The harbor in Soufrière, St. Lucia on Christmas Eve

I saw this bizarre looking boat after we left Virgin Gorda and did some Googling. It’s Black Pearl, the largest sailing yacht in the world, owned by some Russian billionaire.

A Christmas Eve toast from Jim

We are not normally “cruise people,” but we decided to take a Christmas break this year on a week-long Caribbean cruise. How did that come about? To begin with, the Internet marketing gods determined that I was a good target for ads from the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection. Clicking on one of those ads certainly didn’t help matters, so they kept coming, and I found myself intrigued by the product.

This is a cruise line targeting a very different audience from other lines. The “yacht” holds hundreds rather than thousands of people, and it feels like a luxurious hotel — one that happens to be on the water. It is like being at a really nice resort. The food is great, the service is top-notch, and the room is ultra-comfortable. We’ve been meeting lots of interesting people, and they all seem to be having a great time. Many profess to also be “non-cruise people.” And some are downright addicted to this company.

One of the reasons we don’t normally do cruises is that we are travelers who want to do justice to the places we visit. We’re not normally content to drop into a place for half a day. We want to stay in places, get to know them, meet local people, enjoy the cuisine. But these Caribbean islands are places we’ve already been to or wouldn’t likely get to otherwise. So we’re pretty happy to enjoy the “resort” and pop off to a nice beach each day.

Our cruise was launched from San Juan, Puerto Rico, where we spent a couple days before boarding the yacht Ilma. So far we’ve made stops in Virgin Gorda (British Virgin Islands), Antigua (Antigua and Barbuda), and St. Lucia. Today we are anchored in Guadeloupe for Christmas. Our next two stops are in St. Barthélemy and St. John (U.S. Virgin Islands). Then back to Puerto Rico to catch a flight home. Meanwhile, Merry Christmas!

We spent a couple days in San Juan, Puerto Rico before boarding the cruise

Jim was on the beach in San Juan when storm clouds moved in out of nowhere. I was at the gym and was shocked to look out the window and see torrential rainfall…

…and minutes later it was all back to beautiful sunshine

Pool time aboard Ilma

The Baths in Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands

Swimming in The Baths

Climbing through the caves of Virgin Gorda

The spot in the caves known as The Cathedral

In The Cathedral

The stunning Dickenson Bay Beach in Antigua

A tiki bar off the beach at Dickenson Bay

Our “yacht” Ilma anchored in the harbor in St. Lucia

Some beach time in St. Lucia

We spent Christmas Day anchored near the lovely Îles des Saintes in Guadeloupe