This past year for Thanksgiving, a friend and I decided to do something a bit different.  Rather than gathering together with family or friends, having a big feast, playing games, and watching football, we boarded a boat and headed for the Southern Caribbean.  It ended up being a grand adventure.  And, we had an opportunity to be thankful for new things, like beaches and snorkeling!

The Itinerary

Although we hadn’t originally planned to cruise over Thanksgiving, we found an amazing itinerary that we just had to experience.  We had both been to the Caribbean previously, but there were many other islands we wanted to explore.  My list included a bunch of the islands in the Southern Caribbean, especially Aruba, which I had heard great things about.  After some searching, we finally decided on a trip that would take us to St. Maarten, Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia, Bonaire, Curacao, and Aruba.  Unfortunately, we didn’t end up making it to St. Maarten due to the devastation from the hurricane season.  Instead, our first stop of the trip was in St. Kitts.  We were very thankful that none of the other ports we visited were affected too strongly.

The Ship

We sailed aboard the beautiful Celebrity Eclipse.  This was my third voyage with Celebrity Cruises and my friend’s second.  We had previously been on a Mediterranean cruise together on the Celebrity Reflection, and it was absolutely wonderful.  So, we were very excited to experience another Celebrity vacation.  We originally booked an inside room and found out shortly before the trip that we were upgraded to an oceanview.  Neither of us had ever experienced that category of stateroom before, so we were excited to see what it was like.  It also meant that we were on a much lower deck than our usual accommodations.  We were a little unsure about that originally, but it ended up being a great location.

Our stateroom, with its lovely window

The Southern Caribbean Islands

We both had a wonderful time trying new things and having grand adventures on the seven islands we visited.  Although the islands were all in the Caribbean, they each had their own culture and highlights.  Since I had never been to any of them before, I really enjoyed the chance to experience it all!

St. Kitts

Even though we hadn’t originally planned to visit St. Kitts, it ended up being a very cool destination.  My adventure for the day was an island tour via bus.  It took me to some of the island’s highlights, including a restored plantation home and a batik factory in the jungle.  If you’ve never heard of batik, it is almost like a form of tie-dye where different sections of the fabric are covered with wax to prevent coloring during the different dye stages.  This allows the crafters to use different colors for various sections of the cloth. It was very cool to see the different parts of the island and enjoy some of its history!  The final part of the tour took us to a lookout where we could see both the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, separated by just a thin strip of land.  It was beautiful!

The Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meeting in St. Kitts

Antigua

Our second port of call was on the island of Antigua.  I booked a sail, snorkel, and beach tour to hit all the typical island high points.  And it turned out to be wonderful!  I boarded a large catamaran with other cruise passengers, and we took a trip down the coast to a popular snorkeling spot.  There, we all jumped into the water to get up close and personal with the tropical fish.

We had a guide with us who brought bread to entice the fish closer.  I had my GoPro out filming, so he surprised me by giving me some of the bread as well.  There were so many fish that it felt like we were swimming in an aquarium!   Afterward, we sailed back up the coast and to a little cove.  The guides drove the catamaran right up onto an almost deserted beach.  There, we hung out, swam, and enjoy the sand until it was time to head back to the port.

Sunset over Antigua

St. Lucia

My friend and I had both been anxiously awaiting our stop in St. Lucia, mainly because of the excursion we had planned.  We were going to visit an active volcano and enjoy a therapeutic mud bath!  St. Lucia is known for its volcano and twin mountain peaks, the Pitons.  We started our day by boarding a tour bus bound for the volcano.  Although it took us almost two hours to drive there, our guide kept us entertained the whole time with information about the island, stories, and even some jokes.  We learned a lot about the culture and economy.  We also stopped a few different places along the way to take pictures.

When we got to the volcano, we all jumped into the hot springs and then slathered the volcanic mud all over.  We even took the opportunity to try out different designs with the white and black colored mud.  Fun was had by all, and my friend swore that her skin felt better afterward.  On the way back to the boat, we stopped at a cheerful restaurant with a beautiful view and enjoyed some St. Lucian cuisine.

St. Lucia Restaurant Views

Barbados

Barbados was the first island where I decided not to do a formal excursion.  I used the map and guidebook that I had brought along to determine that the Bridgetown was not far away from the cruise port.  It also looked like the beach was a fairly close walk.  So, I just walked to town and then to the beach.  It ended up being a little farther than I had planned, mostly due to the fact that our ship was docked quite far from the main cruise terminal.  They had free buses running for transport, but the lines were long and I figured that others probably needed them more.  I got some good exercise, enjoyed touring through the city, and then rented a beach chair and umbrella for the day.  The beach was absolutely beautiful, and popular with the locals as well.  Definitely worth the $8 I spent for a whole day of sightseeing and enjoyment!

Beach Time in Barbados

Bonaire

Ah, Bonaire.  My very favorite island of the cruise, and probably now tied with Grand Cayman for my favorite Caribbean island overall.  It is a very quaint and adorable place.  It’s the smallest of the Dutch Antilles islands (also sometimes called the ABC islands – Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao).  It has a very chill and laid back atmosphere.  Also, they only have room for one cruise ship at a time.  Two can technically fit, but they usually keep it to one because there aren’t enough resources to support passengers from two ships.

I booked a really cool excursion for the day – a sail and snorkel aboard a trimaran.  It was originally built and used by Jacque Cousteau for underwater research.  The middle and largest section of the boat is actually made out of a clear material and is below the waterline.  This allows passengers to enjoy the underwater views without getting wet if they so desire.  We took the boat out to Klein Bonaire and enjoyed the water from the submersible section.  Then, we snorkeled at an awesome spot.  The water was absolutely crystal clear and the fish were plentiful and active.  There is a reason that Bonaire is considered the snorkeling capital of the Caribbean!  After that adventure, I walked around the island for a bit, just enjoying the laid back atmosphere and quiet.  I can’t wait to go back for a future scuba vacation!

Shores of Bonaire

Curacao

Curacao was the second island that I decided to just do on my own rather than book a formal excursion.  It was great for that because we docked very close to the city of Willemstad and it was a quick, easy walk to see the sights.  Armed with the knowledge from my guidebook, I planned out some things to see and set off.  It is a very charming island, with strong Dutch influences evident throughout.

One of my favorite parts was the Queen Anne pontoon bridge, which is built upon a series of small boats.  When a boat needs to come through the river, one end simply unhooks and drives the bridge out as far as needed for the boat’s access.  It was so very unique and definitely appealed to the engineer in me.  The Floating Market was also very unique.  There were quite a few boats there, loaded down with goods from Venezuela, which is only a quick journey away by boat.  Patrons walk right up to the boats to buy whatever they need.  Overall, it was a great day of exploration and an interesting city to enjoy.

Classic Dutch waterfront, with part of the pontoon bridge in the foreground

Aruba

Aruba was the last island that we visited on the cruise, and we actually spent the night docked there.  Overnights aren’t very common on cruises overall, so it was pretty fun to have almost two full days to see the sights.  I decided to do the first day on my own and then join my friend on an excursion for the second day.  That plan worked out really well, as I got to see both Oranjestad, where we were docked, as well as some of the highlights of the rest of the island.  While walking around on my own, I also found a fun little beach that was at the very end of the airport’s runway.

During the second day, my friend and I booked an excursion on the Kukoo Kunuku bus. The buses are very uniquely decorated and have energetic guides, fun music, and even maracas onboard!  The guide took us on a tour of the northern part of the island, including the Alto Vista chapel and the California lighthouse.  Finally, we ended up at Palm Beach to enjoy the beautiful blue waters and fine sands.  It was a lovely Caribbean Thanksgiving Day!

Palm Beach, Aruba

Favorite Activities on the Boat

Of course, though we spent a lot of time on these lovely Caribbean islands, we also had five sea days to enjoy during this trip. Overall, the onboard activities were stellar!  I enjoyed many of the dance classes, read quite a few books, and spent a great deal of time sitting in my two favorite places, the Sky Lounge and the Solarium.  I always love the environment of a sea day, where everyone is relaxed and the sea stretches on as far as the eye can see.  Some of our favorite onboard activities were actually quite active, though!

Scavenger Hunts

One of our favorite activities that we had never done on a boat before was the scavenger hunt.  It involved taking pictures of items from a designated list and then returning to the starting point within half an hour.  We had such a blast ‘speedwalking’ (no running was allowed!) all over the boat in search of unique items.   In fact, we loved it so much that we participated both times it was offered!  It was also a cool way to get to know the boat a little bit better and meet some fun new friends that we enjoyed getting to know during the rest of the cruise.

Silent Discos

We also had a blast attending the evening entertainment, with my favorite being the Silent Discos.  If you have never heard of this amazing type of dance party, you absolutely must check one out!  Basically, everyone is given a pair of headphones and listens to music only through them (with no music playing over the speakers).  In the case of the cruise, there were three different channels playing that you could flip through to find your favorite song.  On one of the most epic nights, the Cruise Director and his team had a Battle of the DJs, with a different person running each channel and trying to entice the highest number of people to listen in.  There were people dancing and singing at the top of their lungs all over the place.  It’s hard to convey how amazing it was, so you’ll just have to trust me and give it a try!

We had a wonderful time in the Southern Caribbean and are already thinking about potential return trips.  And, there is still so much to do, see, and enjoy throughout the rest of the Caribbean!  Cruising can be a wonderful way to get a peek at many different places all in one vacation.  If you think all of this sounds amazing and want to give cruising a try, check out my post about the 9 Reasons a Cruise Could Be Your Next Favorite Vacation!