Back in January, Melissa and I went on a seven-day cruise to the eastern Caribbean. First we spent a few days in San Juan, Puerto Rico, then we boarded the Norwegian Epic for a journey to the British Virgin Islands, Antigua, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Sint Maarten and Saint Martin, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
It was a good thing that we decided to spend that time in San Juan before the cruise, because that meant we were already in Puerto Rico before the airspace shut down for U.S. military operations in Venezuela. Unfortunately a lot of people missed the cruise—I heard rumors that more than a thousand of the expected passengers didn’t make it.
Anyway, this trip was mostly for relaxing. I didn’t take my “real” camera, so all these photos are from my phone, and I didn’t even take pictures of everything . . . but I still wanted to share the ones I did take. It was a good time.
Puerto Rico
We stayed at the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which is adjacent to an old Spanish fort (Fortín de San Gerónimo) and the ruins of an artillery battery (Batería del Escambrón). We also visited the Castillo San Felipe del Morro and Castillo San Cristóbal.
British Virgin Islands
Our first port of call was Tortola, the most populous island in the British Virgin Islands. From there we took an excursion by boat to the famous White Bay on the island of Jost Van Dyke. The Soggy Dollar Bar at White Bay allegedly invented the Painkiller rum cocktail. We got ours from Gertrude’s.
Antigua
Our second port of call was Saint John, the main city on Antigua, which is the main populated island in the nation of Antigua and Barbuda. We took a guided tour across the island to Nelson’s Dockyard and various other sights—and saw lots of churches.
Barbados
Our third port was Bridgetown, Barbados. Here we took another bus tour to various points of interest around the island, including a historic church, a nice resort, a beach park, and then a drive through the city of Bridgetown.
Saint Lucia
Our fourth port of call was Castries, Saint Lucia. We took another bus tour down the west (Caribbean) coast of the island to its most well known natural landmark: the Pitons. We also got to see some of the sights in Castries and have local food for lunch at a resort in the forest.
Sint Maarten and Saint Martin
Our fifth port of call was Philipsburg, Sint Maarten. The island of Saint Martin is split between two countries: Sint Maarten (a constituent country of the Netherlands) and Saint Martin (an overseas collectivity of France). Our excursion took us to the top of a mountain on the Dutch side, to the Marigot Market on the French side, and to the famous Maho Beach off the end of the airport runway.
U.S. Virgin Islands
Our last port of call before heading back to San Juan was Charlotte Amalie on the island of Saint Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. We went to Drake’s Seat and then to the beautiful Magens Bay Beach. We swam with sea turtles, but you’ll just have to believe me because I didn’t get any pictures of them.
Bonus
On our way out of Saint Thomas, I managed to snap a photo of Little Saint James Island off in the distance. You may be familiar with it as the island getaway that used to belong to disgraced “financier” Jeffrey Epstein.
Shot with:
Apple iPhone 14 Pro
Processed in:
Adobe Lightroom