I had such an amazing time on my
cruise to Jamaica. Six Blissful
days at sea to just relax and be catered too. Lovely. I went with my
sister Rashida. My hubby stayed home to watch our 3 little
ones. Thanks honey :)
My sister and I were really looking
forward to this cruise. We'd come through a few major family
difficulties in '07 and it was time to just kick back and have a
good time so we really cut loose.
We indulged in all the wonderful
food from the yummy desserts to the lobster and panseared
scallops to the lamb which was so tender it practically fell off the
bone. One of the things I loved about dinner was that
when we had the lamb or lobster (basically, anything that required a
bit of work :-), our waiter came over and very effortlessly
cut the meet away from the bone (or shell).
Now, I don't know about you ladies
out there, but I could get used to a man cutting my food for me!
It's funny that there was a guy at our table who was a chef and I
could tell he didn't care too much for this extra
service.
The staff on the ship always went
out of their way to make us feel special and boy, did we soak it up.
One day we got hungry around 6 and it would be another 2.5 hrs 'til
dinner in the dining room so we went up to the deck to grab a
snack in the dining room near the pool.
When they opened the doors, the
staff had formed 2 lines to greet us and thank us for
coming. It was quite an unexpected reception. You should have
seen us cheesing from ear-to-ear like we were celebrities
walking down the red carpet or something.
Learning
Blackjack...
While on the ship we learned how to
play blackjack. The only reason we got interested in it was because
one of my business partners, Stan, was doing so good at it. I'm
pretty analytical so I just kept watching him to see what "rules" he
was using to win so much. My sister played quite a bit. She
lost a little. Then she won it all back and doubled what she'd
allotted herself to play with.
She was supposed to stop
after winning her money back BUT now that she was winning she
started running around high-fiving people who didn't know what the
heck was going on. It was hilarious. While she was distracted
though, I quickly proceeded to cash her butt out before she
lost it all again.
At the airport on the way home our
flight was delayed because of ice storms in Texas and a snow storm
in Chicago so we bought these little portable casino games and
while my sis played blackjack for about 2 hours, I got out my laptop
and got to work on some of my business projects. I gotta stick with
what I know ;). I'll be ready for blackjack on the next
cruise!
My Favorite Part of the
Trip...
The highlight of the
cruise for me, no question, was the time I spent swimming with
the Dolphins while we were in Jamaica. I'd been wanting to do that
for as long as I can remember. I actually would love to swim with
them in their natural habitat while it's still legal in some
areas. Below is the video from Dolphin Cove.
Me and My Sis Swimming With The
Dolphins
Jamaica!
Docking into the port at Ocho Rios. We were blessed it
was a beautiful day with no rain in sight!
A little music to welcome us to Jamaica :-)
This picture really doesn't do justice to the
beautiful wood carvings that are done by some of the local vendors.
They're so detailed.
After the dolphin swim we went and climbed Dunn's
River Falls. There were some pretty hilarous moments as we made our
900+ feet falls. I know quite a bit was caught on video. Will have
to see if I can locate a copy :-)
Before going back to the ship we did a little shopping
and then hung out on the beach.
70's Night On The Boat Was A
Blast!
We actually tried to dress 70's-ish (but
not that hard :-). Got a chance to meet the Captain and take a
picture with him.
Here's a picture of some of my cruising buddies
enjoying themselves.
Here's a pic of a group of ladies that were really
having a good time. The one in the middle in particular. I didn't
know who she was but it was obvious that she loved living her life!
Her energy was just contagious. I met her
later and found out that Barbara was the mother of
one of the leaders in our group AND those were her
granddaughters around her. She could outdance all of them. It was so
fun to watch. I got some video of her one night. If any of it
came through in the low light, you can bet I'll be uploading
it.
More Fun...
My sister enjoying a big pineapple filled with pina
colada! Yummy!
Beautiful ice sculptures were the focal point of the
late night seafood buffet.
A little dinner entertainment provided by our
wonderfully attentive waitstaff.
The sunsets were amazing. I never made it up early
enough to see a sunrise. Didn't even try. The rest was just
tooooooooooo good to me :-)
Now, look at what I got to come home to...
That's about it for now.
Looking forward to my next cruise. We'll be going to the Bahamas and
hitting the US Virgin Islands. Planning to take my whole "crew" this
time. Funny, as I was just finishing this up. My 6-yr-old son Jair
walks up behind me looking at all the pictures and says, "You
wasn't doing no work mommy. You was having fun." Before leaving
I'd told him and my oldest daughter I was going on a business trip
:-)
Well, it
was!
