Doesn't it seem like the last days of work before a vacation are the longest days of history? Well, we had tested negative for COVID on Wednesday and finally made it through the long work days. The day had arrived to start our journey to the cruise port.
My family takes a three generation trip (all cruises so far) every four years (or so) as a way to enjoy some time together in a relaxing way. We originally were booked to cruise in June of 2021 but that was the very, very start of the cruising re-start after the pandemic shutdown and I don't think any cruises actually left US ports until July of that year. So we rescheduled our trip to this June.
So back to our travel day, it was an early start as we had about 11 hours of travel time plus lost an hour with the time zone change. The alarm went off at 3:45 a.m. and we were loading our vehicle by about 4:15 a.m. Temperatures were already around 80*F that early in the morning and the dew point was almost as high so it was sticky. All three of our suitcases fit in the trunk, which was amazing - I know I pack too much but where else do I get to wear all my nice gowns and outfits?
A couple hours later, we were in awe as watched the colors change as the sun rose. This video doesn't do it justice.
Gas prices have been going up significantly lately so we weren't sure what we would find but were pleasantly surprised. Our first fill-up in Georgia was at $4.35 a gallon, although there was a bit chaos as there were more cars than pumps at both gas stations we tried so we ended up having to wait a few minutes. Traffic was a bit heavy, especially in Florida but we made good time and filled up one last time in Ft. Pierce near our hotel for $4.64 a gallon.
We had booked the Fairfield Inn in Ft. Pierce and this was a great choice. We checked in on the app and an hour or more before the check-in time we had selected, we received notification that our room was ready and a mobile key had been activated - love this feature! So when we arrived at the hotel, we walked right past the reception desk, snagged an elevator and opened our fourth floor room with a few clicks on my cell phone. Our room was a Studio King which was clean and comfortable.
The hotel provided breakfast which was really good with turkey sausages, scrambled eggs, French toast, Belgium waffles, and all the usual continental breakfast items. This hotel was definitely a great choice.
The day had finally come to board our home for the next two weeks. The drive only took about an hour and forty-five minutes and we were dropping off luggage at about 9:45 a.m. and checking out the view from the top deck of the parking garage by 10:00 a.m. There was a very tall concrete wall between us and the Caribbean Princess and so my new mini tripod really came in handy as it allowed me to extend the reach of my phone to get a first glimpse.
The check in process went quite smoothly and we were soon seated and waiting for the ship to clear and start boarding.
By 11:30 a.m., we were seated in Vines enjoying our first glasses of wine or Prosecco.
Our room is on the lido deck which is a new location for us. It is on one of the highest decks of the ship, fairly far forward, just steps from the pool, pool grill, pool bar, pizza place, etc. We are also just steps from a special area above the bridge that has incredible forward views.
I call this our "private" balcony. My niece isn't convinced it is actually our balcony. :)
We watched sail away from this forward area. The Celebrity Equinox left directly before us.
We were scheduled for dinner every night at 6:00 p.m. in the Palm Dining room so met our servers this evening. As someone with a dairy allergy, a head waiter always works with me to pick items I can eat the first night and then to pre-order my meals for the next day so they can be modified as necessary. I was quite surprised when Sergiu came over to talk to me. He was the head waiter I worked with on our Panama Canal cruise on the Emerald Princess. Food and service have been quite good so far.
That evening we spent some time in Good Spirits where we could hear The NoName String Duo playing in the atrium. So far the Good Spirits drinks have not been as good as I remember on the Emerald. We may have to try more of the lounges.
After a long day of a lot of excitement, we finally made it back to our room with plans (at least for me) to catch the sunrise the next morning.
Maybe I'm a little crazy, but I set an alarm while on a cruise vacation, although I'm often up before it goes off. I just don't want to miss an ocean sunrise. And this morning was no exception. The alarm was set for 5:50 a.m. but I was awake and getting dressed by 5:45 a.m. And this morning's sunrise was one not to miss. It was also one of the busier ones in terms of other passengers. Usually there is just a lone person or two and maybe a couple of early walkers. This morning, there were quite a few up on the lido deck hoping to get a glimpse of the cruise's first sunrise.
Once the sun had risen, I went in search of my first latte. Fortunately, Coffee & Cones opened at 6:00 a.m. and is located on the lido deck so I didn't have far to go. I then found a nice table to sit, enjoy the quiet and catch up on editing photos/videos and writing my blog.
By this point, my husband had gotten up and so we went in search of some breakfast from the buffet. We weren't scheduled to arrive in Princess Cays, Princess's private island until about 9:00 a.m. so we spent some time relaxing and checking out the views in Skywalker's, a lounge on the top deck of the aft. (Some say the look of this lounge on the back of the ship gives it a bit of a Star Trek look.)
The ship was cleared for passengers to leave around 9:00 a.m. This is a private island owned by Princess that requires taking a water shuttle to get there as there is no dock where the ship can dock. We got in line to get our water shuttle tickets and were given Jellyfish tickets. (They were alphabetical starting with a sea animal that started with A.). After waiting for quite some time in a dining room, our tickets were called and we were boarding the shuttle. We managed to get prime seats in the front of the lower deck with unobstructed views.
While the rest of the crowd went left to the south beach, we headed right to the north beach where we knew it would be quieter and Paul might have a chance to see a few fish if he tried snorkeling. We were lucky to even find a row of chairs partially in the shade. Paul prefers the shade and I prefer the sun so we picked chairs a few apart which turned out to work perfectly as my sister and her family joined us a bit later and occupied the chairs between.
The palm trees were beautiful as they swayed in the breeze. The water was warm and so clear although a bit rocky.
Paul had a burger once the restaurant on shore opened but the rest of us decided to eat after getting back on the ship so after a couple hours on shore, we took a water shuttle back to the ship and again, I managed to snag a spot front and center for a great view of the ship as we returned. Here is a link to my Instagram Reel of our day on shore.
The afternoon was spent relaxing on the ship, listening to the House Band play jazz music while we enjoyed cocktails in Crooner's, dinner, and then an early night back to the room.
Like the previous mornings, I started the day in the quiet moments before the sun rises above the horizon. It was too cloudy to actually see the sunrise but the clouds were amazing.
Sea days are the chance to fill your day with activities, food, and drink or a chance to just watch the waves go by. I had a nice time with my sister, niece, and nephew in the pool this morning. We then attached tags to all of our ducks and got them ready to hide. All the credit for the ducks goes to my sister who created these. My contribution was creating the passport-like tag.
For those curious on the story of the ducks, it was started by a 10 year old girl named Abby who wanted to see how far ducks would travel. Passengers hide ducks on cruise ships for others to find. Those who find a duck have the option of keeping the duck as a souvenir or re-hiding it. Some people re-hide it on the same ship. Others bring it home to release on another cruise ship. The passport tags I created leave space for people to add their details if they choose to re-hide the duck. There is a Facebook group "Cruising Ducks-Original Group" (among many others) where people post photos of the ducks they find so sometimes you can track where they travel to.
Half these were hid on this cruise and half are for the June 25 cruise.
We enjoyed a nice relaxing lunch in the main dining room and then sipped drinks, socialized, and people watched in a lounge in the afternoon. This evening was our first formal night.
This morning started with a beautiful sunrise, dramatic clouds, and rainbows.
Pilot boat dropping the pilot off to guide us into San Juan
Castillo San Felipe de Morro
Brown Boobies
The Carnival Mardis Gras arrived before us.
I love how the cruise ships park right down town!
Breakfast in the World Fresh Marketplace before going ashore
In San Juan, our goal was to head away from the typical tourist areas (forts and Old San Juan) and explore some other areas. Here is a vlog of our day followed by some photos I took.
Common Puerto Rican Ameiva
Brown Pelicans
FortÃn de San Gerónimo del Boquerón
FortÃn del Escambrón
Capitol Building
In total we, walked about 6 miles and my step count was over 18,000 as we climbed the stairs to get back to our room. This was one of those days, we questioned our logic in booking a room on deck 15 but we made it up the 10 flights of stairs (we generally avoid elevators on cruises). The rest of the day was spent relaxing and enjoying a nice dinner in the Main Dining Room.
