A Yachting Adventure in the Caribbean

Through the Grenadines on Emerald Sakara

Are you looking for the superyacht lifestyle at a fraction of the price? I think I may have found the answer. Emerald Cruises’ two 100-passenger yachts, Azzurra and the new Sakara, are as close as it gets. The water toys, the gorgeous lounging areas on deck, the swish cabins and best of all, the itineraries. I sailed round-trip from Antigua in November 2023 and we genuinely didn’t see another cruise ship for the whole week.

There were no long sea passages and no overcrowded ports; just gentle island-hopping between small, out-of-the-way anchorages at a blissfully slow pace.

I’ve travelled all over the Caribbean but St. Pierre on Martinique (above) was a new destination for me. I woke as we were approaching the island, leaning over my balcony as the exotically jagged skyline grew closer, volcanoes dotted across the landscape and cliffs shaped by ancient lava flows. 

Dominated by the brooding hulk of Mont Pelée, St. Pierre is a peaceful little place. Colourful houses in jellybean colours with a hint of art nouveau straggle along a sparkling grey sand beach. Locals were tucking into their plats du jour and pichets de vin rouge in the heat of the day but I wanted to see the Musée Volcanologique before hitting the beach.

Here, we learned about the day in 1902 that changed the town forever. Mont Pelée obliterated the entire population of 29,000 in the space of two minutes flat with a single, cataclysmic downblast of hot gas. The lightning flashing around the summit and rushing rivers carrying boulders and boiling mud down to the coast in the preceding days might have been a clue to get out, you’d have thought. But there was only one survivor, a prisoner who was in an underground cell at the time.

The three days in the Grenadines that followed were pure bliss; I loved the fact that this itinerary was, well, so lazy, with a quickly established routine of long swims in the sea interspersed with meals, poking around little villages and later, cocktails on deck.

Mayreau is the tiniest speck of an island, its only village stretching up a hill overlooking the curve of Saline Bay, the golden sand backed by sea grape trees, the shadows of underwater rocks clearly visible at one end. We snorkelled here among blue tangs, stripy sergeant majors and red sea stars before tucking into a barbecue lunch, prepared by local caterers, of fried conch, chicken, rice and treacly fried bananas (actually the best bit, as veggie options were somewhat lacking and I prefer to avoid meat).

Livelier Port Elizabeth (above) on Bequia, just a short sail away, is a landscape of intense colour, lime green, bright orange and dazzling turquoise. Even the tree trunks are painted in jaunty stripes. Yachts bob in the harbour and the Bequia Express ferries chug back and forth to nearby St. Vincent. 

We followed the Princess Margaret Trail (above) over the saddle of a hill and around a boardwalk over crystal clear water, sea stars and urchins clearly visible on the sea bed. Despite the glitzy yachts and their chic-looking residents, the beach (named after the Princess when she swam there on her honeymoon in 1960) was happily rustic, a few locals selling beer and rum punch from under the trees, the heady aroma of weed in the air. A pack of local dogs joined us in the water, paddling happily in the shallows.

The Tobago Cays, too, is a screensaver vision in high definition colour, the sea a bright turquoise streaked with sapphire, the horizon dotted with stumpy, bottle green islands. This is the place for snorkelling among big schools of blue tang, iridescent, blue and pink parrotfish and boxfish with comically pouty lips.

I followed two big rays gliding beneath me until they shot off into the deep blue. Local fishermen offered to ferry people around the headland to where sea turtles breed for a few dollars but I’d foolishly blown all my cash in Bequia and the fishermen were hardly equipped to take a card. If you go, take a few dollars as missing out on the turtles was disappointing.

Perhaps we were a bit too chilled by the time we arrived in Iles des Saintes, an enchanting little archipelago off Guadeloupe with shops selling floaty beachwear and waterfront cafés touting the catch of the day. One thing I learned on Sakara is that you have to be quick to get the excursions you want – and the places we visited were a little too laid back for putting spontaneous plans into action.

The town beach of Terre-de-Haut, where we were anchored, was grey and gritty. So we hired e-bikes, determined to reach Plage Pain de Sucre, where the snorkel trip was going. The beach’s name, Sugar Loaf, should have alerted me to the ludicrously steep hills we’d have to cross, which turned out to be a challenge even for the e-bike. Factor in the intense humidity and I might be forgiven for my sense of humour failure. But the snorkelling at Pain de Sucre was almost as good as Tobago Cays, with colourful sponges and some hefty-looking fish. My good mood was further restored by two ice-cold Carib beers back in town. 

Life on board Emerald Sakara was pure lotus-eating: lounging by the infinity pool snacking on iced fruit kebabs and flopping on and off the floating mats and trampoline when the mood took us. As the light faded, we’d listen to chill-out music by the onboard guitarist, Jamie Ferguson, sipping martinis as day segued rapidly into darkness. 

The ship is extremely glossy, with lots of white marble, gauzy grey, gleaming stainless steel and banks of lush greenery. Lavish spreads at the buffet for breakfast and lunch were better than the à la carte dinners; the fact that there’s no alternative restaurant in the evenings and bar drinks aren’t included (although wine is, with meals) is why Emerald is priced lower than yachtie rivals like Ritz-Carlton and its own sister company, Scenic.

The itinerary and promised yachting lifestyle had attracted a fun-loving crowd, much younger than the traditional cruise demographic, with plenty of people in their 30s and 40s. Friendships formed fast and there were a few booze-fuelled dance parties at the bar.

Would Emerald Sakara be for you? Yes, if you love the idea of a magnificent yacht, watersports, a very relaxed itinerary and exceptionally comfortable accommodation. Less so if you’re after a choice of restaurants, butler service and a lot of included excursions; there are more expensive options for that. I’d go back in a flash, though.

A version of this story first appeared in The Sunday Times.