Cruisin' the Caribbean

Jared's favorite way to vacation is on a cruise, and so, with that in mind, Jared set some goals, achieved them, and I was forced to go along for the ride on this beautiful cruise ship in the Eastern Caribbean. We left on a Saturday morning and spent the day in Ft. Lauderdale enjoying delicious food and good company with our friends, the Havilands, who came with us on the adventure. Then later that evening boarded a ship and set sail!
So off we sailed into the sunset and enjoyed days of cruising, eating, exploring, and sleeping! On of the first nights there, we had a formal night, got dressed for our dinner, ate such wonderful food, and headed down to the theater for our nightly show. The entertainment was wonderful every night. We enjoyed watching a magician, singers, dancers, and they even played the Harry Potter movie. I was in heaven!

Our first stop was in The Grand Turks. Jared has always wanted to learn how to dive, so we convinced the Havliands to come along and learn how to scuba. It was a beginners course where they taught you the basics and then down we went for a 25 minute dive around a beautiful reef. At first it took me a while to get the whole breathing thing down and to remember that I just can't lift my head and get some air but after A LOT of practice, I got the hang of it. It was so weird because I couldn't talk to Jared and tell him the cool things I was seeing as I was seeing it. I don't know if I like this whole no talking thing....go figure!

After our dive we had plenty of time to lay on the beach, see Magaritaville, which Jimmy Buffet sings about, and enjoy a day at the beach.....ah, Paradise!

Our next stop was at San Juan, Puerta Rico. Several people told us to take the time and just mill around the old fort and enjoy our day there. It was great! We took a leisurely walk up to the fort and saw the old fort and Jared really enjoyed learning the history of the place. I enjoyed walking the streets and shopping, of course, and we even managed to find some favorites....Walgreens, Marshalls, and COLD STONE! Of course we stopped and enjoyed!

Our third stop was in St. Maarten. This island is split in two, the Deutsch side and the French side. The port was in the Deutsch side and has beautiful beaches and fun shops and lots of places to eat! We decided to take an excursion and jump on some jet ski - zodiac type boats and jet around the island and snorkel at a national reef. Our tour guide even took us on a longer ride around the island and we were able to see most of the island in the day. When we got back, there wasn't much time to shop, in fact, we stopped and got something to eat, and barely made it back to the boat in time. In fact, I believe that we were some of the last people to get on....they even sent out the little golf cart to come get us down the dock.....Phew!! It was a close one!

That night I enjoyed some good surf and turf and had to take pictures for my sisters and mom! You would have loved the food!

One night, they did a dessert night where they had these beautiful chocolate carvings and food galore! I tried so many desserts, I felt sick from all the different combinations. But isn't that what a cruise is all about?

Our last stop was at Holland America's private island called Half Moon Cay. The water is so amazingly blue and clear I have never seen anything like it! Our ship had to dock out in the cove and then we taxied in on little boats and enjoyed a day walking around the island, eating lunch, seeing the sting rays (watching others get close to them), and drinking pina coladas.

This was our last night at dinner with our friends, the Havilands. We had an excellent server, Ness, and even more delicious food. I couldn't have asked for a better way to vacation.

Here's to another great vacation that couldn't have happened without good sisters to help me with the children, good friends to share the memories with, and a perfect husband who I love and adore with each passing year.