We were extremely lucky to be able to take a Caribbean cruise in February. Neither Jesse nor I had been on a cruise. Our ship was a grand and had at least 3 pools, a library, a small basketball court, countless bars and many beautiful works of art by famous artists hanging on the walls. We were treated to delicious meals each day on the ship, live jazz music almost every night, and 7 days of warm sunshine! It was amazing to be able to lounge outside, poolside, in February.

Our first stop was Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. We arrived to the port late in the day so we did not get a full day in the port, which was disappointing. We also didn’t get to see many interesting sites, but we did do some shopping.

The second stop was our favorite. We docked at Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas, but booked an excursion through the cruise line to St. John. I have never been so afraid on a boat in my life! After an extremely choppy 40-minute ride, we arrived in Cruz Bay, St. John. We hopped on a tour bus that took us on a guided tour of 1 side of the island. We drove up a hill, stopped, and took this picture, looking down on Cruz Bay.

We got farther up the hill, stopped, and snapped this view of Trunk Bay. It looks like a post card, doesn’t it?

We made stops at the ruins of a sugar plantation and Cinnamon Bay where we saw bay leaves growing in the thicket next to the bay. Here is Jesse on Cinnamon Bay.

Our final stop on St. John was Trunk Bay, where we spent a few hours on the beach. We got to lay under that mango tree on the soft, white sand.

It was pure paradise, and the most beautiful place I have seen in my life! The water was so clear that we could see our feet as well as the tiny fish that swam around us.

Our final island visit was to St. Maarten, where we docked on the Dutch side of the tiny country. We took a tour around the island by taxi and saw many iguanas in trees along the way.

Our afternoon was spent on the clothing-optional beach of Orient Beach on the French side of St. Martin. Here is a picture of Orient Beach which is on the Atlantic Ocean. The water is very clear, but not as clear as it is in St. John.

The water was very warm and the waves mild. We had the most fun ever swimming in an ocean that day! I don’t think we laughed and smiled so much in years! We had some periods of rest on the beach where we sipped rum punch on our lounge chairs that were situated in front of the water.

 

We had 2 full days at sea on our return trip. During that time we spent the afternoons sunbathing on our balcony. It was great to have our own private space to enjoy the sun since the pools on the ship got crowded midday. We also enjoyed watching the sunsets from our balcony. It is a trip we will cherish in our memories forever!