Ah, the meat of the trip finally arrives â€“ the ports and excursions!  On the Valor, my wife and I participated in the Americaâ€™s Cup yacht race when we were in â€œSint Maartinâ€ (which is my all-time favorite shore excursion) but this trip we opted to give the kids their first ocean-based snorkeling experience.  Thereâ€™s truly nothing like sailing through the Philipsburg, SMâ€™s Great Bay in a catamaran on a beautiful Caribbean day that makes you want to move there foreverâ€¦  After the cruise was over, both kids proclaimed the snorkeling in Little Bay, our first destination that day, to be their favorite part of the cruise.  Unfortunately for me, even though this day happened to also be my birthday, my luck didnâ€™t prevent me from carving several gashes in my lower right leg on some of the rocks while I tried to clean out my diving mask.  Only when I got back to the boat and my wife noticed me about to bleed all over the deck did I notice anything amiss. However, the good folks crewing the catamaran patched me up and I was none the worse.  After snorkeling was finished, they continued on around the southern tip of the island past Cay Bay to Cole Bay for some beach time.
After returning to the marina, we took a water taxi over to Philipsburg proper for a little exploration of the town-front area.  The MAC store was a hit with our 15 year old daughter!  Sadly, time was short and it was time to return to the Glory.   I love wandering Philipsburg and wish we had had more time there.  We were told the noon excursion was about 2-1/2 hours, so we figured weâ€™d have plenty of time afterward before having to head back, but in reality it lasted almost 3-1/2 hours, so the rest was cut short.
One thing we noticed during each of our port visits, was that during the months after the time returns to Standard Time in the US, most ports stay on Daylight Savings Time (or the local equivalent). We were never really told to make sure we stayed on â€œship timeâ€, the time all excursions were based on. It was consistently different than the actual local time on the islands.  While my son did wear a watch on occasion, cell phones synch to local time and we were never quite sure what the real, true ship time was. When you have a constant fear of stranding your family in a strange island country while sadly waving goodbye as your cruise ship sails away without you, this can be a nagging worryâ€¦ Luckily we never actually had that problem.

St. Martin

This was a day of good intentions gone slightly bad. In 2012 on the Valor, we were in San Juan during early October, which seems to be a fairly low key time of year for visitors. Visiting the old city of San Juan was a breeze, as the free trolleys came along every 5-10 minutes and could whisk you away to wherever you wanted to go. We thought it might be fun for the kids to show them some of the same sights and save money on a short excursion. However, it wasn’t exactly the same situation this time on New Year’s Eve. There were six – count’em, six! – other cruise ships in port with us, including the Carnival Sunshine and the Disney Fantasy, traffic was jammed up all over and people were everywhere. While the day wasn’t terribly hot, walking the length and breadth of Old San Juan is not for the faint of heart. After exploring a bit of Fort San Cristobal in the northeast corner, visiting with some sunning iguanas in an old walled area, and trying to walk to the Fort Felipe del Morro and the old cemetery, we did finally catch a free trolley and rode it for a visual tour of the town. Heavy traffic and New Year’s Eve revelers kept progress slow and we eventually made it to Senor Frog’s near the cruise port. Senor Frog’s is a Margaritaville-wannabe restaurant that is family-friendly with balloon animals for the kiddies in the front, and loud, drunken frat party in the back. Guess where we were seated?Nonetheless, after a visit with numerous street vendors we returned to the Glory for New Year’s Eve fun. While the visit to Old San Juan wasn’t a total loss, it was probably the low point of our trip.

San Juan

This trip to Saint Martin we opted to give the kids their first ocean-based snorkeling experience. There’s truly nothing like sailing through the Philipsburg, SM’s Great Bay in a catamaran on a beautiful Caribbean day that makes you want to move there forever… After the cruise was over, both kids proclaimed the snorkeling in Little Bay, our first destination that day, to be their favorite part of the cruise. Unfortunately for me, even though this day happened to also be my birthday, my luck didn’t prevent me from carving several gashes in my lower right leg on some of the rocks while I tried to clean out my diving mask. Only when I got back to the boat and my wife noticed me about to bleed all over the deck did I notice anything amiss. However, the good folks crewing the catamaran patched me up and I was none the worse. After snorkeling was finished, they continued on around the southern tip of the island past Cay Bay to Cole Bay for some beach time.

Another familiar port, Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos was a lot of fun. We arranged beforehand to rent a golf cart so the four of us could tool around the island at our leisure. Being a relatively small island, and having visited there before, we were easily able to navigate and find our way around. Even driving on the left-hand side of the road was much easier in a golf cart! In fact, I would recommend taking a golf cart rather than a regular tour if you’ve been to the island before, as it truly does have a good bit of charm when you view the historic spots up close and in person rather than from a bus window.We visited the lighthouse on the northern point, the History Museum which was a kick because the lady working there was an ex-pat from the States. Also the John Glenn Friendship 7 memorial and the Grand Turk Inn were all charming. The architecture and street design reminded me a lot of some of the Florida Gulf Coastal communities that I’ve visited (accounting for a difference in income levels).The Grand Turk cruise port was built specifically by and for Carnival, and includes a giant Margaritaville restaurant that features a pool and swim-up bar as well as large outdoor dining area. We relaxed, grabbed a couple Cheeseburgers in Paradise and swam in the beach area near the ship before returning onboard.

Beautiful cabin, great balcony. Loved waking up and sitting outside just as sun is coming up. We had two teens in addition to two adults in the one cabin so it got a little cramped, but it was completely expected.

I know, I know, first world problems…
ï‚·How fun would it have been to have a live band on New Year’s Eve that was maybe not a headliner, or one that might show up on one of the Carnival Live!Back on the ship, one of the highlights of the cruise was “Superstar Live,” the live band karaoke in the Ebony Lounge.

Carnival Glory Review

Late December/New Years's Eve Sailing on the Carnival Glory

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