Bermuda

Senior Taylor Gerber stands at the edge of the catamaran boat, staring down into the sparkling ocean water filled with colorful fish darting left and right beneath him. The sun shines down on him, reflecting off the deck and bouncing around the water. He takes a breath and dives in.

“The [guide] said, ‘You can take the easy way or the fun way, and the fun way is just jumping off the boat.’’’ Gerber said. “I took the fun way.”
For his spring break, Gerber went on a seven-day cruise to Bermuda with his parents, aunt, and uncle on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas, visiting islands such as St. Thomas and St. Maarten.
Gerber’s favorite excursion was snorkeling in St. Maarten because he was able to “just jump off the boat, lie in the water, and just enjoy the motion of the ocean.”
In the morning, Gerber and his family disembarked the Allure and boarded a catamaran that took them to the island.
“We met some lovely people on there who drove us to the snorkeling site,” Gerber said.
At the snorkeling site, Gerber and his family geared up and jumped in the water. “It was fantastic, because we were able to put on flippers,” Gerber said. “We were able to dive in clear ocean blue water, and you could literally touch the fish if wanted to.”
After the excursion, they got back on the catamaran and ate sandwiches, oranges, and chips on their way to the beach for the evening. They returned to the Allure at the end of the day.

Kathy Deaver is a Sports Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.