Our First Cruise...

Our first cruise was essentially our honeymoon vacation, delayed a bit but well worth the wait. We had waited until late September to go for various reasons (rates, schedule, etc) and we enjoyed every second of it. Well almost... keep reading.

At the start, we had boarded the ship and began exploring and preparing for any possible emergencies we may encounter...

After accomplishing all required drills, we were off. On our way from Port Everglades, FL to St. Martin we made our way through part of the Atlantic and encountered waves 12-15 ft. high, "Uh-oh". After fighting it for several hours I made a necessary trip to the ship's infirmary for a dose of motion sickness medicine...in my "seat".

Before we knew it we had arrived in scenic St. Martin, where we took at few minutes and walked around the port area before negotiating an island tour by cab from a local driver.

We had spent most the day with a couple that we met at dinner the previous night.

After our tour, we had spent a few hours wandering the streets shopping and filling up on some local cuisine.

I ended up dragging Kristen around the streets of St. Martin looking for their local fire department. I was really interested in seeing how they operate and what kind of staffing and equipment they use.

After finding one, we talked to the firefighters and toured the station and in seems they enjoyed our interest. Below you will find a picture of me beside one of their engines.

At this point we made our way back to the ship and we were on our way to St. Thomas.

After arriving in port, we made our way to a sky ride that took us up the steeps slopes and to a peak that gave us a spectacular panoramic view of the island and surrounding sea. (Notice our boat in the distance)


Afterwards, we decided to find a secluded beach, Saphire beach to spend some time relaxing. We lied on the beach and swam in the sea for a few hours and loved every second. The view from the beach was amazing and the water was so clear.

We were also supposed to make a stop at an island in the Bahamas but due to weather our ship was unable dock at the port, so we ended up spending an additional day at sea before making it back to Port Everglades in Florida.

Some additional photo highlights of our trip.