Back on The Liberty of the Seas in the Caribbean 2/19/2011

Hello and here I am back on the Liberty of the Seas cruising the Caribbean.  I am on for 2 cruises and will be traveling to a few ports of call I have never visited before, which makes this cruise a little more exciting then most.  My first cruise is a 8 day adventure, starting with 2 days at Sea after leaving the Port of Miami.  These are the days I work so not much to see other then the ship and when I can take a break to walk out on the outer decks to catch some fresh air and check out the moon and the stars at night.

I know it is hard to see but it surprisingly shows up on my automatic camera.  I love to check out the night sky, sometimes it can explain the behavior of some of our passengers or guests as I have been corrected in the past.  This moon was the night we sailed away from Miami and after I finished promoting the unveiling of my first collection of jewelry.

I love to show the view from the ship when we are docked.  This time we are in port with a Carnival ship which you can see just in front of our ship.  And to the left is part of the Harbor of St. Thomas.  This is a great port to shop in, lots and lots of shops to choose from.  I have been here many times before so I basically go off the ship to get something to eat and find a place to use the Internet.  This trip I am without my laptop so I found an inexpensive place close to the ship terminal.

For all those who just want to party there is a Senor Frogs to the right when you walk off the ship.  As you can see you can swim, drink, eat and even surf the web without going too far.  This can be your last stop after shopping, going to one of the nice beaches here or taking the tram up the mountain side to get a breath-taking view of the Island.  I believe we docked around 8:30 am and our ship is leaving at 7:30pm.  So, lots to choose from here in St. Thomas.

And should you not want to travel far from the ship but still go shop ashore, you can find lots of shopping right inside the ship terminal.

A bit more of the beautiful Harbor

This is a view of the shoreline to one side of the ship that is worth taking a picture of.  The weather here looks a little gloomy because it was when we first docked but as the day wore on it got HOT and humid but is nice in the shade.

This picture is the view from the other side of the ship before entering the Harbor. 

After surfing the web I walked around town till the heat got too much for me.   I headed back to the ship,  since this is a U.S. port I was able to make phone calls home and other calls I needed to do without an extra charge.  There is also a US post office in the ship Terminal, so I stopped and bought postcard stamps.  I like to send post cards of all the ports I visit to my Nice's and nephews so they can look it up on the map to see where I go in the world.  They love to get mail addressed to them.




 

The landscape at night.  Goodbye St. Thomas, till next time.........

Hello St. Maarten......

I am always amazed at the different colors the waters can get from one port to another.  The waters here are magnificent and captivate me every time we pull into port.

Our ship is in port with a Princess Ship and an Italian ship from a company MSC.  I have never seen or heard of this line, but I talked to a few German passengers from the ship, and they told me that it is new to the Caribbean, but It was an Italian line and most of the passengers were elderly and from Europe.  Hmmm, Interesting......

After walking thru town and again stopping at a cyber cafe I found this beautiful, what looked Like an upscale Hotel.  I walked thru to get to the beach.  Should you want to stay on this side of the Island this seems to be a great Hotel.  This side that we visit is the Dutch side and on the other side of the Island is the French side that has a topless Beach if you feel like being free and ez, lol.

Ahhhhhhhhhh the Beach I love it.  I walked down to the water removed my shoes and walked back towards the ship.  I love to people watch, so I do as I walk.  The different bathing suits from different countries and all the various languages that fill the beach can be very entertaining.

After walking the beach, I reached a point that I could not walk anymore so I headed back to the boardwalk.  I decided to stop at this little place on the water that had just opened this year.

The name of it is Haven Sanctuary and is owned by a young man.  Sorry I didn't get his picture or name but he did tell me you can find the restaurant on facebook

After a good lunch with a beautiful view I paid my bill and started my walk back to the ship.  Before you enter the check point you can shop for one last thing and have one last drink or just listen to the steel drum band.  We sail early tonight and start our way to San Juan, Puerto Rico.  

Till the next time St. Maarten...........

San Juan, another U.S. port where I can make phone calls from my cell phone and walk into a US Post office.  But first I need to get off the ship and walk into town. 

This is the old town of San Juan and I always love to walk around town with all the old cobble streets and buildings.

I was on a mission as I walked the streets, to find a deal on T-shirts to take back home to a few of my sisters and 2 of my nephews.  I also wanted to find a place to access the Internet.  I stopped at a tourist information office on the side of CVS Pharmacy and found out there is a Seafarer's Building in the Square where there is an Internet Cafe.  So on my way there I found a little shop and bought all the T-shirts I needed.

The last time I was here they were tearing up the streets to upgrade and beautify San Juan.  This is one of the streets and it looks great.

This is a monument in the small Square not far from the ship.  It is where you can eat or drink at outside cafes and but some handmade items from the local artists.  I always liked this monument, so I decided to take pictures of the work that was put into it.

Leaving San Juan has a long sail with a spectacular shoreline.  The mix of old and new building makes a nice sail away.

And as we come to the end of the point that is adorned with a Castle, I was able to see 3 Dolphins swimming alongside the ship, but I wasn't fast enough to get a picture.  It is aways a good sign for a safe journey........

Our ship was escorted out by the U.S, Coast Guard and at one point it went full throttle, which I presume they were showing off for us.

 Goodbye San Juan...........................

Now to Labadee, Haiti.

Today Labadee, Haiti our last stop before we spend a day at Sea and then back to Miami.  It has been a long week with the time change and starting with 2 Sea days back-to-back, so I decided to enjoy the view from the ship.  This is the view I had while eating breakfast, a croissant and coffee, by the pool.

These are just some pictures of the view from the ship on either side.  The waters have such different colors from one side to the other.










 I have to make a note here that after talking to a few passengers I was pleasantly surprised to learn that some either give cash to an individual they feel they can trust to get it to the people who are in need of it or some even bring a full suitcase of items and give it to contacts they have made ashore.  Royal Caribbean also drops supplies off before leaving port.  I just hope it is all getting to the people in need.

Anyway, it's so long Labadee....

Hello Miami after one full day at Sea.  I will see you on the next cruise of 6 days in the Caribbean, new ports to see and people to meet!