Last fall, I went on a 12-day Friendsgiving cruise over Thanksgiving from New York City to the Caribbean. We sailed on the Carnival Venezia to St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Dominica, Antigua and St. Thomas. I had never sailed from NYC before and we were treated to amazing views of the skyline as we headed out to sea at sunset.

I enjoyed the Italian-themed decor on the Venezia, including the gondola in the main dining room.

We had three days at sea before our first port, which was St. Maarten on Thanksgiving. Most of our group spent the day together at Big Bastard’s on Great Bay Beach.

They provided friendly service, chairs, umbrellas, food and drinks right on the beach. It is a busy beach, but we enjoyed our day together there.

Our second stop was St. Lucia, where I went on an excursion that took us first to Cap Estate overlook. The views there were amazing.

Then, we headed to Pigeon Island National Landmark for beach time, swimming and exploring the ruins. You can climb up to a lookout at the top of Fort Rodney for panoramic views of the coastline.

Our next port of call was Dominica. I took an excursion to two snorkeling spots on the island. The first was Champagne Beach, which gets its name from the small gas bubbles that rise from underwater volcanic vents.

Next, we went to Scotts Head Point and saw a beautiful rainbow before snorkeling some more. I love snorkeling, so being able to go to two places on one excursion was great.

We headed to Antigua for our next stop. Antigua has some of my favorite beaches in the Caribbean. I went on a catamaran cruise there to two beaches and also enjoyed a lobster lunch on the boat.

We spent most of our time in the water at gorgeous Valley Church Beach, which I simply love. After lunch, we headed to Galley Bay Beach for more swimming and relaxing.