The Martens Crew: Cruisin' Couple

I have been told you either love to cruise or hate it....well, I think we fall into the former category! We went on our first cruise a few weeks ago. We flew to Puerto Rico and spent one night, then boarded a Royal Carribean ship (The Adventure of the Seas) the next day. We had a balcony room and absolutely enjoyed being able to sit out there and enjoy the views as we sailed in and out of ports and also watch sunsets. We went to Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten and St. Croix. St. Lucia and St. Maarten were our favorites- St. Lucia for its Hawaii-like beauty and St. Maarten for its culture and more modern amenities. We thought the food on the cruise was fantastic- and I am pretty picky- for instance I do not like All Inclusive resorts. But the food on the cruise never got old and the service was fantastic. We did the "my time" dining so we could eat whenever we wanted and didn't have to wait for a particular seating time. I also loved being able to go to a show in the evening after dinner or even just go to the casino for a little while- it was so much more entertaining than just staying in a hotel. We are already eyeing the new Oasis of the Seas that will soon be sailing out of Florida- looks amazing and HUGE! I have posted some of our pics below...

Cane Bay in St. Croix...I did some fabulous snorkeling here and saw a barracuda...yikes!

Us with the ship...

On Airport Beach in St. Maarten. You can watch the planes coming in VERY close overhead. It's a huge attraction and they pipe in air traffic control to the bar on the beach so you know when a plane is coming. You can even watch YouTube videos of this.