Heading to the Warm Waters of the Caribbean

Friday — November 27

We don’t usually book our “R&R” cruises to the Caribbean far in advance, but we made an exception for this cruise on Mercury. I paid the deposit on this sailing over a year ago. Why? Because it’s not often that Celebrity ports a ship in Baltimore, Maryland — just an hour’s drive from our house. Because there is only one of a limited number of sailings we’re interested in — the between Thanksgiving and Christmas cruise. Because there are only four cabins in the specific category we want — Sky Deck Concierge Class with an extra-big veranda. Because the price is right — in fact, it’s a downright bargain for a Baltimore cruise.

This will be our eighth cruise to the warm waters of the Caribbean in as many years. We find that these cruises are a nice balance with our active land vacations, which tend to focus on exploring new places rather than relaxing. On a Caribbean cruise, we kick back on our veranda on sea days and take it easy on port days. Mui goes snorkeling; I read in a shady spot on the beach. If it’s an island that we’ve not visited before, we’ll explore it a bit, but nothing like what we might do on our land vacations.

“Two to Travel” goes on a cruise to the Caribbean.

Tomorrow we head to Baltimore for a pre-cruise weekend before we embark Mercury on November 30. We’ll have three days at sea to start out. Next will be a succession of ports — St Thomas and St Croix, US Virgin Islands; St Kitts; Antigua; and St Maarten. The cruise will continue with another three days at sea before we disembark in Baltimore on December 12.

Here's hoping for calm seas, gentle breezes, and plenty of sunshine!

Next Up: Baltimore — Exploring Charles Street