Cruisin' in the Caribbean

Well, we made it back. We had an amazing time on our cruise! We flew in to New Orleans to spend the night. We stayed in a fancy hotel that CSK paid for right around the corner from Bourbon Street. That is the wildest street! It is where Mardi Gras takes place. It is just one big party! Everyone has a beer in hand and there are tons of stip clubs and bars. We even saw one stripper standing at the door of the club with barely any clothes on trying to get people to come in. We went to this amazing restaraunt which was very pricy, but oh so worth it! I had filet mignon that I cut with my fork and it melted in my mouth. The next day when we boarded the Norwegian Spirit we had to set out to explore. It was awesome! Not as big as our last cruise ship, but I think that was a good thing. We could actually find our way around. The first day was spent "at sea". My Dad woke up early to save us some lounge chairs in the sun. We spent most of the day in the sun and got fried! We were not so smart! The next day we arrived in Roatan, Honduras. We were not in port for very long so all we had time for was to walk around. Where we ported was a bad part of Roatan. It was very dirty. We met a very nice 18 year old boy who walked around with us hoping we would tip him. We did tip him and Rich bought him a Pepsi. He was so happy for that! There are some pretty, white sand beaches and some awesome shopping there, but you have to take a taxi to get there and it would take about an hour to get there and an hour to get back and we did not think we would have enough time. The next day we were in Santo Tomas de Castillo, Guatemala. We took a boat to an island to veg at a Resort. That was the life! We sat in the sun (mostly the shade) and swam. There were water slides and a swim up bar. We did enjoy some un-leaded pina coladas. That was so fun! The next day was the best! We were in Belize City, Belize. We anchored there with about four other cruise ships. Here is where we spotted our cruise ship, The Navigator of the Seas, from last year's cruise. Man! That thing is huge! The biggest one there! Belize is beautiful! If any of you get a chance, go! We did some shopping and of course bought some purses! I got a black Chanel and my Mom got a Prada and a LV. I was so excited to see purses! The Hispanic people are getting smarter though and charging more now. It is still cheaper than buying them here, but some were too much for buying them in Central America and most likely being fake! We then boarded a boat that took us out to a barrier reef to snorkel. The water was oh so warm and so pretty blue! We did not see too much sea life, just some pretty fish. After that, we were dropped of on a private beach/island to bathe in the sun and swim. It felt like we were in paradise or Tahiti so my Dad said. The beaches were white sand and the water was so blue, but so clear at the same time. I wanted to sit in it all day. It was as warm as my bath water at home. We enjoyed some chicken fingers and fries with an Orange Fanta while laying in the sun. There were a lot of drunk people on that beach! Well, they provide unlimited "Rum Punch" and people totally take advantage of that! There was one girl who did not want to get back on the boat. She wanted to stay and live there! The boat took us directly back to our ship which was very convenient. Our way back was a lot of fun. We just watched all of these drunken ladies dance and drink. The sad thing is that they probably all have kids at home. My Mom and I got up and danced a little. The next day we arrived in Cozumel, Mexico. Pretty water there too! This was the best port for shopping! We saved the best for last! We had the opportunity to swim with dolphins! I have always had a love for dolphins, but never been able to interact with them. Now that I have, they are the best animal (and dogs of course). They are so smart! We played with a three year old baby named Atlas. She gave us kisses, shook our hands with her fins, gave us a belly ride, and showed us some of her tricks. She would twirl a ring around her nose like a hula hoop and ride on her back fin at the same time. I thought it was so amazing that they are able to recognize humans and remember indivuals. She knew exactly where her trainer was at all times even though he was moving all over. It was about $140 per person to swim and interact with the dolphins and worth every penny! I will for sure do it again! It would be so fun to be a trainer! Saturday was our last day and was spent at sea. We worked on our tans most of the day. It was so hot! They said that it was about 84 degrees and the ocean was about 80 degrees. It was so dry. It felt like being in Mesquite! You could only lay there for so long before you had to go dip in the pool which was freezing, but oh so refreshing! CSK had a cocktail party for everyone that night. They were serving endless beer and daquiris and little finger foods. Why do they assume that everyone drinks alcohol?! We finally asked for some unleaded strawberry daquiris and they brought them no problem. The waiter even remembered us and found us later and brought more. Some pina coladas this time. What a nice guy! We did end up meeting some very nice people on the cruise. We met a couple, Richard and Debbie, to be exact on the first day on the bus ride to the ship. Come to find out they are from Bountiful! We went to all of the shows with them and enjoyed the chocolate buffet with them on the last night. They are amazing people and kept us laughing. We got their info and are hoping to get togther with them. It felt like us, along with Rich and Deb, were the only people on the entire ship that did not drink! It was such a party ship full of spring breakers getting wasted! We spent Sunday in airports and airplanes finally getting home at around 9 pm. It was so nice to be home and get into my own bed, but I was not excited to go back to work and get back to life. Even though this blog is so freakin long, I am sure I have left out a lot. I will most likely be blogging more about our trip. More to come! Enjoy the pics!