This month, Jacob and I got to go on our first real vacation, sans children! We went on a Caribbean cruise, which is something we have always wanted to do. I have to say, it was pretty darn fantastic. I really don't even know how to start blogging about it.
We enjoyed lots of time relaxing in the water and the sun, just enjoying not having any responsibilities!
We also enjoyed the excuse to dress up! We enjoyed lots of fantastic dinners and some pretty good shows. Alright, so I was actually not impressed with most of the shows, but there were a few that were good! Dinners were really fun and a big part of the reason we chose a cruise! We loved the idea that everything was already paid for, so we didn't have to worry about budgeting while on vacation and could eat/do whatever we wanted. We got to try lots of new foods like scallops and lobster (I was probably better off not knowing how much I like those.) and Jacob got to try lamb for the first time.
Of course, there were also more casual meals, eating by the pool while watching the Lego Movie and there is really not much better than burgers and shakes with a great view of the water!
While we weren't relaxing, there were so many fun things to do on the ship! We ended up with an extra day at sea because it was very windy the first few days and when we reached the Bahamas the waves were too high to go ashore. The island didn't have a dock big enough for cruise ships, which meant they had to send tender boats out to pick up the passengers from the ship. The captain said that with how high the waves were it wouldn't have been safe to move between boats and the tender boats would have smacked the bottom of the channel they go through to get to the dock. So, it was a good thing there were so many fun things to do on board!
We did both try rock climbing, but I'm a chicken and wasn't on the wall for very long. I did make it higher than I ever have before though, so that's fun. Jacob made it higher than I did, but also discovered the rock climbing is not his forte.
Ice skating sounded fun. Ice skating on a crowded rink, on a moving ship, mostly just resulted in a giant bruise on my leg.
Our first stop was in St. Thomas.
As we were docking, there was this cool, small island to the side of us. I thought it would be so fun to go explore those old buildings! Too bad that wasn't really an option.
We spent our morning on St. Thomas shopping. I must admit, it was not something I would really care to repeat. In order to get from the dock to downtown, you rode in these 'taxi' type things, that were really pick-up trucks that had seats installed in the bed. They were all really rickety and the roads were so scary!
After shopping we went in search of some lunch. I did not want to travel all the way to the Caribbean just to eat at McDonald's (which was definitely an option, most of the restaurants on the water front were American chains). So, we stopped someone on the street and asked her where we should eat. She gave us directions to get to Cuzzin's. It was in a random back street that I never would have thought to go down and definitely wouldn't have noticed the restaurant! But I'm so glad we asked.
When I ordered this (curry chicken with rice and peas and plantains), the waitress looked shocked and asked me if I was a local. It made my day. Jacob got a similar lunch, except with BBQ chicken and fries. It was definitely not the same BBQ chicken you would get here and was super tasty! All the food was so good!
Because we didn't stop in the Bahamas, we got to St. Thomas sooner than planned and had extra time there, so we signed up for an excursion going hiking, kayaking and snorkeling. We discovered that we really enjoy kayaking!
The next stop was St. Maarten, which was our favorite part of the trip. The island was absolutely gorgeous! I could definitely live there.
Our plan for that day was to relax on the beach. It was perfect.
There were iguanas all over the place on St. Maarten! This one was hanging out right by us while we ate lunch.
After we disembarked back in Florida, we had some time before we had to be to the airport for our flight home, so we walked around Downtown Disney World. There were lots of fun things to see!
We also discovered that it's a good thing we don't live near a Ghiradelli ice cream place. This was possibly the best ice cream I have ever eaten.
