My, how flat can an island be? About as flat as Grand Turk.

We spent half the day at sea prior to docking at the cruise terminal on Grand Turk. Derek spent a while wandering through the terminal area which is basically a outdoor shopping mall, a large pool and a beach area. He had enjoyed a margarita and some nachos.

I, on the other hand, went scuba diving. My first thought when I saw the dive boat was, "Wow! This is going to be a great dive." The boat was beautiful - practically brand new. Also, there were only 6 divers in my group plus two dive captains. Soon, however, things slowly fell from "wow" to "aah, whatever."

It wasn't a bad experience. It just didn't live up to my hopes. First off, they didn't have a camera tank, so my camera could only be rinsed in the mask tank along with extra defogger liquid. This is a big no no. Then, on the first dive, the dive captain became disoriented and took us in the wrong direction. By the time our route was straightened out, we had to turn back - so we missed diving down a sheer wall - the whole point of the trip. We had to turn around early because a couple of the divers couldn't manage their air well.

Our second dive went better. Though we didn't go back to the wall, I did enjoy the coral reef. It had some great coral towers and other interesting critters. 

We met with the other gay/lesbian passengers in the early evening and then ate dinner in the buffet. It was my turn to drink a little too much, and though I didn't drive the porcelain bus, I did fall asleep by 9:30pm. Zonk!

WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY - Yesterday and today were dedicated to exploring Saint Maarten and Saint Thomas.

After spending a day at sea, we docked in the largest city on St. Maarten - Philipsburg. Taking the day slowly, Derek and I wandered around town for an hour or so. Then we paid for a couple beach loungers, an umbrella and a bucket of local beers.

After a while, Derek rented a jet ski for half an hour. He enjoyed speeding around the bay, and soon after we headed back to the ship. The usual nap followed, and then we had some wine and sushi at Vines in the atrium.

The next morning we were up early and docked in Saint Thomas, USVI. At 8am we stepped onto a Pirate ship (even though the excursion write up said "catamaran"). Though at first I was disappointed we were on a gimmicky faux pirate schooner, the rest of the excursion went well  - and as advertised. They even served us rum punch.

The boat cruised over to a little nearby island and anchored in a cove. We did some snorkeling above a shipwreck for an hour. Then the schooner sailed to the west to Water Island. There, on Honeymoon Beach, we enjoyed a BBQ lunch. We swam for a while on the beach before returning to the Crown Princess. The weather was warm but cloudy most of the day, with light scattered showers.

Now, after another nap and our second formal dinner, we are back in the cabin. Derek isn't feeling too good. I think it's the effects of too much rum punch combined with the rocking and rolling of the ship. The seas are fairly rough tonight. Though I feel fine, Derek has not been as lucky.

Tomorrow afternoon the ship docks on Grand Turk - capital of Turks and Caicos. Hopefully the ship will be able to dock despite the high seas. I've heard there are times when that port was skipped due to waves. It would be sad to miss out on my only opportunity to scuba dive.

 

This is the place we aren't going. Or - more to the point, this is the day Derek and I chose to stay onboard the ship and not go ashore.

Princess Cays is part of the Bahamian island of Eleuthera. It's the private beach resort for Princess Cruises, and holds little interest for me. With 3000 passengers filling the white sandy beach, it is far from quiet and relaxing. Bands are playing and kids are yelling. It's just not my thing. So we agreed to stay onboard, avoid the crowds and lay about. We laid on deck for about an hour. We also watched a movie and enjoyed our first GLBT gathering with about 16 people in attendance.

It was my goal to take a nap too, but I failed in that attempt. We dressed for dinner in the main dining room. I felt nervous, but we soon met our table mates, my nervousness subsided. We are three teachers, three lawyers, and grandma and a 13 year old son. All were pleasant and conversational. In fact, it was one of the better first night meals I've had - though technically it was the second night of the cruise, it was the first night we were all together.

Soon after dinner, Derek and I went to the Princess Theatre to watch a show. But, Derek wasn't feeling too well, so he went back to the cabin and I stayed to watch "Destination Anywhere." It was a very good musical review of music related to travel destinations including cruises, the moon, Africa, and London, among others.

SUNDAY FEB. 15 - Derek and I spent a few hours cruising around Miami. Traffic was a nightmare and cut down on our enjoyment. Still, the weather was pleasant - warm and sunny.

We returned the car to the Fort Lauderdale airport at 2:30 and took the shuttle to the cruise port. Along the way I saw the Celebrity Solstice - the next ship I will cruise on in late March.

We delivered our bags to the porter when we were dropped at the Crown Princess. By that time it was 3pm. We were checked in and onboard in less than 10 minutes.

The Crown is a very large ship, but with some special features I enjoy  - especially The Sanctuary, an adults only section of the deck. A small premium is charged, but I think it's worth it for the quiet, garden like setting and special pampering.

Departure from Fort Lauderdale was on time, and during the party I met a group of teachers who like to cruise together. They are also widows and on the hunt for new men! They made that very clear. I enjoyed chatting with them for about 20 minutes.

Later, Derek and I had dinner in the Crown Grill. I enjoyed the pork chop and Derek had filet mignon. The Crown Grill is equivalent to Sterling Steakhouse on other Princess ships. The menu has been dramatically improved.

Tomorrow the ship will arrive at the first port on our cruise - Princess Cays, a private beach resort. We do not plan on going ashore. We'll use tomorrow as an opportunity to escape our fellow passengers by staying aboard as they all swarm onto the white beaches at Princess Cays.

UPDATE: Feb. 5

I'm up to 35 people on the 'yes' list! I'd better buy more food and wine! Where am I going to put all these people. About 60% of the invitees are coming. I've never had such a high positive response rate. Now I'm not excited, I'm scared.

Today is February 1st. It would have been Gene's 53rd birthday. After attending church this morning, I took some flowers to Gene's grave site.

Our first Caribbean cruise was in February of 2006. I surprised him (sort of) with the trip. It was a birthday present - I suppose the most expensive I ever gave him. To this day, that trip is still one of my favorites. We were introduced to the beautiful city of Ft. Lauderdale and I had my first opportunity to dive in the Caribbean. Now I can't get enough of the beautiful turquoise waters and will soon return for another cruise - this time my 12th. I'm taking Derek along for his first cruise. I'm sure Gene will enjoy watching us. He was a cruisy guy.

Happy birthday Gene!