The Cruise

There are just two words to describe how much I enjoyed our cruise: LOVED IT! I was nervous about leaving my kids, but once I was in the car driving to Florida I was in total vacation mode. I realized after I got home that I didn't take nearly enough pictures (because when you're truly kickin' back enjoying life taking pictures isn't the first thing on your mind). But here is a sampling of the pictures I did take along with a summary of some of the things we did.

This is our stateroom. We opted against spluring for a balcony room, which turned out to be okay. (Although if you have money to burn, I'd recommend getting a balcony). The room was small, but we really didn't spend much time there. There is so much to do on the ship!! Our favorite passtimes onboard included eating, exercising (in the gym or outdoor running track), eating, listening to live music, watching (and in David's case singing) kareoke, eating, relaxing on the deck, playing ping pong, eating, hot-tubbing, going down the waterslide, taking a dance class, reading by the pool, laughing with David's family,and eating!

This picture was taken our first full day at sea. It was "formal night" and we did our best to dress up (although compared to some people we were terribly under-dressed). During the day we spent most of our time in bathing suits or on excusions and then in the evening we "dressed" for dinner and the evening's entertainment. I felt a little bit like someone in a Jane Austen novel. All of my needs were taken care of and all I had to worry about was socializing and having fun. (It was great!!)

Every night when we came back to our room we found our sheets turned down, chocolates on our pillows, and a different towel animal. It was always so much fun to see what they came up with next!

We first made port in Cozumel, Mexico. There, we took a boat (on VERY rough seas) and then a bus to the Mayan ruins of Tulum. I found it fascinating, especially since we believe there is the possibility that these could be ruins from Book of Mormon times. Some people believe that Tulum and its surrounding area is the Land of Bountiful, and after being there I could believe it! The picture on my last post was taken at Tulum. Even in Hawaii I've never seen such beautiful water.

This was our tour guide, Lili. I had to take a picture with her to show our girls because I thought she looked like a real-life Dora the Explorer. :)

Our next port was in Belize. Here we had our favorite excursion-- Cave Tubing. To get there we first road a bus through Belize City, which opened my eyes once again to how very blessed we are to live in America!! Once we got to the caves we first had to hike for 45 minutes up to the starting point. It was a really fun hike with very interesting vegetation on the way. Then we road innertubes down a crystal clear river THROUGH the cave (think Timpanogas Cave with water). It was an adventure! There were bats in the cave, but thankfully no (visible) snakes or spiders. The surroundings were so beautiful I felt like we were experiencing one of the earth's hidden gems. After our tubing adventure we were treated to a lunch of red beans & rice, chicken, and mashed potatoes-- all Creole style.

At Isle de Roatan, Honduras we had the catamaran & snorkel experience. It was great minus a few totally obnoxious drunk people on our boat. It was my second time snorkeling and I had so much fun!! (The last time I snorkeled waves kept splashing into my gear and I kept sucking in salt water! This time was much better!!) The coral and marine life were fascinating and I loved the feeling of just floating around in the water.

In the Bahamas instead of paying for an excursion we just caught a taxi to the beach. We played around in the water, layed on the beach and read, and did some shopping at the local tourist market. While we were swimming in the ocean David and I had a sting ray come within about 5 feet of us. At first we were a little freaked out because we didn't know what it was, but once we settled down it was really cool to see!

The best part of the whole experience was getting to spend 8 whole days with David. After 10 years we still love (and really LIKE) each other!