Our Caribbean Cruise

So, Ryan and I finally went on our long-awaited Caribbean Cruise for our honeymoon/7-year anniversary. After taking a 3-day honeymoon on Oahu, where we lived, when we got married, we swore we'd someday take a real honeymoon to a place we'd both never been before. Ryan's dream has always been to go snorkeling in the Caribbean. Growing up in Hawaii, I never really dreamed of it, but thought it would be nice if I had the chance. Each year when we'd get our tax return, we'd consider going, but usually, the money got swallowed up in bills, or I had just had a baby, or was pregnant. This year, my mom, aunt, and sister agreed to watch our 4 kiddos for a week while we went. Then, Ryan lost his job right after we bought the tickets, and we were in a dilemma. After much tossing and turning, we decided to "eat life" and not let life eat us, and go. I'm glad we did...

We flew into Miami and spent the night. I really enjoyed what little time we had in Miami. Would like to return someday.

Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas

Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas - Saunders Beach

Fort Fincastle

Towel animals on our bed every night

Near the Atlantis mega-resort

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands


We caught a boat to nearby St. John Island, which we heard had nice beaches.

St. John's Bay

On St. John, we caught a bus to Trunk Bay, a natural reserve, where we went snorkeling

San Juan, Puerto Rico
So, we stayed up late almost every night, going to shows, ordering room service, talking to friends we made on the ship.  The morning we docked at San Juan, we didn't wake up till 12:45pm (it was great!) but we missed precious time we coulda been exploring on San Juan.  We got to spend an hour or so walking around, then had to re-board.  Maybe again someday!


Grand Turk Island, Turk and Caicos Islands
So, I have an inner struggle with cruise ships.  They kill a lot of reef life, especially when a special dock like this is prepared for these giants so close to shore.  A friend of ours on the ship said to think about the mouths we are feeding by spending money and bringing business to native people on the islands. 

Carol and Julian, friends we made on the ship, from Trinidad