Our trip started from JFK. Just a note that the American Airline employees there are not very nice at 6 am. Anyway, our flight was great. We went to San Juan one day early. When you get your bags, go to the ground transportation booth outside. Let them know how many people, how many bags and your destination. You will receive a voucher to give to the taxi driver. The taxi fares are reasonable. We stayed at the Sheraton in Old San Juan. The hotel and staff were nice.(Bar, restaurant, gym, pool) We strolled around Old San Juan for the afternoon. We had a late lunch at Senor Frogs. We were a group of 16, with different arrival times. Once everyone arrived we all ended up in Senor Frogs for the rest of the night. That was quite a fun evening and set the tone for the rest of the trip! On Sunday we headed to the pier at noon. The cab ride was quick and inexpensive. The line looked endless to check-in. We thought it would take forever. All of a sudden, they added additional people to take your bags. Once that happened, the check-in process was a whirlwind. It was so easy. We were on the ship by 12:30. We immediately went to the pool. Our first order of business was to make our reservations for Portafino. Since we were a large group, we wanted to get that done ASAP. The rest of the day we just explored the ship. It is beautiful! For dinner the first night, they let you wear whatever you wanted. Many people didn't have their luggage by dinner time, so you had to wear whatever you wore onto the ship. We were in the second seating. We had the best waiter ever!!! (Shout out to Randolph--you rock!!!) The food was good every night. No complaints from me!! Monday was an at sea day. I went to the gym in the morning. I did the aerobics class. It was ok. It was a little too "dancey" for me. It also lasted only 30 minutes. I also used the treadmills. They gym was nice-plenty of equipment to use. Never had to wait. We just hung out at the pool all day. Very relaxing. We purchased a horse in the auction. We ate lunch at the Windjammer most days. It was good--some things were exceptionally tasty. That night was the first formal night. All went well. We had purchased all of our excursions through the cruise line before we left home. We were looking forward to Aruba tomorrow! Tuesday we arrived in Aruba at 8 am. We went on the half day Jeep Safari at 8:30. It was a lot of fun. (FYI-make sure you wear something that you don't mind getting full of mud!) You see a lot of neat landmarks--you make a few stops during the tour and get to walk around and check things out. That night we went on the Aruba Bar and Pub Stroll. It takes place on a KuKoo Kunuku party bus. (Hey Big Daddy and Victor) They take you to 5 different bars. It was crazy!! We had soooooooooo much fun!! We met a fun group from Minnesota (Hey Chris! You were everywhere!!) I would highly recommend both of those excursions. We came back at whatever time, and went to the pool party on the ship. We ended up swimming, then hanging out in the hot tub until 1:30-2:00. Wednesday was Curacao. I regret not getting up earlier to check out the town. We were really lazy and just hung out until it was time for our excursion at 12:30. We ate breakfast at the Windjammer. It was fine, the same thing each day. That was ok w/ me. We went to a beach for the afternoon. It was a nice beach. A pretty uneventful day. Thursday was the second at sea day. Finally figured out that the best coffee is from the coffee shop on the 5th floor promenade. (no extra fee for just coffee) More pool games. They are so funny. Our horse that we purchased was ready for his big race today. He won for "best dressed". Then when it came time for the owners race, he didn't do so well. I think I was dead last. Oh well! We went to the 5:00 ice skating show. It was good. (they offer 3 other show times. You must have tickets for it. The tickets are free, but you need to pick them up on Monday) After the ice skating show, we had a "private cocktail party" that ended up being a surprise birthday party for me. (Thanks to my sis, Mari, for arranging it) It was a lot of fun. After that, we went to Portafino for dinner. We were a large group and a little loud after our cocktail party. (Sorry to those of you trying to have a nice quiet dinner) The food was excellent. It is definitely worth the additional charge. Thursday was also a formal night, but Portafino just asks that you dress "smart casual". Friday was St Maarten. We did the America's Cup Sailing Regatta. It was awesome and highly recommended. We were in the "Stars and Stripes" yacht. We won the race! Everyone had a hand in sailing. You do not need any experience. You can also choose to just be an observer. After the regatta, we had lunch and shopped a little. That night was the "Quest" game. Even if you don't want to play, you must watch. People will do the craziest things!! We won the game!! It was a lot of fun (although I did pull a muscle in my leg--it was all worth it to win that t-shirt!) Saturday was St. Thomas. We did the Ultimate Island Experience. It was a nice way to see a little bit of everything. After the tour, they leave you in town to shop. I was concerned with having enough time to get back to the ship. There is plenty of time and plenty of transportation. It only took about 10 minutes to get back to the ship from town. I did find the retail people quite pushy here. Worse than the other islands. We had lunch at Johnny Rockets. It was really good. I was pleasantly surprised. This was our last night--everyone was pretty calm. Time to pack and get ready to head home. We decided to use the option through American Airlines, for $10 per person, you can have your luggage checked from the pier all the way through to your destination. It worked well for us. The last night, we received our boarding passes for our flight. When you get off of the ship (which was easy) you get your luggage, go through customs and bring your luggage to the designated area. You then pick it up at the airport when you get home.