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Boxing Day was Sint Maarten, a curious, small island, half of which was Dutch, and the other half was French and called Saint Martin. But the Britannia put into Philipsburg, which was on the Dutch half, so today it was Sint Maarten. The twins knew all about the island as they had been there before, but last time they had been on an open-top bus tour and had seen the Princess Juliana Airport where the planes took off and landed over Maho Beach. This time they had asked if they could spend the day at the beach, swim, and watch the planes.
Jinnie had looked at the excursion from the ship, and Maho Beach was only included as a short stop on several tours. Consequently, Jinnie and Paolo decided that after breakfast they would grab a taxi to the beach and spend all day there. When they told the rest of the family their plans, everyone wanted to join them. After breakfast, the family made their way ashore and headed to the taxi queue, where, after negotiating a fixed price, they all piled into a minibus taxi. Everyone had picked up the ship’s blue swimming/beach towels from the pile at the head of the gangway, and the twins had, of course, put theirs in their backpacks, beside some of the sweets they had won the previous day and bottles of cold water.
It was still quite early when the minibus dropped them at the beach, and it was agreed that the driver would pick them up at four p.m., which gave them a big safety margin on getting back to the ship for the ‘all aboard’ time of 17:30. The twins decided that they didn’t want to sit on the beach right at the end of the runway and chose an area slightly to one side where they said the sand was better. Jinnie was quite happy, as the loungers and umbrellas directly under the flight path were extortionately expensive.
The twins set about digging a ‘swimming pool’ at the water’s edge, only to find the tide was going out, so their excavation was high and dry, and no matter how many buckets of seawater they fetched and dumped in the pool, they couldn’t fill it. Paolo and Jinnie came and inspected the works and told them not to worry — the tide would soon turn and fill the pool. As they talked, Jinnie pointed out a plane coming in to land. It was only a small prop-driven inter-island flight, but the twins stood mesmerised as the plane roared over them. Paolo explained to them that the bigger jets didn’t start arriving until late morning from North and South America, and later still from Europe. Then they would start taking off later in the afternoon, but the European flights would probably not be leaving until after the family had gone back to the ship.
Through the morning, the planes started landing more regularly, and small inter-island turboprops were replaced by small jets like Embraers and A220s, but small private planes were interspersed between commercial flights, and the twins were fascinated, reading the airline names on the planes as they passed in front of them. Just after noon, the family had a word with the beach boy, who promised that the loungers would be kept for them while they went to lunch.
The family wandered to one end of the beach and found a restaurant with a covered terrace where they could sit in the shade and still watch the planes. As the twins tucked into their pizza and Coke Zero, Grandpa said, “I think that’s a widebody coming in to land.” The jet grew bigger as it approached over the sea and soon swept in to land. Millie read out ‘United’ emblazoned on the side of the jet, and Granddad said, “I think that’s a Boeing 787.” It was the first of the big jets, and soon they had seen more 787s, 777s, A330s, and A350s.
The twins were back digging and splashing in their ‘swimming pool’ when the first big jet taxied out to the end of the runway to take off. Daddy had been right — the pool had started filling when the tide had changed. As everyone watched, the jet swung round so it was facing down the runway, with its huge jet engines discharging through the wire mesh fence and across the beach road onto the beach. The plane paused for a minute before running up its engines, the blast of which sent sand, people, and sunshades flying, before the jet’s roar crescendoed and it started accelerating down the runway. Jinnie looked over at the twins, who both had put on their swimming goggles to protect them from the flying sand and had their hands over their ears.
Some of the planes were noticeably noisier than others, and Granddad explained that the newer planes were usually much quieter than older ones, even if they were much bigger. Between take-offs and landings, Jinnie asked the twins if they were enjoying themselves and was told it was ‘fabulous’. The twins were a little disappointed when Izzy called them to get out of their wet swimming costumes, as the taxi was coming soon. On the way back to the ship, the driver made the mistake of asking the twins if they had enjoyed their day, and they then told him everything they had done and seen for the rest of the journey to the ship.
***
Overnight, Britannia made the short crossing to Tortola, the biggest of the British Virgin Islands. When Jinnie woke, the ship was already moored at the cruise pier in Road Town, and it was another beautiful, sunny morning. As she watched, the NCL ship Norwegian Jewel nudged in on the opposite side of the pier. After breakfast, the family split up. Penny and Dan had booked a catamaran trip to a secluded bay for swimming; Granny and Granddad Walsh had decided they were going to wander ashore and have a lazy seafood lunch in the first restaurant that took their fancy. Jinnie and Paolo wanted to see the island and had suggested to the twins that they should all go on an around-the-island excursion with a stop at the famous Pusser’s Landing on the far side of the island at Soper’s Hole, a natural yacht marina.
The twins hadn’t been keen and said it sounded ‘boring’. So, a compromise was reached: Izzy would stay on board with the twins, who were booked into both the morning and afternoon sessions at the Reef. Izzy would have a lazy day by the big Riviera pool, which was actually two pools with a stage between them. She would pick them up at lunchtime and make sure they had something to eat. Over breakfast, the twins had decided that they wanted to have a burger and chips.
Over their pre-dinner drinks, the family discussed their days. Mr and Mrs Walsh had found a seafood restaurant which seemed to have a lot of local people in and had tried the mahi-mahi in garlic butter sauce with tiny boiled potatoes. They reported that it had been absolutely delicious and wondered if it was available in the U.K. Penny and Dan said their trip had been glorious — the small cove the boat had anchored in had a sandy beach and perfectly clear, warm water with lots of colourful fish. On the way back, the iced rum punch had appeared and everyone was dancing and singing.
Jinnie explained how the coach had taken them across the mountains to the far side of the island, where the sea was much rougher and there were mainly pebble beaches. They had stopped for a couple of photo opportunities, and Paolo said he had taken a number of shots on his phone. The yacht marina at Soper’s Hole had been spectacular, with row after row of yachts moored in the bay. After a wander around the marina, they had both had a rum and Coke in Pusser’s Landing, where the rum had been Pusser’s Select Navy, and Jinnie explained that she didn’t usually like rum that much, but this had been so spectacularly good they had bought a bottle to take home. As P&O rules said you could buy a bottle of spirits ashore, but it had to go into bond until the end of the cruise, Jinnie said everyone would have to wait until they got home to try it.
Finally, Granny asked the twins about their day. They told the assembled party how, in the morning, Wallace and Gromit had come to see them, and they had watched a film where Wallace and Gromit had built a rocket and gone to the moon. Then, after their burger and chips, one of the Reef Rangers had read them a story, and then they had played tennis on Nintendo Switches. Jinnie asked Izzy if she had had a good day, and she said, “It was lovely, thanks. I lazed in the sun, swam, read my book and snoozed. Apart from collecting the twins for lunch, it was a relaxing day off.”
***
Just like yesterday, the ship was already tied up at Heritage Quay, one of the piers in St John’s, Antigua, when Jinnie woke up. Today was going to be a busy day — not only was she meeting Brooke and visiting the new Ennios Antigua, but the family were trying out the ship’s excursions to the TT Carlton. As usual, the family met in the Epicurean for breakfast and watched through the window as another big cruise ship came in alongside them. The family had decided that as the ship was in port overnight and they were on an excursion that evening, they would have a beach day on their own and then all go to Nelson’s Dockyard and Shirley Heights the next day.
After breakfast, everyone walked ashore together. As they walked down the pier, Jinnie saw Brooke waiting for them and waving. The twins waved back and ran to say hello. They all stopped for a few moments to chat before the family headed off to get a taxi to Ffryes Beach and Brooke and Jinnie went to see if Aunty JoJo’s was busy yet. Jinnie and Brooke strolled through Heritage Quay and past Aunty JoJo’s, which even at this early hour was packed. Brooke said, “Well that’s good to see — plenty of folks eating a Full English. I bet if I asked, they wouldn’t be off Britannia. Why bother when you can get a fried breakfast in the dining room or the buffet for nothing? No, I bet most of these customers are from one of the other ships in port where they don’t have such a good Full English.” “I suspect you are right,” replied Jinnie. “I can see absolutely no reason to come ashore and buy breakfast.”
As they made their way to the taxi rank, Jinnie continued, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m delighted to see Aunty JoJo’s so busy, so early. I’m just a bit surprised that they seem to be so busy.” “I think that it has quickly developed a reputation for cheap, good food,” said Brooke. “The manager tells me that many of the workers on Heritage Quay have started popping in to get something to eat before starting work, and you know that when you look for somewhere to eat and drink, you always pick somewhere busy because invariably it has good food. Well, I think that is what is happening here. Oh, I nearly forgot — although we never intended to do takeaways, the demand from workers in the shops on the Quay has been so much that we are doing so unofficially. Overall, trade is fantastic. This is our best trading outlet anywhere in the world, and it doesn’t trade after 16:30 every day. It is a goldmine. Anyway, I won’t talk about the Continental evening trade — I’ll let you see it for yourself tonight.”
The taxi queue moved very quickly, and the ladies quickly climbed into the back of a large diesel Citroën, and Brooke told the driver, “The Ennios Antigua, please.” As they headed out from St John’s, the driver said, “I have been out there a few times recently and it looks a nice hotel. Are you staying there?” Brooke answered, “I am for a few days, but I came into town to meet my friend. She is visiting on one of the cruise ships today, and yes, I think it is a beautiful hotel.” The driver continued, “I hear that there is going to be a new swanky restaurant opening there soon. I have been wondering if it will affect my trade — I get lots of people who climb in at various hotels and ask to be taken to the best restaurant in town. I take them to the TT Continental on Heritage Quay. But it is getting harder to get a table; they have so many people coming off cruise ships.”
Jinnie asked, “Tell me, have you tried the TT Continental?” “Yes, ma’am,” the driver answered, “and it was real good. I took my wife for her birthday and the food was fabulous and the service superb. I want to take her back, but it is real hard to get a booking.” “That’s what I heard,” said Brooke. By then, they were approaching the gleaming white, refurbished and renamed Ennios Antigua, and Jinnie said, “Gosh, this looks much more inviting than when I stayed here last year.” The driver replied, “The new owners have done a fine job. Whenever I drop off or pick up people here, I always think one day I’ll stay here for the weekend.” Jinnie chuckled and pointed to a big sign saying, ‘The TT Continental Restaurant at the Ennios Antigua opening soon’, and said to the driver, “Look — a new TT Continental Restaurant. I wonder if you could bring your wife here instead of on the Quay. They may be taking bookings.”
As Brooke paid off the driver, Trevor came out of the restaurant main entrance and walked over to them, opened the cab door and said, “Good morning, ladies. Are you ready for your restaurant tour?” Jinnie said, “Good morning, Trevor. I wonder if you could do something for me first.” “Of course, boss,” replied Trevor. “Our new driver friend,” Jinnie continued, “has been telling us how much he and his wife enjoyed his wife’s birthday meal at the TT Continental on Heritage Quay, but how it is very hard for a local to get a booking. When are you opening for business here?” “Well, we have a special opening night planned for New Year’s Eve,” replied Trevor. “I left you and Paolo off the invitations because I knew you would still be on your cruise, but a number of the other U.K. and Caribbean directors are coming, as is the President and the Prime Minister, and several celebrities including Viv Richards, Curtly Ambrose and Richard Branson. We have organised a meal similar to the one when we opened with Barbados, except this restaurant is bigger, so we have a lot more covers to sell.”
From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the taxi driver listening to the conversation with his mouth open. Jinnie said, “Please can you add—” turning to the driver, she continued, “I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.” “Winston Edwards, ma’am,” he replied. “Mr and Mrs Winston Edwards to the VIP list, and make sure they have a good table. I want to show Mr Edwards just how good the Continental is, so that when a passenger wants to be taken to the best hotel, he takes them to the Ennios, and when they want to go to the best restaurant, he brings them here.” Leaving Trevor to sort out the invitation, Jinnie said, “Now Winston, let’s wander over to the hotel reception and get you and your wife booked in for a long weekend over New Year. Of course, the stay will be on the house and you can do exactly what you want, and eat & drink, and it will also be on the house. All I ask is that you bring passengers here and you tell your colleagues to do the same, and I will organise a free weekend for a driver and their partner, picked at random once a month.”
Jinnie, Brooke and Winston walked into the hotel’s reception, where Jinnie immediately spotted Rick talking to another man in the corner of the reception area. Jinnie led the small group over to Rick, who stood up and said, “Good morning, Jinnie, I heard you were paying us a visit. Can I introduce you to Charles Henry, our newly appointed Hotel Manager—he has just joined us from Sandals. Charles, this is Dame Jinnie De Luca, she is the TT SuperBurger Group CEO and is the real power behind the company. She is more important than God, and when she does a walkabout, she misses nothing.” Jinnie laughed and said, “You have obviously never done a walkabout with Belinda Quarendon, our Construction Director—she can spot a paint run at fifty paces. Now Charles, I want you to do something for me, please.” Jinnie introduced Winston and told Charles all about her idea to get the island’s taxi drivers on side, and how Winston and his wife were to be the first recipients of the monthly prize and were to stay over the New Year weekend and to have the best of everything. Rick was nodding along as Jinnie explained and joined in, saying, “I love the idea to get the brand moving here, but it wouldn’t work at the hotels in England as they are running nearly full—although I wonder if Trevor has thought about a similar scheme to kick off trade at the new TT Continental here and in Canada.”
Unknown to Rick, Trevor was standing behind him and said, “Well, actually, yes. I think that we can run a joint prize here with dinner in the TT Continental for the winning driver while they stay at the hotel. Of course, in Ottawa we will only have the restaurant, so it will have to be just dinner, but I think you should introduce a similar dinner prize for taxi drivers at Southampton and Bournemouth. The restaurants there, although using the Trattoria Trevi name, are really only hotel restaurants with a TT menu by Alberto.”
With Winston departed, clutching his invitation and with his card in her pocket, Jinnie was ready to call him for the trip back to the ship. She set off first on a tour of the restaurant and then the hotel. The restaurant was busy with staff being trained. Waiters were being shown how they were expected to serve from the left and clear from the right, how to set the table perfectly, and above all to always be polite and never flustered. Wine waiters were being shown exactly how to serve drinks. The computer system was up and running and staff were learning its intricacies. But what impressed Jinnie was the finish—the room was large and decorated beautifully with a royal blue and gold theme. The finish was modern but not brash, the carpets were plush and the lighting just right. If she didn’t know better, Jinnie would have said it was Melissa’s work, but she guessed this had to be the work of Willow.
Trevor had an ear-to-ear smile and said, “I must admit that this is far better than I could have dreamt about. I just love the colour scheme and have already suggested we go with the same finish in Ottawa.” “I can see why,” replied Jinnie. “It’s absolutely lovely. I wonder if we could adopt it as our corporate colours for any new restaurants.” Trevor led Jinnie into the kitchen, which was all white tiles and stainless steel. Jinnie thought, ‘While the dining room is feminine, this is definitely masculine—it’s got Andrew all over it.’ The kitchen was busy—chefs were practising dishes and food was being tasted. Jinnie was offered a few items to try and was delighted—everything she tried was delicious.
Jinnie asked, “Will you be ready for New Year’s Eve?” “Definitely,” replied Trevor. “We are already taking bookings, and we haven’t even advertised to the public yet, but the word has got around that this is going to be the best restaurant on the island.” Jinnie and Brooke were then shown around the Ennios Hotel by Rick and Charles. Rick explained that he had had a lot of redecorations done, but not much building work had been needed. The one thing that had disappointed him was that the previous General Manager had let some things slip somewhat and hadn’t been very happy when told about the problems—most of which had been minor. He had resigned; hence Charles being appointed, and Rick was now happy that the Ennios was at the same standard as the U.K. hotels.
Jinnie saw a couple of rooms and was delighted to see that they had been upgraded since she had stayed there. It was only little things: soft furnishings, new pillows, new cosmetics in the bathroom, and a new room service menu. There was new carpeting in the public rooms, and Jinnie detected Alberto’s hand behind the menus in the two hotel restaurants. As the taxi took her and Brooke back to Heritage Quay, she expressed her satisfaction to Brooke, who said that she was also delighted with progress. “I think we should have the Continental Ottawa ready for the second week of February,” said Brooke. “Are you and Paolo coming to the opening?” “I’d love to,” replied Jinnie, “but will I need to invest in a fur coat and hat?” “Jack says it’s usually pretty cold with a lot of snow, but they are used to it and it doesn’t stop things from happening. You just have to be dressed for the weather,” answered Brooke. “OK,” said Jinnie, “put me on the guest list, and I’ll sort out some suitable clothing.”
***
Jinnie got back to the suite with plenty of time to get ready for the excursion to the TT Continental. While she got herself ready, Izzy had got the twins ready. Willie and Millie were a little confused. They knew they were going for a ‘posh’ meal, but they were not having to put on their best clothes like on Christmas Eve—only nice things. Izzy explained to them that they were going to eat at one of Mummy’s restaurants. It was like the one in Barbados, but it was special as it was part of a ship’s excursion. But they weren’t to tell anyone that it was one of their mummy’s restaurants—that was their secret.
The family checked off the ship and joined quite a lot of other people walking down the pier—some going to the Continental and others having a night out in St John’s. As they walked, Izzy told Jinnie how she had been on her balcony that afternoon and had been looking at the people getting off coaches from the airport, and if she hadn’t known better, would have sworn that one was George. From a distance, the man had been his spitting image. Jinnie chuckled and said, “George must have a doppelgänger on board. I know he was working over Christmas, because I asked him to join us and he said he couldn’t change his duties—he was due to work on both Christmas Day and Boxing Day.” “I know,” replied Izzy. “He told me how he had to turn your offer down.”
The twins led the party into the Continental, and when their grandfather handed over the family’s excursion tickets, it was they who chose to have a table on the terrace. Jinnie was delighted, as she had secretly wanted to eat there. It was a beautiful evening, and the slight breeze made conditions on the terrace perfect. Jinnie couldn’t fault the evening—the meal had been wonderful and the service faultless—and she watched the tables around them getting exactly the same treatment. At the end of the meal, she considered revealing who she was to the duty manager but decided not to. Instead, she decided that the next day she would ring Trevor and tell him of the meal and ask him to thank the employees for her.
As the party strolled back to the ship, the twins told their mother just how much they had enjoyed the meal, but they missed not having their favourite tomato soup on the menu. Jinnie tried to explain that posh restaurants usually had much more expensive things to eat on the menu. However, she found it difficult to answer when the twins chorused, “Why?”
***
The next day, the ship was still in Antigua and the family were booked on a ship’s excursion to Shirley Heights and Nelson’s Dockyard. Jinnie was surprised how interested the twins were in the sights of the dockyard and listening to the guide explaining how the ship’s ropes were made in one building and sails in another. They were told how capstans were used to turn ships on first one side and then the other to have their bottoms scraped. The idea of having your bottom scraped gave them the giggles and soon the whole party were laughing.
The coach then took the party up to Shirley Height, a high point overlooking the entrance to English Harbour and Nelson’s Dockyard. The twins were amazed at how high they were up above the entrance to English Harbour and how the British cannons could control the entrance and keep the French fleet out. Penny took everyone’s photo on her iPhone with English Harbour in the background and Granddad bought everyone ice cream before they got back on the coach to the ship in time for a late lunch of pizza and chips.
The rest of the afternoon was spent around the pool where a DJ performed on the stage between the twin pools. The family topped up their tans while the twins spent most of the time in the pools. Izzy finally looked at her watch and said, “Come on kids, it’s time to get showered and dressed for dinner.” Jinnie and Paolo followed a few minutes later, and Jinnie released Izzy so she could get ready for dinner. With the twins dressed for dinner, they were sat down in front of Jinnie’s TV with Paolo in charge while Jinnie got herself ready.
The family were waiting outside the doors of the main dining room when the doors were opened and the twins raced off to their table and were sat in their regular seats, already with their noses in the evening’s menu. As usual, Jinnie slipped into the seat between the twins with Paolo on the other side of Millie and Izzy on the other side of Willie. The waiters quickly arrived to sort out the napkins, then bread, iced water and menus.
Izzy was trying to decide whether to have the lamb shank or haddock and chips for her main when she heard someone clear their throat behind her. Assuming it was the waiter ready to take her order, without looking up she said, “I’ll start with the asparagus and boiled egg, please,” and couldn’t understand why the rest of the table was laughing. Looking round, she found herself looking into the face of George, who was down on one knee and holding out a ring box with a solitaire diamond ring. Before she realised what was happening, George said, “Izzy, please will you marry me.”
In Chapter 8 – Happy New Year
© WorthingGooner 2025
