Cruising on the Caribbean!

March 15, 2025

Cruising on the Caribbean!

Hi fellow bloggers!

Welcome back! Thanks for following these posts and especially for your support! We appreciate you,

Al and Judy XOXOX

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Al and I just returned from a week-long cruise to the Bahamas, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos, and the Dominican Republic. Every so often, one of us will turn to the other and ask, “Do you feel like you are swaying?” We are still rocking with the motion of the ship, even though being back on solid ground!

An announcement from the captain on our first day at sea reminded all of the passengers that: “We are on the sea! The sea moves, and we move with it!” The waves were somewhat choppy at times, but nothing too bad. We only encountered one rainy day on the trip, while docked in a port at Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos.

The whale watching excursion we had planned on taking that morning was canceled for fear that the tourists on the small boat would end up sea-sick. Most likely true! After returning to the ship, we decided to use the refund from that excursion to take advantage of the luxurious onboard spa.

While no whales were sighted, it was a delight to soak in the hot tub, sit in the infrared sauna and steam room—briefly! Even the lounge chairs in the spa were heated. Talk about relaxing!

We did have two opportunities to go beneath the surface of the ocean—once snorkeling at Half Moon Cay, a private beach in the Bahamas owned by the cruise company, and the other on a tour by a glass bottom boat while the ship was docked at Nassau, also in the Bahamas.

Expecting the waters of the Caribbean Sea to be warm, I had a shock on the snorkeling adventure—the water wasn’t warm at all! After sticking a foot in the ocean, it took some convincing to jump in; but, I had to follow Al! He looked up from snorkeling long enough to beckon me to join him, pointing down at a school of fish swimming by.

There were many varieties of tropical fish swimming amongst the seagrass and coral in the area. It was fun exploring their underwater world, even though the water was cool. After about 30 minutes, all of the people in our small group were ready to warm up on the deck before heading back to the cruise ship or spending the rest of the day on the beach.

The glass bottom boat ride in Nassau also afforded an opportunity to view the underwater world from a drier, warmer environment. Why were there so many fish swimming alongside the windows of the boat? They were being lured by bits of food thrown from the upper deck!

One day Al and I took a group excursion to see the “mountain heights and city sights” of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. Traveling by bus through the countryside and up to the top of the mountain where a statue of Jesus stood, we saw many small farms where skinny cattle foraged for food and people tried to eke out a living.

Unfortunately, the view from the mountaintop was obscured by clouds. However, just before our bus departed, the clouds lifted, revealing the city below and the blue ocean stretching beyond that to the horizon. Beautiful!

“We were lucky,” said our guide.

“Jesus did it!” I said, after some of us had prayed silently that the weather would clear up.

He responded by saying that his people loved Jesus very much! That helped explain the existence of the large statue with arms outstretched over the city and harbor, a replica of “Christ the Redeemer” in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

On those days spent at sea, it was amazing to sit out on the small veranda attached to our room, feeling the power of the waves below me and looking up to the sky above. Seabirds circled the ship, looking for fish in its wake and occasionally calling out to each other. The vastness of both ocean and sky seemed to put everything in the right perspective. Such peace, such beauty!

Praise the Lord who holds us in His arms and surrounds us with His presence. There is no god like our God.

“There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, * who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms…” Deuteronomy 33: 26-27a NIV (* “Jeshurun,” another name for Israel, NIV text note on Deut. 32:15.)

Picture above taken on the mountain with the "Jesus Statue" in the Dominican Republic.