Southern Caribbean Cruise

Phoebe Taylor
Mar 28, 2019
8 min read

Hey Guys, Since I would love this to be a Travel blog someday I thought I should finally do a post on best vacation that I have ever had. In 8th grade my parents made me a promise that if I graduated High school with a 3.85 GPA that they would take me on a senior trip. While at the time I didn't take school as serious but they knew how much I loved to travel. I spent the next 4 years of school working hard to keep my grades up. At the Beginning of 2016 we started planning our trip for the Next February. I had always planned on going to Hawaii but when my parents brought up the idea of a cruise I was already sold.

So first things first, we needed to decide where we wanted to go. After much research it seemed as if we choose the Southern Caribbean. One thing I wanted to see is the beautiful clear water that is reported there and that I had always seen in pictures. Let me tell you there are no words to describe how amazing it was. After choosing the destination it was time to choose a ship. At the time Oasis of the Seas was the most talked about Boat. While I wanted to go on this it wasn't able to port at many place due to the fact that it was so big. We decided to check out some other boats and that is when I found Adventure Of The Seas. After a huge count down and much planning and research it was finally time for us to go.

On Tuesday January 31st, 2017 at 11 pm we got on a plane headed for Puerto Rico.

Salt Lake International Airport before boarding to Puerto Rico

While it was late at night our excitement kept us awake pretty much the entire way there. As you can see in the picture on the left we were still bundled up because of horrible cold in Utah. ( Which was also the worst part about coming home ) Little did we know that 9 hour flight with a stop at an airport in New York would feel like an eternity.

Let's just say by the time we reached Puerto Rico I never want to be in that plane again. After getting off the plane the first thing I noticed was how Hot it was. My mother and I had to go change in the restrooms while waiting for my dad to get the rental car.

While we were very tired everything we were seeing was amazing. Puerto Rico is a beautiful place and I would 100% recommend visiting. As we were trying to get to our hotel everything was in Spanish. Luckily my Father knew some. At first while we were by the city there were stop signs, and stop lights but as we got further in we realized that driving here would be a lot different than driving back in Utah. We got to a point where there where no stops people just went. Just praying not to get hit.

We really didn't do much our first day there other than grabbing some food and exploring our hotel. (which was awesome) Safe to say once it hit 8:00 we were all out cold.

The Next day we woke up to This

It was incredible. From the lobby of our hotel it lead to the pool and the right to the ocean. It was beautiful. The water wasn't as cold as the water had been when visiting California. The colors were also beautiful. We Loved everything.

So just to back up a little we decided to come to Puerto Rico A few days early so that we could explore. I was excited for all of our plans. We were heading up to the Jungle!

Below are the Pictures of what we were able to see Day #2

The Drive was long but we entered a beautiful jungle that had a lot of different outlets to things that we could go see. ( a little bit like Yellow-Stone )

We arrived at a little hiking trail where we we changed into our swimsuit's. After walking for about 10 minutes it started to down pour. It was crazy and came out of nowhere we waited for 5 minutes before it was sunny again. I couldn't help but smile. A few minutes later we reached a waterfall with a little "Pool" at the bottom. We waited no time jumping in.

As you can imagine we got pretty tired after spending most of the day exploring. We went back to our Hotel to relax a bit before going on our next adventure. (Which happens to be one of the coolest things I have ever done so stay tuned in!)

Ever Heard of the Bio Luminescence

Well the Bio Luminescence is one of the Top things I had ever had on my bucket list. To the Left you will see picture. The Bio Luminescence is something that is very rare to see. We were lucky that we could see it at all in Puerto Rico. Bio-luminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. Basically it is a defense mechanism. When you put your hand into the water and move it you see it light up. Or when the waves hit the shore as you see in the picture to the left it disturbs them so they emit light.

When researching things to do in Puerto Rico and I found out this was there I had to go. So we found an excursion in which we could see this rarity. That evening after resting up we drove to some doc's by the ocean where we meet with a team. They paired us up in Kayaks and off we went. We Kayaked from the ocean into a small tunnel of mangrove trees. The only light around was from little lanterns on the guides kayaks. While it was beautiful and quiet it was also scary. We could hear all these noises that but we just kept going. All of a sudden after about a mile of paddling we reached a huge clearing. It was like a perfect circle of tree's around us. We could see the stars and the moon. The Leaders stopped us and told us more about The luminescence before putting a tarp over the all of us. We then reached down and rattled the water and it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. The water lit up. While it wasn't as much as the picture above it was amazing. I would 100% recommend doing this!

Day #3

After the exciting night we went back to our hotel to get some rest for the busy day coming up where my cousin and her parents would be joining us. This day we woke up to an amazing Rainbow.

We took that as a lucky start to an amazing day. We decided to explore the streets of Old San Juan. As you can see in the pictures below you will see how amazing it actually was. The People, the culture, the colors, the history, and the food (Their empanadas where my favorite).

DAY #4 & #5 CRUISE TIME!

Friday Feb 4th, 2017. Today was the day. I woke up so excited I could barely breathe. The first thing I realized when boarding that this was the biggest boat I had ever seen in my life. I knew right then and there that cruising would become my new favorite method of traveling.

The first thing we did after boarding the ship was explore everything it had to offer and boy oh boy did it have a lot. Below are some pictures of the boat. To view more about it use this link https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/adventure-of-the-seas

The First two days on the Cruise was just getting to be on the ship which was nice because it gave us a way to see and try everything so that we would know what we wanted to do in free time. On Day #5 we got to go to a few shows, relax on the deck/pool, and go to a fancy dinner. (if you didn't know pretty much all the food on the ship is included. The Windjammer is where we ate the most but they have a sapphire dinning room where you can have a 3 course meal.) To say that we were enjoying our first full day on the boat would be an understatement.

Day #6 Barbados

To be honest this was 100% my favorite Island that we visited while on the cruise ship. It may be that it was our first but this was also the farthest island south that we went and had the most beautiful water that I had ever seen. We went to a beach Called Pirates Cove that was amazing. We had time to swim and explore the town which was only a 3 minute walk, before we boarded a small boat where we went out and got to snorkel with sea turtles and explore ship wrecks that were covered in marine life. It was so beautiful and I even got to touch one of the Turtles which doesn't happen very often.

Day #7 St. Lucia

The Second Island that we went to was St. Lucia. Unfortunately we really didn't get to do much on this island. We had book outside the cruise ship and it didn't pan out. Although what we did see was stunning and I hope that I get to go visit again someday. Luckily we all made the best out of are circumstances and had a great day. (We did book outside the cruise for all of them but we would recommend being very careful.)

Day #8 St. Johns

This day was absolutely Amazing. St. Johns was amazing and I wish I could have spend more time. On this Island we decided to go on a Zip-lining adventure which also happened to be on my bucket-list. It had 13 amazing Zips through the amazing Jungle. Little did we know that St. Johns is know for their beaches and has 365 different beaches. You could go every day to a different one. If we get to go back we would want to explore those but I am really glad we went Zip-lining because it was such an amazing experience.

Day # 9 St. Maarten

We had so much fun while on this island. You stepped off the boat and already could tell how happy these people were. Everything was so relaxed and bright. For this island we decided to take another Kayak tour. We got to kayak through a bunch of yacht and got to learn about a bunch of marine life while getting to touch a sea Cucumber. It was way weird. Then we stopped at a beach and got to swim for a while. Little did we know this island has a bunch of nude beaches. (gross) After Kayaking back to the beginning we got to have a little drink before we drove over to Airport beach. ( This is a very famous beach for it is right before an airport it is the closest you can get to a plan coming down.) The waves here were awesome and super fun to swim in.

Day # 10 St. Kitts

Sadly this was our last island but this wasn't at all a let down. Here we decided to go to some botanical gardens and finish off at the beach. It was an amazing relaxing day. I have never seen so many beautiful plants, flowers, and trees in my life. I never wanted to leave. Here we also got to see two oceans at once from the top of a hill. Then we got to hold some monkeys and and play at the beach. Just like all the islands I hope I get to go back and explore more someday.

Day # 11 Going Home

While going home was sad I was so grateful for the amazing experiences I had. I learned and saw so much. I met people who changed my perspective on things. On top of that I got to do all this with people I love. I didn't want to go back to Utah but I know it is my home and that is the only way I can get ready for more adventures in the future. If you guys have any questions please feel free to reach out to me I am happy to answer any of them. Also if you guys like my blog please subscribe and follow me on my other social media using the links under the picture below. Thank you so much for reading!