{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/67bccab08ee8c32c7fd9f51d/6a7ffc286e5b5bfda6c15d08?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Four Ports, Two Sea Days and One Hidden Gem","description":"<p><strong>#LivingOnTheVirg #CaribbeanCruise #TravelOnTheVirg</strong></p><p>Virginia takes us on her Caribbean cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s <em>Jewel of the Seas</em>. The trip began in San Juan, Puerto Rico, ended in Fort Lauderdale and included stops in St. Kitts, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Maarten and Grand Turk—with two completely different sea days woven into the journey.</p><p>The islands were beautiful, but the memories that stayed were the personal and unexpected ones: meeting an 11:11 tattoo twin in a St. Kitts coffee shop, taking an unplanned tour through Antigua, getting caught in a tropical rainstorm during a St. Maarten beach day, dancing alone at eighties night, eating enormous nachos at Margaritaville and discovering a piece of American space history in Grand Turk. Back aboard the ship, Virginia found both the lively Schooner Bar and Vortex, a quiet hidden gem high above the water.</p><p>Before the cruise story, Winos on the Virg features McBride Sisters Black Girl Magic Red Blend 2020—a perfectly respectable “weekday wine” made even better by a Grocery Barn promotion: the first bottle was about $3.99 and the next bottle was just one cent.</p><p>Virginia also shares the practical lessons she would carry into another cruise: arrive early, pack lighter, bring comfortable shoes and a personal fan, understand what your drink package and gratuities include, leave room for spontaneous choices and stay alert until you are safely home. The episode ends with an unwanted post-cruise souvenir, a frightening taxi ride and a heartfelt thank-you to Susan for the friendship waiting at home.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><ul><li>A birthday wish for Courtney</li><li>McBride Sisters Black Girl Magic Red Blend 2020</li><li>The Grocery Barn $3.99-and-one-cent wine promotion</li><li>Why arriving in a cruise departure city early matters</li><li>Morning coffee, Bible time and balcony life aboard the <em>Jewel of the Seas</em></li><li>Schooner Bar versus the quiet surprise of Vortex</li><li>An 11:11 tattoo connection in St. Kitts</li><li>The ship’s bracelet rituals, Pandora charms and island license plates</li><li>An unplanned interior tour of Antigua</li><li>A rainy St. Maarten beach day—and what first-time visitors should know</li><li>A painted Caribbean sunset and solo dancing at eighties night</li><li>Margaritaville, giant nachos and a triple vodka soda in Grand Turk</li><li>John Glenn, Friendship 7 and Grand Turk’s space-history connection</li><li>Cruise gratuities, tipping and appreciating the people who make the ship work</li><li>What Virginia would pack, plan and do differently next time</li><li>The frightening Fort Lauderdale taxi ride</li><li>A heartfelt thank-you to Susan</li><li>A preview of the upcoming Mexico girls’ trip</li></ul><p>For more of the San Juan story, listeners can return to:</p><p><strong>Episode 130 — the earlier San Juan travel episode.</strong></p><p><strong> #LivingOnTheVirg #CaribbeanCruise #TravelOnTheVirg</strong></p>","author_name":"Virginia Snyder"}