Happy Cruisers in St. Maarten

Naples was a place we had not stayed on the last time through, only a drive by on our way south, so we were looking forward to our visit. Our home for the week was the Naples Motorcoach Resort, one of the top 5 places we have stayed as far as RV parks go. It had all the amenities including very large paver sites, 3 pools, a nice clubhouse with theater room and workout room and many organized events including daily morning coffee and ‘Margarita Monday.’ The park wasn’t very full while we were there as I think they are just about to come into their busy season. But, we loved it for all the nice amenities and perfect location.

Our spot at the Naples Motorcoach Resort

Pool at Naples Motorcoach Resort

Our time here was spent relaxing and exploring the town and surrounding areas of Marco Island and the Isle of Capri.   Naples is a pretty ritzy area that is known for great shopping (which we didn’t participate in) and otherwise a pretty laid back, vacation type atmosphere. One day we attended the Franklin Templeton Shootout golf tournament, which was a lot of fun as it was a different format than a typical golf tourney. The day we were there, it was a 2-man best ball and the players seemed less formal than other tourney’s we have been to (p.s. I saw Mike Weir at the Mercato the night before – love those celebrity sightings!). We also visited the beach and walked town, had a few great meals out and Mike did lots of fishing. Before we knew it, it was time to get packed up and ready for our Princess cruise!

Franklin Templeton Shootout in Naples

We drove 40 minutes south to Everglades City and Everglades Isle, a place we stayed last year and loved. They were kind enough to let us park the MoHo there while we were on the cruise, all plugged in, waiting for our return. We then drove the 90 miles across to Ft. Lauderdale and picked up my mom at the airport for our cruise on Regal Princess. We stayed in a hotel on Sat. night, then boarded the ship on Sunday for a 7-day Caribbean Cruise. This was our Holiday celebration with her since Mike & I would be away from home again this year.

Bon Voyage!

Regal Princess is a brand new ship. Notice the over-water seawalk at the top of the ship

Showing our 12th man spirit!

We loved our time together and the itinerary was a perfect mix of time at sea and a few ports of call. Highlights were nightly dinners, wine at Vine’s, talking up the Seahawks, bingo (Mom won $200), exploring St. Thomas and St. Maarten, meeting new friends, lounging on deck and our spa day!

Mike & I on the tender with Princess Cays behind us

Relaxing on deck

Mom & I on water taxi in St. Maarten

Colorful trio in St. Maarten, Regal Princess behind us

Mike & I on our balcony

Amazing nightly sunsets!

Pre-dinner wine at Vine’s

Last night of the cruise

The time went by very quickly and before we knew it, we were back in Ft. Lauderdale. We dropped mom off at the airport after a nice lunch on the beach, then Mike and I headed back across to the west coast of FL and our 2-week stay at Everglades Isle. Happy Holidays All! This is a hard time to be away from friends and family, but we are still enjoying our time on the road. Thanks to everyone for supporting us on this amazing adventure we are on.

Lunch in Ft. Lauderdale before Mom’s flight