We flew into Ft. Lauderdale, FL on April 2nd (flying not recommended for pregnant women as it is very uncomfortable and the bathroom use is insane). We spent one night in Florida before heading out on our cruise.
April 3rd we headed to the cruise ship. We were going on the Celebrity Solstice this time (on the Alaska cruise we took Royal Caribbean, which was equally as nice as this ship). It seemed like a long day waiting to get out of port, but it gave us a lot of time to explore the ship, enjoy some sun and warmth, and begin our eating spree for the week.
Getting on the ship
A look back at SUNNY Ft. Lauderdale (we were not missing the rain one bit)
The ship finally left the port at about 6pm (a little delayed). Our first full day on the ship (April 4th) was going to be an at sea day, so we had plenty of time for sleeping in and getting sun (I happened to enjoy it a little too much and fell asleep poolside with a sunburn). This was also our first formal night.
Dinner on our first formal night
San Juan, Puerto Rico was our first port on April 5th. But since we weren't getting into port until late afternoon, we decided to take advantage of the boat's activities and played a little bocci on the top of the ship where they have a LAWN!
Bocci Ball on the top of the ship
Intense concentration so he can beat me
Belly picture on the cruise
We got into San Juan at about 3pm, which didn't leave too much time for our excursion and shopping the town. Luckily we were there until 10pm, so we got to get everything done and enjoyed a dinner off the ship. Our excursion at this port was a tour bus ride of the old and new San Juan (unfortunately pregnant women can't do all that fun and crazy stuff, but instead get to ride tour buses everywhere). We still enjoyed ourselves.
Arriving into San Juan, with one of the forts behind us
San Juan, Puerto Rico from our ship
A view from one of the lookouts in the fort we visited
Our cruise ship from the top of the fort
Dinner at Barrachina, the birthplace of the famous Pina Colada!
Our next port was St. Thomas on April 6th. This was my favorite port of all of them. We got to spend most of the day exploring the beautiful place. Our excursion was another tour bus ride, but this was more of a safari style bus which took us up to the highest point in St. Thomas where we got some AMAZING views. We got to stop at a few different shopping areas where Jason even got to enjoy a famous banana daiquiri! The final destination on our tour was to Magens Bay where we got to spend 2 hours playing in the ocean and relaxing in the sun! What blew our minds here was the color of the water...it was absolutely beautiful!
Arriving in St. Thomas
On our safari style bus tour to Magens Bay
A view from one of the lookouts (our ship is the first one on the far left)
One of the stops on the excursion...a look out at the ships and islands
A look out at Magens Bay, where we would be headed next
Jason with his Banana Daiquiri looking out at Magens Bay
At Magens Bay
Swimming in the warm water at Magens Bay
Our last port was St. Maarten on April 7th. This was a cute little island, but the people here seemed to be a little more pushy about selling things to you. The little downtown was a little more run down than we expected, but we still managed to get in some good shopping. To get to the shopping we had to take a 10 minute water taxi ride from the port. It was a fun and unique experience. After some shopping we embarked on our most fun excursion of the whole cruise. We went on a mini car tour of the island, where we drove the cars ourselves as we followed a leader. And much to our surprise, these cars drove right on the road with the regular cars, buses and trucks! We made stops at a few different view points, finally ending at Orient Beach for an hour of relaxing fun in the sun and water.
Welcome to St. Maarten!
On the water taxi to head over to the town for shopping
Pulling into the shopping area of St. Maarten
On our excursion, getting ready to hit the road (it was a little like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride)
At our first pit stop on the excursion
Cruising down the road
Orient Beach
After our last port, we had two full days at sea, which included our last formal night and then a special dinner on the ship for our last night. It was the best way to end the vacation because we were forced to relax. We found that we really enjoyed one particular activity on the ship the entire week, which seemed unique for a cruise ship to have...glass blowing! Three glass blowing artists did two 2-hour shows daily. Everything they made was given away because it's all for a non-profit museum. We were lucky enough to win a glass blown flower in one of the last raffles of the cruise. And amazingly...it made it home in one piece!
Tom, one of the glass blowing artists making a bowl
Leana (from Seattle) catching the bowl that Tom made
A dolphin stem goblet...too cool to watch being made!
The glass blown flower Jason won in a raffle!
Last formal night
Our special dinner at the Tuscan Grille on our last night of the cruise
(best food I have ever had!)
We sure have a lot of good memories from this trip!! It was nice to be together for a week with nothing to worry about. Now we are ready to embark on the next big adventure in our lives, as we prepare for our baby girl to arrive!!!
An amazing sunset with the Allure (biggest cruise ship) to end our trip!
No comments:
Post a Comment