Day 7 Grand Turk

We arrive on schedule about 10 AM. the weather remains perfect, high 70's, sunny, with a slight breeze. We have booked a short tour of the island on an open air trolley. We depart the ship early for our tour and explore the shops a little.  There is a Margaritaville here with a large pool. The port district is very clean and appears to have been rebuilt after the devastating hurricanes of 7 or 8 years ago that destroyed most of the islands infrastructure.

Right beside the pier are beautiful pristine sandy public beaches. The water is crystal clear, possibly the clearest in the Caribbean. A few hundred feet from shore the water depth goes abruptly to over 7000 feet. Don't expect too retrieve anything you drop.

Some of our group has chartered a private snorkel trip, others enjoy the beach, we enjoy our tour. Many say this was the best stop of the cruise.

While waiting for our tour there is some unexpected excitement. Several dozen officers and staff, including the captain pass by at a brisk pace towards the beach. The first rumor is that someone jumped from the ship. Moments later it is reported that someone has been caught shoplifting. Two simultaneous incidents?

Ultimately we learn that someone jumped from the pier. Whether guest or crew is unknown. They swam to the beach. The clear violation? They crossed over the yellow line on the pier edge and by jumping in the water avoided  a security check going ashore. Shop lifting? don't know if that is true or not. Possibly authorities caught up with the swimmer in a shop.

Our tour was good. At our obligatory shopping stop some locally made coconut ice cream was delicious. The snorkelers and swimmers also had a great time. With only 1 ship, there were no crowds to fight.

There are many wild donkeys on the island. They enjoy running in front of vehicles and begging for food. They looked pretty well fed.

Dinner this evening is beef wellington. Despite being 10 or 15 minutes late to the dining room, our ser.vice was the best it has been all week.  

Most of the group goes to the production show after dinner. I catch half a set of the jazz band and call it a night.

Tonight and all day tomorrow we will be at sea on course to return to Port Canaveral on Monday.

Speaking of Port Canaveral, it was just reported that Port Canaveral is officially the busiest port in the World. Surpassing both Miami and Port Everglades, cities that previously held the honor.

Day 6 - San Juan

The weather remains perfect, temps in the high 70's with a nice breeze and sunny skies. We elect to stay on the ship today and enjoy the lack of crowds and lines.

As an extra bonus we enjoy several rehersals of the tree lighting ceremony which will be held later in the week. Princess has a new 30 foot tree with programmable lighting that is synchronized to the show. The cruise director for the next cruise will be hosting it as our current cruise director will be leaving the ship when we do.

After all the work to retrieve her dive book, the operator cancelled the dive trip due to rough seas at the dive site. Note that rough seas for a 21 foot dive boat are calm seas for a cruise ship.

Some of the group enjoy a walking tour of the fort. Others enjoy lunch at the oldest restaurant in San Juan, others enjoy the beverages of the local breweries. I enjoy the peace and quiet of the ship

The Silver Ray is docked near by. One of the smaller luxury cruise ships launched in 2024, she carries just over 700 passengers, 10 % of the number of passengers on the largest cruise ships. Not surprising, the fare per person per day is much much higher.

As we leave port the view of the fort is stunning. Seas are slight and the skies clear. Our next port is Grand Turk.

Day 5 St Marten

Today is another busy port. Again we have 5 very large ships in port. We arrive on schedule. We have two "tourist" goals for the day. First is to vist our friend Nick that owns a local restaurant and bar on the beach, probably for lunch.

Second Lynn is shopping for a new watch. She lost her's a number on months ago and has decided on exactly what she wants to replace it.  Research done before leaving home, it is now just a matter of finding a good price.

The ship docks on time. Some of the group has a kayak trip scheduled. Others plan a day at the beach.  We hit every jewely store we see on the way to the Lazy Lizzard. Nick is expecting us and has a table waiting. Good for him, this is a very busy day with so many ships in port.

As we get settled in we note that 80 percent of his guests are returning regulars like us. What better could be said about an establishment. The wings are good. The others arrive. Most of them settle in under the shade on the beach. Some to swim in the warm water, others to just soak in the sun.

After lunch and a few beverages we head back towards the ship. As I often find, the first store we checked wound up being the best choice for Lynn's watch purchase. She easily saved 40% compared to making the same purchase at home.

Usually I will go to a specialty restaurant once or twice to use on board credit. Another failure with Princess. No one has been able to make any reservatons for months. Thanks to including specialty restaurants with Premier class bookings, all sold out for months. I guess you can also interpret that as a statement on regular dining in the MDR.

I settle for second best and and order tenderloin and Lynn orders lobster in the MDR for an extra charge. Onboard credit is lost if not spent.

Several in our group have scuba diving scheduled for tomorrow. Unfortunately Adrienne forgot her dive book, leaving it at home locked in the safe.  For those of you that are not certified divers, the logbook is more important than a passport. On the same level as an airline pilots flight book, or a sea captains seamans log. Without it you can't work.

But all is  not lost. She sends a message to a friend with all the information to turn off the alarm system, get into the house and open the safe so he can send an electronic copy. It works, and she has the documentation to allow her to dive.

After the show I catch a little of the jazz band. Uncrowded, best seating on the ship, and Ok sound.  Unfortunately they don't play until 10 PM and later.

Next stop is San Juan.