A SKEPTIC START

I live in Minnesota, and therefore daydream about lying on a beach in Bali approximately two or three times a day. However, I'm more of a land traveler, so I was pretty nervous when I found out I was going on a week-long cruise in collaboration with Princess. As great as my awe for the ocean is, I also have great fear of its vastness and depth. It's easy to fear the unknown, especially when you consider that

UNDER 5% OF THE UNDERWATER WORLD HAS BEEN EXPLORED.

Under 5%! Whaaaaat. Consider all of the scuba diving, submarine dunking, and deep sea excursion-ing that has gone down in our oceans. That is barely a hair or a whisper of what the waters of Mother Earth have to offer. Just let that sit. Let that blow your mind.

I was so thirsty for information after the trip had been planned that I read everything I could get my hands on about cruises. This vacation was different for me in this way. Usually, the first thing I do is I look up coffee shops or tourist sights or start planning my outfits, but this time? I just wanted to make sure I would make it off the boat alive in case we capsized (disclaimer: highly unlikely, but this is the fear I live with.)

But then I woke up on a Monday morning anchored in front of a beautiful and vibrant beach, (privately owned by Princess) and it changed the game.

FROM SEA TO SHORE

I'll talk about this more in an upcoming post, but I'll be honest about my initial attitude toward cruising—it sounded pretty corny. I may have rolled my eyes when I found out our first port day was basically "Princess Island." I'm usually on the lookout for adventure and unique experiences when I travel, and being taken care of 24/7 is not usually on the schedule.

But it really took me being there to change my mind. Things switched for me as soon as I met the crew on board, and Princess Cays turned out to be one of the highlights of the voyage. The crew that works the island is the same crew onboard the Regal Princess, so the island is essentially deserted unless there's a Princess ship present. They brought boxes of food and coolers of drinks ashore and put together a big buffet lunch, and the rest of the day was spent lying on the beach, enjoying the sun and the shade, and living for a few sprinkles of rain that came out to play in the afternoon.

GET THERE FAST, TAKE IT SLOW

I've mentioned it in a past post, but generally, most of my trips are unplanned. An opportunity arises and I'm all, "Let's do it!" and I never realize how much I love island life until I'm there, sand stuck to my skin and the smell of sunscreen in the air. Taking 1,000 photos didn't even feel like work as my mom and I strolled the sandy sidewalks back and forth, poked at hermit crabs in the rocks, and waded just far enough into the waves. It was late evening when we finally packed up and headed back to the boat in one of the ship's tenders, bringing the bustle of the island back with us and leaving the wind breezing through empty bungalows.

Thank you to Princess Cruises for sponsoring this post! I have 3 more Caribbean updates coming up this month, so stay tuned.

It’s a satisfying thing to say I’ve been to the Caribbean. I’ve spent a good part of my adulthood intrigued by island life, mostly inspired by the idea of getting it away from it all. Quitting my full-time desk job was a step in the right direction, but life in Minnesota is a far cry from the friendly sunshine and warm faces that greet you on the shores of St. Thomas.

It took all of ten minutes for me to begin breathing a little deeper and walking a little slower between the waves of tourist madness. When we stepped ashore, my mother and I boarded an open-air taxi with about twelve other people en route to the beach at Magen’s Bay, which has been the highlight of our voyage with Princess Cruises so far. The drive was no different than the wild, back-road taxi rides I’ve taken in New York or Rome, all of which can be quick to cause more motion-sickness than the constant sway of the Regal Princess, but the views across the island were well worth it.

The beach started to fill up about noon, but arriving at ten o’clock in the morning we found a perfect little corner to post up with only two or three people nearby. Magen’s Bay Beach was gorgeously peaceful with water too warm to be real, and Mom and I spent every minute of our two-hour break letting the sand fill our shoes and the sun fill our souls. I left more relaxed than I would have after a massage at a world-class spa.

The purpose of this entire trip, of course, is to live as much Pirates of the Caribbean as I can, so our tour continued with a walk-and-talk history lesson at Blackbeard’s Castle. With a 500-year-old lookout post and a center-stage statue of the man himself (Blackbeard stood 6’4” and 280 pounds, according to our informative tour guide), I was easily transported into the world of Elizabeth Swann and fictional pirate Jack Sparrow, which was all I wanted on our day-long excursion in St. Thomas. The Pirates movies are truly one of my favorite ways to escape reality—so much so that I find myself passing off every story of piracy that I hear to be fantasy. I forget that these crazies took their pillaging and plundering quite seriously, and are a major part of history on the high seas.

It was by far my favorite shore excursion we've experienced through Princess. I'm not surprised it's one of the most popular selections on this eastern Caribbean route.

Have you been to St. Thomas or find piracy completely fascinating? Have a favorite beach on the island? Leave a comment below—I love hearing travel tales!

Thanks a million to Princess Cruises for sponsoring this post!