Family B2B Cruise - Caribbean Princess - June 19, 2022 - Princess Cays

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.