Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Wednesday, 8:00 AM - It was an early wake-up call for us as the ship docked in Tortola this morning. We were scheduled to depart at five o' clock in the afternoon and we wanted to have an early head-start to fully utilize the 9 hours we had on the island.

Tortola is the largest of the more than 50 islands comprising the British Virgin Islands. Christopher Columbus discovered what are now known as the Virgin Islands during his second voyage to the New World in 1493.

Faced with the task of christening dozen's of quays and islets, he wisely named them "Las Once Mil Virgines", in honor of St. Ursula's legendary army of 1,100 martyred virgins and claimed them for Spain.

Then in 1666, English planters seized Tortola and annexed the islands in 1672.

(Aerial photo of Cane Garden Bay from: www.bareboatsbvi.com)

Our destination today was Cane Garden Bay.

Road Town retains character with pastel colored buildings. Territorial law prohibits buildings more than two stories high and residents like to boast that the tallest objects on any of the islands are coconut trees.

Just off Road Town lies Cane Garden Bay, considered as the most popular beach in Tortola. Magen's Bay may have made it on the list of the Top 10 Beaches in the world, but we found the sand in Cane Garden Bay to be much finer.

It reminded me a bit of Boracay Island back home.

My only real gripe was that at the end of the day, we couldn't find one single working shower to rinse the sand off. In fact, when S and I opened one up, we were greeted with the sight of a bone-dry, dusty floor and an antsy spider dangling from his cobweb. Unbelievable. I ended up hoisting S up on one of the sinks in the bathroom (only 2 faucets had running water, the other 2 sinks had only sand on them ) so she could rinse herself a bit. I mean, - Come on! This beach had a pretty high amount of tourist traffic. I'm sure no one would mind paying a nominal fee to use the shower/restroom facilities as long as it was kept clean and properly maintained. 

Needless to say, we all raced to the shower as soon as we got back to the ship. Itchy sand, knotted hair, sticky sweat, and all...

Carribean Deck Party

"Feelin' hot, hot, hot!!!" The ship didn't have to leave St. Thomas till one in the morning.

By 11:00 PM, the deck was already in full swing for one the biggest outdoor parties of the cruise.

A live band playing Calypso beats, a beauty contest and crowning of "Miss Norwegian Spirit" (which hilariously turned out to be drunk men in drag), dancing,

S with her virgin "Cool Runnings"

performers in stilts, and plenty of exotic drinks and surprises. The featured drink of the night was called "Cool Runnings". A stiffer version of pinacolada served inside a hollowed pineapple fruit.

St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

Tuesday, 11:00 AM - The ship docked in St. Thomas this morning. Haven Sight is truly one of the world's most beautiful harbors.

Although more than 50 islands, inlets, and cays make up the US Virgin Islands, only three are populated. St. Thomas is the most developed of the islands and it covers 32 square miles of hilly terrain.

Standing outside Deck 12, our first sight was an idyllic-looking village that spreads into the lower hills.

Say "Hellllo" to the town of Charlotte Amalie.

There were so many shore excursions to chose from. Island tour. Atlantis Submarine Expedition. Snuba Diving (where your tanks float effortlessly above you instead of you carrying them). Golf. Parasailing. Etcetera. Etcetera.

Beach bums that we were, we opted for the Magen's (also known as Megan's) Bay Beach Getaway.

Magen's Bay Beach

We started the tour with a scenic drive by open-air safari bus (also known as "jeepney" in the Philippines) to Drake's Seat (named after an English pirate, Sir Francis Drake). Come to think of it, we stood on the exact same spot a couple of years ago! Nevertheless, we found the views of the surrounding area still quite spectacular.

After everyone was done with taking and mugging for pics,  the next stop was two hours of fun in the beach.

Heart- shaped Magen's Bay Beach is approximately one mile long and located on the north side of St. Thomas. There's water sports operation, restroom facilities and bar/food concessions. Beach lounge chairs are available for rent at $6.00 each (with a $6.00 deposit). While you're soaking up the sun, you can order a cold drink and have it served to you right on the beach.

3 Nights at Sea

The convenience of NYC embarkation. "Freestyle Cruising" - meaning, doing pretty much your own thing at your own pace.

Gone are the "Early" and "Late Dinner Seatings" and assigned tables and seats. No more dreaded anticipation of being stuck with a complete boor at the table for 8 nights. No more "Formal Nights" (awww...) or "Dinner with the Captain".

You have the choice of dressing up to the nines or wearing casual/elegant attire in the evening. Or you could walk around in your ratty shorts to grab some grub at the Blue Lagoon Cafe.

Lightened schedules, lessened restrictions. Hey, sounds good to me. So there we were by 12 noontime - lugging our bags and suitcases outside Pier 90.

After clearing customs, we boarded the ship and went straight to the Raffles Terrace (Deck 12) for our buffet lunch. The first of many many meals this week where we simply stuffed ourselves way more than we should have.

Next came the usual embarkation motions: Locating our stateroom, registering S for the Kids Crew, waiting for our luggage, and the mandatory Lifeboat Drill.

Long before the ship started moving, about half of the guests were already milling out on the deck. Most were in thick jackets, drinking beer or nursing a tall, plastic tangerine glass filled with Bahama Rama Mama. Loud Calypso music played, setting up the party mood.

At 4PM, the cruise kicked off with a Sail-Away Celebration at the Galaxy of the Stars. Great music and entertainment was provided by an all-Filipino band called the Next Stage.

The Maharajah Casino wasn't set to open till six PM, but P had already signed up for the Cash Blackjack Tournament. Tsk. tsk.

The Tivoli Pool on Deck 12 didn't have the long, looping water slide that Carnival Valor had. But the four, ample sized Jacuzzis surely made up for it.

Day in and day out, P and I would see the same people sitting on that 100.4 degree water. For hours at a time. 

We quickly established our lazy routine. During the day, I'd be reading on a lounge chair by the pool while S was having a ball with her new friends at the Kids Club. If P wasn't lying down next to me, I knew I would find him at one of the bars. His favorite watering hole was the outdoor, covered Bier Garten (above, center) overlooking the pool. German pilsner and hefeweizen. Need I say more?

The sea condition was considered "moderate" - meaning, the waves were between 4.5 - 7.5 feet high. Not bad at all.  Or so I thought.

On our second night, as the gentle rocking of the ship lulled me to lala~land, I dreamt of our perfect Caribbean family vacation. Sunny blue skies, warm turquoise waters, lush palm trees swaying in the wind, white sand beach, sea water splashing on my face. Yes, I even felt the salty spray - cool!

I woke up to hear S calling my name from the top bunk of her bed:

S: Mama...

P: Zzzzzzzzzzzz...

Me: (half-asleep) Hmmm? Are you okay, sweetie?

S (retching): No... i'm sick!

I suddenly became aware that I had a large, wet slop on my cheek. Gingerly, I wiped it off with my hand.

Alas!! The salty "sea water spray" was in fact,  NOT a dream...