day in St George's - Ellen was right again.