Sunday, August 22, 2010

Eastern Caribbean Cruise

Our first night we stayed at at the Bahia Mar beach resort in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. It was right on a very beautiful beach.





The resort was also a Yachting resort and we enjoyed walking around and looking at all the yachts.


After getting situated at the hotel we spent a few hours on the beach and in the water. It was amazing how nice the beach was and how warm the water was. After a cancelled flight and arriving a day late this relieved all stress and was very enjoyable.









The second day we had a few hours to kill before getting on the boat and so we walked along the beach and enjoyed seeing some of Ft. Lauderdale.



Finally it was time to get on the boat and we were amazed at how large it was. It had 20 floors and over 3000 guests.



Once on the boat we grabbed something to eat at the buffet and then explored the ship.



Our first view from our balcony before the ship had left port.


Watching as the boat left port and headed for our first destination.







Our first full day was spent at the Princess Cays island. It did not have anywhere for the boat to dock so we had to ride the life boats to get to shore.











After getting our clam shell and leaving our items on our lawn chairs we spent a half hour kayaking around the bay.







After Kayaking we enjoyed a very good BBQ. Since this was a private island for the cruise ship the food was all included with the cruise.



After swimming for a while we both lounged out and took a nap in our clam shell.


That night we enjoyed a great dinner in the formal dining room. We spent most nights in this dining room and this was the table we prefered if we could get it.


The day was a full day at sea and we did a lot of swimming, relaxing and enjoying everything the boat had to offer. It was also formal night in the dining rooms.


The third day we stopped at the island of St. Martin. We took a butterfly farm tour that also took us to the french and dutch sides of the island.


The french side was very beautiful and it was fun getting to see the sites and feeling a bit like we were in france.


We of course had to get a crepe...





And visit a boulangerie!


We ate very well in French St. Martin!



The way back to the dutch side had many good views of the island.


We were then able to enjoy the nice beaches on the Dutch side after visiting a dozen or more jewelry stores.










Another great meal in the dinning room and then we had to try many of the deserts to make sure we found the best one.


The fourth day we arrived at St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Here is a picture of my on our deck from the pier.


We went on a Kayak, Hike and Snorkle adventure on St. Thomas and it was a fantastic shore excursion.








This was our first time snorkling and it was amazing. We loved every minute of it.








Each morning we ate breakfast at the buffet and here is an example of what Julie would get and what I would get.






On the fifth day we did not arrive at the island of Grand Turk until early afternoon so in the morning we attended a cooking class put on by the head chef. Afterwards they gave us a tour of the Galley and then we bought a cook book and had it signed by the chef.



Three of the nights on the ship we watched a late night movie under the stars on their large outdoor screen by the pool.





In Grand Turk we took a motor boat to a small secluded island and did some great snorkling and took a small hike to some ruins.








The beach on this small island was the most beautiful we had seen and we had a great time snorkling and swimming here.





After our tour we were dropped off on the main island and spent some time swimming at the beach right next to the ship.



Back on the ship the next day was spent at sea heading back to Ft. Lauderdale.








We were amazed at the service given on the ship and especially our stewardess was wonderfull and not only cleaned our room twice a day but took care of all our needs.

Although our cruise was finished we had one more day in Ft. Lauderdale and we went back to its beaches to do some more swimming.

We also did some exploring downtown.


Overall we had a fantastic cruise and vacation!