Oh, and to satisfy the curiousity of those whom it may interest:
1. What cruise line.
Wellll I think y'all misinterpreted cruise... but it's called the Arabella.
www.cruisearabella.com/default.shtmlTis a windjammer yacht!
2. Where you departed and where you arrived.
St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands! Both arrival and departure. Easy access to people from the States dontcha know.
3. Ports of call visited and why.
Isla de Cuebra! Ummm... they had cool beaches? Also went on a wreck dive there.
Vieques! Didn't go on shore here... (maybe someone else did, but I didn't) spent the day soaking up sun and playing Hearts.. also spent some decent time in my cabin.
Cruz Bay on St. John! We sailed all day to get here, but they had fantastic food for an evening dinner. Twas a windy passage 'cause it was mostly an open water voyage. My sis lost here cookies at about two in the afternoon.. the Arabella isn't that big of a ship, and there were quite a few epic whitecaps. Good fun. Thankfully I don't get motion-sickness.
Great Tobago/Little Tobago! Did these in a day, lots of nice surface diving to be done around them. Little Tobago had some sort of migrant boating thing going on, so there was like this floating complex of maybe 50 ships all moored together. Really cool. Had lunch with a couple from another ship they owned that had sailed all the way from Oregon and through the Panama Canal. Very very cool.
Jost Van Dyke! Had a great time here for sure, spent most of the day in the water, swam under the Arabella for the first time. Also at night got trashed and did the Naked Plunge off of the third story of an old Chinese junk that had been converted into a bar. Got a shirt to show for it
Tortola! Lots of drinking here... can't say I honestly remember much except for that it was brilliantly sunny and it hurt my head :/
Finally: Virgin Gorda! Had a devil of a time getting here, more rough water and contradictory winds made it a long voyage, but we got to a place called Spanish Town in the evening, and they had a really cool quaint colonial settlement. Amazing artwork and the sort of whimsy in architecture you expect from the Mediterranian coast, not the Caribbean.
Then we went back to St. Thomas, very sad
4. What you did while on the ship.
Play Hearts, tan, open bar, girlfriend, lots of girlfriend, talk to the other passengers (met a crazy drunk old lady whose husband owned all the Wendy's in Indiana and Ohio... couldn't swim worth a damn too, a real character), snorkel sometimes, some diving in certain areas.
5. Whom you did, how many times, and if you had to buy more hand cream.
Hahahahh I took my girlfriend with me, and I wasn't counting. I used moisturizer with a small SPF as sunscreen on my nose and ears.... does that count?
6. What you wanted to do but secuirty wouldn't let you (boy do I have a list of things...oh, wait, this is about you).
Swimming under the ship and snorkeling alone comes to mind. They cried bloody murder when I did swim the length of the Arabella, weren't very impressed. Technically you weren't allowed to dive alone, but I wouldn't have anyways as only damn fools do that.
7. Periods when you weren't inebriated.
Mornings! Also when my sister was throwing up I wasn't drinking. Though inebriated might be a strong term... more like heavily tipsy for most of the voyage. Oh, and whilst diving.
8. Times when you wanted to be inebriated but couldn't find the bar.
The bar was seven steps up from my room
9. Did you throw up, when, and how many times.
Ah hell no!
Jk.
Lost it after jumping off the top of the junk, about three in the morning... Really smashed that night.
10. Who went with you and why they went instead of us.
Erm, my girlfriend Damaris did! And my sister and her boytoy.
Welll the girlfriend part is easy to explain... she has benefits y'all frankly don't
And it was my sister's idea, so yeah! Also it was rather pricey, and asking y'all to come would have been a touch expensive....... sorry 'bout that.