The Cruise

---

Our cruise was for one week, to three ports: Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. Our ship was the Carnival Triumph. We had taken a cruise before on the Carnival Conquest. The Triumph and Conquest are very similar. Both are outstanding pleasure ships. This time we got upgraded to an outside cabin with a small balcony. We enjoyed the ship very much. The crew was outstanding. The crew is hired from third world countries because they work cheap. The work long hours with almost no time off for board and room with a small salary. I think they make most of their money from tips which they send home to support their families. Every one of them speaks English well.

The weather was cool much of our trip including the cruise. We even went through a storm and much of the cruise was through stormy seas. Some passengers we met who where on their 19th cruise said it was the roughest cruise they had ever been on.

Our biggest disappointment was getting to Puerto Rico late and only seeing it in the dark. We took a tour and our bus driver/tour guide would start his sentences in English and end in Spanish. He drove me nuts!!! For what we could see in the dark made us want to see more of Puerto Rico.

Both Puerto Rico and St. Thomas are U.S. possession. Puerto Rico obtained from the Spanish American War of 1898 and St. Thomas is part of the Virgin Islands that the US bought from Denmark in 1917 when the US was fearful of German penetration in the Caribbean.

St. Maarten is under Dutch and French control.

We had lots of activities on the ship. The best activity was eating. We could have eaten hamburgers or pizza all day but we opted for the fine meals they serve. They were so good and balanced that I didn’t gain any weight.

---

Photos

Towel Art
Every night before bed our cabin attendant would make us a towel art.