We Lived on a Cruise Ship...For 1 Month!

View of the Pool Deck from the Viking Crown Lounge
Getting Ready to Leave Port of Miami

Grandeur of the Seas Atrium Elevators at Night

Planning, are we crazy!?
As travel enthusiasts it happens to us so many times, we research the heck out of things, the bam, a deal appears that we can't pass up.

The initial plan was to take 4 back to back 7 day Caribbean cruises (or a combination of two 8 day cruises and two 6 day cruises), most likely on Carnival and definitely in the fall. Sometime in October since that's the height of hurricane season and there are usually deals to be had, kids are back in school, it's right before the major holiday season, etc.. But nothing, in fact, due to post COVID "revenge travel", prices on these 6 to 8 day Caribbean cruises kept rising and rising. We had actually scrapped the idea all together.

But then Royal Caribbean threw us a curve ball with a deal on 3 back to back (to back) sailings starting January 5, 2024 on The Grandeur of the Seas. Furthermore, with awesome itineraries and so many new ports for us! 14 total ports over the course of 31 days! A couple repeats, but we're not complaining.  So we went ahead and booked them! I still can't believe we did this, what an awesome experience!

We booked about 9 months in advance. After booking and hanging up the phone we just looked at each other. We called because we have had good luck calling directly, sometimes they'll throw in some onboard credit or cut $50 here and there. I remember asking my wife; "What did we just do?" Of course we were grinning ear to ear.

The 3 cruises consisted of a 9 day, a 10 day, and a 12 day cruise; all Caribbean destinations with only a few repeat stops. Again, all 3 on the same ship. We booked "Guaranteed Interior" but hindsight being 20/20, we should have booked the same stateroom for all 3 cruises because that makes the process between sailings a lot less "stressful" if you can call it that. If you book the same stateroom you don't have to pack everything up between sailings. Since we switched staterooms, we had to pack at the end of each cruise. Now we know for next time, there will be a next time!

Embarkation
When the time finally came to board we were so excited and just giddy with anticipation. We took a Lyft from our downtown Miami hotel to the Port of Miami. The embarkation process was beyond smooth, we were on the ship within 15 minutes of entering the cruise terminal. Was it the smaller ship? Did we get there at the perfect time? In no time we were onboard and enjoying ourselves. We got on the ship around 11am, but the staterooms weren't quite ready yet. No biggie, I've got nothing but TIME!

Leaving Miami - Government Cut - South Pointe Pier Park - Miami Beach, FL

Once on board we kept seeing these gold pins and name tags on some fellow cruisers. This was only our second (also third and fourth) Royal Caribbean cruise, the first being a short 5 day Caribbean with stops in Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Back to the gold pins, we figured it out quickly, they meant we were cruising with Royal Caribbean Royalty, LOL. Pinnacle is Royal Caribbean's highest loyalty tier (700+ days sailing). We were blown away by how many Pinnacle members there were onboard. 

Come to find out, many of these Pinnacle members were on multiple linked sailings like us. Oddly enough, our next door neighbors for the first 2 cruises were Pinnacle members! We learned a lot about "the ropes of Royal". How many years and how often they cruise, etc. Fun fact, booking adjoining interior staterooms is cheaper than booking a suite. You end up with two bathrooms, twice the closet space and essentially a dressing room/living room. To add icing to the cake, you get double the loyalty points! The points add up fast when you spend a month on a cruise, then double it by booking two staterooms! We'll have to try that sometime. 

Food & Drink 
Being a smaller older ship, the Grandeur didn't have the typical plethora of specialty dining options you find on today's mega-ships, but it did have a steakhouse, an Italian restaurant, and a Japanese restaurant with hibachi and sushi, the latter being a-la-carte. On day one of each sailing they offered a fairly enticing deal on 2 specialty dining nights, but we decided to stick to the main dining room and the buffet. We felt the specialty dining onboard was a little too expensive, a bit more than we would have spent on land for a similar experience. Furthermore, Royal Caribbean main dining room food is tasty and sufficient. Why bring sand to the beach?

One of many delicious Salmon dishes!

We did not get a beverage package since we aren't soda drinkers and are trying to drink very little alcohol. There was no way a beverage package would make sense financially, we would need to drink about 7 drinks a day to come out ahead. We enjoyed a few beverages on our terms and didn't feel guilty about not getting our money's worth. There's free water, tea, coffee, and juice at all hours. One thing we did do was get a coffee card. It cost us around $35 with the added gratuity and it was good for 10 specialty coffee beverages at Latitudes, so Starbucks Coffee. It was a great deal in our opinion. We were able to share the card and treat ourselves to "fancy coffee".

Internet - Staying Connected
At $25.99 per person / per day, the internet is ridiculously expensive in my opinion. These days a digital detox is good for all of us. We wanted some internet time, so after I brainstormed a bit, I decided to get an esim that covered most of our stops. We could take 30-45 minutes at each stop prior to sailing away and check up on things rather than being connected all the time. We had service while at port and it worked great for us. Total esim cost for the month, under $30. 

Cruising Demographic
As one would guess cruising in January, there weren't many children on our cruises, a handful on each sailing at most. I'd guess that the average guest age was 50 to 60 years old. Many retirees, but some younger people as well. Being in our mid 40's with no children, we didn't mind this a bit. We befriended a lot of fellow cruisers that were a tad older than us. We also got to know a lot of staff onboard. It was fun meeting everyone and talking about travel adventures.

Staying Healthy
We knew going into this adventure, we were going to have to focus to not gain weight during this month. Since retiring, staying healthy and fit has become our top priority. Unlimited food on a cruise ship can be dangerous. So we came up with a plan. We already intermittent fast, so we decided to stick with our two meals a day during this adventure. Our eating window is between 12pm to 8pm, so we pretty much stuck to that. In addition, we promised ourselves that elevators were off limits for the month. We took the stairs for the entire month! We also promised ourselves to keep up with our our gym routine, 3 days per week (push/pull/legs). Combining all of those efforts, we were able to stay fit the whole month! We walked a lot at the ports and even on the ship. We easily hit 8000 to 10000 steps per day just on the ship. I personally tried to prioritize protein. The buffet had stacks of burgers at any given time, so loading up on protein was pretty easy. That kept me full and helped me stay away from some sweets, but I gave in at times.

Cruise 1 - 9 Day - Nassau, Labadee, San Juan, St. Kitts, St. Maarten 

Nassau, Bahamas - This was a repeat port for us, we had been there years ago. We got off the ship and walked to Junkanoo Beach, it was a new area for us and very near the port. Once we realized the beach was extremely packed due to 5 ships being at port, we adjusted our plans and headed toward the famous Straw Market to look at souvenirs made by local artisans. It's definitely a great place to buy keepsakes from your trip.

Junkanoo Beach - Nassau Bahamas

 
Labadee, Haiti - What a pleasant surprise! We didn't know what to expect, we kept our expectations low and found it to be a beautiful stop. We were the only ship there and the Grandeur is small at just under 2000 passengers. The port felt empty with our little ship. There are plenty of amenities and areas to explore around the port. We went to Adrenaline Beach where there is a floating bar, a nice beach, tons of chairs and a good amount of thatched umbrellas in the water to hang out. We spent time talking with fellow cruisers and enjoyed a nice day in the water. We found adrenaline beach nice, but not perfect. While it was fun watching people ziplining above us, there was a lit of sea grass that felt slimy on our feet in certain areas.

Royal Caribbean's Beautiful Port - Labadee, Haiti

Labadee Haiti - Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's Private Port Labadee Haiti - Adrenaline Beach - Swings, Hammocks & Chairs Beachside

Royal Caribbean provides food and there are numerous food stations (and bathrooms) on the property. There are bars at this port and you simply use your ship card to pay, drinks are charged to your onboard account. There are also shuttles you can ride back to the pier. Overall, this is a beautiful stop. I'd love to go back, and we do on the next sailing...

San Juan, Puerto Rico - We've been here before but it is a lovely stop. No excursions planned here this time, just a walk around the fort and enjoy Old Town. We went to the bottom of the fort near the water this time, it gave a different perspective and it was nice watching the wind surfers and seeing the crashing waves. We stopped at a local coffee shop and it didn't disappoint. The sun was setting and it was time to get back on the ship.

El Morro - Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

Me too! I love San Juan!

Basseterre, St. Kitts - We did a self-guided walking tour. It was okay, we saw some historic sites and walked up and down the streets. When we visited this port in 2016 we did an excursion that took us all around the island. I highly recommend doing that if you stop in St. Kitts. We saw Batiks being made at Romney Manor, Brimstone Hill Fortress, and Timothy Hill Overlook where you can see an aerial view of the thin part of the island that separates the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It's a great view. Defintely plan an excursion here.

Port Zante - St. Kitts & Nevis

Philipsburg, St. Maarten - One of our favorite cruise ports. This was our third time here. We did what we usually do, take the local transport bus/van to Maho Beach. This time we were there before 10am and basically had the beach to ourselves, it filled up quickly though. Maho Beach is where the planes land right over your head. The airport is right next to the beach. Sunset Beach Bar has a surfboard with some chalkboard paint and each day they update it with flight times. Since the island has a French side and a Dutch side, they get daily flights from France and from the Netherlands, so they are BIG planes. There are plenty of flights from US carriers as well as smaller planes landing and taking off. But the big thrill comes with the big planes.

Maho Beach - Philipsburg Saint Maarten

Surfboard with Flight Times - Sunset Beach Bar SXM

One of the smaller planes landing over Maho Beach

Cruise 2 - 10 Day - Labadee, San Juan, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Kitts

Labadee, Haiti - Again, but we're not complaining. We had our eyes set on Columbus Cove Beach this is time. This beach was beautiful! The water was clearer, the sand was soft and free of any seaweed, and we liked the views more. You could see the ship and mountains in the background. We really enjoyed our day relaxing and swimming. We grabbed lunch and a couple piña coladas, then we searched for a pair of hammocks and took a nice long nap. The quintessential beach day really. 

Columbus Cove Beach - Labadee Haiti

Columbus Cove Beach - Labadee Haiti

The perfect beach day; sun, sand, salt water, piña colada, and a nap!

San Juan, Puerto Rico - This time around we strolled around the streets of Old San Juan popping in and out of shops. No souvenirs, but we found a great locals bar and rehydrated with a couple Medalla's. The stroll continued for another hour or so until we stumbled upon Cuatro Sombras Coffee shop. We sat and enjoyed our delicious coffee. Prior to heading back to the ship we stopped at Walgreens to stock up on sunscreen since we were running low.

Mosaic Tile Stairway in Old San Juan Puerto Rico

Cuarto Sombras Cafe - San Juan Puerto Rico

Philipsburg, St. Maarten - We made a beeline for the local bus/van stop and went to Marigot on the French side. We found a coffee shop and bought a delicious French pastry as well. We walked around a bit in Marigot, but ultimately decided to go back to the Dutch side and check out a new beach. Mullet Bay Beach is just up the road from the famous Maho Beach, only about a 15 minute walk from the same bus stop you would take to Maho Beach. Mullet Bay Beach is so serene and beautiful. Much more sleepy that Maho. You can still see the planes landing in the distance, but you don't have the chaos or the crowds. It was actually really nice. Next time we are in St. Maarten, this will probably be our beach. Before getting back on the ship we had our share of Guavaberry Piña Coladas at the port (get is blended and ask for a "floater", trust me) and socialized with fellow cruisers from other ships. 

I Love SXM Sign in Marigot Saint Martin, French Side

Mullet Bay Beach - Saint Maarten - Dutch Side

Guavaberry Colada at the Port in Philipsburg Saint Maarten Order it blended with a floater! The Original Wild Guavaberry Island Folk Liquor

St. John's, Antigua - We disembarked our ship and went straight into town past the port area. We were looking for the Bus Terminal. We passed a ton of taxi drivers on the way, but we knew what we were doing. From the bus terminal we took a bus that went south, or destination was Darkwood Beach. The bus dropped us off right in front of the beach, just perfect. This, by far, is the nicest beach we have been to. Antigua is now on the map for us as a the go-to place for gorgeous beaches. In shoulder-deep water i was able to see my toes as if there wasn't even water between my toes and shoulders. Just amazing! We spent a solid 4 hours just enjoying ourselves, sunning, swimming and talking. We went back to the bus stop and not even 5 minutes later we were on our way back to St. John's. Easy transit, great day, gorgeous beach. No complaints, we can't wait to come back here!

Darkwood Beach - St. John's Antigua

Darkwood Beach - St. John's Antigua

Castries, St. Lucia - Our first planned excursion. We knew we wanted to see the Pitons while here. Our excursion was called Wonders of Nature. We drove across the island and stopped at a few viewpoints prior to reaching a National Park area where we hiked up to the top for views of the Pitons. My words and pictures do not do it justice. Just absolutely gorgeous! We hiked back down and enjoyed some local cuisine before making our way back to the port. On our way back we stopped at a volcanic black sand beach that had views of the Pitons in the background. I bought a coconut so I could sip coconut water. Afterwards, the vendor was nice enough to cut up the coconut so I could enjoy the meat inside too. Just a perfect day of exploring this beautiful island.

Beautiful St. Lucia

Soufriere Beach Park - Black Sand, Coconut Water and Gros Piton in the background

St. Lucia has gorgeous viewpoints at every turn!

Basseterre, St. Kitts - We kept it simple for this stop. We enjoyed the empty ship, empty gym, and empty sauna. After showering we got of the ship while everyone else seemed to be getting back on and went to a local convenience store and bought a couple Carib beers. We just sat on a bench in the port and enjoyed our local beers while contemplating the journey so far and thinking about the upcoming cruise.

Basseterre Saint Kitts

Carib Lager - There's a brewery in St. Kitts

Two days at sea brought us back to Miami. As much as we enjoy the ports, we love the days at sea. I think it's knowing that you "have the day off" tomorrow so you can kinda let loose. If you want to have a few drinks, stay up late, go dancing, etc; you don't have to worry about getting up early the next day.

Cruise 3 - 12 Day - Falmouth, Puerto Limon, Colon, Cartagena, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao 

Falmouth, Jamaica - No excursions planned, as luck would have it; it rained pretty much all day at this port. I was a bit under the weather so we just explored the port a bit and then got back on the ship and rested.

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica - Royal Caribbean Excursion - Rainforest Walk, Tortuguero Canal & Limon Countryside. This was yet another great excursion! We loved walking through the rainforest. The guide pointed out all of the flora & fauna along the way. We saw tons of monkeys. Afterwards we got on a canal boat for a trip up and down the canal. I wasn't expecting to see so many sloths, maybe we were just lucky. We saw no less than 10 sloths from the canal boat, even a mother with her baby. We also saw multiple Cayman along with native lizards and birds. The guide and boat captain were great at spotting and maneuvering the boat so we could get the best look. After the canal boat tour we got back on our bus and went to a banana plantation. It was an interesting tour packed full of activities. Puerto Limon does not have a typical "port area" where you can shop and explore. So once we got back from our tour we just got back on the ship.

Puerto Limon Costa Rica - Banana Plantation

Tortuguero Canal Boat Tour - We saw a lot of Sloths!

So many different types of plants in the Costa Rican Rainforest

Colon, Panama - Royal Caribbean Excursion - Metropolitan Natural Park Hike & Panama Canal. Seeing the Panama Canal has been on my list of must-see things for a while. One day soon we'll take a cruise ship through the locks. First up on this excursion was a drive across the country to Panama City, Panama. The guide explained a lot as we drove to Panama City and stopped at Metropolitan Natural Park to hike to the top. On the way up we saw a sloth and an anteater. Once up top we had amazing views of the High Rise Buildings in Downtown Panama City. It was beautiful. On the way back down to the bus we saw monkeys. We got back on the bus and drove back to Colon to visit the Panama Canal Lock System. We visited the newer set of locks called Agua Clara Locks. There is a large viewing platform. It's a great place to watch how the system works. You can see ships waiting in the distance to enter the locks as well as ships currently making their way through the locks. I'm so happy to have seen this finally. Now I can't wait to go through on a ship!

Downtown Panama City from Metropolitan Natural Park

Downtown Panama City from Metropolitan Nature Park - Gorgeous buildings!

Panama Canal - Agua Clara Locks

Panama Canal - Agua Clara Locks

Cartagena, Colombia - This was our first time in South America! Cartegena is colorful, caribbean, full of soul and full of energy! We did venture out and made our way to the Walled City and Getsemani. Getsemani was our favorite. We found a local restaurant making fresh juice smoothies and ordered two to-go. We loved the roaming the streets with our smoothies and looking at the art and street art. We have heard and seen that people get approached by locals who are rapping or want to take photographs in exchange for money; but we weren't approached once. We stumbled upon a great little coffee shop and since we were in Colombia we couldn't say no. I'm glad we didn't, the coffee was EXCELLENT!

All-in-all, we had a really positive experience here. We were slightly worried about this stop because of what we have seen and read. We headed back to the port. The port itself is pretty surreal. It's like a tropical rainforest with exotic birds and monkeys roaming free. I truly could have just spent the day watching and listening to the beautiful Macaws.

Getsemani Neighborhood - Cartagena Colombia

Getsemani Neighborhood - Cartagena Colombia

Macaws at the Port of Cartagena

Flamingos at the Port of Cartagena Oranjestad, Aruba - This was an afternoon/evening stop. If I recall we were there from 1pm until 9pm. We knew our plans were to find a waterside restaurant and watch the sunset while having dinner, so that's exaclty what we did. We debarked the ship and walked around the town a bit as we made our way back to the boardwalk area. Curacao is beautiful, we had a great dinner and wonderful views. It was nice to have "land food" for the first time in a few weeks. Of course we had a local beer too.

Flamingo Statue - Oranjestad Aruba

Balashi Pilsner - Born & Brewed in Aruba

Kralendijik, Bonaire - Royal Caribbean Excursion - Bonaire Kayak & Snorkel Adventure. We were whisked away from the port area about 50 feet past the port dock where we met up with our excursion guide. We got a little safety briefing then jumped in our kayaks to row across the bay to a beautiful beach. Kayaking is a relationship building exercise. You have to learn how to work together! Once at the beach we put on our snorkel gear, no fins allowed because people were bumping the coral and damaging them. The water in Bonaire is absolutely gorgeous! I felt like I was swimming in an aquarium, it was just beautiful. I couldn't get enough. The amount of beautiful fish and coral is just amazing. After our water adventure we freshened up on the ship and headed back out to explore a bit. On the way back to the ship we stopped at a local bar/restaurant and had a great Belgian Beer called La Chouffe.

Bonaire Kayak & Snorkel

Kralendijik, Bonaire

Willemstad, Curacao - We decided to do a self-guided tour of Willemstad. From the port we went up the hill and walked around colorful homes painted with beautiful murals. We saw mosaic-tiled stairways and fro the top we had great views all around Willemstad. We made our way back down to the shopping area crossing the Queen Emma Footbridge. In the distance you can see the Queen Juliana Bridge that spans tall enough for larger ships to go under it. We walked past the shops in search of a coffee shop and we found another great one. After our coffee our next order of business was to find a waterside bar where we could try the local liquor, Blue Curacao. We drank our Blue Curacao Piña Coladas right next to the water. It was a great way to wrap up a lovely day of exploring. Also, a fitting way to end our last of 14 stops on this crazy adventure. 

Curacao Sign

So many beautifully painted murals on the homes in this part of Willemstad

Colorful Steps by Avantia Damberg - Mosaic Tiles & Paint

Van Gogh Specialty Coffee & City Roastery

Blue Curacao Piña Colada - Del Toro Restaurant - Willemstad Curacao

After another 2 days at sea we were back in Miami. 

That wrapped up 31 days of cruising. I feel so fortunate that we were able to do this. Looking back, I still can't believe we did it. We will find a way to do this again, I'm sure of it!

Ship wake, my favorite view! Until next time...