In February we packed up, said bye to the kiddos, and flew to Miami. We had been talking and planning and preparing for months, if not YEARS for this--our 10th anniversary trip. We got to Miami on Saturday evening and then bright and early Sunday morning we headed to our ship for our 6-day Western Carribean cruise.

The day we left on the cruise was actually one of the coldest they had in Miami this winter. That's our Irish luck!!! But hey, overcast, breezy, in the high fifties, was actually a lot better than what was going on back at home weather-wise. After we did all of our boarding stuff, we had some time to kill before they would let us into our room. We found this awesome spot, right on the front of the boat and just chilled there for a couple of hours. It was this huge, padded, circular, outdoor couch. It was heaven on a boat.

We splurged a little and got a room with a balcony. It was really pretty awesome to be in our room and go out and sit on the balcony. We got to see the ship arrive at every port early in the morning right from our own room. I liked that a lot.

 

our first glimpse of our home away from home--the Carnival Valor

here we are on the awesome sofa

looking at Miami from our balcony

saying bye to the mainland--windy!!

our first towel friend

Our first stop was Key West, Florida. Oh my gosh, we loved it here!! It was so cute and quaint. We did some shopping, rented some bikes, toured the island a bit, and ate lots of key lime pie.

coming into Key West

They told us no one would believe we were in Key West if we didn't get a picture here. At this point we were closer to Cuba than we were to a Walmart.

our lunch stop--Than and his first piece of pie

ridin' my bike

my second piece of key lime pie--frozen, dipped in chocolate, on a stick

There was a building right by the dock that was surrounded by fun statues to play with.

Than found a walking buddy

dinner

Our second day was Valentines Day and our first sea day. We spent most of the day, laying out on the deck, reading and talking and sleeping. It was also our formal night.

the fanciest dress I own

Day 4 was Grand Cayman. We had to take a little boat from the ship to the dock and then we met our tour group. We signed up for an excursion where we took another boat to the stingray sandbar and then went snorkeling. They took us to a place to swim with the stingrays. The stingrays would swim between our legs and brush up against us. It was crazy. Our guides would hold the stingrays so we could pet them. They even let us try to hold them ourselves. When the stingray experience was over, they took us to a coral reef to go snorkeling. That was awesome too. Our camera could take video under water so we filmed our snorkeling for the kids to see what it was like. After all that, we went to a beach until it was time to get back on the ship. The beach was so beautiful. White sand, the prettiest blue water I've ever seen. We ate the most yummy lunch at the restaurant on the beach. I had a lamb burger with blue cheese and carmelized red onions. I honestly think that was the best food of the whole cruise!

riding on a little boat

there were lots of iguanas to greet us

Than got to hold a stingray

then he got to sleep

my cute pink toes and the fine, white sand

look at that white sand and aqua water

back at the ship, getting ready to watch a show

Day 5--Jamaica. In Jamaica we hiked Dunn's River Falls and then went to a beach club. Climbing the falls was way fun. We got soaking wet!! The beach club was pretty nice too. They kept bringing us food and trying to get us to drink the rum punch. The island was filled with trees and hills. And lots and lots of people. We were followed often by people trying to sell us stuff. After our excursion was over, we went back to the ship to relax.

our view of Jamaica from our balcony

halfway up the falls

almost to the top

chillin' at the beach

heading back to our ship

this is what the deck looked like

our room

Our last day was another day at sea. We ate, layed in the sun, ate, layed in the sun, and so on. It was a great relaxing way to end our vacation. I am so ready to go on another cruise tomorrow!!