Page 44 - AAA Magazine – AAA Ohio Auto Club – November 2018

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Photo: Oceania Cruises iStock.com/Wildroze
there are no formal nights scheduled, yet some guests do get dressed up for dinners.
Celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, Oceania Cruises is the world’s leading culinary- and destination- focused cruise line, helped in part by cuisine curated by Chef Jacques Pépin. As for the destinations, each day offers the exciting opportunity to experience the history, culture, art and cuisine of a fascinating new destination. And in the Caribbean, that can be distinctive.
President Washington and high peaks
Four ports are featured on both cruises and each one offers something unique.
Bridgetown, Barbados, has the distinction of being the only city outside of the present United States
that President George Washington, as a teenager, visited. Bridgetown and its Garrison were named a UNESCO Heritage Site and that includes the George Washington House, located about 21⁄2 miles from the cruise terminal. According to reports, Washington and his older half-brother, Lawrence, rented the house when George Washington was 19. The Washingtons left the mainland in hopes a change of climate would improve Lawrence’s health, but Lawrence died of tuberculosis about a year later. The trip ended up being a turning point in the life of the younger Washington. He saw a more cosmopolitan community in Barbados and took
in more culture than he had back in Virginia. He also
Celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, Oceania Cruises is the world’s leading culinary- and destination-focused
contracted smallpox and survived, which protected him from future outbreaks.
Sugar is one of the top exports of Bridgetown and a drive through one of the many sugarcane fields is just part of the Discover Barbados excursion available from Oceania Cruises. The tour also includes a visit to the countryside and quaint villages, as well as a visit to the beaches and hotels along the Caribbean coast and
St. John’s Parish Church, a Gothic church built in 1836. Castries serves as the capital of Saint Lucia, which
is uncommon among the rest of the Caribbean islands because of its mountains. Created from volcanic activity, Mount Gimie is the island’s highest peak at 3,117 feet above sea level which, because of the tropical climate, is covered by rainforest. And that’s where some of the adventures of this island take place. You can take the Rainforest Aerial Tram and glide leisurely over the top and through the rainforest, or you can partake in the Adrena-Line Canopy Tour, where you zip line from platform to platform throughout the rainforest.
For the less adventurous, check out Diamond Falls Botanical Gardens, a six-acre haven for a variety of birds and insects, or the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, the largest church in the Caribbean and the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese.
cruise line, helped in part by cuisine curated by Chef Jacques Pépin.
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Photo: Oceania Cruises