Carnival Sunshine Review - A family travel review of Carnival's 9-day eastern Caribbean cruise from Port Canaveral, FL

Grand Turk Island is the capital island of the Turks and Caicos archipelago, in the Atlantic Ocean. It’s dotted with the remains of salt ponds and windmills from the island’s sea salt industry, prevalent from the 17th to 20th century.

It was pretty clear to me that Grand Turk was the "beach stop" on this cruise sailing. You know - every sailing has a beach port. Sometimes it's a private island and sometimes not.

The beaches in Grand Turk were impressive - be sure to check out the photos. They're super convenient and you don't have to pay for "amenities" like chairs and umbrellas, from what we saw.

This was my first trip to San Juan, or any part of Puerto Rico, for that matter. As a Florida resident, Puerto Rico seems so close and so far at the same time. I have numerous friends and neighbors that were born on the island and moved here, to central Florida, at some point in their lives.

I've only ever seen Puerto Rico from a distance until this visit, and it quickly became one of my favorite ports-of-call on any cruise.

The cruise ship terminal in San Juan is within walking distance of most of Old San Juan, the historic district of the city. We're planning on doing a full post just on our visit to this port, but just know that we had the time of our lives exploring this city.

St. Kitts is the larger of the two Caribbean islands that comprise the nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. It’s known for rain-forested mountains and beaches of white, gray, and black sands. On its southwestern coast is the capital, Basseterre, and Georgian buildings from the colonial era. Basseterre is also where the cruise ship port is as well.

St. Kitts will always hold a special place in my heart. My family spent a lot of time walking around and exploring the island together. My oldest son and I also did an island tour, got to see almost all of the island and got some great photos and video, too!

St. Maarten (sometimes spelled "Sint Maarten"), is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. St. Maarten is a country on the southern part of a Caribbean island shared with Saint Martin, a French overseas collectivity. It's the smallest island in the world shared by two countries.

Its natural features span lagoons, beaches and salt pans. The capital, Philipsburg, has cobblestone streets and colorful, colonial-style buildings lining its Front Street shopping area. The port is a popular cruise-ship stop and it's clear to see why when you see the photos.

Our stop in St. Maarten was great - we visited a small art gallery and school not far from the beach. We also had a great time at a beach-side bar. We can't wait to return to this port on our next sailing.