Our Cruise
We survived the cruise!! We couldn't wait for it to get here, now we can't wait to go again! Cruising is so much fun. We left the Galveston port on July 20, 2008, which was a Sunday. We traveled with our friends, Sharon and Richard Trousdale, and it was Sharon's birthday! What a day to spend your birthday! On a ship!
Happy Birthday, Sharon!!
Our first port was Jamaica. We docked at Montego Bay, Jamaica. After breakfast we left the ship to go on our excursion. We hopped a bus and were headed to a Sandals Beach Resort for the day. "Mama" was our excursion guide and was alot of fun. She taught us the main Jamaican lingo ...... "yeah-mon", "no-mon", and "no problem-mon".
Sandals was really nice. Beautiful white sand beaches, outdoor bars, lots of sunshine and blue water! We spent a few hours in the beautiful ocean, then went into the dining room for an all-inclusive lunch which included Jerk Chicken. It was very nice. Then we went swimming in the pool. (We got pretty sunburned and I'm still peeling from it.) Afterwards, we boarded the bus and headed back to the ship, via the poor countryside of Jamaica. The people lived in shacks with laundry hanging all around. People rode bikes and walked and got oh so close to the bus! Back at the port, we shopped at some of the gift shops before boarding the ship again.
The next day we were in Georgetown, Grand Cayman. It is British Rule there, as well as Jamaica. With no dock available for the big ships, the ships weigh anchor in the ocean and send "tender" boats out to pick us up and take us to the dock. You can fit alot of people on those tender boats. We arrived early to make sure we had enough time to look around before our land excursion. We walked a few streets and went in gift shops. I kept falling off the curbs and couldn't walk for some reason! If Richard hadn't been in front of me, I'd probably landed face first on the pavement. Thanks Richard for the block! Later we boarded a tour bus and drove around the island, the driver pointing out sights of interest. We saw the govenors house, which was on the shore. We drove up in a cove next to it and saw the water and some of the native landscapes of Grand Cayman, mainly the sea grape tree. We drove on to another beach to walk out on the pier. We watch these 3 fisherman get their boat ready and sail out to fish. It was a small boat, so I hope they didn't go out too far! We continued on to the Turtle Farm. There the turtles are raised mostly for eating; but some are released back into the wild. There were Iguanas roaming around freely, but they didn't bother us. Then back on the bus again to the town of "Hell". We stopped at another gift shop, and behind the gift shop was "The Devil's Gate" which lead to an open field of black jagged rocks that they called Hell. It was interesting, but definitely a tourist trap! haha.
Then on to the Tortuga Rum Factory! Free samples of Rum! Yum! Man, it was nice....and samples of Rum Cakes! I think we ate them all! We shopped in there, then jumped back on the bus for the ride back to the ship. We stood in a long line to wait for the "tender boat", but it did go pretty fast. Oh yeah, we did see a Dairy Queen in Grand Cayman. For those of you who don't know, Tommy is addicted to DQ Blizzards! Chocolate Covered Cherry Blizzards! When we got back on the boat, this guy got on with a big 'ol DQ Blizzard and Tommy was having a fit. We had to give him a hard time about it.
Next day were were in Cozumel, Mexico (again, for the 4th time). We said we were only going to lunch and get back on the ship. Well, we got off the ship and went to the usual shops and walked around awhile, then went to Carlos & Charlie's for lunch.
We had so much fun. It was loud, lots of music, people up and down, funny waiters (I danced with ours), and good food. Our cokes were served in these 2 ft. tall plastic souvenier glasses. Cool! I brought home 3 of them. Then back to the ship!
Some people say that the prettiest water is in Grand Cayman, but if the pictures don't lie......Cozumel is the prettiest I've seen!!!
We arrived back in Galveston on Sunday morning. We were one of the first people off the ship because we carried our own bags off. Man, everytime we cruise we say we are not going to pack as much this time, but we always do! On the way home, I had to insist that we stop off at Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana, Tx to get me some Cherry Ice Box Cookies (my ultimate favorite). We did and I was happy again. Needless to say, the next day was a day full of doing laundry and unpacking, and trying to rest.
Then back to work (for me anyway). Tommy has been out from work with a neck, back and leg problem, but will be going back to work tomorrow.
That's the extent of our vacation. Hope you all had a good time too while we were gone.
"Wish you were there"!
Liz
We survived the cruise!! We couldn't wait for it to get here, now we can't wait to go again! Cruising is so much fun. We left the Galveston port on July 20, 2008, which was a Sunday. We traveled with our friends, Sharon and Richard Trousdale, and it was Sharon's birthday! What a day to spend your birthday! On a ship!
Happy Birthday, Sharon!!
Our first port was Jamaica. We docked at Montego Bay, Jamaica. After breakfast we left the ship to go on our excursion. We hopped a bus and were headed to a Sandals Beach Resort for the day. "Mama" was our excursion guide and was alot of fun. She taught us the main Jamaican lingo ...... "yeah-mon", "no-mon", and "no problem-mon".
Sandals was really nice. Beautiful white sand beaches, outdoor bars, lots of sunshine and blue water! We spent a few hours in the beautiful ocean, then went into the dining room for an all-inclusive lunch which included Jerk Chicken. It was very nice. Then we went swimming in the pool. (We got pretty sunburned and I'm still peeling from it.) Afterwards, we boarded the bus and headed back to the ship, via the poor countryside of Jamaica. The people lived in shacks with laundry hanging all around. People rode bikes and walked and got oh so close to the bus! Back at the port, we shopped at some of the gift shops before boarding the ship again.
The next day we were in Georgetown, Grand Cayman. It is British Rule there, as well as Jamaica. With no dock available for the big ships, the ships weigh anchor in the ocean and send "tender" boats out to pick us up and take us to the dock. You can fit alot of people on those tender boats. We arrived early to make sure we had enough time to look around before our land excursion. We walked a few streets and went in gift shops. I kept falling off the curbs and couldn't walk for some reason! If Richard hadn't been in front of me, I'd probably landed face first on the pavement. Thanks Richard for the block! Later we boarded a tour bus and drove around the island, the driver pointing out sights of interest. We saw the govenors house, which was on the shore. We drove up in a cove next to it and saw the water and some of the native landscapes of Grand Cayman, mainly the sea grape tree. We drove on to another beach to walk out on the pier. We watch these 3 fisherman get their boat ready and sail out to fish. It was a small boat, so I hope they didn't go out too far! We continued on to the Turtle Farm. There the turtles are raised mostly for eating; but some are released back into the wild. There were Iguanas roaming around freely, but they didn't bother us. Then back on the bus again to the town of "Hell". We stopped at another gift shop, and behind the gift shop was "The Devil's Gate" which lead to an open field of black jagged rocks that they called Hell. It was interesting, but definitely a tourist trap! haha.
Then on to the Tortuga Rum Factory! Free samples of Rum! Yum! Man, it was nice....and samples of Rum Cakes! I think we ate them all! We shopped in there, then jumped back on the bus for the ride back to the ship. We stood in a long line to wait for the "tender boat", but it did go pretty fast. Oh yeah, we did see a Dairy Queen in Grand Cayman. For those of you who don't know, Tommy is addicted to DQ Blizzards! Chocolate Covered Cherry Blizzards! When we got back on the boat, this guy got on with a big 'ol DQ Blizzard and Tommy was having a fit. We had to give him a hard time about it.
Next day were were in Cozumel, Mexico (again, for the 4th time). We said we were only going to lunch and get back on the ship. Well, we got off the ship and went to the usual shops and walked around awhile, then went to Carlos & Charlie's for lunch.
We had so much fun. It was loud, lots of music, people up and down, funny waiters (I danced with ours), and good food. Our cokes were served in these 2 ft. tall plastic souvenier glasses. Cool! I brought home 3 of them. Then back to the ship!
Some people say that the prettiest water is in Grand Cayman, but if the pictures don't lie......Cozumel is the prettiest I've seen!!!
We arrived back in Galveston on Sunday morning. We were one of the first people off the ship because we carried our own bags off. Man, everytime we cruise we say we are not going to pack as much this time, but we always do! On the way home, I had to insist that we stop off at Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana, Tx to get me some Cherry Ice Box Cookies (my ultimate favorite). We did and I was happy again. Needless to say, the next day was a day full of doing laundry and unpacking, and trying to rest.
Then back to work (for me anyway). Tommy has been out from work with a neck, back and leg problem, but will be going back to work tomorrow.
That's the extent of our vacation. Hope you all had a good time too while we were gone.
"Wish you were there"!
Liz
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