New England schools may get out in June, but we do something really great and that is a winter vacation in February.  New Hampshire’s break is scheduled in the last week of February to offset the Massachusetts break on the third week. From what I understand, it really benefits the ski industry. But it’s also a time for everyone to get away from the snow and spend a week in tropical climates. This year we went on our first cruise. We’d been talking about it for years. My friend Dillard, the Central School principal, and his wife, Laurie, are cruising experts and decided to help orient us to cruising by joining us. They took the liberty of inviting other friends they’ve cruised with and we soon became a party of eight.

We decided on a Royal Caribbean Cruise starting in San Juan, Puerto Rico and traveling to St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Antigua, Barbados, and St. Lucia. We’d never been south of Key West so we had great expectations for a lot of new experiences.

We flew into San Juan a day early. Janet and I booked a hotel apart from the rest of the group because we wanted to spend time with our friends Maria, who is principal of the Middle School, and her husband Mark.  They have a condo in San Juan, and had flown down the night before to spend their week in PR. The beach was awesome and the water was soooo warm!!! I’ve written about snow in New England before, and it was good to get away from all of it!  The four of us joined Dillard, Laurie, George, and JoAnn for cocktails and an authentic Puerto Rican dinner before retiring to our hotels.

The next day we were scheduled to meet the rest of the group, including Pam and Mike,  for mass at San Juan Batista cathedral in old San Juan. Janet and I got into town early and wandered around the old city enjoying the sites. We found a great little coffee shop that we had to share with the rest of the group after the service. San Juan is a beautiful city and I hope to get back and spend more time enjoying the culture.

That afternoon, we boarded the Jewel of the Seas and set sail for our first stop in St. Thomas. In St. Thomas, Janet and I booked a tour of the island that had us hanging halfway off the side of the jeep. The views from the top of the mountain were spectacular though. Afterwards we explored the shopping area, but were quickly annoyed by the high pressure sales tactics in the jewelry stores and decided to make our way back to the ship.

Our next stop was St. Kitts. We hadn’t booked an excursion but wanted to get to a beach. A local service offered a really good deal so we took him up on it. We quickly saw the difference between the cruise excursions and the locally owned facilities. It was primitive, but our day on the beach was one of the best I’d ever experienced.

In Antigua we made our first attempt at snorkeling. Despite the crew finding a pair of prescription goggles for Janet, the waves were choppy and neither of us could get the hang of it. We got back on the boat and watched the others paddling around. The catamaran proceeded to a secluded beach where one of the crew gave Janet a private lesson. She and I snorkeled in the small bay and saw a huge star fish. It was enough to give us confidence to try again sometime. After snorkeling it was time to party with rum punch and conga lines.

Barbados was a beautiful island and once again, we booked a tour. I found it good to mix up beach days and touring days.

Our last island was St. Lucia. Nobody in the group had made any plans so we decided to go on a catamaran around the island to see the Pitons. They are two conical mountains formed by volcanoes. Joann couldn’t stop talking about them so we had to see them. This was probably my favorite excursion as we sat on the netting of the catamaran, and sometimes dangled our feet off the front of the boat. The captain purposely steered the boat into the waves to produce huge sprays of water to get us all wet. It really was a great time!

We spent a whole day cruising before our final stop back in San Juan. Janet and I took a tour of the ship and loved seeing the workings of the crew.

Sunday arrived and sadly our cruise was over. This cruise however, was a life changing experience. As well as seeing great shows and eating great meals, we took part in the art auctions. We are now the proud owners of three new pieces of art.  I guess that makes us art collectors now!

I went home immediately and signed up for the rewards program because I know it will not be our last.  We are now officially cruisers!

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller