6 posts tagged “cruise08”

I thought I already had this uploaded here, and I kind of did - but as part of a mosaic I'd made. 

The how-cool-is-that part?  And in about 11 days, we should be in front of this landscape again.

So, here are the rules if you care to participate:

Go to the pictures on your computer.

Go to the third folder.

Post the third picture in the third folder.

No cheating.

Now, why can't the QotD's be this fun?!

I am not sure why I am smiling in an underwater photo...


And so, back to Day 7, our final day of the cruise.  We were both pretty crispy sun-exposure-wise from our snorkeling the day before, so we spent the day just wandering the ship, watching movies in our room, and checking out the cruise sales (I found a cute top and a lovely sterling silver cross necklace).  As the evening came upon us, we hurried aft in hopes of finally catching an amazing sunset.



This time, we were not disappointed.

I think we could have stayed out there all night, but alas, our final cruise dinner awaited.  And this time, we took the time to get a photo with our lovely table mates.

I don't recall what we ate (though it's not a stretch to think that Rob had the fettucine alfredo for an appetizer one last time nor would it be odd to assume that my meal was something seafood).  But for some reason I found it important to immortalize our desserts...

We retired to our room not to long after, to find what we found each night of this loveliest of anniversary celebrations...

The waters grew progressively bluer on the trip out to the sand bar referred to as Sting Ray City. 

As we came upon the sand bar, we quickly realized that what looked like parts of the reef, were actually the sting rays - hundreds of them! - swimming toward us with anticipation.

We'd purchased an underwater camera for this excursion, and I have neglected to get those photos developed to-date (Bad Nicole!), so at this point you will just have to use your imagination.  We donned snorkel vests and masks, jumped into the water, and proceeded to be mauled and molested by dozens upon dozens of sting rays.  The waters were choppy and crowded with both the sea creatures and screaming, squealing tourists.  I tried my hand at feeding the buggers a few times, but I didn't care for how they bumped and brushed against me in search of the calamari even after it had been sucked away by one of their own.

After we'd all been groped sufficiently by the creepy sea animals, we climbed back on the boat and were motored out to the edge of a reef.  After a brief yet informative orientation, we were snorkeling.

And I loved it!  Once I understood the physics involved - the choppy waters were not kind, and I swallowed my share of salt water - I loved gazing upon the reef, watching the colorful fish dart here and there, seemingly oblivious to our presence in their world.

I can't wait to go again on our cruise at the end of the summer!

We returned to the cruise port after the excursion and went back to the ship to shower, change, and grab a bite (ha, who am I kidding - more than a bite - we are on a cruise, people!) of lunch.  Then we returned to the town and wandered about, doing a bit of souvenir shopping.

Everyone raved about the Tortuga Rum Cakes.  Outside of one of the many shops, we met a fine fellow who was kind enough to allow some photos.

I do hope we get to go back to Grand Cayman some day - both the town and the people were lovely, and I was sorry to see the island fade into the distance that evening.

As had become our habit each evening, we made our way out to one of the decks hoping to view an incredible Caribbean sunset. 


Still not quite what I was hoping for, but after a day in the sun, I didn't mind sitting back and observing the skies for a bit.

I don't think I was ever any more relaxed than this.  Too bad it took till Day 6 to get there (dang Type-A, high strung personality).

This was also the long-awaited lobster and Baked Alaska night.  We dressed for dinner and headed to the dining room with anticipation. 

It was such fun!  Great food and a good show to go along with it, as the waiters paraded about with their large meringue concoctions.

(Yes, that is caviar at the top left.  I tried it.  Didn't much care for it, and it was a bit hard to get past the fact that some of eggs looked eerily like Merlin's "babies" in Finding Nemo.)


That night was also "Champagne Waterfall" night.  I couldn't convince Rob to go down to the Piazza with me (he is not a champagne fan), so I wandered down on my own. 



The bubbly was blah, but the display was beautiful.  The highlight was when a 60-years-young man proposed to his equally young girlfriend.

I returned to our cabin with bittersweet thoughts that our lovely vacation would soon end - just one more day left.

This is from our second to last night on the cruise.  Usually I wear this little shift-type dress with a pair of skinny jeans.  I'd gotten quite a bit of sun this day, so I decided to wear it alone.  After dinner, I was goofing around, and Rob snapped this photo.

I was trying to be playful, but I am thinking I probably just look silly. 

Most of the passengers opted to climb up the falls.  Thinking we'd have to climb back down, I decided no way, and we had the option of walking up alongside of them instead.  (I found out too late that they would not be climbing back down.)  This was a bit slow and monotonous, however, it provided for some lovely views.

We spent an hour or so at the falls, then headed back to the boat.  The crew took us out a bit this time, and boy were they flying over the water, which was a bit choppy that day, but I loved the feeling of the wind and salt water hitting my face and hair.

As we tracked back toward the port, they cranked the music up and encouraged us to dance.  One person in our duo was a bit of a party pooper, but the other one...

Rob pointed out later that they were pretty much using us as free advertising as they pulled back into port ("This is Cool Runnings, your Jamaican party boat, mon!"), but I had so much fun dancing, I really didn't care.

We headed back to the ship, showered, and had some lunch, then made our way down to the many shops.  I wasn't that impressed with most of them, and the staff didn't seem as happy to have tourists as the folks in Grand Turk were.  We eventually found a little hole-in-the-wall store with a jovial storekeeper, so we purchased most of our souvenirs from him.

Though the Cool Runnings trip was probably my favorite excursion of the cruise, I really didn't care for Jamaica that much.  I felt a bit uncomfortable walking through the town area, and the constant inquiries as to whether we wanted any "gange" became annoying.  The merchants were pushier here than in any of the four ports we visited.

Suffice to say, I am glad we got to visit this verdant country, but it's not a port I'd really be interested in visiting again.

Once we'd bid Ocho Rios adieu, we made our way to the most forward part of the ship in yet another attempt to catch a breathtaking Caribbean sunset.

It wasn't too long before we had to return to our cabin to get ready for the second formal night.  I'd saved "the dress" for this night, and I did feel like a princess as we set out for photos and dinner.  Looking back on the pictures, however, I am not sure how much I really like the dress (ha).

Rob looked totally hot, though!

If I remember correctly, this was lobster night, but I didn't take a single photo of anything at dinner except my dessert.  It is the closest I will ever get to such a thing*...

I don't think we did anything after dinner.  I wish I'd taken the time to write down what we did each night...there was one night that we went dancing, but I can't quite remember now.  I think it was on our anniversary night (and I think I failed to mention that).  If memory serves, I believe we were pretty tired after the long port call that day, so we called it a night early - if you can call 11ish early!

Our 20th anniversary found us in Grand Turk, what was supposed to be our final port call.  But it'd been moved up to port #2 because of our shift in schedule due to a hurricane whose name I no longer remember bearing down on the USVI and Puerto Rico.  That wasn't necessarily a bad thing for this stop, because it meant we were on the island alone rather than with another cruise ship, as previously planned.

I wasn't sure what this port-of-call would be like since it'd only reopened a few weeks prior, after Hurricane Ike had devastated it a month or two before.  But the Cruise Center was virtually untouched, save some landscaping and miscellaneous cosmetic blemishes.

We spent the first few hours on shore relaxing under a palm tree on the beach.  I walked down to put my tootsies in the water, but other than that, we were both content to just kick back and lounge, and even nap a bit.  We also wanted to see more of the island, and our decision to move on was clinched when a (I think) French couple plopped down next to us and proceeded to change from street clothes into their swimsuits.

I try not to be a prude, but I really don't want to see a stranger's dangly bits when I am on vacation.

So, we packed up our stuff, browsed the shops for a bit, then hailed a taxi to take us out to the other end of the island to see the lighthouse.

Our drive out showed us what Ike had done to that lovely little island.  I don't think we passed a single building without damage, many of which were completely destroyed.  Our driver described, with tears in his voice, the night of the storm.  I was humbled to see homes that were no more than shacks leveled...these people had nothing to begin with and now they had even less than that.

It was heartbreaking.

What we also witnessed was the resilience and hope of this island's people.  With the tears, there was hope in our driver's voice, as he spoke of rebuilding and their relief that tourists were coming back (it is there biggest industry - yes, they actually wanted us there).

I can't wait to go back on our trip in September to see how things have progressed and further support the rebuilding of this lovely island.

The waters by the lighthouse were the bluest we viewed the entire trip.  To give you an idea, I have not edited or adjusted these photos in the least, and they still don't do the hues justice.

We returned to the Cruise Center with enough time to pick up a few souvenirs and board the ship.  We then headed to the buffet area for a light snack, where I found these interesting little things...

Yes, they look pretty gross, but they were scrumptious!  The grapes were slightly frozen, making them crazy sweet, which was a nice contrast to the dark, slightly bitter chocolate covering them.

Our bellies happy, we headed back to the cabin and promptly feel asleep until just before dinner.  Our dinner mates later told us we'd missed the best sunset thus far - go figure.



Dinner was superb, as usual.  I especially enjoyed the Eggplant Parmesan appetizer.
We were treated to a rousing (read: fun, but awful) anniversary song by the wait staff at the end of our meal.  It was a lovely ending to a lovely day, marking 20 years of us.