Cruising

If you’re a boat person (immigrant), you might wonder if cruising is something you want to get involved in. The answer is a resounding yes, provided the boat’s a modern stable monster like the Norwegian Epic pictured above. Not a touch of seasickness, and thank goodness, not a ripple on the Atlantic or was it the Gulf?

Our grand Caribbean cruise began with the usual airport glitches: little plastic bags of lotions, an oversized suitcase that almost had to be booked at cost, and baggage that went to Dallas instead of Miami, not to mention bare feet. (Lately, we hate to fly).

Thanks to friends, we had a buffet breakfast at their Miami hotel, a ride back to the airport to pick up the re-routed bags, and a shuttle to the cruise ship. She was a beauty, taller and longer than any other ships berthed beside her, but her days on the sea would have been boring were it not for the family of friends that shared the journey.

 

If you wonder why everyone on the ship dressed in white, the cruise captain had announced a “white” event. The real reason we dressed up, though, was for a wedding--the wedding of a favored “daughter” to take place on St Thomas. It's a three day journey at sea that gave us ample opportunity to explore the ship, join scheduled entertainment, or just laze around in our cabin with our towel pets.

 

Loosening the purse strings is easy when you’re on vacation. Booking costly shore excursions to St. Martin’s, also called St. Maarten on the Dutch half of the island, and then the Everglades was worth every penny, or should we say $$$? But the wedding on St. Thomas would take priority. The couple glowed with that rosey-eyed desire every couple in love wears. 

And . . There’s no better place to tie the knot than the beach, right?

 And so we beached . . .

and toured . . .

and beached some more.

Of course all good things must come to an end, but not before a final tour of the Everglades with its tropical birds . . .

and gators.