Cruisin' the Caribbean

Way back before the I-Phone and social media, my husband and I got married-this was May 22nd, 2004!!! How could it have been over 20 years ago at this point? But since I am trying to blog about my travels, I couldn't let this trip go undocumented. Sadly, I don't have any pictures on my computer since, as I mentioned, this was before the days of taking pictures on our phones. So, all my pictures were taken from an underwater throw-away camera and a Kodak that required rolls of film!!!! How weird is that?

At any rate, we decided to take a cruise to the Caribbean for our honeymoon. This was my second cruise (I went to the Bahamas on a short cruise when I was a senior in high school) and my husband's first. Renee Edwards, a travel agent with "A Travel Odyssey" in Smithfield, NC made our cruise happen. Our cruise was a 7-day cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's "Adventure of the Seas." Our itinerary was sailing to the Eastern and Southern islands of the Caribbean. Here is the actual itinerary:

• Sunday, May 23rd: Fly into San Juan, Puerto Rico and embark at 10:00pm.

• Monday, May 24th: St. Thomas from 7:00am-5:30pm

• Tuesday, May 25th: St. Maarten from 7:00am-5:30pm

• Wednesday, May 26th: Antigua from 7:00am-5:30pm

• Thursday, May 27th: St. Lucia from 7:00am-5:30pm

• Friday, May 28th: Barbados from 7:00am-5:30pm

• Saturday, May 29th: At Sea

• Sunday, May 30th: San Juan, Puerto Rico, disembark at 8:30am

The ship, "Adventure of the Seas," was a beautiful vessel. Sadly, after this many years, I don't remember which deck our cabin was located, but it was a forward-facing cabin. This ship was 1,020 feet long and the passenger capacity was 3,114. There were 1,185 total crew and it traveled at 22 knots (23.5 mph). Each stateroom and suite came complete with private bathroom and vanity area, hairdryer, mini bar, television, and phone. The ship had shops, a casino, pools, and hot tubs like most cruise lines. The "Royal Promenade" featured boutiques and other duty-free shops. Our room steward was Chaba and my husband has a funny story about Chaba. Bobby had to use the bathroom one evening-the kind of bathroom break where your stomach is upset-and I guess Chaba thought we were out to dinner. As my husband was going out of the bathroom, Chaba walked into a room that did not smell like roses or perfume!!!

We received a daily "Cruise Compass" that was a daily planner of sorts. Inside, we would find the weather forecast, the dining schedule, activities for the day, and other important information. Once we were able to board, we had lunch in the Windjammer Cafe and then walked around the ship to get familiar with the ship's layout and decks. We had supper at Johnny Rockets, which turned out to be my husband's favorite spot on the entire ship! Bobby also swears that he saw Donovan McNabb aboard our ship at the Gravity Sports Bar; he said he had security detail with him and everything! I saw who Bobby was talking about, but I could not be sure if it was actually him or not. Later that night, we attended the "World of Adventure Parade" in the Royal Promenade. 

On our first full day, we arrived at St. Thomas, one of the United States Virgin Islands. Our ship docked in Charlotte Amalie, the capital and largest town in St. Thomas. It is 32 square miles and at the time, the population was 56,000. History says that the pirates Blackbeard and Drake once ported on this island. Charlotte Amalie is known as the shopping capital of the Caribbean, and when you step foot on the island, you see jewelry stores galore, such as "Diamonds International." In fact, at the time of our trip, I was told there were over 400 shops on the island. 

While on the island, the first order of business was for me to get a hair wrap. I paid Anna $18 to wrap some strands of my hair in colored thread. We walked around Charlotte Amalie and then spent the afternoon on Magen's Beach where we had an amazing view of Michael Jordan's home tucked away in the hills. At that time, visitors had to be $3.00/person to go on the beach.

Aboard the ship we attended the captain's "Welcome Aboard Show" and opted not to dress for formal night but instead went to the buffet. 

Our second day was a stop in the French and Dutch island of St. Maarten (Dutch)/St. Martin (French). The Dutch capital of St. Maarten is Phillipsburg; the French capital of St. Martin is Marigot. We docked in Marigot. The entire island is 37 square miles, the French side being the larger of the two. The population was 32,000 Dutch and 25,000 French and most spoke Dutch, French, and English. Like St. Thomas, there were hundreds of jewelry stores, specializing in tanzanite and rainbow topaz. 

We had lunch at Bamboo Cafe, which was around $30 for the two of us. There was cool store for all the Jimmy Buffett lovers called, "Last Mango in Paradise," which featured a large selection of his CDs, books, t-shirts, and more. Then, we climbed a lot of stairs to Fort Louis, which is an 18th Century French military fort. The views of the island from the fort were amazing!

Back on the ship, we went to the "Dancing Under the Stars" party with the Cruise Director and staff. I learned to do the "Dollar Dance." Attire for the evening was casual or "Caribbean colors." Bobby and wore coordinating outfits for probably the only time in our marriage and had pictures made. Guess where we had dinner? Johnny Rockets, of course!

Day three took us to St. Johns, Antigua. This island is 108 square miles with 80,000 residents (at the time of our trip). There were not as many shops in Antigua as there were the previous two. Most of the shops here featured hand-crafted items. Of course, they did not miss out on the jewelry shops; "Colombian Emeralds International" was the featured jeweler in St. Johns. 

When we first arrived at port, we noticed a parade with a band: drums, saxophone players, the works! Turns out, this was not a parade, but a funeral! While in St. Johns, we took a shore excursion to Paradise Bay. It was the "Catamaran Sail, Snorkel, and Beach Cruise and cost $52/person. Our guides (Danny, One Love, and Oral) were locals, and they were hilarious! They served us Rum Punch and did the Limbo! 

That evening, we attended the ship's Latine Fiesta Parade and dressed like Jack and Rose for "Titanic" photos!

Our fourth day was spent in Castries, St. Lucia. This island was the largest of the islands we visited at 238 square miles. At the time of our trip, 140,000 people lived on the island, and they spoke English with a Creole accent. If shopping is your thing, you must go to Point Seraphine. 

We took a tour ($60) with Vincent. He took us around the island and told us that the banana tree was popular on the island. Vincent pointed out that one of the cliffs was shaped like a lady's high heel shoe-I have a picture! We walked through the markets, where you could buy baskets in any size or shape you desired. We also bought a carved coconut from "Columbus the Coconut Man" for $10. We still have that coconut!

Aboard the ship, we saw Bill Pinkey's Original Drifters in concert where they sang a lot of songs my parents loved in their young-adult years! We got an autographed photo of the group and then ate at the Midnight Buffet/Gala Buffet. 

Our final island was the beautiful Barbados. We docked in Bridgetown, the island's capital. This island is 166 miles and again, at the time of our trip, 260,000 people lived in Barbados. This island is very flat and very expensive. One of the hotels, Sandy Lane Hotel, cost $20,000/night to stay in one of the villas. It boasted of privacy and of course, the average tourist would not be staying in their villas! Many native people make their own crafts and sell them.

The downtown area of Barbados is quite lovely. We strolled past the St. James Anglican Parish Church, where President Ronald Reagan visited. We learned that Barbados specializes in orchids and ginger lilies, which growers would sell to hotels and the "rich." On the ship, we attended the "Can't Stop the Rock" show and "Dancing through the Decades."

Our final day was spent at sea. We lounged by the pools and packed our luggage for our flight home!

All in all, this was a fun cruise. Back then, you had cards like credit cards that you used to purchase alcohol and other items. Then, you settled your bill before you disembarked. I know that has changed nowadays and a lot of cruise lines have apps where you make your purchases. I think some offer packages that include extra meals and alcohol, but I would have to research that!!! 

"May your adventures bring you closer together, even as they take you far away from home." ~ Trenton Lee Stewart