3 Rs: Rum Cake, Rum Punch, and Rhianna - Part 1

In November, we had our heart set on a cruise for our spring break vacay. We picked an 11-day Caribbean cruise. We sailed on the Celebrity Millennium to Puerto Rico, St. Croix, St. Kitts, Dominica, St. Lucia, Barbados, Grenada, Curacao, and Aruba. Because our trip was so long and there were so many ports of call, the posts will be filled with brief highlights and our activities. 


Day 1 San Juan, Puerto Rico:

We basically red-eyed from LA to San Juan. When we arrived, we were happy to find that the taxi service has been regulated by the government. There were set fees and we were aware of the cost of the taxi before he hopped in. Once we arrived at the Panamerica Port, we were greeted with an extremely long line of people trying to board. Luckily, we only had carry-ons, so we got to go through the express line. When we got on the boat, we were exhausted and just wanted to grab lunch then rest up in our room. The stateroom was nicer than a Royal Caribbean stateroom. However, Royal Caribbean still had our heart because its food was so much better compared to the food we had this day.


Day 2 St Croix: 

Because this was our first day, we decided to just hang around near the pier and roam around Frederiksted. It was so nice having a decent beach just a short stroll away from the boat. I loved finding the dried coral on the beach. We walked to the fort but didn't go inside.


Day 3 St Kitts:

We like to book excursions through the boat because it makes the trip so easy. For our first excursion, we were going ATVing through the countryside then going to Frigate Beach.  It seemed like a decent deal when we were comparing it to the prices of ATVing at home.

Our excursion wasn't until the afternoon, so we decided to look around the town in the morning. When he hopped off the boat, we found a shopping area that reminded me of Main Street in Disneyland. It was just way too nice, too touristy, too kitschy too fake. We walked past the cruise mall area into the Circus, which is the main part of town. It was a little sketchy for us, so we left.

As for our ATV excursion, it was a lot of fun. We rode semi-automatic ATVs along the countryside. We saw the remnants of old Sugar Mills. The island no longer produces sugar, so it relies on tourism as the foundation of its economy. The tour guide was very supportive and patient with my lack of shifting knowledge. He taught us a lot about the local flora like tattoo fern and indigo.

When we went to Frigate Beach, it was late in the afternoon and I was starving. I told the hubster that we must try some local food. Lucky for us, there were multiple food stands to choose from. We did our usual food shopping and ended up choosing Cathy's. Oh my gosh! It was the most delicious grilled jerk chicken that we ever had. All the sides including rice, plantains, coleslaw, and pasta salad were equally delicious. Cathy set a standard that would be hard to meet for the rest of the trip.