Saturday, January 2, 2010

Caribbean Cruise!

I can't believe none of you criticized me for not journaling anything along with my pictures! Well, I uploaded the pics and then published them to see how the layout looked and then didn't have time to write anything. I AM going to make a photo book with details and such, but for now I will be brief.  Besides, I have told many of you how wonderful of a time we had already. For those of you whom I haven't already told (and who have forgiven me for not blogging in months and might still be interested in my daily life) here you go!
We left from the Port of Miami on a Sunday afternoon and arrive back the following Sunday morning. Our group included two of my sisters and their husbands, my brother and his wife, and my dear parents. It turned out to be the perfect size group to go cruising with! We met for dinner almost every night at one of the two nice restaurants on board (Tsar's Palace or Azura). Breakfast and lunch we ate buffet style.  Of course the best meal we had was a local dish in Belize. Our stateroom was very roomy and comfortable. We agreed that paying so much more for a window or balcony is a waste. You spend so little time in your room. Unless you are sleeping or other wise occupied, you are on deck somewhere. And for me personally, sitting and watching the ocean go by was not advisable.  I even had to enjoy the gorgeous sunset by sitting with my back to it and taking an occasional glance back.  I wore Sea Bands on my wrists, as did my parents and sister Lanith for most of the trip.   They really did help, and by the 5th day we had our sea legs and didn't need them as much. What a relief!
                These pictures are in such a random order and size, I know. I swear I need a Blogging 101 class! One picture is of the Finale show that the ship's crew put on the last night. The theater was nice and we saw a few good show there. We watched Buddy Anderson's comedy show a couple time and about peed our pants. There were private game rooms that you could use and play the wii or sing karaoke. You can tell by the picture that we played "tennis" in the Red Room. Had I known earlier, I would not have chosen to wear the pink shirt. The colors are a little jarring.So this is my favorite picture of all! We gave Walt and Chad a hard time if ever they went off exploring together, that people may mistake them for a gay couple. Such couples were not uncommon to be found on the ship. So I asked the guys to pose for a picture and this is the result. Adorable!This was taken from the sun deck on the very top of the ship. The weather was gorgeous most of the time, with a little rain on the morning we arrived in Honduras.
Costa Maya, Mexico - We had such fun at this stop. We rode ATVs and took a tour of the shore. Our guide was so nice and the locals were all that way. It felt alot like Rocky Point, and will probably be built up like it in a few years. A big hurricane flattened it about 7 years ago and it is slowly recovering.
Our motly crew in the Bahamas. Cruise lines purchase their own privat island ports and this was their, called Great Stirrup Cay.  We relaxed, snorkeled, and went on a little hike. Now I had never snorkeled before, so I was unsure if I would like it or not. I loved it! Chad and I are going to invest in our own gear for the future. I almost drowned laughing at Lanith trying to figure out her breathing. I love that woman!
I know these pics are hard to see but I stole them from my brother's camera and don't know how to fix right now. Needless to say, some are taken in Belize where we went on zip lines and cave tubing. I wish I had a waterproof camera so I could have taken pictures on the cave tubing part. So cool!






On board they had a card room so of course you could find the Perrins Family there on some evenings, playing SCUM or GOLF.
The drink in my hand was a strawberry daquari, virgin of course, Lucy. Actually, Walt bought it for LeaAnn and we all took turns holding it for our pictures. How cheap are we?  It wasn't that tasty anyways so glad we didn't waste our money!


What a great experience! Chad and I had such fun together and everything went so smoothly, we couldn't have asked for more!