February 23, 2026 by trs

Cruising Away, December 2025 Winter Vacay: Part Two

This post continues our winter vacation, a few days into the cruise. On our fourth day on board, we stopped at our second port: Falmouth, Jamaica. Here we would have our longest onshore activity, and one that all five of us would do together. CZ had come to Jamaica as a young adult and loved visiting Dunn’s River Falls, and wanted to experience it again with her son, Little CZ. C and I had visited Jamaica for a week in December 2018, when C was nearly seven years old. At that time, we joined a tour that included Dunn’s River Falls, but we opted not to climb. Now that the kids were old enough for the adventure, we hoped us adults weren’t too old!

We had booked a seven-hour shore excursion, though, like so many cruise-organized tours, it began with the familiar half hour of staging and instructions in the ship’s theater before we were led off together and loaded onto buses. We were told the drive from Falmouth to Dunn’s River Falls would take about an hour. Everyone was in good spirits—chatting, speculating about the climb, and looking forward to the day ahead—and we didn’t really register the time when we arrived. We were ushered off the bus, funneled through ticketing, and then into the Falls area itself. From there, we were divided again into smaller groups of around fifteen people, each assigned a guide who would lead us through the maze of slippery rocks and fast-moving water, up the tiered terraces of the Falls.

*The gorgeous terraced falls at Dunn’s River, Jamaica*

It had been overcast as we disembarked the ship and drove to the Falls, so we were a little worried the water might be cold. But as we formed a daisy chain with our group and stepped into the thigh-high pool at the base of the Falls, the sun broke through the clouds, and we found the water quite pleasant. And here I will admit: when we visited the Falls back in 2018, I hadn’t just been worried about climbing with a small child—I had been nervous, period. Over the past few years, though, I’ve become braver, taking on more adventurous activities, and I was genuinely excited to climb the Falls.

It was so much fun! Our guide took us slowly. There were spots where he led us up one route, only to recalibrate and take us another way. There was a lot of laughing, plenty of tentative foot placement, a few close calls, and some slips—but we made it.

But then there was the waiting. Standing around while each family reviewed the tour photos and debated whether to purchase them. It took a while. Eventually, our guide gathered us up and led us back through the inevitable souvenir gauntlet and onto the bus. We piled in and headed toward our second destination, the Blue Hole. What should have been a 20-minute drive felt longer.

*C and the great leap at the Blue Hole at Ochos Rios*

The Blue Hole is a beautiful place: a natural limestone river sinkhole filled with aquamarine water, framed by lush greenery and fed by a series of small falls. It’s the kind of spot meant for swimming, rope swings over deep pools, cliff jumps, or simply standing still and taking it all in. Once again, we were herded off the buses and grouped together, only to wait for our guides. Having cooled off in the air-conditioning on the drive, CZ and I didn’t want to get back into the water, but we had no opportunity to say so. Instead, we were swept along with everyone else, driven like cattle toward the falls, without explanation.

C, Little CZ, and his dad were up for the adventure. From the upper terraced falls, they jumped into pools—first from around six feet, then from ten—all in preparation for the twenty-five-foot leap beside the largest waterfall. CZ and I stood back and watched, and I couldn’t help but feel proud of C. Not one of them hesitated, and except for Little CZ’s dad, who was good with one go at the big jump, Little CZ and C quickly swam back for another go.

*We made it back to the ship at Falmouth just in time for sunset.*

This was our first inkling that the tour was falling behind schedule. Our bus tour guide approached us at the observation point and asked if we were ready to depart. We pointed out that our kids—and much of the rest of our group—were still in the water below. The guide muttered that guests were only supposed to have one go at the jumps, which didn’t seem right. Where was the leisurely swimming in the pools downstream? The rope swing? There was suddenly a push to get everyone out of the water and back onto the bus. This felt odd, given that the only items on our tour were Dunn’s River Falls and the Blue Hole, with an “if time” stop at Reggae Hill. It was now around 1:30 p.m., and we still had more than an hour’s drive back to the ship. With sail-away set for 3:30, we clearly didn’t have time.

But they took us anyway. There wasn’t much at Reggae Hill. There was a lovely view of the river, where other tourists drifted past on bamboo rafts, but we were there largely for an overpriced lunch: a piece of jerk chicken, a cup of Jamaican rice, a fried plantain, and two drinks for twenty-five dollars. There was nothing else to eat and no other food to buy. And we were rushed. They ran out of beverages. Before some people had finished eating—or even received their food—we were already being herded back onto the buses. It was after 2 p.m.

We made our way down the winding streets toward the single road back to Falmouth harbor, only to find it clogged with traffic. We inched along. I fell asleep. I woke up sometime after 4 p.m., and we were still driving. Someone from the cruise ship must have called in a favor, because we were suddenly accompanied by a police escort for our minibus caravan. We arrived back at the pier around 5 p.m., two hours late, and we all hurried aboard.

That evening, we were back on board in time to catch another round of family karaoke. C met another teen girl, and the two of them headed off to the teen club together—the start of exactly what my daughter had been hoping for: making friends on the ship. After that, we settled into an easy rhythm. We each had our own things to do: CZ booked massages or hit the gym; C spent time with the other teens; Little CZ and his dad hung out by the pool; I took long walks around the decks. And then we came back together—sometimes just C and me, watching the ice show or going ice skating; sometimes CZ and I, sharing a trial massage, walking the jogging track, or spending time in the Solarium; and sometimes all of us, meeting for dinner, making candy sushi, or enjoying family karaoke.

*Christmas on a private island — just us and the other 5,000 passengers of our and another cruise ship.*

On our last day of the cruise—Christmas—we docked at Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island. It truly was the perfect day. The temperatures had warmed, the wind had finally died down, and the sun shone brightly in a cobalt sky dotted with cotton-ball cumulus clouds.

C and I disembarked early to join a tour to a neighboring island to swim with pigs. I have taken C to pet cheetahs, bathe elephants, hold sloths, and swim with stingrays; it felt fitting to add one more unique animal experience to the list. After a quick fifteen-minute motorboat ride, we landed on another cay, where we were introduced to some of the cutest water-loving pigs imaginable. At first, the experience felt more like a swim-with-pigs assembly line—no personal cameras allowed on the beach, lots of handlers, and interactions that felt a bit forced. But back on the deck, things relaxed. Tourists, guides, and pigs alike chilled out, and it turned out to be a lot of fun.

*C and a piggy friend enjoy the waters off Coco Cay*

Back on Coco Cay, C met up with some of her teen friends from the ship, while I joined CZ, Little CZ, and his dad for lunch and then spent the afternoon on one of the beaches. In the afternoon, C rejoined us so that she, Little CZ, and I could do the island’s ziplines. It felt glorious to be warm, safe, and among friends in such a beautiful place. I wished we could have spent another day or two there.

We reboarded the ship in the afternoon, eager to make the most of the little time we had left. CZ and I took on the twin waterslides—the kids refused to join us, but we wanted to be sure we had tried them at least once. Afterward, we sat at the back of the ship overlooking CocoCay as the sun set and, eventually, the ship cast off, pulling away from our final stop and beginning the slow steam toward home.

That evening, all five of us dressed for Christmas dinner and then headed down to the theater for the finale of family karaoke. C peeled off to join her new friends for their farewell teen party. It ended at midnight, when she sat with two of her ship friends in the open doorway of our cabin—first laughing, then whispering, and finally, crying their goodbyes.

The following morning, we disembarked in Port Canaveral. None of us was quite ready to say goodbye to CZ, Little CZ, and his dad, so the five of us headed instead to the Kennedy Space Center. My only previous visit was as an infant with my parents. C had never been, but after two summers at Euro Space Camp and earning her Astronomy and Space Exploration merit badges through Scouts, I thought she would appreciate it.

*The sun setting on Perfect Day at Coco Cay as we steam back towards Port Canaveral*

The place is enormous—140,000 acres in total, though the visitor complex covers “only” seventy—and we quickly realized that six hours would barely scratch the surface. We wandered through the Rocket Garden before making our way to the Space Shuttle Atlantis building. After a short film on a massive screen, the doors opened dramatically to reveal Atlantis itself, suspended in a darkened room as though still in orbit. It was quietly breathtaking. There is enough in that building alone to fill a day—interactive exhibits, a shuttle launch simulation, even a slide—and we lost track of time entirely. By the time we boarded the bus tour to the Apollo/Saturn V Center, with a stop at the Gantry at Launch Complex 39, the afternoon was already slipping away.

At the Apollo/Saturn V Center, we ate lunch beneath the massive Saturn V rocket and watched the stage-and-screen presentation on the Apollo 11 launch. It was an ambitious way to spend our final hours together—rockets, spaceflight, and human daring—before returning to our condo in Jacksonville for one more evening with my aunt. The next day, we began the long drive back to Washington, D.C., each mile carrying us north, back toward winter.

It was the kind of vacation I needed at the end of a hard year—simple, grounding, time with close friends and family, and full of the small unpredictabilities that make a trip its own.

February 16, 2026 by trs

Cruising Away, December 2025 Winter Vacay: Part One

*The colorful exterior of Nassau’s Straw Market*

For our 2025 winter vacation, I wanted to keep things simple. Even back in March, I could tell it was going to be a hard year, and while I knew I would want a getaway at Christmastime, I also knew I would not have the energy to plan much.

My daughter C and I had cruised before: once with Royal Caribbean to the Norwegian Fjords in the summer of 2023, and again with Celebrity Cruises to the Southern Caribbean in December 2024. And though cruising never really fit my younger self’s travel style, these days I have found that while it isn’t how I want every vacation to go, it can be a welcome break from my more heavily planned, detail-oriented holiday.

By the time December rolled around, I was incredibly grateful to have a simple, straightforward trip set up—one that let us escape the Virginia winter, spend time with friends and family, and have ample mother-daughter time, with enough activities on the ship for both of us to allow for valuable time apart, and very little additional thought on my part.

To further uncomplicate our trip, I decided that we would drive to and from Port Canaveral, our port of embarkation. For last year’s cruise out of Puerto Rico, our flights were changed repeatedly between purchase and departure, each time becoming less convenient. I did not want to go through that again.

Traveling by car gave me back a small amount of agency, which felt good in a year where so much felt out of my control. Later, I realized that the decision also felt very on brand for 2025. We ended up with more road trips than I would have predicted, including drives to Lancaster, Philadelphia, and New Bern, our summer southern European driving vacation, and a road trip to Ohio for a friend’s wedding.

—

*South Carolina’s South of the Border: Kitschy but quiet. Next time, we should time our stop for midday*

On the Wednesday afternoon before the cruise, we packed up the car, stocked up on road trip snacks, and hit the road. We were excited to get out of town, and I was thrilled that traffic on I-95, notorious for traffic jams, was light. We made good time and stopped for the evening halfway through North Carolina.

The following day, we were up and on the road early. It would be a long slog to our condo in Jacksonville, Florida, our next stop. Driving I-95 can be mind-numbingly boring. We broke up the morning with a stop at South of the Border, just over the South Carolina border. On many a trip along this corridor, we have passed this mega attraction, but never stopped. It’s the quintessential kitschy 1950s roadside stop blown up to 2000s excess with a motel, camping, restaurants, oversized fiberglass statues, mini golf, and the largest indoor reptile exhibit in the U.S. Though, at 9 AM on a random Thursday morning in winter, it was nearly deserted. So, we just filled up on gas, stretched out our legs for a bit, and got back on the road.

It was many more hours and miles before we arrived at our condo in Jacksonville, where we would spend the next two nights relaxing and catching up with my aunt. It was wonderful to have the temperatures warming between North Carolina and Florida, to gradually shed our coats and sweaters. We had nothing in particular planned. Just spending time with family, which was another benefit to driving over flying. Then on Saturday, C and I once again loaded up the car and drove the last 2.5 hours to Port Canaveral to board our cruise ship.

*View of the Royal Promenade inside Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas*

There was the usual madness at the port—parking, walking to the cruise terminal, shuffling through the line—but overall it went pretty quickly, and we soon found ourselves on board in our cabin. Putting down our bags was like setting down the baggage of the past year. It would be temporary, but for a little while, I could feel lighter. Then C and I headed to the café on the promenade to meet up with my long-time friend CZ, her son Little CZ, and Little CZ’s dad to catch up and explore the ship for the rest of the afternoon and evening. That night, as we steamed off into the Caribbean, I slept the best I had in months.

The following day, we arrived at our first port of call: Nassau. When I booked the cruise, Nassau was not part of the itinerary. It was instead Labadee, Haiti, a 260-acre private and secure beach area exclusive for Royal Caribbean. However, after the State Department reissued the Level 4-Do Not Travel warning in July, due to an increase in violent crime and civil unrest, the cruise line suspended visits to the island. Though Labadee is really just a private playground with little cultural interaction with Haitians and it wasn’t clear to me how much money actually reached the locale population, I was still curious about the stop, though not heartbroken it was cancelled. We waited many months to find out the alternative destination, which online sources indicated could be Nassau, Grand Cayman, Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos, or Puerta Plata in the Dominican Republic. I had my fingers crossed for the latter two as they sounded more interesting, but in the end Nassau it was.

Having been to Nassau many times, CZ opted to stay on the ship. Little CZ and his dad headed out on a food tour, while C and I disembarked for our own self-guided walking tour. The heat hit us immediately. The port was crowded and loud, full of Caribbean brass drum music and the buzz of excited passengers spilling off their ships. Little wooden shops, painted in bright Caribbean shades of fuchsia, coral, azure, lime, and yellow, lined the way. The energy was contagious. We were here! In the Caribbean.

*The pink facade of Government House and C on the Queen’s Staircase, Nassau*

And all my teen wanted to see in Nassau was Starbucks! Fine. That was our second stop after the Straw Market, which, unfortunately, was not quite open when we arrived. Some shopkeepers were just setting up, but most stalls still had tarps over their goods. Frankly, the goods looked like the same old beach wear, t-shirts, rattan bags and hats, and kitschy goods we had seen in so many Caribbean stores. Then we walked over to Government House, a beautiful, flamingo-pink Georgian colonial-style building in the center of the old town. Though that too was hard to see as metal bleachers, likely set up for a Christmas parade, blocked the view.

I then dragged C to the Queen’s Staircase, a 66-step limestone staircase carved out of the rock between 1793 and 1794 to link Fort Fincastle to the waterfront area. To reach the stairs, one walks through a shaded corridor between the limestone walls, covered in vegetation. It was really lovely. But it was also crowded. I waited quite a long while to capture my daughter’s photo on the stairs with few other people around. At the top of the stairs, my plan had been to explore Fort Fincastle, but it was closed for renovations. We decided to return to the ship for lunch, planning to disembark again later to see the Pirate museum and perhaps another museum, but we did not get back off.

*A partial view of the Adventure of the Seas mini golf course*

Day three was a cruising day (the cruise line counted boarding day as Day one), and we had a few activities planned. C and I had an early morning pickleball lesson on the sports deck, but it was very windy—the net wouldn’t stay in place, and the balls were quickly blown astray. We later tried mini golf, where the wind sent our golf balls skittering just as easily. Though we weren’t going to win any tournaments anyway. CZ and I took a short walk around the pool deck, our hair whipping into our faces; it was warm, but the wind made being on deck feel like an endurance sport. Thus, CZ and I retreated to the adult-only solarium to relax and talk. After lunch, C, CZ, and I headed to a lounge for a geography quiz and ended up taking first place. Later, all five of us joined up to watch family karaoke, where even C and Little CZ’s dad went up on stage to sing Men at Work’s “Down Under.” We followed that up with dinner together in the main dining room. All in all, a nice day at sea, and a great start to the cruise.

January 20, 2025 by trs

Southern Caribbean Cruise, Part 3: Barbados and Dominica

The fourth stop on our Southern Caribbean cruise was Barbados. I was interested in this stop and hoped it would not disappoint me like Saint Lucia. Though we had another small group tour, it was one with longer stops and less driving, and I had a little plan to maybe make it more interesting.

We headed first to the Animal Flower Cave. Located on the northernmost point of the island the cave is reportedly the only accessible sea cave on the island and is so named for the sea anemones found in its shallow pools. I was not sure if this stop was going to be all that, but several online sources told me it was worth it. And it sure was! Barbados is the most eastern of the Caribbean nations, and where the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean meet the warmer waters of the Caribbean Sea. The Animal Flower Cave is below the windswept cliffs of this meeting point but with an opening to the sea’s elements.

I paid the rather steep price of 40 Barbadian dollars (about US$20) each for us to descend, with a guide, down a narrow opening. At the bottom of the stone steps, we stood in a large cavern. The coral rock undulated – some smooth, some sharp – shaped by years of ocean waves and dotted with small pools of water. At the far end, the cave’s mouth gaped like a floor-to-ceiling window with extraordinary sea views. I found it a little hard to walk and, having recently experienced a surprising fall, I moved gingerly over the slippery and uneven rocks. C leapfrogged to the front of the cave and I caught a few photos of her there. It is possible to take a soak in a deeper pool on one side of the cave, but we had not brought our bathing suits and towels. Though frankly, the tour did not give us enough time even had we wanted to.

Topside, we took in the incredible views of the waves crashing against the sharp, jutting coastline. My goodness, it was stunning! We were so incredibly fortunate with the weather and a blue sky chock full of cottony cumulus clouds. I wished we had had more time to just stand there gazing out to sea.

*The incredible view at Animal Flower Bay*

We were off to our second stop: the heritage railway at St. Nicholas Abbey. I do enjoy a train ride and I love historic sites, including railways, but I really wanted to see the Abbey itself. I tried to book C and I an excursion just to the Abbey, but it included rum tasting and apparently I could not be trusted to keep my child from imbibing. That is how we ended up with the tour including Animal Flower Cave, which, thankfully, was a great addition to our day.

Last September, C and I journeyed to southern Virginia and visited Bacon’s Castle, the only structure built in high Jacobean architecture left in the United States. The only other two buildings in the same style left in the Western Hemisphere are found in Barbados, and St. Nicholas Abbey is one of them.

*Our view from the front of the passenger cars on the Heritage Railway at St. Nicholas Abbey*

Thus, I planned for us to ride the heritage railway and then ditch the group so we could tour the house and grounds. Then we would return to the port by taxi.

Our guide dropped our group at the heritage railway station. We all lined up and then stood about until the train pulled into the station. Then there was a big production to get us all on board. It was packed to the gills, so C and I stood at the front, just behind the engine. It was the best spot on the train, in my opinion, as we not only had views of the estate but also could observe the workings of the engine. The train whistled and chugged its way up to Cherry Hill Station; it was only a 10-minute ride.

C and I took in the view from atop Cherry Hill–rich green sloping down to an extensive stretch of coastline. And then we quickly walked back down the hill to the train station and the entrance to the house. It took less time to walk. We bought out tickets and soon enough we were doing a quick tour self-guided tour.

Built in 1658, St. Nicholas Abbey is one of Barbados’ oldest plantations. Like Bacon’s Castle, St. Nicholas Abbey, its owners, and those who worked there, have become part of the fabric of history. Today’s land area is the same as it was when two neighboring plantations, owned by Benjamin Berringer and John Yeamans were combined in 1661, under Yeaman. As a rich landowner, Yeaman was a member of the island’s legislative council. King Charles II rewarded his loyalty with an appointment as governor of Carolina, a single colony in the United States. Later Berringer’s daughter married in Carolina and her husband became governor of the colony.

Unlike Bacon’s Castle, the mansion at St. Nicholas Abbey is furnished, though, without a guided tour C and I viewed only the downstairs, which we zipped through with uncharacteristic speed. We also quickly made our way through the gardens, past the blacksmith and rum bottling buildings, up to the Boiling House and the distillery, and to the site of the former windmills, now just stone bases without the vanes. I would have preferred a leisurely stroll, much photo-taking, and lunch at the Terrace Cafe. But I was beginning to doubt we would get a taxi at a good price or one at all. I knew that our group had 30 minutes at the top of Cherry Hill, a 10-minute train ride back, and a few more minutes to grab drinks or use the facilities, so in less than 45 minutes we raced through St. Nicholas Abbey and were back in the tour bus for the return trip to the port, right on time.

I had hoped once back at the Port we could take a taxi to visit one more site in the capital, but the traffic around the port seemed chaotic and I did not want to risk it. So, we opted instead for a little shopping in the port and a walk back to the ship on a very long pier, then lunch on board. Barbados was not yet done with us, however. As we finished lunch, an announcement came over the ship’s public address system – a monkey had made its way on board and staff were working with local wildlife officials to safely capture it and return it to the island before we set sail. The afternoon was full of whispers about the monkey and those who saw it shared photos and video of their encounters.

Our fifth and final port stop was Dominica. It was this stop that largely led me to book this particular cruise, because getting to Dominica is not all that easy.

We had yet another small group shore excursion that was to give us a taste of the island. We were to visit two waterfalls, one part of the Morne Trois Pitons National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and then take a scenic drive that included the Botanical Gardens.

The first stop on the itinerary was at the Emerald Pool, where a 40-foot waterfall plunges into a pool surrounded by lush greenery, making the waters appear bright green in some light. Well, that is what it was supposed to look like. And it was pretty enough, really. the trail was in excellent shape. But, and maybe it was the light rain, or the crowds, or the tour guide who seemed annoyed by her job, I just was not feeling it. I have seen many waterfalls in my lifetime and I had been expecting more. We did not stay long.

*C at the twin Trafalgar Falls at the Mourne Trois Pitons National Park, Dominica*

However, the Trafalgar Falls were really a treat, though the viewing area was quite crowded. It was difficult to get a good view from the viewing platform, cheek to jowl with tourists. I am sure it’s great for the island economy, but less for the visitors themselves. But below the platform was a small trail that could get one a bit closer to the water. Though there was a line, once in front, you could take a photo that made it look like you were the only one there.

Back at the parking lot, our disgruntled tour guide shuttled us back on the bus and to a rather pointless stop, yet another Caribbean island bar offering another free rum or fruit punch. This one though we had to make a special stop, maneuvering into a tight parking lot, shuffling into the bar, lining up, and then passing the counter to swipe our “free” drink like we were on an assembly line. Then tossing it back and getting back on the bus for the “scenic” drive back to port.

Our final activity was a drive through the Botanical Garden. I love to visit such places and have been to many in my travels. I asked the tour guide if she could just drop us at the garden and she told us that NO ONE gets off the bus, even though it was all of a 16-minute walk from the cruise terminal. Fine. We had lunch on board the ship and then went for a stroll through Roseau.

We walked through town to the Botanical Garden. We had hoped to see parrots that reportedly make the gardens their home, but there were none to be found. The gardens were not extensive, but they made for a nice stroll. Roseau was a nice surprise as well. Of all the capitals we strolled through (Philipsburg, St. Maarten; St. Johns, Antigua; Castries, St. Lucia; we did not sightsee in Barbados’ capital), it was the most pleasant. C pointed out there were no duty-free or luxury goods shops set up at the port, which might have been a major factor in the change in atmosphere. There also seemed to be more historic and well-maintained buildings in general. Of the five island nations we visited, I think Dominica and Barbados are the ones I would make an effort to revisit and stay on for at least a few days.

The final day of our cruise was a day at sea. C and I took part in an indoor soft archery contest and a scavenger hunt and had massages at the spa. It was a nice, quiet, relaxing day with some mother-daughter fun sprinkled in. It was a good day.

Overall, we had a good cruise. The shore excursions were hit or miss, but they all got us out and about and provided an introduction to the island. Celebrity was overall good–it was a nice ship, we found the food options good, and C enjoyed the free jewelry promotions. Yet due to C’s current age and interests, Celebrity might not be the cruise line for us now. C, being just a month shy of her 13th birthday, felt too old for the 10-12 age group in the kids’ club. I completely understand the hard line of demarcation for kids and teens but had Celebrity allowed her to hang with the teens, I was not a fan of the division with 13-17-year-olds lumped together. (I have seen many other cruise lines divide it by 9-11, 12-14, and 15-17, which I like much better). At this age, a ship with more family-or-teen-friendly activities would work better for us. Perhaps someday, we can return to Celebrity? But maybe we might be cruise people after all?

January 9, 2025 by trs

Southern Caribbean Cruise, Part 1: San Juan and Sint Maarten

*An iguana suns himself on the wall near the Castillo San Cristobal in San Juan, Puerto Rico*

I never thought I would be the kind of person to enjoy a cruise. I used to do a lot of backpacking. I would arrive in a place, without lodging reservations, and using a guidebook would find a place. I would do a lot of research beforehand, but if I arrived in a place and managed to see all I wanted in a day, I would move on, even if I had initially planned for more time. I might also arrive and find the planned one day was insufficient and stay longer. I liked getting off the beaten track and exploring. I still do. And though I rarely travel solo these days as I have my daughter with me, I was still unconvinced about cruises. However, two summers ago, C and I joined our friends CZ and Little CZ for a Norwegian fjord cruise and enjoyed it.

For December 2024, I wanted to go somewhere warm on vacation with activities and sights for my older self and my pre-teen daughter and not involve a lot of planning. A cruise seemed the ticket.

We flew out of Washington, D.C. to San Juan, Puerto Rico, on the Friday evening before the Saturday 8 PM sailing. This made me a bit nervous given we would fly in winter when I thought more weather incidents could delay a flight, and I felt even more so when our Puerto Rico-bound flight changed at least five times before the day. In the end though, we made it, and right on time.

*What a view! Looking out from a guard house at Castillo San Cristobal*

We landed just after midnight, so we stayed the night at the hotel right next to the Luis Munoz Marin Airport; it was a wee bit worse for wear, but it was close, clean, and we slept pretty well.

We checked out of the hotel the next morning and headed to Old San Juan in an Uber. Our boarding time was at 3 PM, so we had a few hours to sightsee. I had found a service online that would allow us to book left luggage service at an Old San Juan hotel even though we were not staying there. We dropped off the bags and then were off.

Our first stop was the Castillo San Cristobal, the sprawling ruined fortress on the northeast corner of Old San Juan. Constructed from 1634 until 1765, it is considered the largest European fortification in the Americas. Despite most of the space being only low-lying stone foundations and grass, its size still means it could take a very interested person a couple of hours to see it. C and I did not have that much time. It was also quite warm and C would not have tolerated spending too much time poking about. Given its historic and cultural importance, I am glad we had some time there. The weather was spectacular and so was the view across the small San Juan Island where the oldest part of the city lies. We could even see our cruise ship docked at the Old San Juan port from the higher ramparts of the Castillo San Cristobal.

*Scenes from our first day walking tour of Old San Juan*

After the Castillo, C and I took another two hours to meander the narrow streets of the old city. We popped into souvenir shops (for C) and I took photos. Then it was time to pick up our luggage and head to the ship.

In the evening, the cruise ship passengers were treated to an up-front-and-center view of the Club Nautico de San Juan’s Xmas Boat Parade. Started in 2009, the parade of festively decorated boats and yachts happens each year on the second Saturday in December. What luck that our cruise ship sat smack in the middle of the parade route in San Juan Bay! The spectacle has become a major event on the Christmas calendar, drawing visitors from across the island and further afield. Not far from our ship Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ super yacht and support vessel were moored to also watch the parade. Though I tried, I could not get C to come up on deck to watch the parade, but I enjoyed it.

*A view of the San Juan Xmas Boat parade from the lower deck of our cruise ship (and in the upper righthand corner, near the ferris wheel, are the three talls masts of Bezos’ mega-yacht)*

We were having a late dinner as the ship slipped out of San Juan port, the movement almost imperceptible. C and I took our anti-motion sickness pills–a lesson from our last cruise–and went to bed early. Exhausted by the late arrival the day before, a half day of sightseeing in the heat of San Juan, and the excitement of boarding the cruise, we both drifted off quickly. I had one of my best nights of sleep in a long while.

We woke up the next morning, the first of the cruise, to the beautiful view of the cruise harbor of Sint Maarten. The island is the world’s smallest landmass shared by two nations, France and the Netherlands, and it has been peacefully divided between them since 1648!

I visited Sint Maarten/Saint Martin for six days in early January 2009. I based myself in the small beachside capital of Marigot, on the French side of the island in an inexpensive guesthouse not far from the marina. Unfortunately, I do not remember much from the trip, nor did I write much down about it. What I recall is a rude waiter (ah, so very Paris-like), taking a very sweaty walk through the Dutch capital of Philipsburg, and taking a mini bus from Marigot to Grand Case.

For our excursion, I chose an open-top double-decker bus tour that would take us to both sides of the island. My daughter, like me, enjoys soaking in a place, and it was important to her to see both the French and Dutch sides. I had high, though still tempered, hopes for this tour. I should have lowered them considerably.

*A view of Fort St. Louis on the hill over the bay in Marigot, the capital of French Saint Martin*

We met in the ship’s theater to be given wrist bands and then herded into groups that we met again in clumps on the dock. There a tour guide walked us, very, very slowly, to the bus. Once on the bus, one of our fellow passengers decided this was the best time to use the facilities, and we waited once more. Then the bus was off for a leisurely drive through Philipsburg to the border between the two sides. I do think the monument marking the division is pretty cool. Too bad we were not let off the bus. Our guide gave us some information along the way – some of it interesting (some say the point of division was decided by having one Dutchman and one Frenchman start walking from each side; the Dutchman was a bit drunk, which is why he did not get as far and why the French side is larger), some not at all (“if you look to the side you will see houses of different sizes” – I certainly don’t need someone pointing that out to me).

The bus made its first stop at Marigot’s Harbor. We had only 20 minutes there. Annoyingly, the tour guide pointed out the well-preserved ruins of Fort St. Louis on the hill overlooking the bay and said walking up made a great hike and did not take long. Except it took far too long for people who, stupidly, had only 20 minutes there. C wanted a French pastry, so we entered a patisserie. And, in stereotypical French fashion, we were ignored for a full 10 minutes despite my attempts to call out for service. With selection and purchase, we were left with five minutes to explore… Back on the bus, our next stop was… back on the Dutch side. That was it for the French part of the island!! I recalled why I generally loathe organized bus tours, and my expectations plummeted.

*Sign facing the airport near Maho Beach warning planespotters from getting too close*

Our next stop was Maho Beach, a thin strip of sand directly behind the runway at the Princess Juliana International Airport, that has become famous for the photos of massive jets hovering over the beach just before landing. The thing is: A. we had all of 15 minutes at the site and B. the guide said the jets all arrive in the afternoon, and here we were standing about in the late morning waiting for absolutely nothing. Nearly all of us tour bus passengers stopped at the mini-mart for a treat, lord knew we needed something to pick us up, as we clomped back, sweaty and disappointed to the bus.

We headed back to Philipsburg, looping past the airport for dry, recorded commentary on the arrivals to the island and the pelican statue, then stopping briefly at an overlook (from where the overgrowth obstructed the view) before our last two scheduled stops: rum and cheese shops. I had mostly accepted the reality of this bus tour back in Marigot, but still chafed that the longest stops were commercial. Sigh. Though, as we dutifully filed our way into the Old Amsterdam Cheese Shop, I informed our guides we would not head back to the ship with them. We would be doing a bit of sightseeing and then heading back on our own.

We ditched the rest of the group, crowded into the shop, their arms full of truckles of gouda and edam cheese and bottles of liquor, and headed into the town. Well, town might be a bit strong, as it is four long streets divided by perhaps a dozen perpendicular and a population of less than 2,000.

I had remembered it differently. My memories were dim, but it had been of a more interesting place. Maybe it had been? There did not seem much local character; the shops were mostly souvenirs – cheap sundresses, t-shirts, magnets, crafts made with shells – mixed with Duty Free brand, liquor, and tobacco stores and micro casinos. The highlight was the cute Sint Maarten Court House decked out for Christmas. We gave up. We had given it a go, walked about on our own, seen a bit on our terms. Hot and sweaty, we walked the 20 minutes back to the cruise ship.

Back on the ship, ensconced in the warm temperatures, beneath an azure sky, and looking out on the turquoise waters touching Saint Martin, I was surprised to find I felt happy. Sure, it had not been what I had hoped for but we were after all on a Caribbean cruise! I looked forward to the next stop.

September 13, 2023 by trs

The Amazing Summer 2023 European Vacay, Part Two: Cruising the Norwegian Fjords

The second installment of our summer 2023 European adventures.

In Southampton, we boarded our Royal Caribbean cruise ship, the Anthem of the Seas. Though my friend CZ and her son had been on several cruises, this would be the first for C and I. Before I had thought a cruise would not suit me, us. I often travel to places a bit more off the beaten path, where cruises generally do not visit. And cruises have specific departure dates that have not matched my time off. But for a few years, CZ and I had talked about a European cruise with the kids and at last with a summer surprisingly free from work constraints, we booked one together.

*C tries her hands (and feet) at some rock wall climbing*

We snagged one of the earliest boarding times so we could have as much time to explore the ship on the first day, even before the departure time of 5 PM. Before we set sail we had had lunch, got ourselves situated into our cabins, toured the main sections of the ship, and did a few activities. Little CZ, C, and I scored a free 10 minute introductory indoor skydiving session at iFLY, and Little CZ and C tried the rocking climbing wall on deck. When we turned in that evening at a decent hour, we were confident we were off to a great start and maybe had even beat the jet lag already.

That is until the next morning, when I woke up around 8:30 AM. I could hardly believe I had slept so long. I had expected to wake in the early morning hours, maybe 6 AM at the latest. The bigger surprise though was that neither my watch nor phone clock had reset and in the dead of night had moved into continental Europe time and it was actually 9:30 AM. And we had enrolled in a sushi making class at 10 AM… I jumped up and knocked on the connecting door. CZ, groggily responded, clearly wishing me to just go away. “CZ! The clocks changed! We have our sushi making class in 25 minutes!” I think the response might have been, “Oh, sh!t!” and then “ok, we will get up!” We all got dressed as quick as we could and made our way down to the Japanese restaurant for our lesson, turning up right on time, but looking a bit worse for wear. CZ wanted coffee; I wanted a Diet Coke. All of us wanted to be doing something other than making seafood based food first thing in the morning. I was also feeling a wee bit seasick, I guess, so that was not helping. We made it through our sushi class, though saw that several other people showed up really late, thinking they were early; the time change had messed with more than just us.

We made the most of our day at sea despite our less than stellar start. The kids hit the kids club and CZ and I joined an Escape Room challenge (our team getting one of the most successful scores ever, or so our challenge leaders said). CZ caught some guitar; I read a book. The kids went to the arcade. It was a pretty good day overall.

*View of Bergen from Mt. Floyen, with the funicular making its trip up in the foreground*

The following morning we arrived, in absolutely amazing weather, to Bergen. Persons on the cruise just the month before had experienced cold rain and even a bit of snow, and here we had temperatures in the 80s under blazing blue skies. We had tickets for the Floibanen Funicular and opted to walk the 20 minutes from the cruise ship terminal rather than deal with a bus. The funicular, which has been running since 1918, takes about 5 minutes to scale the hillside and deposit tourists and locals alike 1000 feet above the city. At the top are restaurants and playgrounds and hiking trails. We didn’t have much of a plan other than the funicular, given that Bergen is Norway’s second largest city (i.e. would have shops) and is known for its UNESCO World Heritage listed Hanseatic commercial buildings lining its old port.

*From left to right: Whale sausage for sale, Rosenkrantz Tower, Hanseatic merchant buildings in historic Bryggen, and C standing with a troll statue at the top of Mt. Floyen*

Atop Mt. Floyen, we followed a person dressed in a troll costume to a clearing where we watched the first part of a kids program. It seemed weirdly mesmerizing, even to C, especially when another person also showed up in a goat costume and the troll and goat talked and sang in high-pitched voices, mostly in Norwegian. The kids played on a really nice wooden playground complete with balance beams, ziplines, and what was likely a crooked four story troll house. We made our way back down the hill, again by funicular, and lunched in the city center. We strolled along the main thoroughfare in the Bryggen historic harbor district. Here, C and I opted to visit the medieval Rosenkrantz Tower (I have long loved the Tom Stoppard classic Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and historic places) while CZ and Little CZ hit the fish market (C and I do not eat fish and C has long had the amazing ability to will herself to vomit when confronted with too many dead fish, like in a market, which I discovered when we lived in China). Then we made our way back through town to the ship to head off to the next port.

CZ and I watched atop the ship for quite some time as we sailed out of the fjords surrounding Bergen. The water was like pliable glass that we silently sliced through. Seagulls kept pace alongside, dipping and floating in our windy wake. I was not sure I had been anywhere quite like this and counted my lucky stars to have visited and in such glorious weather.

On our third morning, we woke early to the still, turquoise waters of a bay enclosed by emerald green hills and the small hamlet of Olden, where the ship had docked around 5 AM. We had breakfast by the window staring out into the picture postcard scene. There was a forecast of rain, but not until about 2 in the afternoon, when we would already be on board for our 3 PM departure.

We had tickets for the Loen Skylift, a mountain cable car that whisks visitors up a thousand meters to Mt. Hoven, located just six kilometers from Olden. We boarded the free shuttle bus after breakfast and took the 10-minute bus ride to the lower station. Despite the very good weather and two cruise ships in port, there was almost no wait. At the top, the view of snow covered peaks dramatically rising steep above glacier-carved waterways was awe inspiring.

We walked around a little at the top as we waited for our lunch reservation in the restaurant, most probably on some list for dining establishments with the most dramatic views. Unfortunately, my daughter started to feel not quite well; she fell asleep at the lunch table and complained of a headache. We had had plans to take the thrilling zipline (twice across a crevasse 1000 meters above the valley!) but C told me she did not want to do it anymore and just wanted to return to the ship. Truth be told, I was a tad bit scared at the possibility of that zipline; I thought I might be able to do one, but two? C not feeling well took the decision out of my hands. However, before we went down, I wanted to do a little bit of a walk. C and Little CZ did not and so CZ and I strolled on our own for about 20 minutes while the kiddos waited in the small visitor center. Then C and I returned to Olden and the ship on our own. I felt a little relieved, but also disappointed and wistful I had not done the zipline. Everyone made it back on board before the skies opened up and at last the threatened rain fell.

The even smaller village of Geiranger (with a year round population hovering around 250 people) was our next stop. It is located at the terminus end of the UNESCO-World Heritage protected Geirangerfjord, one of two Norwegian fjords afforded the UNESCO badge for their “exceptional natural beauty.”

*The Seven Sisters waterfall as our cruise ship slips through Geirangerfjord*

For our first time during the trip, the weather was less than ideal. Clouds hung low, dusting and obscuring the tops of the fjord walls and there was a misting rain. We walked up the road from the dock, winding through the village, until we joined the wooden stepped boardwalk known as the “waterfall walk” that led to the Norwegian Fjord Center.

At the Fjord Center, CZ told the young woman manning ticket desk that we wanted a family ticket. The woman looked at her and said “A family ticket is two parents and two children.” I look at her and point at CZ and then myself and say “Right, two parents,” and then at wave my finger over C and Little CZ “and two children.” The young woman skips a beat, a pause that seems to linger longer than the actual second or two, and then she rings us up for a family ticket. I had never expected to be challenged on family dynamics in Scandinavia. That episode was one of the funniest of the whole trip.

*Bridal Veil falls, dwarfing the RIB below and the house on the cliffs to the left of the falls*

The Fjord Center was fantastic – a wall sized interactive UNESCO World Heritage Site map, full sized replica of old fjord homes and a boat that even rocks as you board, and lots of information on the geology and history of fjords.

We returned to the dock to meet our RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) for a thrilling one-hour tour through the fjord. Our guide alternated between full throttle so that we bumped over the water and stops for photos and history. Most interesting were the families in old, much poorer, Norway, who were willing to build a home half way up a cliffside to eke out a living. And that many of those homes remain in the families’ possession after centuries – imagine spending your vacation in a home you have to get to by boat and then an hour hike up a very steep incline?

Following our RIB tour we were back on the ship just in time for departure. As we left with much daylight left, CZ and I opted to sit and watch our exit through the fjord while the kids went to the kids’ club. We were certainly not alone on deck to witness this spectacular journey, nearly every available spot along both sides of the ship was full. Amazingly, when we reached the Seven Sisters waterfall the captain made an announcement that he would be turning the ship in a full 360 to allow for everyone on the ship to see the falls. Considering the fjord at that location is probably 500 meters wide at that point and the Anthem of the Seas is 350 meters long, this is quite the feat, and it was executed with inspiring smoothness for the passengers.

Our fourth and final stop in Norway was Haugesund. There we had booked a boat and Viking experience tour. We boarded a tourist boat from the waterway in the center of town to take us the 10 kilometers downstream to the medieval village of Avaldsnes. King Harald Fairhair made the village his royal seat in the year 870 and from here launched his campaigns and diplomacy and eventually united the then-Norway. It was a fitting place to learn about the Vikings.

We landed on the island of Bukkoy, where there is a reconstructed Viking farm. It was really cool and they had some fantastic persons working there who were knowledgeable and excellent at staying in character. We only had only a little over an hour to look around at the traditional homes (long house, a boat house, and smaller buildings) and gardens, try on chain mail and a Viking helmet, and try to play with some typical toys for Viking tots.

Once back in the Haugesund city center, we strolled for a bit, including a visit to statue of Marilyn Monroe, born Norma Jean Mortensen, as the city claims to be the home of Marilyn’s father. Then it was back to the ship.

That evening on the ship we caught the West End production of We Will Rock You. Having just taking C to see the musical Aladdin on Broadway, I was pretty excited to have her see another stage production. And though she was not sure she knew the songs of Queen that are used throughout the show, it turned out she knew most of them.

We had one final day at sea as we sailed back to England. We were lucky to get a spot on the North Star, a viewing capsule that rises 300 feet into the air and swings maybe 75 degrees to each side to give a tremendous view of the ship. It is currently in the Guinness Book of World Records for “highest viewing deck on a cruise ship.” Our initial booking on the first day at sea had been cancelled due to strong winds, so we were glad to find another spot on the last day. Additionally, we played a group puzzle game (our team of three – as C sat it out not feeling well – did not fair so well) and finally enjoyed a dunk in the jacuzzi.

*View of the North Star as it rises above the deck (left) and a view of the ship while underway in the North Sea (right)*

Then the next morning it was all over. Norway was breathtaking and a cruise through its fjords a magnificent method to see the country and experience cruising; C’s and my first cruise exceeded all our expectations. Now though, it was time for the next phase of our journey.

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