This year I gave myself a great birthday present.....a vacation! Marv and I went on a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas. We departed out of Port Canaveral, stopping at Royal Carribean's private island CocoCay and Nassau, Bahamas.
On December 15th, after spending 2 days with friends in Orlando, we sailed out on Monarch of the Seas, one of the oldest ships in the RCI fleet. We were surprised that she was still in really great shape. The ship left at 5pm. We were originally scheduled for the main dining seating at 6:30, but we decided to change it to the second seating at 8:30pm. Dinner was absolutely delicious. Marv had steak and I got the mahi-mahi. We had hardly finished our meals, however, when the rocking and swaying of the ship became too much. We both felt like we were going to be seeing our dinner again real soon. The rest of the night was a wash, as we spent it in bed totally seasick.
When we woke up the next morning, we were very thankful that the ship was still. We had anchored just off the shore of Cococay. After grabbing some breakfast at the buffet, we hopped a ferry to the island. The palm trees, white sand beaches, and aqua blue water, were absolutely gorgeous. The water surrounding the island was crystal clear and very shallow. You could wade a good 200 yards from the shore and it would still not even be to your knees. There was really no surf or waves to speak of. On one particular side of the island, the water was a bit deeper and provided a great place to snorkel.
We took some time to explore the island before grabbing some lunch at the BBQ stations. After filling our bellies, we found a hammock and relaxed the rest of the day away.
The ship left Cococay at approximately 6pm. We would be in for another dinner filled with rocking and swaying. We retrieved some free seasick meds from the infirmary which made all the difference in the world.
Our dinner mates consisted of a young college aged couple from North Dakota and 3 twenty something sisters with monster hooters (Marv was in heaven). They were all very likable and dinner each night was filled with a lot of laughs.
When we woke up on Day 3, we were in the port of Nassau, Bahamas. After getting into a wonderful squabble Marv and Kala style, we made up, rented a scootercycle, and toured the island. We ventured over to the Atlantis resort and did some sightseeing. Marv did a good job driving on the opposite side of the road as we do in the states. He only almost got us killed a couple of times by turning into the wrong lane. The weather was perfect, and we ended our day at a bar called Da Shak.
Day 4 was spent at Sea so we busied ourselves with all the fun things to do on the ship. The most memorable was trying out the RCI signature Rock Wall. Neither of us had ever rock climbed before so it was definitely a challenge. With a little help and guidance from the supportive staff, we both made it to the very top.
We disembarked on December 19th and headed back to Orlando to stay with our friends, Chris and Christy. They have a two year old son, Ian, who we absolutely adore. We enjoyed going with them for Ian's very first meeting with Santa. He did a great job, and his pictures came out hilarious.
We spent my actual birthday (Dec. 20th) lounging out next to the pool enjoying the 80 degree weather. That night we went to the Orlando Magic game to watch them take on the LA Lakers. It was our first pro basketball game. Afterwards, we walked over to the bar district and went to our favorite Orlando bar, Chillers. We spent the rest of the night there getting drunk before taking a Taxi back to our friends house.
I woke up the next day thinking about what an awesome birthday I had. Marv woke up with a major hangover. I would like to put in print that I drank WAY more than him and was totally fine. He is a lightweight.
After 9 days in paradise, we were definitely ready to head home. We could, however, have done without the 5 degree temperature waiting for us when we stepped off the plane at KCI.
On December 15th, after spending 2 days with friends in Orlando, we sailed out on Monarch of the Seas, one of the oldest ships in the RCI fleet. We were surprised that she was still in really great shape. The ship left at 5pm. We were originally scheduled for the main dining seating at 6:30, but we decided to change it to the second seating at 8:30pm. Dinner was absolutely delicious. Marv had steak and I got the mahi-mahi. We had hardly finished our meals, however, when the rocking and swaying of the ship became too much. We both felt like we were going to be seeing our dinner again real soon. The rest of the night was a wash, as we spent it in bed totally seasick.
When we woke up the next morning, we were very thankful that the ship was still. We had anchored just off the shore of Cococay. After grabbing some breakfast at the buffet, we hopped a ferry to the island. The palm trees, white sand beaches, and aqua blue water, were absolutely gorgeous. The water surrounding the island was crystal clear and very shallow. You could wade a good 200 yards from the shore and it would still not even be to your knees. There was really no surf or waves to speak of. On one particular side of the island, the water was a bit deeper and provided a great place to snorkel.
We took some time to explore the island before grabbing some lunch at the BBQ stations. After filling our bellies, we found a hammock and relaxed the rest of the day away.
The ship left Cococay at approximately 6pm. We would be in for another dinner filled with rocking and swaying. We retrieved some free seasick meds from the infirmary which made all the difference in the world.
Our dinner mates consisted of a young college aged couple from North Dakota and 3 twenty something sisters with monster hooters (Marv was in heaven). They were all very likable and dinner each night was filled with a lot of laughs.
When we woke up on Day 3, we were in the port of Nassau, Bahamas. After getting into a wonderful squabble Marv and Kala style, we made up, rented a scootercycle, and toured the island. We ventured over to the Atlantis resort and did some sightseeing. Marv did a good job driving on the opposite side of the road as we do in the states. He only almost got us killed a couple of times by turning into the wrong lane. The weather was perfect, and we ended our day at a bar called Da Shak.
Day 4 was spent at Sea so we busied ourselves with all the fun things to do on the ship. The most memorable was trying out the RCI signature Rock Wall. Neither of us had ever rock climbed before so it was definitely a challenge. With a little help and guidance from the supportive staff, we both made it to the very top.
We disembarked on December 19th and headed back to Orlando to stay with our friends, Chris and Christy. They have a two year old son, Ian, who we absolutely adore. We enjoyed going with them for Ian's very first meeting with Santa. He did a great job, and his pictures came out hilarious.
We spent my actual birthday (Dec. 20th) lounging out next to the pool enjoying the 80 degree weather. That night we went to the Orlando Magic game to watch them take on the LA Lakers. It was our first pro basketball game. Afterwards, we walked over to the bar district and went to our favorite Orlando bar, Chillers. We spent the rest of the night there getting drunk before taking a Taxi back to our friends house.
I woke up the next day thinking about what an awesome birthday I had. Marv woke up with a major hangover. I would like to put in print that I drank WAY more than him and was totally fine. He is a lightweight.
After 9 days in paradise, we were definitely ready to head home. We could, however, have done without the 5 degree temperature waiting for us when we stepped off the plane at KCI.
2 comments:
Looks like you had fun!
hEY yo!
GREAT TRIP! Besides the seasickness, turning into wrong lanes, and an occasional hangover.....SOUNDS PRETTY SWEET!!! :)
Glad you enjoyed your Bday Big Gurl!
LOVE YA~
EM
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