March 17-24, 1991

March 17-24, 1991

To get out of cold Chicago and see some sun Aimee and I took a 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise with Royal Caribbean. We flew to San Juan Puerto Rico and boarded the Song of Norway. This vessel was RCCL’s first cruise ship.

We have some time before we set sail, so we explore the nearby fort called Castillo San Felipe del Morro. It is part of the San Juan National Historic Site. It is also a World Heritage Site. This large stone castle was built by the Spanish in the 16th century. Sitting on a promontory (El Morro) in the harbor, it is ideally situated to control entry to the port of San Juan.

From San Juan, PR we sailed down the eastern string of Caribbean islands known as the Lesser Antilles or Leeward Islands. Every day was a new port of call. Our first was Fort de France, Martinique. There we rented a small sailboat and sailed around the harbor amongst some huge yachts. I liked the clothing optional beach there, but it was very expensive. We ate some very pricey snacks as a lunch alternative.

On our next stop in Bridgetown, Barbados, we signed up for an island tour. Afterwards we went to the beach where Aimee got her hair braided by a local.

Our next stops were in the half Dutch island of St Maarten and the island of Antigua. All these Caribbean Islands are starting to look alike.

Our last port of call was St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. Since it is my birthday, we do a Scuba dive off the beach at Coki point on the northeast corner (near Coral World Marine Park).

Overnight we sailed back to San Juan where we caught our return flight to Chicago.