20th Anniversary Trip - Day 6

Thursday morning we pulled into beautiful St Thomas for the day. We were lucky enough to snag some very last minute tickets for the ferry over to St John, and are so happy that we did! The ferry ride was a little rough due to some wind, but we got to sit next to the 2 cutest little boys ever! We got to St John and hopped on a shuttle over to Trunk Bay. We were able to see Cruz Bay, Honeymoon Beach, Hawksnest Bay, and Trunk Bay from up above, and they are probably the most amazing views I've ever seen! We spent a few hours at Trunk Bay, snorkeling and swimming, then had lunch and hopped back on the bus back to the ferry. 

Once we got back to St Thomas, we did a little shopping and headed back to the ship. We made it back in time to see a diving show at the Aquatheater, which was really cool. They have some amazing divers from all over the world, as well as a synchronized swimming team. We had been rained out of an earlier show, so I'm really happy that we were able to catch this one, because it was super cool. 

20th Anniversary Trip - Day 5

Wednesday we were so excited to visit St Martin/Maarten! It was the island we were most looking forward to, and it did not disappoint! There was even a rainbow out while we pulled into port, and it was the perfect place to spend our 20th anniversary! 

We ported in Phillipsburg (on the Dutch side), and quickly found a cab driver who would spend all day with us. Joseph was super awesome, and took us on a road trip around the entire island. We made a counterclockwise loop, and we quickly crossed to the French side. Our first stop was at Rotary Lookout Point. The views from the tower were beautiful! 

Our next stop was the "iguana place" that Joseph had told us all about. I guess his friend has a little roadside stand where a bunch of iguanas live, and you can feed them lettuce with long sticks. I tried to tell them about my fear of lizards, but they both told me I was just fine and handed me a stick. Then everyone laughed at me when I screamed and we all had a good time. I'm actually really happy I fed them- it was one of my favorite things of our trip!

The next stop on our trip was Orient Beach. We quickly drove through the parking lot of the nude beach, before stopping a little further up the beach to check out the views (which included far less nude beachgoers). 

Then we made our way over to Grand Case Beach, which I was looking forward to the most, because of the super awesome old pier! It was absolutely gorgeous, and by far my favorite thing to see on our trip!

 

After Grand Case, we were off to Fort St. Louis, which is an 18th century military fort on the top of a hill on the French side that has some amazing views of Marigot and the bay. 

Once we trekked down from the fort, we headed over to the Marigot Market for lunch. I think Joseph was a little peeved that we didn't eat at the place he recommended, but we were pretty happy with the place we chose, and the ladies working were so friendly. There was even the cutest puppy named Oreo sleeping under a stool. He woke up a time or two to check on everyone, but was pretty pooped! After lunch we finally got back over to the Dutch side of the island, and to the beach Cahl had been looking forward to the most- Maho Beach. It's a beautiful beach in a beautiful bay that is across the street (which is actually a really narrow 2 lane road with no sidewalks that people still try to stand on and walk down) from the landing strip at the airport. The planes, big and small, come down directly over head when they land, and when they take off the jets are so powerful you almost fall over!

The last stop on our island tour was Fort Amsterdam, which is an 18th century Dutch military fort. It was also a bit of a hike up to the fort, but the buildings and views of Great Bay were totally worth it! We could even see another island in the distance.

After Joseph safely returned us to the port, we did a little shopping before getting back on the ship. We walked through Central Park to grab some drinks before kicking back in our room to say farewell to St Martin/Maarten. We even passed a decommissioned ship anchored out in the ocean. It was a wonderful way to spend our anniversary!

20th Anniversary Trip - Days 3 & 4

Monday and Tuesday were both sea days, so we spent a lot of time going to trivia and shows, getting a massage, dressing up for formal night, and just relaxing. We hardly took any photos, but one day we found a cruising duck (we also hid 8 during the week), and went to the ice skating show, which was really awesome!

20th Anniversary Trip - Days 1 & 2

Cahl and I have been planning for years to go to Bora Bora for our 20th anniversary, but with Covid and all the ever-changing travel restrictions, we booked a last minute cruise instead. We flew down to Orlando on a red eye Friday night, and once we landed Saturday morning we headed over to Cocoa Beach, just in time for breakfast. We spent a mostly quiet day at the hotel, had lunch and took a few naps, then walked along the beach in the afternoon. 

Sunday morning we made our way to return our rental car and hop on a shuttle over to the port. The check in process was quick and easy, and we were on the ship within about an hour. The ship we were on, Harmony of the Seas, is HUGE and so cool! We had so much fun walking though all the "neighborhoods" and checking everything out. We especially LOVED the Central Park, and we went down the 10 story Ultimate Abyss slide. I was so scared, but it was so much fun! I wish I had been able to go again!

We also rode the Carousel and stopped by the Bionic Bar, where all the drinks are made by robots. Luckily Cahl was able to get his drink made- the robots were out of commission the rest of the week. 

We also found this really cool observation point on the 14th deck- it hung out over the side of the ship, and had a section of clear floor, so when you look down it's nothing but water below. It was one of our favorite spots, and we went there quite a bit during the week, especially at night or when we were pulling out of port.