Been Cruisin'

Living in a retirement city as we do, we hear a lot about cruises from people who frequently go on them. One line dancer-friend told me she's been on 30 cruises!

So, to find out what cruising is all about, from February 2 to 9, Dan and I cruised for the first time.

Our friends invited us. Well aware that Patty's pre-retirement job was as a tour director with cruise experiences, we knew we could count on her guidance as we made plans.

Friends, Greg and Patty

Our biggest challenge was at home though, making arrangements for Hogan, our 15 years/4 months old dog. Quite honestly, when we decided to go, about eight months ago, we didn't think Hogan would still be with us. We're extremely grateful that our son-in-law was available to stay at our house and assume dog-care responsibilities while we were away.

On Saturday afternoon, February 2, after driving to Miami, we boarded our 2,850-passenger ship. Our cruise took us to four ports in the Eastern Caribbean:

• San Juan, Puerto Rico
• St. Thomas/St. John's Islands
• Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
• Nassau, Bahamas

This was our stateroom. Compact, but with generous closet and drawer space.

We had no regrets whatsoever about paying for a room with a balcony. Both of us spent time there, and it's where I was able to keep up with my Beth Moore Bible study, A Woman's Heart.

Starting out, we all wore Sea-Bands. I'd not heard of them, but learned they are readily available at Walgreens as a means to prevent sea-sickness or nausea. A package includes two elastic knit bands, one for each wrist. Each has a white "button" that's meant to be positioned over a pressure point on the inside wrist. I don't know if I get seasick, or if the Sea-Bands work, but I never felt queasy when we were on the slightly-rougher Atlantic Ocean side of the islands, or when we were onboard the ship's smaller "tenders" (life boats) riding to a port's dock.

The Equinox captain is 40 year-old Captain Kate McCue, the only female captain of a "mega-ship." We saw her several times out-and-about on the ship.

Instagram picture of Captain Kate with her hairless cat, Bug Naked.

When I was line dancing to the Cupid Shuffle, Captain Kate jumped in next to me to dance along!

Her daily public announcements always had us giggling. She had a humorous explanation of the differences between a boat and a ship. Just before we left the Port of Miami, she shared info about the weather, when we'd arrive in San Juan, and other information. She ended by saying, "We'll be underway shortly. Just as soon as I find the keys in my purse." 

Once we were underway, I was glad we were on the port side (deck 9) of the Equinox for this view of the famous Miami Beach. 

We cruised all of Saturday and Sunday, traveling at about 28 knots, and early Monday morning arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It's known for it's charming pastel-painted houses. 

In each of the four ports, we took an excursion, most often choosing to do a bus ride city tour. At San Juan's historic Castillo de San Cristóbal we saw this large iguana. 

Our evening shipboard view of San Juan was lovely.

Another overnight of cruising found us the next morning at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.

As we rode one of the tenders (the smaller orange-colored, 120-passenger boats) to the dock, this was our view of the Equinox. It's 15 decks high with indoor and outdoor pools on top. There's also real grass growing where passengers putt golf balls and play boccé.

From the dock we took a ferry excursion to St. John's Island, followed by a bus tour of St. John's that included a stop overlooking Trunk Beach. As lovely as this appears, much of the island still shows the still-unrepaired effects of Hurricane Irma on September 6, 2017.

Our third port of call was Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Again, we rode a tender from the ship to then board a bus for stops at a: 1) cigar-making shop; 2) coffee shop; 3) chocolate shop; and 4) the Blue Mall

Cigar-aging humidor

Cigar-aging humidor

 I loved the look of this furniture at the mall.

This is an inside view of the impressively thatched mall roof.

I got a kick out of this... what I deduced to be a cell phone tower disguised as a palm!

Our last stop was Friday (just five days ago!) in Nassau, Bahamas. 

Dan and me in Nassau

Again, a city bus tour gave us a good overview of the area that included a stop at the Queen's Staircase. It's a 66-step staircase carved through limestone by slaves working from 1793-1794. It was used as an escape route from Fort Fincastle. 

We also stopped at John Watling's Distillery where we sampled rum... and a piña colada.

A stop at one of Nassau's beaches afforded us a great view of the harbor. Those are five docked cruise ships of which the Equinox was the smallest!

I was sorry to see that all the port cities and surrounding areas - except for the resorts - looked impoverished. We heard more than once that these islands haven't recovered since Hurricane Irma.

Departing Nassau

While onboard, we were treated royally, enjoying five-star meals and excellent service in the Equinox's Silhouette Dining Room. This is the wine rack - as art - making quite a statement.

We also had tour of the ship's kitchen, and a backstage tour. We attended four excellent shows: female vocalist Jayne Curry; Elysium; a silk aerialist duo; and a comedian.

We are still marveling at how hard the 1,200 crew members work - long hours for months at a time, all while glowing with friendliness and smiles. We can't pay enough compliments to our attendants Kumar, Dave, and Ali.

It was wonderful to get away and spend time with our friends, but we think 2,850 is too many people to travel with. I doubt another cruise is in our future. Still, I'm glad for the chance to have a better understanding of what everyone talks about. Cruising is a world apart from real life. 

And of course, who doesn't want to get-away to somewhere warm(er) in the winter? I bet my Iowa friends, who are experiencing a relentlessly cold, snow and ice-covered winter would appreciate any kind of get-away! Linda