Back in February, we took a Norwegian Cruise Line Southern Caribbean Cruise, life has gotten in the way so travel blogging has taken a back seat for a little bit. This is Cliff’s Notes version of our last vacation.
Third Time’s A Charm
We actually had a future cruise certificate we had attempted to use previously but bounced the cruise for a few land-based vacations we got great deals on.
I actually have a friend in Puerto Rico, where the cruise originated, who is also a Master Wedding Planner. At least two times we told her that we were coming to Puerto Rico and each time I had to tell her we bounced the cruise.
This time we had friends from Philadelphia we were booked on the same ship, so no excuses, we were going to Puerto Rico!
Honestly, the best part of the trip was spending time in Puerto Rico with our friends and sightseeing in Old San Juan.
We LOVE PR
Sari and John of Tropical Weddings are AMAZING wedding planners and great hosts, they seem to know everyone on the island.
They picked us up at the airport, brought us rum punch, took us for some of the best roast chicken on the island, took us for Purser’s Rum Painkillers, we ate pulpo (octopus), bacalaito (fried codfish fritters), and got to see waterfalls in the El Yunque rainforest.
We stayed at the Casablanca Hotel in Old San Juan, surrounded by great shops and restaurants and blocks away from the fort. The two days in Old San Juan included some awesome meals and great sightseeing.
The hotel is quaint, the staff was friendly and I loved the funky interior.
Down South
We embarked on the Norwegian Dawn and everything we’ve come to know and love about Norwegian Cruise Lines was there. {we’re Platinum Cruisers with NCL}. From our cabin to the staff, the meals and the entertainment were excellent.
The biggest surprise of the cruise was that the one restaurant we were only lukewarm about, Los Lobos Mexican Restaurant, turned out to be the standout dinner and service of the entire cruise.
We visited St Lucia, Antigua, Barbados, St Thomas (USVI), and Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, the ports were good because we did not have to tender. We relaxed, enjoyed the ports, shopped, and tried some food and drinks. {OK, mostly drinks}
In Barbados we did a beach break through the ship, we sat and soaked up some sun, enjoyed the water and I drank local rum out of fresh coconut. We did a fun island tour in St Lucia and will share that in the next blog post.
Truly this cruise was all about chilling out and spending time with our friends from Philadelphia, Mike, and Francesca.
Sorry for the abridged version, I didn’t want to completely skip over the vacation and am anxious to start writing about our next adventure!
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