Rotan Babymoon

Last May we decided that we needed to plan a trip to celebrate our 5-year anniversary and my MBA graduation, which were both happening in December. We wanted something relaxing and carefree, so we booked a Southern Caribbean cruise! By the time the trip actually came around, Tanya was 16 weeks pregnant and the vacation was renamed "Rotan Babymoon"

We flew to Puerto Rico on Valentine's Day. I guess the good thing about planning your trips 9 months in advance is that you have time to hunt for the best price. I looked almost every day at plane tickets (which were over $800 every time I checked). One day I looked and they were randomly $450. I went through to book them and when it came time to choose our seats they were first class! I couldn't believe it, but it was true. We've been ruined forever. 

We stayed the night in Old San Juan at a cool little hotel. It was in the best location and we walked to our Valentine's dinner, then dessert and just around. The next morning we explored Old San Juan and the Castillos a little more. 

Breakfast goodies

The coolest little streets

Castillo San Felipe del Moro

Fruit sorbet

Mofongo. Thanks again Yelp, this place was amazing!

Then we headed to our cruise ship to board. We did Royal Caribbean and really liked it. Our ship had good food and an adults-only pool that we basically lived at.

Our first stop was St. Thomas. We went to Magen's Bay and just spend the day beaching.

The second day was spent on St. Croix. I spent most of the day scuba diving and Tanya relaxed on the beach. There was a beautiful resort where I did my shore dive complete with comfy lounge chairs and hammocks. I saw lots of crazy stuff during my dive including 2 sharks that were about 7 feet long!

Tan & baby took a nap

Under da sea . . .

That night was formal night on the cruise ship. We got all dressed up and stuffed our faces. Baby boy even started to poke out for the first time!

On the following morning we landed in beautiful Antigua, which was probably our second favorite stop of the whole cruise. We had our taxi driver take us to what he thought was one of the best beaches, even though it's hard to choose because the island has over 365 of them!

heaven on earth . . .

Next up was the island of Martinique. It was super French and hard to navigate, but we still got to see some cool stuff.

Last and best of all was St. Lucia. We went on a tour that showed us a lot of the island.

We toured the banana fields (and ate fresh bananas of course) 

Drove around the island

Stopped for pictures 

Ate local food and drake Coke Light (which just tastes like happiness)

Saw the famous Pitons 

Walked to a waterfall

Swam in said waterfall 

Took a boat ride to a beautiful beach between Les Pitons 

Snorkeled

Went to an active volcano to bathe in the nutrient rich sulfur mud

And then drove back - stopping along the way of course

Our final day of the cruise was a day at sea. We slept, ate, rock climbed, slept again, ate a few more times, read books, and went to a show. It was a pretty great day. 

It was such a great trip - exactly what we needed to cure the winter blues. Tan felt great the whole time and was able to enjoy the perfect pregnancy vacation. 

To commemorate the trip I made a little video

Thanks Jewel of the Seas! You were good to us.