Rum tasting in St. Thomas
Formal night
Jim and Yvonne Reynolds enjoying a dance
The Roving Ranchers group at dinner
Pat Sand
The Roving Ranchers went on a Caribbean cruise from Jan. 5 through 16. Fifteen Ranchers flew to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for a SilverSea cruise on the brand new ship Silver Dawn. After sailing away, the ship spent two days at sea before porting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The next stops included St. Barts, St. Kitts, Antigua, and St. Thomas before sailing back to Fort Lauderdale. The weather was warm and sunny, and we only had a little “liquid sunshine” on two evenings.
The Ranchers scheduled their own tours. Some went zip lining, snorkeling, visiting historic sites, or touring the port city. At night, the group met for Team Trivia, splitting into two groups and getting quite competitive between the guys and gals, and met for cocktails before dinner. Dinners were planned at several restaurants—SilverSea offers several dining options to choose from, so everyone experienced a variety of superb culinary dishes and some marvelous desserts. A few sampled tasty cocktails, including the Fuzzy Navel, Grasshopper, Mai Tai, Chocolate Martini, and Royal Kir. Some in the group stayed up late to enjoy the nighttime entertainment, which included professional performances by the SilverSea Singers as well as a DJ spinning records for dancing well into the night.
This trip was a great way to meet new friends and have fun with existing ones. We always looked forward to meeting at the end of the day for cocktails and hearing what excursions everyone participated in.
We had a celebrity sighting on the ship and everyone was surprised to see Elliott Gould, an actor who starred in the movie M*A*S*H, eating lunch by the pool or enjoying the nighttime entertainment. Although no one got any autographs, those who had interaction with him said he was really nice.
It was disheartening to disembark the ship on Jan. 16, but knowing another cruise is planned for 2024 brightened everyone’s spirits.