I’ve still got lots to share from the cruise, so I’ll be getting all those posts together and sharing them one at a time in the next few weeks. Â I’m so glad so many of you are interested in travel posts, because it sure is fun to me. Â I do love to travel and see new places.
The first stop we had on our Carnival Cruise to the Southern Caribbean was Grand Turk. Â Part of the Turks and Caicos islands, I had heard about this island for years. Â It’s so exciting to sail up to land on these cruises and see the port for the first time. Â We had booked an excursion for snorkeling on Grand Turk, so that’s what we did.
The water in the Caribbean is truly so beautiful, with its different shades of blues and greens.
This sight greeted us as the ship sailed closer and closer in and finally docked at the port. Â It amazes me how close in these huge ships can get to land. Â After disembarking, we headed out for the afternoon of fun.
Since we were snorkeling, we wore bathing suits under our clothes and I wore a coverup dress that I had with flip-flops. Â We had to stop and take pics here showing how magnificent and huge these ships are.
It was a gorgeous sunny day in Grand Turk. We really did have some great weather, with every day in the 80’s, warm and balmy with an ocean breeze.
Grand Turk has a little port shopping area, so we took advantage of that and walked around a bit, since our snorkeling excursion wasn’t until later in the morning.
This big sign was the perfect photo opportunity, so we obliged and took those pics.
Blue skies and pretty flowers were in abundance.
The little shopping area was nice and compact, with plenty of shops for picking up trinkets. Â I wasn’t really shopping that much for anything, but we looked around at the jewelry and other things offered. Â This is where I bought that coral colored bracelet I shows you earlier.
There’s even a Harley Davidson store here in Grand Turk…took this for a friend of mine.
And Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville is all over the place too.
There’s a pretty beach right at the port of Grand Turk and I loved this shot of the ship at port.
It was time for our snorkeling excursion and we met up with others from the ship and headed to our boat for the afternoon.
We went to 2 stops in about 2 hours and got our gear on and snorkeled for a long time, seeing some colorful and beautiful sea life underwater. Â I haven’t snorkeled in awhile, so enjoyed it all over again. Beth and I enjoyed all our stops and this one was very fun. Â You have to be sure and get your mask on correctly so water doesn’t come in, but it’s a relaxing thing to do in a pretty place like this.
We made our way back to the ship after a fun afternoon of snorkeling, ready for a hot shower and dinner.
We sailed away that afternoon, making our way to the next stop, which was the Domenican Republic. We loved our experience there of swimming with the dolphins. Â I’ll be back later to share every single stop with you all!
I think your cruise must be the same one my daughter and her husband will be taking later this month, Rhoda. They hope to scuba in Grand Turk. Will be curious to know if you thought Grand Turk was the best port of those on your cruise.
HI, Rita, it’s hard to say the fave,they all have beauty and different things to take in. I think for pure island beauty, we loved the Dominican Republic and Punta Cana the best. The dolphin excursion I’ll be sharing was really nice. One thing for sure, every island I’ve ever visited has beautiful water and natural vegetation, but many parts of the islands are not pretty at all. Very rocky with dirt roads and shacks and not like a postcard in the least. Every island I’ve ever visited has been like that. Pretty parts and primitive parts. The resorts have all the money and the rest of the island not so much.
Thanks so much for these beautiful pictures. Love your blog and look forward to reading it each month. Keep them coming.
Thank you, Marcella! I am not going anywhere.
Beautiful photos! One question, where did you find your dress/cover-up? Love that it has pockets!
HI, Deborah, that is actually a dress I found at TJ Maxx a few years ago. It happened to be a perfect match to my coral swimsuit, so I made it a cover up. The brand is DKN, Donna Karan and is just a simple cotton dress.
Lovely color and really looks cute as a cover-up. I’ll be on the look-out for something similar. Have a great day!
So sorry that I have to unsubscribe from your blog. I like to read decorating/DIY blogs, the way your used to be. Now that you have a different audience I have to move on. Just wanted you to know I really enjoyed seeing you decorate your house and landscape your yard. You have a great eye for decorating!
Thanks Cheryl for reading! I’ve explained before that my blog has had to evolve with time just like life. I don’t have a lot more projects to do in this house and therefore, life takes other turns, although, I’m about to gut my master bathroom & redo it. One of these days, I may do another fixer upper house, you never know!
Rhoda, I am so glad your blog isn’t just about decorating. That is what keeps me coming back and reading yours everyday. I love seeing all the different subjects you cover. You are doing a great job!
Thank you, Lynne, I’m so glad that most of my readers agree with you. It can’t be all about decorating, all the time. There’s too many other things going on in life, not to share that too.
I love travel too. And luckily for me, my husband loves it even more. We’re planning our thirteenth trip to Europe later this spring. We’re trying to cram in as much travel as we can now before we’re too old to be this active.
If you love cruising, you may also enjoy riverboat cruising in Europe. We’ve done several and find it’s the easiest way to travel.
Patricia, I’ve been hearing about the riverboat cruises and would love to experience that too!
My husband and I went to Grand Turk in October 2014. We are already planning on a return trip. Loved everything about our stay, but especially the water. Just amazing.
Rhoda,
Do yourself a favor and lose the blue toenail polish!
Rebecca – is this remark some kind of a joke or are you serious? I’m hoping it isn’t the latter but if it is a joke, it’s a bad one!! I read many decor blogs (some amazing; some not so much) & when I disagree/dislike something, I keep my opinions to myself. If you can’t say something nice, just don’t say anything! I live in Ontario, Canada, have travelled every year to the US since 1958 and found Americans polite and generous. I’m hoping you are from another country and NOT representing USA or Canada!
I have never been on a cruise, but this makes me want to try it! I love the photo of the palm trees with the ship behind them.
Rhoda, I’m loving how you’ve branched out with your blog. Travel posts are just as interesting as home decor posts, IMO. And seeing the sand, surf, and impossibly blue skies is such a treat since we haven’t seen the sun where I am in many long, cold, dreary days. Thanks for the lift!
Thank you, thank you Rhoda for your Grand Turk pictures! After a trip of their own, my son went there and said we’d love it but he had very pictures to inspire us. You captured the essence of your trip from the enormous size of the ship to tourist sites we’d love to tour. You have truly inspired me to set up reservation to go. Your blog is so inspiring and motivating on so many levels. Thank you for what you share.
Thank you, Sue, for sharing that! I always hope to inspire my readers with whatever is going on in my life, travel included. Hope you go and enjoy!