She's baaaaaack!

First off, I would like to apologize for my absence…I have still been “seizing the day” (Boston, Florida, Vegas, NYC) I just haven’t done well documenting it in the last few months.

So now back to my regular scheduled blogging. :)

Meet Joe…

he did the very cool thing of accompanying yours truly last weekend on a Carnival Cruise to Nassau, Bahamas.

Here is our adventure…

Thursday, March 25^th

Waking up at 4 a.m. on Thursday morning was a little rough. But (because of my awesome VIP status) by 1 o’clock we were sitting on the Lido Deck enjoying our first “Fun Ship Special”…and all was right in the world. :)

After grabbing lunch and a quick nap, we headed to the “mandatory” safety briefing on the deck. Of the entire trip, Joe (aka “The Rookie”) decided that this was the least fun 30 mins we had. (If you ask me, this means that means the trip was a a SUCCESS!) After some more “people watching” and another beverage we got ready for dinner.

We got to the dining room and it wasn’t quite open yet so we ended up stopping at a couple of the photo stations where we were “tortured like Gumby.” (Joe’s words) These camera guys were too funny with the stuff they get people to do. It was a funny experience, but there was no way we were going to be purchasing those pictures from the first night. Lol

We killed enough time then made our way to dinner. Here we would find really good food (which you will of course be seeing in picture form shortly) and one really interesting (and when I say “interesting” I mean Oh My Goodness Annoying!!) lady from Hershey, Pennsylvania.

We made our way to table 316 (which is funny since out room was 136).

We said hello to the other couple at the table and the first thing outta her mouth was about how much the ship was rocking (it wasn’t really) and then proceeded to demonstrate by swaying back and forth. (This would not be very helpful to someone who might be on the verge of getting sick.)

They sat us at the end of a long near the window, so we really didn’t talk much to our other table mates but they seemed nice.

Joe likes wine so he decided to get a bottle. This is what he chose -->

…nice name huh? ;) I’m not really a wine drinker, but I have to admit it was pretty tasty.

On to the food…

The first night I went with the flat iron steak with their version of mac n’ cheese. It was really yummy! Pennsylvania chick informed us that she was allergic to gluten and that she was not happy with the mac n’ cheese option. I feel much better that I was informed of this. (I know it’s not right making fun of people, but this lady was asking for it and her story must be told!) ;) Her husband was and interesting car as well. During the 1 ½ hours we were at dinner, he was starring off into space…but whatever.

After the main course, the lights dimmed and it was "Show Time." Our wait staff danced for us and they were good and hilarious! It looked like they were having alot of fun!

Then it was "Sugar Time." For dessert I got cheesecake and an assorted cheese plate. I had a bite of the cake but the cheese is what I was really after. ;) They were super yummy but needed more crackers/bread to accompany them. So tragic. Lol But if this is the worse thing that happens on this cruise…I’m thinking we’ll be having a great time!

After dinner we went to the large theater where we saw the “80’s Show.” The lead chick and the dancers were really good but the lead guy didn’t really fit the part. It was total “cheese” (perhaps the theme of the night with the mac n’, cake & plate.) but the songs were definitely fun!

When the show ended, we decided to walk around a little on the ship. I made the mistake of taking Joe all the way to the top front of the ship “Titanic Style”. This was not a good idea. It was super windy and after about 30 seconds, I nearly lost Joe due to vertigo! That was slightly scary so I promptly lead him back down a couple levels to the lido deck and everything was good again. He got some decaf coffee, while I drank hot chocolate on the deck on a very pretty night…except for the fact there were these two girls at another table were complaining about some guy and what he did. They were complaining at the top of their lungs with the added bonus of profanity. Lol

It was about midnight when we got back to the room. A new friend (made of towels) was on the bed and Joe promptly crashed beside it.

It was a long day…but a great one and great start to our vacation! :)

Friday, March 26^th

This was the first day in months that I didn’t have to wake up at the crack ‘o dawn. And yet my body clock still woke me at 7:30 EST (6:30 CST) exactly the time I normally wake up…but luckily, I was able to fall back asleep for a little while longer. I forgot how great sleeping actually was!

Eventually we made it to the dining room and had a lovely breakfast. I had pineapple juice, French toast, bacon and hashbrowns. Joe had Eggs Benedict. (I should have documented this…it was tasty and pretty.) lol

Next up…drinks and people watching by the pool! Today’s drink…Bahama Mama (naturally)…in a coconut Monkey…that will later become a bank for his son. ;)

About 12:30 we arrived at beautiful Nassau.

We get off the ship and hung out on the pier for a few until our boat arrived to take us to Blue Lagoon Island.

That’s right, this is the island where the movie was filmed back in 1980. The water is amazingly clear and blue and I couldn’t wait to get in it! But first…Don’t forget the sunscreen! :)

A couple of hours in the sun, sand & water is exactly what I’ve been waiting for (since August)…

Everything was completely perfect and wonderful.

After a trip to the souvenir shop, we got back on the "Caribbean Queen” and made our way back to Nassau.

Along the way we saw a few celebrity houses including Oprah (with her perfectly placed palms), Tom Cruise, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Shakira, Mick Jagger, etc. Yeah, property is kinda high priced around these parts. ;)

Looks like we’re not the only ones in Nassau today…

And we will definitely be returning to this place later on in the night... :)

A quick trip to the Straw Market was up next. Here Joe was able to haggle with a woman over a couple of shark tooth necklaces. Good job Joe! The market was a bit overwhelming so we got outta there and just walked down the main street of downtown Nassau for a few. Everything seemed to be closing so we headed back towards the ship, but not without getting my hair braided first. :)

After that we still had a couple of hours before dinner so I wanted to show Joe the Atlantis on Paradise Island. Notice the $25K/night suite...

…that Oprah has reserved for the next 5 years. We walked through the casino and a few shops (that we could never shop at)

and got to the aquarium that contained some really beautiful sea life (shocking I know).

We got in the taxi line and were ready to return to the ship. Well, we got this guy that would not take us back until his van was full. He said if we got a few more people we’d only have to pay $4 a piece, if we didn’t, it’d be $11 total. (Honestly, I was ok with the $11, but whatever lol.) After 15 mins he was finally ready to go with a full van…and he STILL charged us $4 a piece (should have been $3 by this point) but like I said, whatever. :)

Back to the ship after an awesome day in Nassau.

In the room, we had another towel friend waiting for us

...and we got all fancy n’ stuff for “Elegant Night” on the ship. This, of course, led us to taking a couple more pictures on the way to dinner. (Hope it wasn’t too much trouble for ya Joe.) But I really do like how these turned out. :)

Tonight our table was full (fairly on time) but the “crazy lady’s” husband was replaced by a vistor for tonight’s dinner.

Joe and I decided pretty quick why he wasn’t there as soon as we heard her 5 min story about her “booze cruise/snorkeling” adventure…for the next hour and a half. We placed a bet on how many more times she would continue to tell the story about how she danced with some girls that seemed to fancy her. Joe said 6, I said 4…I think she stopped at 5. I have a feeling her husband was off laughing somewhere about how he got outta hearing her stupid story all night. Lol

But back to what was important…tonight’s main course…or courses. Lobster and Prime Rib was on the menu. This was my first taste of lobster tail...

…I must admit, it was most excellent. :) Since I ordered prime rib as well (because you can do that here) I gave the other half of the tail to Joe (he was pleased) and went for the beef! It was soooooo good! For dessert Joe went for the chocolate melting cake and I went for the assorted cheese plate …again. But this time, I held on to my bread that I had with my salad. (Yes Joe laughed at and mocked me for this…and to this I again say…Whatever.) ;)

After hot chocolate and decaf, back to the room we went, changed out of our fancy duds, got a little more comfortable and headed back off the ship and on to Señor Frogs …

We had a blast! The place was packed with people just having a good time. Most were dancing to the live band and DJ spinning in between sets. Others were watching March Madness on all the monitors. (mainly the guys…and me outta the corner of my eye…because I had money on it) ;)

Ladies, I an definitely lucky to have found a guy that actually likes to dance…with me of all people! We had the best time. Even the “lazy” people around us were cheering us on. (I’m sure they were jealous.) ;) We lasted for about 2 hours until my knee started to hurt (no idea why).

Joe said goodbye to his new friend

and we walked back to the ship under the moonlight.

We got back on the ship but we worked up an appetite from all that dancing soooo…we decided to order a turkey sandwich and vegetable sticks…gotta love 24 hour room service!

Another great day in the history books…errr blog. ;)

Saturday, March 27^th

Once again, I got to enjoy the beauty of “sleeping in.” Today was a chill “Fun Day at Sea” and I and completely good with that. 11 o’clock on the Lido deck and we were back in “our spot” …with a “Yellow Bird” in hand…in my new fancy Carnival cup. Lol

People watching commenced! Oh my goodness! How dumb are people??!!! Why do you wanna be lobster red? Why do you want skin cancer? These are the questions that went through my head for about 75% of the people that passed by us at the pool. To each his/her own…I guess.

We decided to do lunch in the dining room today. This was my only bad call of the entire cruise. They totally messed up on the lunch menu. But on the Brightside we got to sit with a couple from New Jersey (they were a hoot and now live in Florida) and a mom and her son also from New Jersey (now living in Orlando and Atlanta). I’m glad we got to meet these nice people…but I was even more glad when we decided to hit up the 24 hr pizza bar. :) Much better choice.

We walked around the ship a little and checked out the super cool new slide on the back…we didn’t do it this time…but next time for sure!

Nap time was next on the agenda. Honestly, nothing can beat that with that with the ocean rocking ya back and forth. Before dinner we had massages scheduled. (Quite possibly my favorite part of the day.) After the massages, we were both told we carry a lot of “stress” in our necks and backs. Huh? Really? I could have told ya that…but it still felt absolutely amazing!

After the wonderfulness was over, we got cute once again for dinner. (No more pictures please.) However, we did look really cute. :)

Tonight I went for the crabcake to start

...and the steak for the main course. Joe went for the duck…he dug it. :) Another super tasty meal. And for tonight’s entertainment our wait staff danced for us again.

OH!!!! I forgot, on “Elegant Night,” Joe and I also got up and danced in the dining room. I only ran into the table once as Joe spun me. :)

We finished our dessert (poached pear and cheeses…yes I like cheese…deal with it! Lol)

It was kinda sad when we realized we would not be back for dinner tomorrow night…even sadder when we headed back to the room to pack. The alarm was set for 5:45 am and I was less than thrilled to be leaving…another great day!

Sunday March 28^th

Up early to change and grab breakfast in the dining room. Just enough time to get to the VIP lounge so we can be one of the first ones off the ship.

An hour goes by and I was kinda confused as to why I didn’t see land yet. Joe looked out the window

... and saw this

…the U.S. Coast Guard. He asked if that was normal. In my 16 years of cruising I have never encountered such a thing. At about 9 am (normally we’d be off the ship by this point) there was an announcement that at “5:30 this morning there was a bomb scare.” Apparently one guest overheard another guest say something about a bomb and felt the need to report it. (oh how I wish I was there for that conversation) Well since we weren’t going anywhere for awhile (and we didn’t have any Snickers) we decided to go back to sleep…until the next announcement about there being another announcement if they found anything else out.

After 5 hours, interrogating these particular guests, and a “sweeping” of the ship, we finally made it to Port Canaveral and off the ship! At this point I was very grateful that our flight wasn’t until 7 that night. Others weren’t so lucky. I’m sure there were a lot of flights missed and a lot of unhappy people…but we were actually perfectly happy…and thankful that there was no bomb. :)

We got on the shuttle back to the airport and went ahead and got the rental car I had reserved (even though we’d only be using it for a couple of hours). Definitely ready to eat at this point, I took us to Universal City Walk (after a slight detour). We ended up at Margaritaville where we had our final pomegranate margaritas of the trip as the rain began to pour HARD outside.

The weather was absolutely perfect for us until this point…and even this wasn’t that bad. :) We checked out a couple more shops where Joe got me a really beautiful bracelet and himself and kiddos a couple more things as well. We ran back in the rain to the valet line and were very lucky to make the 2 hour rate. We got to the airport just in time for our plane…to be delayed. ;) No worries though, we had a wonderful trip and just waiting to get on the plane…

Thanks Joe for making this a great trip for me and I can’t wait for the next one!

much love