By far, our favorite part of this cruise was that each port was uniquely different and offered something for everyone. First stop was Tortola, which was the least commercialized of the 5 islands. We immediately found a local company that took us on a tour of the entire island for only $20 a piece. We made several stops, allowing us to enjoy breathtaking scenery and take amazing pictures.

We did the same thing in St. Kitts, finding a $20 tour that took us all over at a fraction of the cruise excursion prices. St. Kitts is becoming more of a tourist hub, but it was simply gorgeous as well. Here we were able to visit Romney Manor and Wingfield Rum Distillery. Dominica was more tropical, and we were advised to avoid a beach day because the beaches were actually black from volcanic ash. Instead, we found a $25 island tour that took us to Trafalgar Falls and other amazing sites through the rain forest. Antigua is well-known for its beaches, and although we didn't go we heard they were beautiful. On this day we did take a shore excursion to zip-line in the rain forest.

St. Maarten was our favorite stop. A $20 cab ride took us to the airport beach where we sat at Sunset Bar taking incredible pictures of the planes as we ate amazing food right next to the beach. I was expecting this place to be somewhat dirty and overcrowded, but it wasn't at all. The water was a brilliant blue and there was plenty of room to sit and enjoy the day. There was also lots of shade, which was good for this fair-skinned girl. Read more