Who knew that going to the Southern Caribbean would be so spectacular? Well I think we all kinda think that, and let me tell you that all my expectations were met and were even better that what we could have hoped for. Every time we reached a new location, I thought to myself 'this is the most beautiful place my eyes have ever seen.' It happened time after time. However, after much contemplation, I decided St. Maarten was my favorite.
Each place had something fabulous to offer, but I made my decision and that is that!
Blake's favorite place was probably St. Lucia but it was a tough choice for him also. St. Lucia was seriously UNBELIEVABLE but it was a rainly, cloudy day so we couldn't get the full effect, but the views were B-E-A-Utiful! (sorry the clouds are covering the tops)
There are two famous peaks called the Pitons (pee-tons) and it was such an amazing thing to see. Two HUGE peaks just shooting out of the water with lush rain forest/jungle covering them from top to bottom. St. Lucia is on Oprah's list of Places You Have to See and I know why! We went snorkeling at Jalousie Bay which is right between the two peaks and the coral there was AMAZING! This is the resort that is there. It's exactly what I picture when I picture a resort in the Caribbean...what about you?
Anyway, here are our FAVORITE THINGS about each island:
1. St. Thomas- Best snorkeling/clearest water/best banana daiquiri
2. Barbados- We got to swim with sea turtles and that was SO SO FUN!
3. St. Lucia- Most Beautiful Landscape (ps..coconut water is GROSS)
4. St. Kitts- Rented scooters and made our way around the WHOLE island almost running out of gas...
5. St. Maarten- Gorgeous water/most clean
Now that we have that out of the way, I would like to finish by giving a few (what we found to be) helpful tips...
1. Bring your own snorkel gear! It gave us something to do on every island for free!
2. We ordered room service every morning and got sandwiches to pack in ziplock bags to take for lunch. Also saved us money because we didn't have to buy food on the islands.
3. Sometimes renting a car is cheaper than getting taxis, especially if you have a few people to split the cost with.
4. Going to the shows on the ship was fun! "Free" entertainment that was usually pretty good.
5. We took our own camelbak and filled it with ice and water from the ship so we had something cold to drink with water we trusted.
6. Be sure to catch at least one sunset!
We had the BEST time and hope to go on another cruise again someday!
And it was the best vacation! We left out of Puerto Rico, spent 7 days in the Caribbean, went to 5 different islands (including: St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten), spent one day in Puerto Rico upon our return, got back to Idaho, packed up our loot, drove 14 hours, and ended up here... 
