The cruise was fantastic. It was such a great getaway and the perfect first time cruise.
Things that I learned about cruising:
1. It is the perfect vacation to take with other people. You always have people to hang out with and dine with, but you do not all have to be on the same schedule or coordinate everything together.
2. I had no idea I would do so much dancing...and we never set foot in a nightclub or anything that was specially designed for dancing.
3. I am so glad we did not have kids with us. I missed my girls, but unless you are on a Disney cruise, leave the little ones at home. Every time I saw people with little kids, I thought, "so glad that is not me"
4. I had no idea all the people working on the boat would be from all over the world. I loved it and it was fun talking with so many different people.
5. Wow! I am not judging, but I have never seen so many big women in tiny swimsuits.
6. Unlimited frozen yogurt, 24/7 is a wonderful thing.
7. It is really difficult not to order everything on the menu when you are cruising...the food is good and already paid for.
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| First day on the boat and already enjoying the frozen yogurt |
We left Springfield at 3:30am to drive down to Charleston, SC. We went with Brent and Lea Lines and Eric and Shannon Lee. We got on the boat around lunch time and started eating...we never really stopped eating until we got off. Our experienced cruise friends showed us around the boat and let us in all the cruising secrets.
We had two full days on the boat and two days at ports. We enjoyed it all. We relaxed on the boat during the days at sea. We played lots of games. At the ports we went to the beach, paddle boarded, snorkeled, toured the beaches, shopped and walked around town. The evenings on the boat were filled with activities. Anytime audience participation was needed, someone from our group was chosen. I felt that I was practically one of the performers on the ship; it was fun. I was given a free bottle of wine for one of my stage performances. This wine led to us finding new friends. We tried to give it to this nice couple we were talking to and when the told us they didn't drink either we figured out they were Mormon too. We met them the first night and they joined us for the rest of cruise. It was great. They are moving up to our area in a few months and we have already found them a home in our ward.
We went to comedy shows, musicals, game shows, we did karaoke, a dance party, games, lots of eating, listened to a great band, cheered people on while wasting their money on gambling and overall just had a fun time.
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| Yep, that is me with my 4 entrees I ordered. To my credit, I did not eat it all. |
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| Dancing with the kids in Freeport, Bahamas |
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| Our boat is behind us |
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| Me at the market |
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| The Freeport harbor |
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| Me picking out a souvenir ornament |
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| Hector always found a place to take a nap |
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| Shannon and I being silly |
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| Me participating in the game show. We lost |
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| All the girls doing Karaoke. (Lea, Laurie, Me, Shannon) |
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| Our towels were always in cute animal shapes when we would come back to our room |
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| Our sad faces when we got to the car after getting off the ship |
We celebrated Hector's birthday on the boat. The girls were sad that they missed his birthday so they wrapped up little treasures for him when we all got home. It was fun seeing the girls when we got back. The cruise was great, but I did miss them. Estelle started shacking when she saw us and then she kept giving us hugs. Sienna jumped up and down for five minutes when we saw her. It was very cute. I love my little ladies.
Our friends took more pictures than we did, so when I get pictures from them, I will add more
