🌴 Cruising the Caribbean: 7 islands in 7 days
From San Juan, Puerto Rico to Tortola to Antigua to St. Kitt's to St. Lucia to St. Maarten to St. John, this unforgettable cruise adventure was packed with island charm and tropical energy that lives on in my designs. Here’s a peek into the moments that shaped the collection.
🎥 YouTube Video →
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sAcuNMjT450
📸 Shop Travel-Inspired Designs → "Shades of Blue" → https://angelikagale.com/collections/shades-of-blue?_pos=2&_psq=shades+of&_ss=e&_v=1.0
Posted by Angelika Gale | January 2025
🛬 Day 1 – Landed in Puerto Rico 🇵🇷
Touched down in San Juan after a five-hour flight and checked into the Hyatt via Delta’s booking perks. Beach strolls by day, thunder and power outages by night... island life always keep you guessing.
🎉 Day 2 – Old San Juan & San Sebastián Festival
Before boarding the cruise, we wandered into the world-famous San Sebastián Street Festival—where over 200,000 people gather! A spontaneous four-hour line for the ferry was just part of the fun.
🚢 Day 3 – Boarding the Cruise - Explored our floating home for the week!
🏝️ Jan 20 – Tortola, British Virgin Islands
As we rode Speedy's Ferry across the way, stormy weather came out of no where. We embraced it & hiked Devil’s Bay and the Virgin Gorda caves.
⛵ Jan 21 – Antigua’s Wild Waters
We signed up for the Xtreme Circumnavigation tour via TripAdvisor—not fully realizing how “XTREME” it would be. Waves crashed as we held on tight, cruised past celebrity islands, Nelson's Dockyard, and snorkeled with stingrays.
🕺Closed the night with a specialty seafood dinner at Palomar on deck and 70s dance party on the top deck!
🌿 Jan 22 – St. Kitts & St. Nevis
A mani-pedi morning (shoutout to the cruise spa team)
& an ATV ride through farmland, boat graveyards, and lush hills.
🌋 Jan 23 – Saint Lucia’s Natural Wonders
This island had it all: Pitons, mud baths, volcanic hot springs, banana plantations, rainforests, and snorkeling (we signed up for a Catamaran Day Trip to Soufriere via TripAdvisor).
🌸 Inspiration everywhere—from vibrant fishing villages to lush jungle waterfalls.
🎶 Attended an on-board Beetlejuice show to round out the day.
🚲 Jan 24 – Saint Maarten
Heavy rain upon arrival quickly turned to sunshine. We e-biked along the coast, stopping at different beaches and watching planes soar over Maho Beach.
🥂 Ended the day with dinner at Le Bistro and a light-up party, where we made more friends that we voyaged with to St. John the next day.
🤿 Jan 25 – Saint Thomas > St. John, USVI
We ferried over to St. John and hopped on a taxi bus to Trunk Bay for one last snorkel. This beach is home to a unique underwater snorkel trail ( ~0.2 miles) where you can follow signs beneath the waves as you swim through clear turquoise waters. Afterward, we mailed postcards from a beachside dropbox, and soaked in every last view of the sun-drenched coastline.
Pro Trip: Bring your own snorkel gear - rentals on-site are convenient but pricey.
Snorkel mask: https://amzn.to/4n7mGxa
Snorkel life vest: https://amzn.to/3SQUroA
Snorkel fins: https://amzn.to/3ZwcuUR
✈️ Jan 26 – Back to Puerto Rico + Heading Home - Scooter rides along the coast, final beach walks, and last-minute rum cake hauls. We flew home with sandy toes, salty hair, and hundreds of airdropped memories.
🎨 Travel-Inspired Design Takeaway - From the colorful plants and fish in St. Lucia to the saturated blues of St. Maarten and Trunk Bay, this trip was pure creative fuel. You’ll start to see it show up in my prints, headbands, nurse and medical apparel for patients—especially in the Tropical Escape collection.
📸 Shop Travel-Inspired Designs → https://angelikagale.com/collections/shades-of-blue?_pos=2&_psq=shades+of&_ss=e&_v=1.0
💌 Follow me on Instagram @angelika.gale for my latest travel inspiration!