We had a different type of balcony with our cabin on this trip. It's called a cove balcony and it's much lower on the ship. It is more enclosed and you can see the heavy duty door that can be secured in case of high waves and rough water. (There is the regular glass door there too.)
I had considered trying out this type of balcony before...but this time there was no choice. We were late in booking the trip and it was the only balcony room available.
The good part is...it's very private and shady nearly all day.
One reason it's shady - the life boats are stationed above us.
It will be hard to decide next time if we want to be higher on the ship or choose a quiet shady spot like this again.
So Day Three we docked at St. Thomas. We originally planned to take a taxi to the beach but instead decided to stay on board and relax.
It was interesting watching different boats coming and going...sail boats, private yachts, tour and snorkel boats, pirate ship theme party boats, charter fishing boats...all kinds.
In between, we read, napped, ate, and I did some stitching.
It was nearly dark when we pulled out of port and the lights boats and on the hillside and the harbor made a very pretty scene.
Day Four was Puerto Rico. I got off the ship and walked around the area near the port in search of a rum cake to bring home for The Sasquatch.
There were lots of street vendors set up selling crafts and jewelry. Also food, candy and icy fruit drinks. I walked to a state sanctioned arts and crafts fair but came away empty handed. There were some interesting things but I'm supposed to be down sizing, not adding to my possesions.
I did buy that rum cake and some coconut candies from a booth. One must contribute to the local economy!
Back on board, I joined Lonnie in doing some more of that all important relaxing. We went out on deck and watched "Aladdin" on the big outdoor screen.
Later, back to our balcony as the harbor pilot guided the ship back to open sea.
You can barely see one of Puerto Rico's old forts there in the distance.
So after all that relaxing, we were ready for another beach day on Day Five at Grand Turk.
(I am retiring this poor camera. The photo above taken with my cell phone and below taken with my camera. What a difference in color and clarity.)
We have been here before. This is the beach where we swim next to the ship.
That's Lonnie in the water with just his head sticking out, to the right of center.
I tried my snorkel again and found a few fish.
The beach was crowded and busy. Directly behind is a "Margaritaville" bar and restaurant which was always jammed but I did manage to order margaritas and "volcano nachos" to bring back to our beach chairs.
The last day was a "Day at Sea", which we started off with brunch in the dining room. One of the perks for cruising so many times with Carnival is a coupon for a free drink at breakfast or lunch.
We normally wouldn't have a drink so early in the day...but hey...it's free.
A Strawberry Daquiri and a Kahlua Rattlesnake.
See those fat straws in the drinks? They are made of cornstarch to help with pollution caused by plastic straws. They are edible as well and I saw some people eating theirs.
Hope all that cornstarch doesn't thicken the oceans, ha ha!
It was a very trip, a nice winter get-away. As always, we were glad to be home again.
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