On cruising

I'm (mostly) recovered now from the killer cold I brought back from our cruise to the Eastern Carribbean, and have some quick observations:

*Cruises are great places to eat, gamble and sun bathe.
*They are not such great places to actually see the areas you're visiting. The 5-7 hour stops are not enough time to enjoy the islands.
*Self-directed shore excursions, as opposed to those planned by the cruise line, are much better. Our scuba trip in Antigua and snorkeling day in Tortola were far superior to the ship-offered scuba trip in St. Thomas, USVI.
*You sure-as-hell DO know you're on a ship the entire time. Particularly when you're bouncing around in 20-foot seas and every second person on board has seasick medication patches behind their ears (thankfully, none of our party needed medication or got seasick.)
*The stateroom with a window/deck is worth the extra money...having no window sucks.
*The service is first rate at all levels.

I also got a lesson in cruiseline economics...and how "all-inclusive" really isn't the whole picture. I'll write more about that later.

Best experience: Snorkeling with the clouds of fish, pelicans and tarpon in Tortola.

Worst experience: The squalor of St. Thomas. I thought about the Antigua scuba trip (and finding out you really can puke repeatedly through your regulator 30 feet underwater and still survive) but decided that was a great learning experience.