We spent a week on the Caribbean Princess and had the best time. The ship was out-of-site and the
food was incredible -- formal dining rooms, buffet dining rooms, barbeques, and two signature restaurants. We tried
a bit of everything. The gym had a view that we won't forget. We were exposed to things we don't see on a day-to-day
basis -- Stirling Steakhouse and Sabatini's showed us what signaturing dining means. The art auction
was informative. What impressed us the most about Princess was the entertainment. Now I know on their website and on
forums about Princess everyone talks about the musicians and comedians as if they're top-notch. I was half expecting
Barry Manilow and Liberace covers - and when I did see those, the super-modern theatre and set design kept me in my seat.
We saw four comedians - Vera was laughing as hard as I was. They went right up to the edge of what they could get away
with on a cruise. The comedian-hypnotist was a blast - he hypnotized 20 people from the audience and did the funniest
things with them! He was so good that we went back the next night for Adult Night and I bought dvd's of both shows.
How do they fit over 3,000 passengers and a crew of 800 on one cruise ship? Lots of pools, lots of restaurants, and
lots of theatre and lounge space! There were so many pools we couldn't keep up with them. Every meal meant making
a decision as to where to eat. There was entertainment and activities day-and-night.
If you have QuickTime, the photo above the 'Just Married' photo will let you pan from left to right and see a bit more of
The Atrium.
The cruise went to two islands -- St. Thomas and St. Martin. We booked tours months in advance on our own. In
St. Thomas, we did Sunny Liston's tour of the island. He dropped us off in the shopping district for almost two hours.
I found a great music store -- Parrot Fish Music. The owner gave
us a 30 minute tour of Caribbean music. We learned about soca, calypso, reggae and steel drums. Vera likes the
Soca collection we bought and I got into calypso and steel drums. I like the rhythm and happiness in
Caribbean music. I didn't see other tourists checking out the local music stores on either island -- its fun to be able
to listen to Carribean music at home. For memories and for just chilling out.
Then Sunny took us for a tour of the island. St. Thomas has roads as steep as those in San Francisco! He was a trip --
he put on this song with silly lyrics ('Sunday.. Monday.. Tuesday..') and had us all singing along. We stopped at a few
places to take photos. Then he dropped us off at a beach for a few hours. It was rainy, but that didn't stop Vera from
snorkeling in the Caribbean Sea!
On St. Martin, we went on a two and a half hour mountain biking tour. We had our own guide and he was fun to be with.
Neither of us had ever gone bike riding like this -- from the city into the hills and back into the city. It was strenuous
and that's exactly what we wanted. Then a short ride to Lucky Stables for Vera's horseback riding tour. One hour on a horse,
ending with a short ride into the bay. We had a bit of time left so we got on a local bus and headed to Philipsburg for more
shopping. I got a few more cds and Vera bought a watch. The map below is cool as we rode around enough of the island
to recognize some of the places there.
We loved it and want to cruise at least every few years. Princess gave us so much value for our money and the islands
were fun and ready for tourists.
After the cruise we had one day left. We drove to South Beach and dropped our stuff off at the hotel. The art deco
room was cool. We walked up and down South Beach in the afternoon and again in the evening. The last moment
of our honeymoon, our big trip. The most fun month of our lives and it sets a high standard for future travel.
For those who think they've been on a long journey home - a 9 hour flight to Switzerland, 2 hours at the airport,
4 hours to Israel and finally a 5 hour ride to Eilat!
Kenny Sahr
