The customs/immigration line was a bit long, but it didn’t take too long for us to pas through it. From there, it was smooth sailing to and through the airport. All told, we were sitting in the JetBlue terminal’s food court sipping coffee by a little after 10:00.

We happily passed two hours playing with Emerson and then boarded our plane on time for a roughly 3 hour flight back to Tampa.

Here’s a cool photo from over the Bahamas:

While it might seem like a hassle, I actually think San Juan is a fairly ideal cruise port. The cruise fares usually seem to be a bit cheaper, thereby offsetting the cost of the flights. Plus, with direct flights on a good schedule from Tampa, it’s not much more time consuming than driving down to Port Everglades and Miami. What’s more, the itineraries are usually better. By “better” I mean a greater variety of ports and fewer sea days. San Juan: two thumbs up.

For this trip, I’ll skip writing an in-depth cruise review. Overall, it was a good cruise. We like this class of ship (having sailed on her sister ship, Brilliance, twice) and the large balcony was awesome with the little one (as I expected). I think our cruises aboard the Caribbean Princess (itinerary, food, and truly “escaping completely”) and Norwegian Dawn (duration, family, Freestyle dining) were a bit better, but it’s been our best RCI cruise in the Caribbean.

It was our only full “day at sea” punctuated with the usual activities that we’ve either done before numerous times or never cared to do in the first place. Upon reflection, I clearly like traveling via cruise ship and the “travel tapas” aspect of cruising. For certain destinations, it’s very efficient to have a moving, floating hotel. However, I don’t like the cruise ship experience–in and of itself–nearly as much, which is why we prefer port intensive itineraries (preferably to new places).

Speaking of which, I was strolling past the Centrum during the Q&A session with the ship’s senior officers. I was shocked by the number of guests who complained about Martinique. To quote one of my “enlightened” fellow passengers, “why visit a French speaking island when most of your passengers speak English and Spanish?” Even more shocking was that most of the guests in attendance applauded this point (and some offered additional, helpful “insights”).

Seriously? Why the hell do these people even travel? Martinique was a major reason we picked this itinerary, and it was by far one of the more interesting Caribbean ports that we’ve been to on a cruise.

My advice to would be “travelers”: if you think wherever you go should be like where you live, do yourself and everyone else a favor — stay home!

But, I digress…

We spent most of the day playing with Emerson, either on our balcony or somewhere about the ship. I finished packing for our journey home tomorrow, and we attended the ship’s farewell show.

Today, we’re visiting St. Lucia…

Since Emerson’s birth, we’ve been on a Thanksgiving cruise every year. At this point, I guess you could call it a quasi-tradition. Upon reflection, I can’t say that it seems especially Thanksgiving-like. It’s certainly not the Thanksgiving of our childhoods; although, I suppose it might be the Thanksgiving of Emerson’s.

In any case, this year feels especially foreign as the rest of the family is at home. That’s mostly a quirk of the calendar as we have two other cruises happening with my mother and grandfather and then with my mother and Libby’s parents in the next few months. Still, it’s odd not to have any of them here with us.

Back to St. Lucia…

We made today another “beach day” and took a taxi out to Reduit Beach in Rodney Bay ($14/pp roundtrip). This really wouldn’t have been my first choice for a beach, but it’s kind of where the taxis we’re going… so we went along with the flow. Reduit Beach is rather narrow and popular with the tourists (as it’s lined with resorts). As a result, we overpaid for our beach chairs and umbrellas ($20 for the day) and found ourselves pestered by all sorts of hawkers until they finally figured out we didn’t want to buy any of their worthless crap. Sadly, the waves were also up today, and the red flags were out. No swimming for us.

Emerson made friends with a nice family plopped next to us on the beach. They had a 19 month old daughter, who enjoyed destroying sand castles as Emerson happily built them up. All in all, they were nice people. Too bad we generally don’t like making friends.

We returned to the ship and strolled around the shopping arcade. Emerson bought some toys. I bought some St. Lucian rum (which the ship didn’t bother to confiscate… just passed it right through the x-ray machine and picked it up without a comment).

We had a later lunch aboard the ship and them played a couple of rousing rounds of miniature golf. Afterwards, we hung out on our balcony and them put Emerson down for her nap.

Tonight we returned to Chops Grille for our Thanksgiving dinner. We did this in part because we like Chops. I also couldn’t face eating our main Thanksgiving meal in the Windjammer. That just seemed wrong somehow…

After dinner, we went to the headliner show.

Today’s box score: +1 country (St. Lucia)

View of St. Lucia:

Needless to say, I felt very at home paying for our aforementioned Nutella filled crepes with euros.

We’d debated exploring more of the island, but opted to remain in town because taxis are very pricey and the ship’s shore excursions didn’t work for us. Unlike many islands, Fort-de-France was a genuinely interesting place to explore in terms of its architecture and vibe. It felt far less touristy and far more genuine than many ports that are overrun by the same brands of duty free shops.

After spending the morning on shore, we returned to the ship for lunch, a couple of rounds of mini golf, some time in the kiddie pool, and a map. We then had dinner at Portofino, the ship’s Italian specialty restaurant (which I also won’t review as we’ve “been there and done that” a few times before). Emerson was again good for us; she seems to like eating in an upscale atmosphere.

After dinner, we went to the Crown and Anchor Society’s “top tier” event and got to chat with the ship’s captain for an extended period of time. We then attended the 9:00 seating of the stage show, which Emerson thoroughly enjoyed–despite it being well past her usual bed time.

Today’s box score: +1 country (Martinique)

Then you go to bed, wake up the next morning, and all is right again.

Today, for example, was just blissful. We woke up early, ate breakfast at the uncrowded buffet, and departed the ship by 8:30. We went to Fort James Beach, which was a short taxi ride away. The beach was deserted. Literally. We were the only people on it. We swam in the water and played in the sand. Our taxi driver returned promptly at 11:30 to pick us up from our “private” beach.

We returned to the ship, got changed, and grabbed a quick lunch. It was “grande nachos” day… all the guacamole Emerson could eat! We then headed back into town and walked around for a little while, enjoying the local art galleries and higher end “trinkets and trash” shops. Libby and Emerson returned to the ship while I went to “Cheers, Antigua” for a $5 beer and some free wifi.

Upon my return, Emerson happily took her afternoon nap and then went off with Libby to the “Barbie Family Fun” event at the kid’s club. We then had dinner in the Windjammer and went to the evening’s juggling/comedy/whatever show.

All in all, a very good day in Antigua!

In St. Croix, large cruise ships dock in Frederiksted, which my guidebook calls “a sleepy town” and suggests I “spend as little time as possible” there. Following a squall line (wind, torrential rain) passing through, we headed out and deceived to remain in Frederiksted for the morning.

The historic Fort Fredriksted, at the base of the pier, is rather modest. It looks more like a ranch-style home with cannons in the backyard pointed out to sea. Behind the fort is a small children’s park with playground equipment. Emerson happily spent a while there on the swings and jungle gyms.

Once done with the park, we strolled through town and along the waterfront. The architecture was charming and generally in good repair. There were a handful of tourist-centric shops and a couple of restaurants/bars (a few of which we’re closed as it was Monday). I bought us drinks at the local pharmacy, which was located (along with the USVI Supreme Court) right in what is normally the highly touristy, duty free shopping zone in other port towns.

All in all, we liked Frederiksted.

I noticed the breeze was picking up and the sky growing cloudy to our east. Being a Floridian, you know a thing about tropical moisture. So, we decided to head back to the ship to avoid getting soaked, and we almost made it before the next downpour!

After lunch, I took Emerson to the kiddie pool, which she loves. She played happily with a nine year old, who didn’t seem to mind she was only three. We then returned to the cabin for an afternoon nap, which Emerson always complains about but ultimately takes.

We ordered room service for dinner in order to have time to catch the 7:00 show. The show featured a variety of numbers from musical theater. Emerson sat riveted by it–for a three year old, she can really focus (if/when she wants to). We mostly enjoyed her enjoying it… this isn’t the West End after all.

We all went to bed early (again). I’m getting over a cold, and Libby and I had frantic weeks leading up to this trip. So, we’re pretty happy just relaxing… such as one can with a three year old in tow anyway.

Note: I’d have added some photos, but I’m posting this from a bar in Antigua. WiFi cost me a beer, but unlike the beer it’s not very good.

Oh well, cheers!

After breakfast we took a taxi ($8/pp.) to the beach at Megans Bay. Despite coming to St. Thomas on two other occasions, we’d never been to this beach before. It’s a really beautiful spot…

As an added bonus, today was blissfully tourist free: Jewel was the only ship in town. As such, Megans Bay–as well as the rest of the island–was fairly vacant as well. This gave us plenty of elbow room to frolic in the surf and swim among the tropical fish.

We returned to the ship for a light lunch in the Windjammer. Tonight we’re having dinner at Chops (despite Emerson being underage per their policy… the host agreed to let us book a table). Bonus!

I might update this post tomorrow talking about our dinner (or not, as I’ve probably reviewed Chops multiple times before).

In either case, you can enjoy our view overlooking downtown St. Thomas:

The goal for this trip is just to relax and have fun. We don’t really have anything planned… just hitting some beaches and chilling out. Sadly, the rest of the family is at home… but, we have a New Year’s cruise planned with Mom and Pop, and then we have another cruise on the docket for March with the entire clan (sans Pop, who ain’t up for flying to Rome).

We flew JetBlue today. It’s my new favorite 2nd rate airline. I paid $35/pp extra for “even more space” seats. They were pretty comfortable for our two and a half hour flight.

Arrival at the ship was uneventful. Quick taxi ride, check-in, drop off our stuff, and go grab lunch. When we returned to our cabin, our luggage was already upstairs. We unpacked, took a nap, and then went to the kids pool to let Emerson play.

Dinner tonight was at the Windjammer.

Here’s Emerson enjoying our al fresco dining, as well as a photo overlooking the Celebrity Summit:

Heading to our muster drill now… then we’re setting sail!

So, here you have it: photos from our March trip to the UAE and Oman…

What’s left to be said? I can’t say this was our ‘best’ trip ever (that place is still held by the 3+ weeks we spent in Europe in 2008). I can’t say that it was the ‘most relaxing’ vacation or the ‘most beautiful’ place we’ve ever visited. So, what can I say?

The trip–aside from the cruise itself, which was basically ‘just another (good) cruise’–greatly exceeded our expectations. Admittedly, we (intentionally) went without a lot of preconceptions or anticipations. We mostly went because we could… because it was different… because it was there. But, we found our experiences in the UAE and Oman to be delightful, from the small (so, this is how a car wash works here) to the sublime (I see why they call this a ‘Grand Mosque’).

We enjoyed getting mistaken for British or German(!) visitors (Americans were few and far in between). We loved our interactions with locals; it was both enlightening and satisfying. Indeed, of all of the trips we’ve taken, this was probably the purest ‘experience’ on a personal level… by that I mean to say, it was a real growth experience.

Let’s be totally honest: before this trip I would have never imagined that some guy walking through an airport in a dishdasha and turban might be a country music fan or hold the Ford Mustang to be his favorite car. It simply would have never occurred to me. Intellectually, I knew that all people were/are unique individuals and most are fundamentally decent. But, I understand that a lot more viscerally now…. that’s pretty awesome.

And, while there are customs and practices that I still find foreign, I think I have an enhanced understanding of those differences and have a greater ability to see ‘both sides’ of the proverbial coin. I’ll have to spend some more time pondering all that I’ve seen and learned. Most importantly, this experience underscores for me that there’s more to learn and that it’s a worthwhile topic of further exploration. My interest in the region and its people is clearly raised…

Finally, we’ve already agreed that we want to go back to the UAE and Oman in the future. In part, it’s just a cool place to visit and a logical stop on a global hop around the world. We’re also interested in reading firsthand the next chapters in these countries’ stories.

Having talked with Libby at length about this trip, I think she shares similar sentiments. It was surprisingly good. Enjoyable and enlightening.

After landing in Atlanta this morning, I checked my email to find a note from Yusef. That was a nice exclamation point to put on the end of this trip. I’m actually hopeful that we’ll meet again some day… either here in the USA or back in his homeland.

We’re now back home and returning to ‘normal’ life.

Until our next adventure…