In 2020, we booked a July cruise to Alaska. I remember when the world shut down, I thought that it would be short term and that the cruise would take place regardless. Then that day came when the I received the email stating our cruise had been cancelled. We used that credit to book another cruise in the following February. That trip was also cancelled. With extreme optimism, we booked another February cruise for 2022. Thankfully, the world appeared to begin healing and miraculously our cruise actually happened. Despite a huge snow storm, our flight was only delayed by a couple of hours at JFK and we made it to Puerto Rico by early morning.

We had planned to meet Mark and Maria for a day in Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, their condominium is still under repair from hurricane Maria and were not able to join us. We rented a VRBO on the beach and enjoyed some time in the sun before the cruise. Before embarkation, we enjoyed breakfast on the beach thanks to Maria’s recommendation.

At embarkation, we got our negative tests and were questioned at least 5 times regarding our vaccination and test before boarding the ship. But finally, we were on the ship. The Explorer of the Seas is a mid-size ship capable of handling a little more than 3,000 passengers. With the slow return to cruising, the ship only had about half that capacity, making it feel somewhat empty, but nice as well. There were no crowded venues with plenty of room to breathe. Because of the lower percentage of passengers we were able to upgrade to a Jr. Suite. One could get really spoiled with the added space.

Our first port of call was St. Thomas. We’ve been there twice before but this time we visited Mago Beach, rated one of the most beautiful in the Caribbean. Our excursion also took us to a mountain tram ride where we enjoyed some local drinks and chips and salsa. The views were amazing and the day was beautiful.

Our next port was St. Croix. There’s not much to do in St. Croix so we didn’t purchase an excursion. While Janet stayed on the ship, I took the opportunity to walk through the town. Over the past year, I’ve lost 70 lbs. and maintain that loss through rigorous walking. The island was a great place for a 6 mile walk. The town itself is pretty residential, not like other ports of call. There wasn’t even a Diamond International. However, there was a lot of street art and some of the most beautiful beaches and water in all the Caribbean. Our day was topped off with a dinner at Chops Grille, the ships steak house. A beautiful ending to a simple but beautiful day.

St. Maarten is the opposite of St. Croix. It is filled with touristy beaches and stores. We didn’t book an excursion here either because it’s so easy to just get out and walk around town. We take the water taxi in and just visit the stores. Our favorite is Mr. Tablecloth with their embroidered linens. We bought a couple of new covers for our buffet and were good. There are other cool shops like the Yoda Guy. Maybe sometime I’ll stop in and see his Star Wars museum. On the way back to the ship, we were stopped in our tracks by the iguana in the middle of the road. Apparently, they’re everywhere.

Our friend, Joanne, loves the Pitons of St. Lucia. Today we’re there enjoying these beautiful mountainous formations. After a two hour bus ride through banana plantations and rain forests, we reached our destination and were well rewarded. St. Lucia is an amazingly beautiful, but relatively poor country. We learned a lot during our tour, including how fortunate we truly are.

Barbados is my favorite of the Caribbean islands. I admire their dedication to educating their children. They have a great infrastructure as well as beautiful beaches and landscapes. Today we took a catamaran to go snorkeling to see sea turtles. We were lucky enough to see two before moving on to another area to go swimming. The day was amazing. I love the catamaran snorkeling adventures and try to book at least one on every Caribbean cruise.

Our final port was St. Kitts. The last time we were here, we hired a taxi to take us to a beach on the northern end of the island. We got exactly what we paid for which was not very much. This time we opted for a beach club and got a little more. It was another beautiful day, but all good things must come to an end. We ended our day at the ship’s Italian restaurant for a perfect end to a perfect cruise.

Cruises are known for their entertainment venues. We had some really great experiences on this cruise but three stood out among the rest. We’ve seen ice shows on ships before, and they all do an amazing job. This one was a tribute to the seasons and was absolutely beautiful. The headline singer, a Celine Dionne impersonator blew us away. Not only was she spot on with her vocals, but she nailed the personality as well. The real star of the cruise, though was Perry Grant, the piano bar entertainer. Night after night he drew a crowd of regulars which included myself and Janet. We’ve seen many piano bar entertainers on cruises, but Perry was the best so far.

As if to say we were blessed to be on this cruise, the trip was capped off with a beautiful sunrise and a rainbow. It’s been too long since we’ve been on the seas. It was fantastic to be back. I can’t wait until we can do it again.