HERE'S MY BLOG-A-DAY FROM THE CRUISE. ALL WORDS. NO PICTURES. BUT THEY WILL COME LATER I PROMISE :)
Day 1—Boarding
After leaving our hotel and driving through Miami port traffic we managed to get everyone on board the Carnival Destiny. What’s the first thing you do when you get on a cruise ship? Eat of course! Buffets were all set up right from the start. Luggage was delivered to our rooms and we put on our bathing suits…I’m planning on soaking up as much sun as possible. At 4:30pm we set sail and let me tell you, you sure can feel this boat moving. Amanda and I set up massage appointments for tomorrow :) and we entered a raffle. Not only did we not win anything, but we had to sit there for 45 minutes to learn we didn’t win anything. By that point it was time for dinner. (My only complaint! Promise! Haha) I had spinach and artichoke dip, lasagna, and chocolate melting cake for dessert. Eat, Eat, Eat! Amanda and I wanted to watch karaoke at 10:30, so we took a little power nap. The karaoke night turned into “Amanda’s is hungry again and wants pizza and ice cream”, so Paige and Taylor joined in. When there’s free soft serve ice cream you know you’re in trouble! We stopped by the karaoke bar, comedy show, and the little shops on board. I like the way the balcony area is set up on deck. It’s stadium seating with lounge chairs and a jumbo screen (football was on tonight). So far so good! Off to bed-8am in the gym.
Day 2—Day at sea
Sleeping on this boat is magical. The rocking puts me out in no time! 7:30 up and at ‘em! Juliane, Paige, Taylor, Amanda, and I went to the gym for an hour, which was a little crowded by the way, then headed to the buffet breakfast with the rest of the crew. My mom and Scott wake up at the crack of dawn so they saved us seats (which were being saved at 6am…I thought people slept in on vacation) Our day consisted of lounging around on the lido deck, an ice sculpture demonstration, a hairy chest contest (Uncle scooter should have one :)), a massage, a family photo in our formal evening attire, and a yummy dinner. 2 items that are permanently on the menu all week: spinach and artichoke dip and chocolate melting cake. I think they knew I was coming. I really like how cruise dining works. Everyone gets their own little starter, a main meal, and a dessert. It is very efficient! After dinner part of the gang went to a show, Vegas themed. I was falling asleep, but I had to write a blog post :) Now it’s prayer time then crash time! Grand Turk in the morning!
Day 3—Grand Turk
First stop, Grand Turk! We didn’t have any excursions planned so we just walked off the pier and onto the beach. Scott bought all of us Ron Jon t-shirts and palm tree charms for our Pandora bracelets. The water was amazingly clear! The rest of the family went snorkeling (Amanda and I have been snorkeling maybe one too many times haha). We had to be back on the boat before 2pm. The whole family met up for lunch on the lido deck. The gym was super crowded in the morning yesterday so Amanda and I tried it after lunch and it was so much better! After the gym it was shower time then you guessed it…nap time! Well…first, I discovered I burned a little. :( I crashed for about 2 hours and then it was dinner time! I think we all just eat the main meal to get to dessert. CHOCOLATE MELTING CAKE! After, I hung out with my mama for a little. The sun really takes it out of me hence why I’m in bed at 9:30 haha. Parasailing tomorrow!! May just be the highlight of my trip :)
Day 4—Half Moon Cay (“Key”)
Parasailing day! However, we woke up this morning to a cloudy, rainy, yucky day. I was pretty disappointed the whole morning thinking we weren’t going to be able to go. We had to take a boat to the island (which is privately owned by Carnival and Holland American). It rained and it rained and it rained. I said a little prayer while we were waiting on the island. Low and behold, it stopped raining literally for the hour we were scheduled to go. I was and still am so grateful. It was awesome! Amanda and I got to ride together and a nice family on the boat took pictures for us. I took the flip camera up with us and I’ll try to upload them here. So funny :) We went up 500 ft which is actually only half way but they limited the distance because of weather. It was still pretty high if I do say so myself! We headed back to the island and met up with mom and Scott for a little bbq. After, we trekked through the rain and got on the boat to head back to the ship. At this point…it was pouring! I called dibs on the first hot shower haha. The end of the day consisted of a manicure, a nap (surprised?), and then dinner. Chocolate melting cake was more like chocolate syrup today…little bit of a disappointment, but hey I got to go parasailing! I can sleep in peace tonight and hopefully no more nightmares…maybe more on that later haha. Tomorrow—swimming with dolphins in Nassau! Good night :)
Day 5—Nassau, Bahamas
decker boat over to the Blue Lagoon Island. Kind of reminded me a kids club island. Lots of blow-up slides and water parks. We however headed straight to the dolphin encounter where we got to hug, kiss, and interact with Andy the dolphin. Hopefully, Paige will put some pictures up from her underwater camera. It was so fun! Lots of laughs included :) And if you happen to travel to the blue lagoon DON’T buy the ice cream. Unless you want to spend 8 dollar haagen dazs ice cream bars. Yes, Toots spend 65 on a large bag of cheetos, a diet coke, and 7 ice cream bars! We all laughed about it at dinner. Back on the ship we all ate lunch, took showers, and Amanda and I crashed for 2 hours before dinner (tired about hearing about my naps yet??). I’m thinking of making a New Years Resolution of taking a nap everyday. I would be pretty successful! I ate my last Chocolate Melting Cake ever…so sad. Mom, Scott, Amanda, and myself went and hung out in their room. Procrastinating. Finally, we had to get packing to put our bags out in front of our room before 11. Now us girls are just watching Funny People on one of the many Spanish channels. Tomorrow=Miami which=turning on the phone! We are all betting who gets the most texts haha. Well, here’s to a successful cruise!! Happy New Years Eve, Everyone!!
