I love sea days, and the agenda today had a few interesting things in the earlier hours, and while the day ended up being as relaxing as one could hope, there was an unexpected change in our voyage plans that serves as a reminder of just how lucky we are...

Vacation often requires tuning in a balance between doing everything, and relaxing, which may mean doing nothing.  Today we continued striking what has been to me, a good balance, but it meant the day went in an unexpected way – but turned out great.  Our time on shore in Tortola, the evening’s show, and dinner all came together nicely.

Some cruisers prefer sea days, while others prefer being in port.  Today felt like we had the best of both worlds as we enjoyed relaxing on the ship for the first half of the day until we arrived in San Juan at about 3:30pm.  Docking in Old San Juan provides easy access to forts, historic sites, and a battery of great shops and restaurants.  Since we’ve visited a couple times in the past year though, we ended up deviating from that routine a bit...

As I write this, I look back 24 hours ago to putting up hurricane shutters in the pouring rain, and expecting that sea water and wind my render everything at home nothing but a big cleanup of a past chapter.  Now, my worries are lessened, I’m enjoying a nice cruise, and watching people laugh and smile in a silent disco at sea...

Last minute cruise deals are sometimes talked about like they're the secret you've missed out on which will soon have you paying less than everyone else.  This premise is incredibly flawed, in part because of the way many potential cruisers price shop, but also because of how the cruise industry has changed over the last twenty years.  In better understanding the truth behind sites promising last minute deals, and the reason there aren't many to be had (at least in the way many think), you might just find the deal you're looking for...