Ahhh, the Carribean

Ok, so we've been to the Carribean before. This time, we hung out in a balcony cabin on a cruise ship for a week with 5 other LDS couples. We flew to San Juan, and then cruised to Aruba, Curacao, St. Martin, St. Thomas, and back to San Juan. Our head water, Pochra, was Thai, so we immediately became fast friends. Food flowed like water. More shrimp? More lobster? More filet? Try this dessert! You've got to have this appetizer...

Our ship, the Adventure of the Seas, was really a floating city, with a mall, movie theaters, performing theater, ice skating rink, rock wall, multiple restaurants, spa, fitness center, pools... the list goes on and on.

As for the ports of call: Buy the March issue of Carribean magazine, because we hit many of the major beaches/offshore islands mentioned there. My Favorite? Curacao's beaches were uncrowded, pristine, and superb. I know, Trunk Bay on St. John is awesome, but so were the crowds! Isla Pinel on the French side of St. Martin was wonderful, but we had a tough time with the topless swimsuit crowd. Usually, the women who shouldn't, do, and those that could, don't. On Isla Pinel, well, they all did.

While we enjoyed the cruise, we're used to spending more than a day in each port. We spent so much time on the beach in a couple of places -- Curacao in particular -- that we just didn't have time to shop. And driving a 12 passenger van all over unfamilar, narrow island roads...wow! So next time...cruising with friends is fun, but hanging at a favorite port of call for a few days to really enjoy yourself is high on our list as well.