We are back from our super relaxing vacation to the Caribbean! We had a wonderful time & took hundreds of pictures, so I'm hoping that this post will work since I've just attached over 20 pictures, I believe!! Here we go...
We boarded the "Voyager of the Seas" in Galveston on Sunday, March 1st. We all walked the main level (level 5), which was called the "Royal Promenade" that was made to look like an actual city street. It was pretty neat -- stores, shops, restaurants, bars, etc. lined the so-called street.
After checking out the main level, Justin & I found our room just one floor up. Our room actually overlooked the Promenade, which was pretty neat because we could just look out our window & see what was going on at any time during the day or night! Brian & Leslie were up another 2 levels from us, but also had a room overlooking the Promenade, so we were all excited!5:30 was our dinner time, so we got dressed & headed to the dining room. We had FANTASTIC servers (we would argue that they were the best on the ship!) -- Antonio was our main server, who was from India. Federico was our assistant waiter, who was from the Phillipines. I joked every night of the trip that I wanted to pack them both up & bring them home with us -- they were incredible. 
That night was formal night at dinner, so we all got dressed up & headed downstairs for our meal. On the way there, we had to get a few pictures taken...
Tuesday morning came early (7:00 is when we docked) & we were in Cozumel! Our original plans were to snuba dive & enjoy the gorgeous coral reefs, but the wind was fierce, so our excursion got cancelled. We stood around for about 30 minutes not knowing how we were going to spend the entire day in Cozumel, until we decided it'd be fun to rent scooters & tour the island by ourselves!
So...that's what we did! Brian & Leslie rented one scooter, and we rented another, and we set off to explore Cozumel! I must say that we had a WONDERFUL time & I highly suggest anyone renting scooters & doing your own excursion next time you're in Cozumel. There was basically one major road that went around the entire island, so we didn't have to worry about getting lost or anything!
About half-way across the island, we decided to stop & view the Mayan Ruins. Justin & I had visited another site of them on Playa de Carmen last time we were in Cozumel, and we both agreed that the first were more interesting than the ones we saw on this trip. Nonetheless, we stopped & toured around the site for a bit.
The highlight of the Mayan Ruins trip were all of the GILA MONSTERS that we got to see! OK, so maybe they're just huge iguanas, but every time I said GILA MONSTER, everyone died laughing, so we're sticking with that term instead! We ended up seeing about 10 of them throughout our tour...with one of them being on the trail we were walking in, blended in with the rocks. Leslie came about 2 feet from stepping on it, so you can imagine what a laugh we got out of it when she freaked out!
Upon leaving the Mayan Ruins, Leslie decided she needed to learn how to drive the scooter, so Brian climbed on the back. I LOVE this picture below -- tall 'ol Brian on the back of the tiny scooter! It was PRICELESS!!
We drove around to the other side of the island & found the BEST spot for lunch called "Coconuts". All of the seating was outdoors, in the sand, under huge umbrellas, overlooking the ocean. It was B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!! We all sat there & decided that next time we decide to go on vacation, we're coming straight to Cozumel & eating at this place every single day! It was amazing!
Justin & Brian enjoyed a few margaritas (with Leslie & I opting for bottled water...you can never be too careful in Mexico!), then our lunches came. I ordered plain 'ol chicken tacos, and Justin decided to get ceviche (marinated raw fish & shrimp that is drenched in lime juice). Without thinking twice, he loaded his plate with about 5 spoonfuls of this green pepper salsa (that he had not taste-tested before this point). Needless to say, it must've been the hottest salsa on the face of the earth. Before long, his nose was running, his mouth was burning & tears were flowing down his face. Nothing he drank or ate got rid of the heat... And before we knew it, Brian loaded up a spoonful of it & ate it straight off the spoon! So, then we had two guys with tears running down their faces!
The waiter just laughed when he saw how much pain Justin was in from eating so much of it (yet, he cleaned his plate...). After we left, he perched on the side of the walkway & tried to throw up...so I thought it was a perfect opportunity for a picture to commemorate our favorite meal of the trip:
After eating at "Coconuts", we headed to a beautiful beach where Leslie & I got to lay out for about 20 minutes & while the guys snorkeled in the ocean. After that, we hopped back on our scooters & headed back for the cruise ship. We were still an hour away from the ship & we knew that it would be departing in about 2 hours, so we hammered down & made our way back to the ship!
That night, we had dinner on the ship & then headed to the nightly show in their big theater (we went to every show except one -- they were awesome!). It still looks like Justin wasn't feeling too well in this picture, but he said he felt loads better after he got some wind in his face on the way back to the ship that afternoon...
The next morning, we got to the Grand Cayman Islands around 10:00 am. There is no docking system in the Caymans, so we had to take a tender boat from the ship to the shore. (Our cruise ship is the one in the distance below:)
Our excursion was still ON in the Caymans, so we quickly loaded a bus, then on to another boat, which led us out to a sand bar in the ocean where we got to swim & snorkel with the stingrays! It was amazing, yet a little scary at the same time! This was my first experience of ever snorkeling, and the waves were a little crazy, but we still had a great time! (Our underwater pics are being developed, so I'll post a few of those within the next few days...)
Once we got back from the excursion, we grabbed lunch at a seaside restaurant then did some shopping along the harbor. There wasn't too much to see, but we did snap a few pics regardless.
Now on to Thursday -- JAMAICA! We had a blast in Jamaica & it was absolutely gorgeous! We didn't have an excursion planned that day, which ended up working out perfectly for us! We bought a bus pass & got to get on & off as many times as we wanted. That worked great as we explored part of the island by ourselves!
We found the most amazing beach that we ended up hanging out at for a few hours. It was aimed at tourists because we had to pay $5 each to get in, but once we got there, it was well worth it! People kept coming around taking our orders for drinks, we rented a big umbrella to sit under (it was HOT!), and there were big inflatable trampolines out in the water. It was amazing! We stayed there for about 2-3 hours, soaking up the sun & snorkeling. Justin & I went way out into the water & I got to see my first coral reef (and the fish that comes along with it)! It was amazing! I was so excited that I had enough nerve to snorkel that far out... (for those of you who don't know, I HATE the water & just learned to swim about 3 years ago...)
For lunch, we hit a local spot called "The Pork Pit". We had some amazing jerk chicken & jerk pork -- all cooked in a huge outdoor grill. (We must admit that the smell of it all definitely made us decide to eat there!) We ate outside, then a guy came around with coconuts & a huge knife. For $2, he would open the coconut & we could drink the water from inside! THEN, he'd come back around & slice it in half & we could scoop out the inner jelly stuff out to eat! Justin loved it...but it definitely wasn't one of my favorite things...
Oh, yes, another thing we did in Jamaica....JUSTIN GOT HIS HAIR BRAIDED! We were shopping in these very run-down markets when he decided to see how much it'd be to have all of his hair braided. He only had $25 in his pocket, so a lady agreed to do it!
It took 3 ladies about 30 minutes to braid his entire head of hair. (Leslie & I both got 1 braid each too, but I wasn't about to let anyone do my entire head!) I must say that Justin turned more heads the rest of that day & that entire following day than he did the entire trip! AND turns out that he must've gotten a great deal by only paying $25; one lady on the trip paid $40 for 10 braids, and couldn't believe that someone did his entire head for what he paid!!
We all thought he looked pretty cool with his braids in, but he was having to be super careful in the sun not to burn his scalp! The next night was formal night, so we carefully took his braids out...and here's what he looked like! It was so funny -- it looked like a crimped 'fro!! :)
Friday night was our last formal night & was also the night we celebrated both our 5th anniversary & Brian and Leslie's 4th anniversary. Matt (to my right in the picture below) was one of our table mates, along with his Dad, Jack. They bought us 2 bottles of champagne to celebrate, and we had a wonderful time! (Thanks, guys!)
Our waiters brought us each a piece of cake with candles & sang "Happy Anniversary" to us (I'll post the video in a bit). It was such a great night! Below is the picture of our entire table, along with our waiter, Antonio (beside Leslie), our head server, A'Myth, and our assistant waiter, Federico (beside me). They were amazing!!
We spent the last two days of our cruise just relaxing. We had been in ports for 3 days straight, then to get back to Galveston from Jamaica was a full 2-day trip. So as we were on the high seas for 2 full days, we opted for lounging around the pool (I helped judge the belly-flop competition!) & just relaxing. Justin even went back to the rock wall to climb it both blindfolded AND once again only using his hands! He decided he should do that more often -- he really enjoyed it!
We definitely went out with a bang on the last night of our trip. We met some new friends from Dallas/Fort Worth, and hung out with them until the wee hours of the morning.
Below is me & Leslie hanging out with Matt, our table mate. He lives in Dallas & we had such a great time with him & his Dad, Jack -- we all did! (Thanks for all of the memories, guys!)
All-in-all, we had a WONDERFUL time! Brian & Leslie were so much fun to vacation with & we all decided that we needed to go ahead & start planning our 2010 vacation soon!
On our second day (which was our first full day at sea), we wandered around the ship looking for all of the fun stuff to do. We found the rock climbing wall & decided that we all should try it out! Needless to say, Justin was more of a pro at it than I was; nonetheless, it was fun! (I'll post a video of him climbing in a bit...)
Justin & Leslie on the rock wall -- I'm pretty sure they were racing
Me on the rock wall just before I gave up...my arms gave out big time!
After a long day of rock climbing, ping-pong playing, eating, enjoying laying out by the pool, etc. the guys decided it was time to check out the casino on board. Leslie & I opted for hanging out in the lounge outside of the casino & drinking daiquiris until they were done playing & were ready for dinner.
That night was formal night at dinner, so we all got dressed up & headed downstairs for our meal. On the way there, we had to get a few pictures taken...
Tuesday morning came early (7:00 is when we docked) & we were in Cozumel! Our original plans were to snuba dive & enjoy the gorgeous coral reefs, but the wind was fierce, so our excursion got cancelled. We stood around for about 30 minutes not knowing how we were going to spend the entire day in Cozumel, until we decided it'd be fun to rent scooters & tour the island by ourselves!
So...that's what we did! Brian & Leslie rented one scooter, and we rented another, and we set off to explore Cozumel! I must say that we had a WONDERFUL time & I highly suggest anyone renting scooters & doing your own excursion next time you're in Cozumel. There was basically one major road that went around the entire island, so we didn't have to worry about getting lost or anything! 
About half-way across the island, we decided to stop & view the Mayan Ruins. Justin & I had visited another site of them on Playa de Carmen last time we were in Cozumel, and we both agreed that the first were more interesting than the ones we saw on this trip. Nonetheless, we stopped & toured around the site for a bit. 
The highlight of the Mayan Ruins trip were all of the GILA MONSTERS that we got to see! OK, so maybe they're just huge iguanas, but every time I said GILA MONSTER, everyone died laughing, so we're sticking with that term instead! We ended up seeing about 10 of them throughout our tour...with one of them being on the trail we were walking in, blended in with the rocks. Leslie came about 2 feet from stepping on it, so you can imagine what a laugh we got out of it when she freaked out! 
Upon leaving the Mayan Ruins, Leslie decided she needed to learn how to drive the scooter, so Brian climbed on the back. I LOVE this picture below -- tall 'ol Brian on the back of the tiny scooter! It was PRICELESS!!
We drove around to the other side of the island & found the BEST spot for lunch called "Coconuts". All of the seating was outdoors, in the sand, under huge umbrellas, overlooking the ocean. It was B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!! We all sat there & decided that next time we decide to go on vacation, we're coming straight to Cozumel & eating at this place every single day! It was amazing! 
Justin & Brian enjoyed a few margaritas (with Leslie & I opting for bottled water...you can never be too careful in Mexico!), then our lunches came. I ordered plain 'ol chicken tacos, and Justin decided to get ceviche (marinated raw fish & shrimp that is drenched in lime juice). Without thinking twice, he loaded his plate with about 5 spoonfuls of this green pepper salsa (that he had not taste-tested before this point). Needless to say, it must've been the hottest salsa on the face of the earth. Before long, his nose was running, his mouth was burning & tears were flowing down his face. Nothing he drank or ate got rid of the heat... And before we knew it, Brian loaded up a spoonful of it & ate it straight off the spoon! So, then we had two guys with tears running down their faces! 
The waiter just laughed when he saw how much pain Justin was in from eating so much of it (yet, he cleaned his plate...). After we left, he perched on the side of the walkway & tried to throw up...so I thought it was a perfect opportunity for a picture to commemorate our favorite meal of the trip:
After eating at "Coconuts", we headed to a beautiful beach where Leslie & I got to lay out for about 20 minutes & while the guys snorkeled in the ocean. After that, we hopped back on our scooters & headed back for the cruise ship. We were still an hour away from the ship & we knew that it would be departing in about 2 hours, so we hammered down & made our way back to the ship!That night, we had dinner on the ship & then headed to the nightly show in their big theater (we went to every show except one -- they were awesome!). It still looks like Justin wasn't feeling too well in this picture, but he said he felt loads better after he got some wind in his face on the way back to the ship that afternoon...
The next morning, we got to the Grand Cayman Islands around 10:00 am. There is no docking system in the Caymans, so we had to take a tender boat from the ship to the shore. (Our cruise ship is the one in the distance below:)
Our excursion was still ON in the Caymans, so we quickly loaded a bus, then on to another boat, which led us out to a sand bar in the ocean where we got to swim & snorkel with the stingrays! It was amazing, yet a little scary at the same time! This was my first experience of ever snorkeling, and the waves were a little crazy, but we still had a great time! (Our underwater pics are being developed, so I'll post a few of those within the next few days...)
Once we got back from the excursion, we grabbed lunch at a seaside restaurant then did some shopping along the harbor. There wasn't too much to see, but we did snap a few pics regardless.
Now on to Thursday -- JAMAICA! We had a blast in Jamaica & it was absolutely gorgeous! We didn't have an excursion planned that day, which ended up working out perfectly for us! We bought a bus pass & got to get on & off as many times as we wanted. That worked great as we explored part of the island by ourselves!
We found the most amazing beach that we ended up hanging out at for a few hours. It was aimed at tourists because we had to pay $5 each to get in, but once we got there, it was well worth it! People kept coming around taking our orders for drinks, we rented a big umbrella to sit under (it was HOT!), and there were big inflatable trampolines out in the water. It was amazing! We stayed there for about 2-3 hours, soaking up the sun & snorkeling. Justin & I went way out into the water & I got to see my first coral reef (and the fish that comes along with it)! It was amazing! I was so excited that I had enough nerve to snorkel that far out... (for those of you who don't know, I HATE the water & just learned to swim about 3 years ago...)
For lunch, we hit a local spot called "The Pork Pit". We had some amazing jerk chicken & jerk pork -- all cooked in a huge outdoor grill. (We must admit that the smell of it all definitely made us decide to eat there!) We ate outside, then a guy came around with coconuts & a huge knife. For $2, he would open the coconut & we could drink the water from inside! THEN, he'd come back around & slice it in half & we could scoop out the inner jelly stuff out to eat! Justin loved it...but it definitely wasn't one of my favorite things...
Oh, yes, another thing we did in Jamaica....JUSTIN GOT HIS HAIR BRAIDED! We were shopping in these very run-down markets when he decided to see how much it'd be to have all of his hair braided. He only had $25 in his pocket, so a lady agreed to do it!
It took 3 ladies about 30 minutes to braid his entire head of hair. (Leslie & I both got 1 braid each too, but I wasn't about to let anyone do my entire head!) I must say that Justin turned more heads the rest of that day & that entire following day than he did the entire trip! AND turns out that he must've gotten a great deal by only paying $25; one lady on the trip paid $40 for 10 braids, and couldn't believe that someone did his entire head for what he paid!!
We all thought he looked pretty cool with his braids in, but he was having to be super careful in the sun not to burn his scalp! The next night was formal night, so we carefully took his braids out...and here's what he looked like! It was so funny -- it looked like a crimped 'fro!! :)
Friday night was our last formal night & was also the night we celebrated both our 5th anniversary & Brian and Leslie's 4th anniversary. Matt (to my right in the picture below) was one of our table mates, along with his Dad, Jack. They bought us 2 bottles of champagne to celebrate, and we had a wonderful time! (Thanks, guys!) 
Our waiters brought us each a piece of cake with candles & sang "Happy Anniversary" to us (I'll post the video in a bit). It was such a great night! Below is the picture of our entire table, along with our waiter, Antonio (beside Leslie), our head server, A'Myth, and our assistant waiter, Federico (beside me). They were amazing!!
We spent the last two days of our cruise just relaxing. We had been in ports for 3 days straight, then to get back to Galveston from Jamaica was a full 2-day trip. So as we were on the high seas for 2 full days, we opted for lounging around the pool (I helped judge the belly-flop competition!) & just relaxing. Justin even went back to the rock wall to climb it both blindfolded AND once again only using his hands! He decided he should do that more often -- he really enjoyed it! 
We definitely went out with a bang on the last night of our trip. We met some new friends from Dallas/Fort Worth, and hung out with them until the wee hours of the morning.
Below is me & Leslie hanging out with Matt, our table mate. He lives in Dallas & we had such a great time with him & his Dad, Jack -- we all did! (Thanks for all of the memories, guys!)
All-in-all, we had a WONDERFUL time! Brian & Leslie were so much fun to vacation with & we all decided that we needed to go ahead & start planning our 2010 vacation soon! 
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3 comments:
OK, so you posted everything except how Leslie wound up in the sick bay. I'm so glad y'all had a great trip! Hope you don't catch the kids' cold!
So glad you guys had fun! Makes me think cruising is the way to go for our 10 yr anniversary trip we're hoping to take this summer. We've never been, but this just looks too fun!!
I'm glad you all had a great time. Sorry that Leslie got a little sick, but none of you will forget that part of your trip - what a hilarious memory!
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