**So this one is long and most people probably aren't interested in a blow by blow of our vacation. I'm probably not going to write this down anywhere else until I scrapbook this (and who knows when I'll get around to that) so I put more detail in than I typically would. Feel free to skip all of the copy and just look at the photos. I won't mind.**
A couple of weeks ago, Jonathan and I celebrated our (5th and) 6th anniversary with a 4-night cruise to the Bahamas. We'd wanted to go for our 5th anniversary, but Ben was only a few weeks old last summer so we postponed the trip and it just worked best to wait until this summer...and the wait was completely worth it. Amazing, wonderful, unforgettable...all of those words that we usually would throw at something like this would work.
Day 1 - Setting Sail
The kids spent the week with Grandma and Papa Peine so we went down to Groveland on Sunday night to get the kids settled. Monday morning, Richard drove Jonathan and me to Port Canaveral. Our ship, the Monarch of the Seas, was the only one at the port that day so it was pretty easy to find, just not easy to get on. After a couple of hours, (honestly, the worst part of the trip was just getting on the boat...it took so long) we made our way onboard. We found our home for the week, room 3017, almost at the very front of the ship (we could definitely feel the movement once we were on our way), put down the carry-ons then headed up for some lunch at the Windjammer Cafe...the first of our many meals on the boat. We could see the Cape and the launch pads from our table, which was pretty cool. After that, we explored the ship a bit, made it to Deck 7 for the mandatory muster drill, and then went up to the deck to watch us leave the states and head out to the Bahamas.
Deck 7 - Just after setting sail. The sun finally broke through the clouds.
Bye, Florida!
We ate every dinner in one of the main dining rooms, Claude's on the 4th floor. We sat with Kelly and Brian, a couple from Rhode Island who were on their honeymoon. The food was so good. I'm not used to 3-course meals, but I'm sure I could get used to them!
After dinner, we went to the welcome show and saw the cruise director and heard a comedian. We booked our excursion for the next day and then later that night we went back and played some BINGO...we didn't win, but it was fun. Then we headed to our room for the night.
Day 2 - Coco Cay
So apparantly if you're a cruiseline that sails to the Bahamas, you're required to have a private island that you go to one of the days of the trip. Royal Caribbean's island is Coco Cay. (Side note-21 years ago I went on a cruise with my family and went to this same island...only back then it was called Little Stirrup Cay and didn't have nearly as much on it as it does now. I thought that it was somewhat ironic to go back to the same one, since the island is basically just a spit in the ocean).
We got up Tuesday morning, got our swimsuits on and ate breakfast. Then we made our way down to the first floor to catch one of the tenders over to the island. I was actually a little nervous about the tender ride, but it ended up being a great way to get up to the island.
When we got to the island, we picked up our snorkeling gear then found a few chairs to put our stuff on and got ready for the day. After a quick orientation, we were out in the water. I'd never snorkeled before and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to do and just how fun it was.
There was a sunken plane wreck that we swam out to check. We saw tons of tropical fish...and even some jellyfish.
After snorkeling for most of the morning, we headed back up to our chairs. We'd picked out our seats pretty quickly when we got there, just to get our stuff down so we were in the back of the sea of beach chairs. It was fine for me though. I settled in there until lunch and Jonathan went off to explore the rest of the island.
The view from our seats...like I said, sea of chairs.
Pure. Bliss.
I had an amazing view, cool ocean breeze, my mp3 player, a good book, and no interruptions or commitments. A girl could get used to this.
Our ship just off the island, you can see one of the tenders pulled up along the side and off to the right, one of the parasails.
Ah, it was so nice there.
We ate the barbeque lunch on the island then I went back to read and Jonathan headed out for more snorkeling. Around 4, we headed back to the ship to get ready for dinner.
Day 2 - Formal Dinner
Jonathan ate so much food on this trip. I kept teasing him about it. But he was also pretty adventurous in his choices...here he's eating escargot. Kelly and Brian didn't make it to dinner that night, so we ate this dinner alone which was kind of nice to be able to do. We had an awesome table, right by one of the windows.
After dinner, we went to see the production show, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," in the Sound of Music room. It was good, but I think I tend to compare shows like this with Disney productions...which probably is unfair. After the show, we headed back to the room and found...
...the first of the 'towel art.' Duck? Chicken? I'm not sure. And I think I may have seen
The Little Mermaid a few too many times with Rosemary, but when I saw this picture of me, I thought I looked like I suddenly had a fin.
Day 3 - Nassau, Bahamas
We heard the boat starting to dock around 6:30 Wednesday morning and Jonathan headed up to the top decks to watch and snap a few pictures. (I know, very weird that Jonathan was up before me). He got some great photos of Nassau in the early morning.
The captain and her crew.
The Norwegian Sky also was docked in Nassau with us that day.
A view of Atlantis on Paradise Island.
After breakfast (actually, it was Jonathan's second breakfast of the day since he'd gotten up so early...I told you, he ate a lot on this trip), we headed out to do a walking tour of Nassau. It was a pretty warm and humid day. I was happy that we were from Florida and pretty used to it.
Parlaiment Building.
An old tree on the property where one of Nassau's most luxurious hotels used to stand. It now is a parking lot.
At the Queen's Staircase.
A view from Fort Fincastle of Atlantis. It was kind of interesting (for us at least, and we're probably a little weird) because Fort Fincastle was built by Lord Dunmore, royal governor of the colony of Virginia, who, if you ever go to Williamsburg, you hear a lot about. We like history.
We finished the walking tour and ventured into the straw market. We bought a few souvenirs and gifts then started to head back to the ship to call home and grab a bite to eat.
We called home once the entire trip and talked to Richard, Janice, and Rosemary. (Ben was just waking up from his nap) The kids were doing fine and it was good to hear from them.
After lunch, we both were ready for a little break after walking all over Nassau, so Jonathan went down to the room and I headed up to the pool deck to read. There were lots of open beach chairs and I found one overlooking the water and settled in for a few hours.
At 3:30, I headed down to get Jonathan so that we could go over to Atlantis for a bit. We took a water ferry over to Paradise Island. I've been in some sketchy public transportation before and while this wasn't the worst, it was certainly an adventure. They got so many people on that little boat that it was pretty incredible we didn't sink. But our guide pointed out some of the homes of the rich and famous (like Nicholas Cage) as we made our way over.
It was just a short walk from the dock to Atlantis and Atlantis is like a city unto itself. It would be an awesome place to honeymoon. Since we weren't staying there, we were limited in how much we could see, but we still did get to see quite a bit. The main hotel reminded me a lot of a Vegas resort and casino. In fact, Atlantis has a huge casino. I played a quarter slot and made a dollar. Since I was winning I left after one play. I'm quite the gambler, can't you tell?
There are some things that are everywhere.
In the main reception area at Atlantis.
The entrance.
Some people come to Atlantis via yacht. Maybe we'll do that for our next vacation. :-)
We headed back to the port via taxi this time and got to see some of Nassau that we would have never seen on foot. It wasn't quite the same as the rickety ferry boat, but we did get to listen to a local radio station which would have made me cover our kids' ears. We got back on board in time to shower and then head up to dinner.
After dinner on Wednesday, Jonathan tried his hands (and feet) on the rock wall. He climbed so fast I barely had time to snap the photos.
That night was also the Midnight Buffet. I didn't make it (crazy Crohn's put me to bed early that night), but Jonathan went and said it was good. Jonathan also stopped by the casino that night for some blackjack. I know he walked away with some money, but I'll have to ask him how much.
Day 4 - At sea
I was so looking forward to an entire day at sea to enjoy the ship and just relax. It was my turn to get up early on Thursday so I got on my suit, headed to breakfast and found a couple seats up on Deck 12 for us. I pretty much spent my day just like this...with this view, some music, and a good read. (I did a lot of reading, but it was so nice to have the chance to read without other responsibilities). Doesn't get much better than that.
We relaxed the whole day, basically just getting food as the only breaks. Jonathan explored the ship more than I did that day. I was content up on Deck 12.
After dinner, we went to the last production show, "Can't Stop the Beat," then made it up to the top to catch the sunset. There were clouds, but it was still a pretty incredible sight. Before calling it a night, we bought our Christmas ornament and a gift for Ben.
Our last night.
One of the pools. We never actually went swimming onboard. I thought about it on Thursday, but it was so crowded that it wasn't worth it.
Before we headed to bed, we packed up our luggage so it would be ready for the crew to collect that night. It was hard to believe it was almost over.
Day 5 - Heading home
When we woke up on Friday, we were already docked at Port Canveral. We were scheduled to disembark at 9, so we were up around 7 to get dressed and ready for breakfast. After we ate, we went out on the deck and took a few more pictures. One of the things that struck us about this cruise was that there was really no dominant age group...there were families, couples, grandparents, college students...without really one group standing out. The one exception to that might be the 50 Venezualan teenage girls who were on the ship, pictured below. We'd never see them alone, there were always at least 5 in a group. There were also quite a few Gator fans onboard. We're strange and usually say 'Go Gators' to someone who is sporting a Florida shirt if we're traveling. It always starts a conversation. At least we don't end the conversation with 'go cure cancer' or 'go write the great American novel.' That would be really strange...even for us.
View from the Viking Crown Lounge
We climbed a lot of stairs. Our room was on the 3rd floor and the Windjammer Cafe, where we ate all of our breakfasts and lunches, was on the 11th, as was the pool. So most of the time we would take the stairs for the exercise, unless we just really weren't in the mood.
The Centrum, kind of the heart of the interior of the ship. The dining rooms, casino, and a few lounges are off of this area, as well as the stores.
After getting everything together, we went around the ship one last time to take a few photos. Then we went to the room, got our bags and headed to Boleros, our assigned waiting area, until it was time to leave. We chatted with a couple from San Antonio and read while we waited. We were late to be called, but still managed to get off the ship, through customs, and get our luggage before the time we'd asked Richard to pick us up. Once off the boat, we found a bench to wait for Richard. He took us to Groveland where we were greeted with a running hug from Rosemary as soon as she saw us and when Ben woke up we got to see our little boy, just as happy as could be. It was great to be back together again.
We had such a wonderful time. It was so nice to have uninterrupted time with Jonathan and to not be on any kind of schedule. Sure there were things that we wanted to do while we were gone, but it was nice not to have to do anything. You certainly do get spoiled on a cruise. We didn't have to make our bed (we didn't even have to turn down our bed...they did that too), we didn't cook, do dishes, pick up toys, nothing. Our biggest decision was deciding which one of the seven or eight entrees to eat each night. One night, our waiter even de-shelled my shrimp...wow. It was a great way to get away, relax, and celebrate an amazing six years of marriage.
Sigh. I'm ready to go back.
