We three couples have been cruising each year since 1999.  Every year, we try to insure at least one new experience such as new ports, new areas, new ships, etc. We’ve extensively cruised the Eastern Caribbean, the southern Caribbean, the Western Caribbean, the Pacific coast of Mexico, Hawaii, and South America around Cape Horn. 

This year we went back to some of our favorite islands in the Eastern Caribbean.  Most cruises have been with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.  This was our 3rd cruise with Celebrity.  We decided upon it because of it’s new large ship, the Equinox which was launched in 2009. 

We left Ft. Lauderdale in cool weather on February 26th.  By the second day at sea, it began to get warm.  Our first stop was St. Maarten.  Since we were late in signing up for excursions this trip (we’re someone laid back already on cruises), we missed the one we wanted here.  So, we walked the streets and the shops which we hadn’t done at this port for some years. Suzanne found a new David Yurman bracelet along with a new Kabana ring. Dorothy is also a veteran shopper and couldn’t pass up the Kabana rings either. We were happy to get back onboard the ship for some quiet sunning at poolside except for Bruce who doesn’t believe in it. 

The next morning, we were in Barbados where we spent an hour or so browsing the shops on the pier.  It’s hard to believe that we’re so lazy.

The third port was St. Lucia.  We left the ship to board a large Catamaran and cruised down the island exploring a little fishing village cove and stopping for a swim and a nice protected beach.  The highlight of the cruise was seeing the great Pitons of St. Lucia.  We also saw a whale which stayed close to the surface for a while before finally taking a beautiful dive waving its tail at us.

Next stop....St. Kitts.  We took a tour on a small van thru the capital city of Basseterre then some villages ending on top of a mountain at Fort Brimstone.  This fort is one of the most well preserved forts we have ever seen....and we have seen many living in Europe for a while.

Our final stop was St. Thomas.  We had forgotten how long it had been since we were at this, one of our favorite, islands.  We simply walked around and found the downtown area to be much cleaner that the last time we visited.  We also noted some upscale restaurants.  Bruce found a pair of silver antique coin cuff links.

We were a bit saddened to leave St. Thomas knowing that this was the last stop before our home port. The next two days at sea brought the cool weather again.  While at sea, we met with the concierge to book next year’s cruise.  Bruce and Dorothy, Suzanne and Al committed to a Panama Canal cruise going from San Diego to Florida. There will be many new ports to visit including those in Honduras and Categena, Columbia. We found it strange that there was only one cruise in January (leaving Jan. 2nd) and the next one in late March.  Each year, there are many in February and March.

When we arrive in Ft. Lauderdale, the six of us had one last breakfast together with our usual morning stories and laughs. We will be meeting again with the rest of our Brussels Bunch in South Dakota the last week in September.  Until then, it was another memorable cruise with good friends.