Day Three: Sea Day

Today is a day at sea while we head to St. Thomas (passing within eyesight of the Turks and Caicos Islands on our way).

We did nothing today but read books, sun, and swim. It was awesome.

Tonight we’ll sail pass to the far north of the Dominican Republic, then to the north of Puerto Rico before finally docking in St. Thomas in the early morning.

Disappointing Ship Layout

The layout and navigation of the Emerald Princess ship is a little disappointing. One of the favorite parts of cruising on a new ship for me is the exploring of the nooks and crannies and taking a long walk around the entire boat. The Emerald Princess has a pretty goofy layout. You’d think on a boat, you could just walk in a circle (or an oval, whatever).

Not on the Emerald Princess.

If you’re starboard, you can get to some places, and if you’re port side you can get to others, but you can’t just just walk the perimeter to get to either, which makes for a lot of back-an-forth if you forget which part of the labyrinth you entered.

And for whatever reason, half the paths around the ship are blocked by bolted or locked gates. Very frustrating.

Location. Location. Location.

Here’s a useful cruise tip: It’s all about location. For years we chose cabins mid-ship, mid-level, so that we were “mid-way” to all of the action. Big mistake. This year we studied the ship layout and chose a cabin, uhm, I mean, state room, at the back of the boat, way up top. Why? Because it was near a great pool! We were literally 56 steps (and 5 stairs) from a great view, a bar, and an adults-only pool. A perfect location.