You never really know how much you need a legit vacation until your actually on that vacation and your wifi has been disabled for a few hours. Blake and I were set to sea last Sunday on a press trip with Princess Cruises. We flew to Ft. Lauderdale, which is where the Regal Princess ports out of for the Eastern Caribbean Princess Cruise. My trip was planned pretty last minute and I am so thankful B made it work with his work and school schedule. The man skipped his last week of grad school (legit last week…his last class EVER for his MBA was on Tuesday) to come along with me. Best part is- he got extensions on his papers, so he could really enjoy his time away from life. Huzzah!
What I loved about this trip was that it was semi-planned for us. Meaning that, it wasn’t a struggle every night of where we should eat and what time. If you don’t know- Minnesotans are known for having issues making decisions. #indecisive With that said, it was great to have planned happy hours to get to know the other bloggers: Ambitious Kitchen, Katrina’s Kitchen, Taste and Tell, Salt and Wind, Table for Two, Nutmeg Nanny, The House of Smiths, and Dine and Dish. It’s such a great feeling walking away from vacation knowing I have a handful of new friends who do the exact same thing I do!
I’ve got some fun posts scheduled out in the coming weeks that will talk about different aspects of my trip (workouts, fashion, food, etc!). This one is all things ports. The Regal Princess made 3 stops, where we were able to get off the ship, explore, and go on optional excursions. Check it.
Princess Cays, Bahamas
Princess Cays was our very first stop on the ship. This was a really nice day for both Blake and I. All the man wanted to do on this trip was to deep sea fishing. Problem is, I get motion sickness easily and there’s no way I was risking a sick day at sea to go fishing. I told Blake- hunny, you go fishing and I’ll stay back and hang with some of the other bloggers. And so that is what we did. He went fishing with a bunch of dudes he met on the boat, and I relaxed in the sun with Julie and Brandy.
Princess Cays is a beach on the Bahamas that Princess Cruises actually owns (hence the Princess). There’s definitely pros and cons of stopping at a privately owned beach. It was nice to be able to get off the ship, grab a chair and park for the entire day. Julie and Brandy even rented a little cabana (see below), which was legit. So legit that it was air-conditioned. On the other hand, the beach felt a little touristy because everyone from the cruise was in one spot. I did love that we ate lunch right on the beach. That was really convenient and DELICIOUS. Can you say BBQ heaven? Check out some photos from this stop below!
St. Thomas + St. John (USVI)
With the little research I did before the trip, I knew we HAD to go to St. John. Apparently multiple beaches on the island of St. John have been named top beaches in the world by multiple sources such as National Geographic. Hot damn, I can see why! B and I, along with Aida and Grace, took a boat from St. Thomas where we ported to St. John and then hopped on a bus to get to the amazing Trunk Bay. We only had about an hour and a half on the peach and we spent it walking up and down the shore, snorkeling, and eating popsicles.
Trunk Bay is legit one of the most gorgeous beaches I’ve ever seen! It too, is touristy, but much more spread out. It’s an amazing place to go snorkeling because it’s right on a reef where lots of fisheys hang out. I actually didn’t snorkel due to my sliced thumb. Salt water + open wound = owwwww. However, Blake did. He’s like a little kid when it comes to animals and the ocean. I did get in the water, but was quick to jump onto Blake’s hip because I’m afraid the guppies are going to suck on my toes. #truth
B and I really enjoyed our time with Aida and Grace. They are from LA and it was really fun learning their stories. Also- I almost forgot to mention the selfie stick. Aida brought one and let’s just say I am no longer a selfie stick virgin 
St. Maarten (BVI)
St. Maarten was operation find the best Caribbean food there is on the Island and eat it alllllll. Blake and I had planned to go on a catamaran, but decided to go inland and get out of the sun for the day. Monique and here mom Lynn decided on the same thing, so exploring we did! We hopped on a little charter boat which took us to the other side of the beach, got off, and on we went. The strip of restaurants and shops was a little hard to navigate (as small as it was) because there was no map with a restaurant guide. We are so spoiled in the states with Yelp and Urban Spoon.
I can’t for the life of me remember the name of the port we were at on St. Maarten, but it was GORGEOUS. I loved walking up and down the little down town area. There was live music playing everywhere and the weather was PERFECT. The one thing we collectively decided we wanted to do was find 1. local Caribbean food and 2. ice cream. Done and done.We ended up eating at a fun bar/restaurant called Taloula Mango’s. I think I want to name my first born child. Taloula, eh? I got a salad and sandwich and Blake got the ribs. We split 
For dessert, we hunted down the best ice cream on the island. The gelato was churned right there on the beach an ohhhh my did it bring back some memories of my study abroad trip to Florence. I got my two favorite flavors: coconut and pistachio. <3 Dessert is definitely the one thing I didn’t skimp out on all trip.
Can you say Caribbean 15?
JK
Sitting here, I can’t even chose which day I liked best because they were all so different. I wish I had about 3 more days on each Island to be able to explore. BUT- that’s why cruises are so great, right? You stop at a bunch of places, figure out where you want to go for a long period of time and bam —> your next vacation is planned!
Are you going on any tropical vacations any time soon?
Have you ever been on a cruise?
This post is sponsored by Princess Cruises. I was compensated, but all opinions are 100% my own.
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