Late last Winter when the COVID vaccine became available, Larry figured it was the perfect time to book a cruise and to fullfill a long-time dream: Spend every New Year's Eve on a different Caribbean island.
He booked a January, 2022, Viking Ocean sailing from San Juan, PR, to Tortola, St. Kitts, Barbados, Dominica, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Martin, and St. Thomas. https://youtu.be/bAL1Lg_GG7s, and arranged to say a few days in San Juan prior to the cruise.
After the vaccine was released and it became evident that half the people in our country are stupid and refused to get it, COVID raged on. We spent most of the year thinking we wouldn't be able to go. He booked the cruise with a guarantee that we could cancel for any reason up to two weeks prior to departure. Just as the deadline passed came the latest variant, Omicron. CDC issued warnings not to go on cruises. People were cancelling left and right. COVID tests, required to enter Puerto Rico, became a rare commodity, espcially during the holidays.
Somehow we found tests, got negative results, cleared the hurdles to enter PR, and were delivered to Hilton Caribe. We would take another test prior to boarding the ship, then another after boarding.
We had a spacious room on the top floor with a huge private balcony overlooking the Atlantic Ocean where it crashed over a barrier reef and into Fort San Geronimo. The balcony was super private. At the stroke of midnight, fireworks erupted across the sky and above the sky scrapers of cosmopolitain San Juan, and I stood on the balcony completely naked! Because I could.
A couple of days later, we finally boarded the ship. Half of the reseravations had been cancelled, so only some 400 pax aboard with a full crew. We could not have in our wildest dreams imagined the trip going so well and being so much fun.
We had great excursions on each island. We mostly chose to stick to sailing/snorkelling because we can't do that at home. We were sad to have missed the walking tours of the colonial towns, but we can't be in two places at once, and we chose the Caribbean for the sea, not the towns. We met some fabulous guides who were all too happy to share they home and culture with us as well as rum punch, delectable food, some dance moves, and lots and lots of laughter.
On board, the crew learned our names and drink preferences immediately. They called Larry "Sir Lawrence" and me "Madame Aimee." The crew really made this trip what it was--full of joy, laughter, interesting conversation. We had opportunity to have nice conversations and learn about their home countries, their work, their families. We sailed the Caribbean but also felt as if we had visited India, Indonesia, Phillipines, Serbia, Nigeria, El Salvador, and other places around the globe.
We took a Viking ocean cruise to the Adriatic in 2016, and absolutely loved the ship. We kind of felt like we were coming home again. We had many amenities to ourselves or shared with just a handful of people. My favorite place on board, the thermal spa, was just as inviting and invigorating and relaxing as I remember it, and we went almost every day at 5 pm, staying about 90 minutes, then headed to a late leisurely dinner after a drink in the Living Room. After, we'd walk the decks under moonlight and listen to the waves then head to the Explorer's lounge to cozy up next to the fire and listen to the singer and meet with friends.
Yes, friends. We met friends our third day aboard on a snorkeling excursion to Norman Island--Barb and Deb from Wisconsin. We became fast friends after that day, sometimes joining one another for breakfast or lunch or dinner then libations and conversation until bed time. I think we made friends for life!
I focused on enjoying every second of the cruise. I found I love Afternoon Tea, especially English Breakfast and Lapsang Souchong. WE loved the Wintergarden pool and extremely comfortable chaise lounges, curled up with a book. We spent hardly any time in our cabin, but loved it too, especially the balcony.
All in all, we think it might the best trip we've ever had, and we have been some places! We never thought a cruise could be so fun, elegant, intimate. We'll never have the experience of a half-sailing again, so we'll remember this one forever. And try really hard not to compare future cruises (oh, yes!) to this one!
"Cat"io furniture
