ALWAYS FIND TIME FOR THE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY TO BE ALIVE
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Grand Turk Island
La Romana, Dominican Republic
Willemstad, Curacao
Oranjestad, Aruba
Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao make up what sailors and cruisers refer to as the ABC Islands. They are the three westernmost islands of the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. These islands have a shared political history and a status of Dutch underlying ownership and this would be the first time that Lady and The Pirate would visit any of them, as well as Grand Turk Island and the Dominican Republic. It would also be the last cruise to date that Lady and The Pirate would sail on Carnival. Some of the age of the ship, along with a nice jump in quality on future Royal Caribbean and other cruise line ships would see Lady and The Pirate staying away from "The Fun Ships". This cruise would also be Lady and The Pirate's first solo cruise to the Caribbean and they went to relax and have a party all at the same time.
Grand Turk Island was a party waiting to happen. The local Margaritaville has a swim-up bar and Lady and The Pirate took advantage of it all day. There's also some great picture opportunities there but not the kind of port you would like if you're expecting something local and unique. In The Pirate's opinion, Grand Turk was, back then at least, where you go to party. With so many cruise line private islands and resorts now, it's hard to tell whether Grand Turk holds its own these days. Lady and The Pirate find more pleasure these days in exploring local cultures and sampling local dishes and drinks.
Lady and The Pirate's first trip to the Dominican Republic was quite underwhelming, especially since they've returned to a better port since this cruise. La Romana didn't seem to have much without taking an excursion. But that excursion, a Chavon river boat cruise, was a good one. Lady and The Pirate got the chance to dance on the cruise and some of the locals showed us their moves. The Pirate documented the footage in his video "Coconut Martini" below at about the 1:03 mark in the video. Look for the girl bustin' a move on a river boat.
A trip to the island of Curacao would not be complete without, well, sampling some Curacao. Before visiting the island, The Pirate thought that Curacao was that blue liqueur that made that Elvis drink, Blue Hawaii. But The Pirate was wrong. Lady and The Pirate visited the local distillery and sampled some of the other colors, particularly the orange version. The Pirate was blown away with how tasty that libation was. He had to bring some home and did. In the same excursion, Lady and The Pirate visited a local museum and even ventured into a cavern.
Aruba found Lady and The Pirate just chillin'.
Notes on this cruise:
Lady and The Pirate did very little in Aruba. They had been there before for a medical conference and just wanted to chill at a local bar.
Orange Curacao is a great replacement for Triple Sec in any concoction that calls for an orange liqueur.
