33 posts tagged “marriage”

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.

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.

We reluctantly made our way back to the room so that we could get all dolled up for the first formal night.  We had our photo taken professionally, but didn't end up buying any because I knew I'd want one from the second formal night when I'd be wearing my new black gown.

Our tablemates skipped out that night, so we had a quiet dinner for two.


I took this photo for java janie because of her love for Nutella.  And yes, it tasted just like Nutella, only cold and creamy.  Yum!

After dinner we went up to the Explorer's Lounge.  I think I said that we saw Phil Tag on Monday night; I was wrong.  We actually saw Tony Laffan, a magician/comedian on Monday night in the same lounge - he was much funnier/entertaining than I expected.  Tonight (Tuesday) was Phil Tag, and he was hysterical.  As I mentioned before, it was standing room only, which was no small feet (pun intended) for me since I had on my favorite heels.

Since our tablemates went AWOL, we didn't have anyone to take a nice photo of the two of us with our camera.  A polite crew member obliged as we were heading back to our room after the show.


At this point in our trip, I realized that for the first time in I don't know how long, my dear hubby was finally able to totally and absolutely relax...

We had to board tenders to go to and from the ship.  There was quite a line waiting to get off the island at the end of the day.  The wait wasn't too bad with a bit of comedic relief provided by the locals...

Once back on the ship, we wandered from bow to stern to take a few photos.

I have to admit that I wasn't that impressed with the scenery on the island, save the beautiful Caribbean waters that surround it.  The hues are remarkable, and I never tired of seeing them at each port.


I think we grabbed a snack at the buffet and took it out to the Horizon Terrace when we tried to catch the sunset.  We ate so much, so often, it's hard to keep track!  Eventually we headed back to our cabin to get ready for dinner.  We enjoyed another tasty and lively meal with our new friends, Jay, Millary, and Sydney.

Rob had some steak dish - I can't remember, but I think it was a tenderloin.  I ordered something I couldn't pronounce that Florin said was full of seafood.  I wasn't disappointed and the flavor was fabulous, though the minute detail of being able to see eyes in the dish was slightly disconcerting.


And yes, I ate that poor, little calamari, though I passed on the crayfish.

It was at said meal that my favorite photo of the two of us was taken...


After our meal, we went to one of the lounges to see Phil Tag, a comedian from New York.  It was standing room only, and for good reason: he was hilarious.

I fell into bed that night, and this was probably the only night I slept fairly well.  One of my few complaints of the entire week was that I was really restless every night.  It took most of the trip for me to realize that it was probably because I didn't bring an alarm clock and I was subconsciously afraid we'd oversleep and missed paid-for-in-advance excursions. 

(Rob's translation: I am way too uptight)

Stay tuned for Day 3 - Ship Day!

*cruise crack = fresh pineapple

We flew into Fort Lauderdale and our friends, J & E, drove down from their place in West Palm Beach to pick us up.  We were able to spend the evening and much of Sunday with them and their adorable bundle of energy.

Sunday, October 12, 2008


J & E just moved into a lovely apartment with incredible views.  I unfortunately didn't think to take any photos of the outdoor mall where we had dinner on Saturday night, nor the lovely rooftop pool and lounge area where we sat and talked until way later than we should have.

J & E's three-year-old was a blast.  He is almost completely bilingual (English and Spanish); mom is Spanish and dad is American.  He spent much of the summer in Spain, and his dad was lamenting that he wouldn't speak English to him.  I quickly noticed that when mom and dad weren't around, he spoke English to me without a bit of trouble.

Little booger.

I guess since he knows that his dad speaks Spanish and that is his first language, he just wasn't going to be bothered with English.  What a stinker!

The little guy warmed right up to his "Uncle Rob", and the two had a blast kicking back for some movie time and tickling one another.  Rob also taught him what every uncle should teach their nephew - the art of administering wedgies.

After enjoying an amazing lunch prepared by E, we headed back down to Fort Lauderdale and Port Everglades.  We boarded the ship, Crown Princess, around 3:00 PM, breezing right through the check-in process.  We went straight to our cabin, meeting our room steward, Henry, who gave us some instructions, answered questions, and confirmed our dining (we'd had a huge mix-up thanks to an unfortunate error on the part of our TA, but they managed to get it all fixed without a moment to spare, and we were confirmed for the late seating traditional dining room).

Our room was a bit larger than I anticipated (though Rob thought it was smaller than expected).  Definitely adequate for two people with plenty of spots to stow our things.  It wasn't too long before we were called down for the "Muster Drill" - a necessary albeit tedious orientation explaining what to do in the event that our ship became the HMS Titanic.

We went back to our cabin and started unpacking until we heard Captain Andy announce that we were leaving port.  We journeyed up to one of the upper decks and joined the crowd as our ship slowly pulled away from the city.

I was amazed how many people came out of their homes to wave to us as the ship sailed by.  Everyone on deck was in a festive mood (some more than others, as they'd obviously discovered one of the many bars quite early).



It felt like a dream.

We spent some time exploring more of the upper decks, then wandered into one of the buffet restaurants where I bought a "coffee card" (it gave me 15 specialty coffees and unlimited brewed coffee - very important since the free stuff was nothing more than a coffee syrup added to water: blech), and then grabbed a pre-dinner snack, since our seating wasn't until 8:15 PM.

What a spread - the sheer amount of food available on a cruise borders on the obscene.  The embarkation night buffet was chock-full of yummy seafood, and I especially enjoyed the plethora of shrimp.  I also discovered what would become my cruise-crack: fresh pineapple.

Oh. My. Word.  That stuff was like candy.  I think I inhaled ate half a dozen pineapples all by myself over the course of the week.

We wandered about the ship a bit more, then headed back to our cabin to prepare for dinner.  In order to eat in the main diningrooms, one is required to dress "smart casual" (think business casual), save the two formal nights.  At first, I wasn't sure if I would like that, but I actually enjoyed gussying up a bit for dinner each night.

For those unfamiliar with cruising, traditional dining means you will be sitting at a table of 6-8 people who you usually don't meet until that first night.  I have to admit, I was a bit apprehensive about who our table mates might be, but thankfully my fears were unwarranted.  We were seated with a family (mom, daughter, and son) who were onboard to celebrate the mom's 81st birthday.  Best of all, they were all experienced cruisers (the son having cruised over 100 times!), and they graciously answered our questions and gave us great tips and ideas.

Our servers were Florin and Renata from Romania.  Florin reminded me of PeeWee Herman before he turned out to be a creepy freak.  Renata was sweet albeit a little over enthusiastic at times.  She also pronounced her "Rs" as if she learned English in the Bronx (which Rob found particularly humorous, for some reason).

I didn't think to take any photos of our food (I did try to do that on other nights, but was rather hit or miss, as you will see), but you can see my dessert (hazelnut icecream) in this one.  I can't remember all that I had...I think I had pinacola soup (chilled) and fettucine alfredo that first night (this quickly became a favorite of Rob; I think he had it as his appetizer every night of the cruise).  Rob had steak, and immediately told me that while it was good, it was no where near as tasty as mine or Gary's.

After dinner, we did some more exploring, still trying to get our bearings on where things were and what the ships' nightlife had to offer.  We saw the very last bit of comedian Phil Tag's act in the Theater.  We turned in soon after...I think we were both a bit overwhelmed and not a little exhausted from the previous week.

Stay tuned for Monday, October 13th - Princess Cays (the Bahamas)!