Caribbean Water Therapy: St. Thomas and Grand Caym

The moment we stepped onto American soil in St. Thomas, Justin’s allergies staged an immediate comeback.

Apparently even tropical islands aren’t immune from whatever pollen has been chasing him for years.

After a quick look around the shopping area near the cruise port, we headed toward what would become one of our favorite beaches of the trip.

✨Magens Bay✨

A short taxi ride carried us across the island to a long crescent of white sand framed by calm turquoise water. The beach charged a small entrance fee, which likely helped keep the crowds manageable.

The result was exactly what we needed.

For two glorious hours we floated in warm Caribbean water and forgot about ship frustrations, time zone changes, coughing passengers, and tender ticket mysteries.

I call this Caribbean water therapy. No prescription required.

The water was clear, calm, and impossibly inviting. We spent most of our time alternating between swimming and simply standing in the shallows enjoying the view.

By the time we returned to the ship, we had achieved a matching vacation souvenir.

Sunburn🧯

Despite our best intentions, both of us returned several shades redder than when we arrived. Completely worth it though.

A few days later we arrived in Georgetown, Grand Cayman.

This port began with another lesson in cruise logistics.

Specifically, how not to spend the first two hours of your morning.

Because Grand Cayman requires tender boats, we once again found ourselves searching for information about towels, tender procedures, and where exactly we were supposed to obtain the correct ticket.

After enough running between decks to qualify as exercise, we finally secured our paperwork and boarded the tender.

Forty-five minutes later, we reached shore.

Our first destination wasn’t a beach. It was a grocery store.

Justin’s cough had reached the point where we were willing to purchase anything remotely capable of helping.

Enter Kirk Market to save the day!

The store became one of the unexpected highlights of the day. Clean, organized, and stocked with everything we needed, it provided temporary relief and a reminder that grocery stores become surprisingly exciting when traveling long enough.

After our pharmacy mission, we decided to find a beach.

That proved more difficult than expected.

We walked.

And walked.

And walked.

Several beach access points led to rocky shoreline or coral-covered coast. Others appeared to disappear into private property.

Eventually we accepted defeat, found a local pub, grabbed a bite to eat, and rested our feet. Ok and cool me off because the humidity was melting me from the inside out.

Only later did we learn what experienced visitors already know. Grand Cayman is surrounded by coral reefs 🤦🏻‍♀️.

The famous sandy beaches aren’t typically located right next to the cruise port. What we actually needed was transportation to Seven Mile Beach. Unfortunately by this point, we had run out of both time and enthusiasm.

Luckily, we already had another cruise scheduled that would bring us back to Grand Cayman only a couple of weeks later.Read more