4.20.2012

Caribbean Cruise: The Top-ish 10

We have over 150 pictures from our week in the Caribbean. I’ve narrowed it down to 149 to share with you, beginning with about 8 of our cruise ship.

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Just kidding.

No, what I’ve really done is try my very best to decide on a Top-ish 10 for our vacation. Top-ish because there were way more than 10 highlights.

Let’s get this photo-heavy list-ish started, shall we?

Our Top-ish 10 Cruise Moments

10. Dancing like fools every chance we got. Well, mainly I danced like a fool. Other members of our party managed to look like they knew what they were doing. My dance moves are limited. Think Madonna at the Super Bowl 2012 halftime show, only less coordinated.

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That’s what we did as we sailed away from Miami on day one.

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9. Watching my mom win $75 in free spa credit, and then winning $200 in free spa credit myself. $75 will basically get you one toenail filed at cruise ship rates. With our combined money, I got a pedicure (my first ever) and then we went for 25-minute massages, also my first ever. The pedi was significantly less weird than the massage, especially since nobody understood what our massage lady said after the part about removing your top.

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8. Touring Key West, where we walked to the southernmost point of the United States. There was a monument that you could take your picture by, but some middle-aged couple was making out there, so we got creative and made our own symbol of the south. See, we spelled it. Pretend you can tell what our letters are supposed to be, okay?

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This picture gives you some perspective on just how giant a cruise ship is.

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7. Dragging Rick to all of the free dance classes. Here we are ballroom dancing. Or something. I am apparently preparing for a country barn dance while everyone else listens intently to the instructor.

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6. Snorkeling on a basically private beach in Grand Cayman. We saw lots of fishies and a couple barracuda, who we were close enough to snuggle with.

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I love this picture of my little sissy.

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5. Laughing at all of the terrible photo-ops that crew members offered us. Think faux embroidered backdrop of a cruise ship with a fake moon hovering above it, or a quaint avenue in…Rome. While holding a stuffed armadillo or a pirate puppet. We have no proof of these antics, because if you took a picture of any part of their photo wall you would have to buy the photos that cost only a few dollars less than my pedicure, but this is a very good reenactment of our personal favorite family pose: the Rubber Ducky.

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Yes, friends, for a low, low price of a couple hundred dollars (slight exaggeration) you, too, could have a family portrait with rubber ducks on your heads. I wish I was joking.

4. Climbing Dunn’s River Falls in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Without a doubt, this was our favorite activity off of the ship. The falls are a little under 1000 ft. in height. If you ever go to Ocho Rios, fight your way through the people trying to sell you authentic Jamaican paraphernalia made in China and climb that waterfall.

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3. Eating. And then eating some more. And in between eating, eating. Rick ate more seafood during that one week than he has in his entire life, I think. They’ll bring you as much of everything as you want, so on lobster tail night, Rick didn’t hesitate to order two.

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We also tried a lot of fun new food, like shark langostino, alligator fritters, vichyssoise (which is more fun to say than eat, in my opinion) and everyone’s personal favorite, frog legs. I’m told they taste like chicken, but the possible poultry likeness was, for me, trumped by the fact that they felt like melting tires coated in gelatin. Oh, and they looked like frogs. In a dish. Coated in garlic butter. Gross much?

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2. Meeting a bloggy friend on our return trip through Miami! Gail is basically my twin, with a few minor exceptions like…we aren’t the same age. Her post about our whirlwind lunch sums it up so beautifully that I won’t attempt to recreate it—go visit her blog and read it for yourself! I guarantee she will make you smile at least once. :)

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Gail is a photographer, so she appreciated the staging tips that I’d learned on the cruise. Here we are practicing the rubber duck pose with alternative props.

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A good sense of humor! I like that girl. :)

But the #1 event, hands down, was…

1. Spending time with each other, and our family. Absolutely the very best part.

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So: thoughts on cruises, the price of pedicures, exotic food, climbing waterfalls, rubber ducks? Spill. :)

22 comments :

  1. it looks like so much fun! and can you tell me where your lil sis' bathing suit is from? i love it!

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    1. I'm pretty sure she got it at JCPenney!

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  2. Nate and I aren't big cruise fans. We enjoyed seeing the different locations but they are way too many people in close quarters for us.

    Looks like you had a great time! I've heard great things about Dunn River Falls!

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  3. Looks like a wonderful trip! When I was younger, I thought cruise ships sailed around the ocean on tracks (clearly I was a prodigy) so I thought they were totally safe. I haven't gone on a cruise in a long time but I love how relaxing they are. Typically, Joe and I prefer to go to a specific destination and explore but one day we want to do an Alaska cruise!

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  4. Ah, what a great vacation! Thanks for sharing those photos with us! You looked so pretty and happy in every picture....I'm a little jealous. I'm sure if you shared a few more pics we wouldn't be sad. :)

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  5. What a beautiful vacation! I've never been on a cruise, but you've officially peaked my interest in going! It looks like a wonderful trip and great time with your family! :)

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  6. Awesome pictures! Looks like an amazing trip... frog legs, rubber ducks and all. Oh and you look JUST like your mom. I bet you never hear that.

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  7. I've never been, but your family definitely looks like the perfect bunch to go on a trip with! Your pics made me laugh :)

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  8. I am so glad you had a good time! You are all adorable, and I loved seeing the pictures! I've been to Dunn's River Falls too - amazing!!

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  9. You guys look like such fun people!!! I'm so glad you got to get away and have a blast!

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  10. Looks like you had such a great time! You look like fun people.

    I went on a cruise before but it was a small cruise ship and it was REALLY rocky the first night. My brother and I were sharing a room and we were swapping out with each other to throw up in the bathroom. It was lovely. lol. The second night was much better!!

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  11. You're family looks so sweet. I like them.

    One year, for my bday, D got me a massage. I thought "Aw, how nice." Ha! When I arrived I found out my massage person was a dude. Come again? I was already nervous but the shock of that discovery rendered me mute. I was led back to the room like a lamb before the slaughter.
    Most awkward 15 min of my life.
    I kept top and bottom on. Guy commented on it. He was especially chatty. Then, he passes gas. Right by my face. He apologized. I politely asked him to leave. I got up and ran out the door, where I called D and asked if this was a sick joke. I might also have been crying.
    I've recovered...but it took a few years. Now if I get a massage, it's a couples...and D is in the room w/ me.

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    1. Hahahahaha oh MY!! That sounds horrible. (I wouldn’t have been laughing at the time.) I was glad my lady didn’t talk because I’m pretty sure the whole process is supposed to be relaxing, and how can you relax when you’re simultaneously trying to make lame small talk?

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  12. YES! I only got trumped by the family in spot #1. Haha! I kid. I kid. (Sort of.)
    [Insert images of me, doing a less-than-awkward-not-barn-like-in-any-form happy dance.]

    So, it looks like I'm going to have to come up there with my boom box (ha) and show you some moves...Miami style. I can also probably help you interpret what the massage lady was saying. Hahaha.

    Btw...my first pedi ever was at 20, the day before my wedding (in which my feet were rubbed raw...literally...ouch) and I've only had two more in 12-ish years. As for the massage, you got me beat. ;) Never been there, done that. Not sure I want to. Lol. ;)

    You all are just as fun in pics as you were in the flesh. I think every family should be more like yours. Your love of life is obvious. :)

    P.S. Gracias for the duck visual. Makes a lot more sense now and is sure to provides years of memories whenever I see ducks...or ketchup. ;)

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  13. bwah-ha-ha-haaaaaaah! Positively chortled over your Madonna/Super Bowl reference! (ummmmmm -- the accompanying pic totally reinforced the visual!)

    Never cruised in my life. Just sailed in a 36-footer around San Diego & Los Angeles areas for a couple summers. (We even have a Catalina-22, named "Dusty" because we haven't even sailed her in ages...) I'm not a "cruise-type" person: disliking crowds & sinking boats & fires on boats & falling off boats in general, I guess.

    Those falls, however, do entice me! Thanks for sharing your beautiful trip!

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  14. OMG, we just got back from a Carnival cruise a couple weeks ago-our first stop was also Key West but we weren't on the same ship as you. Did you do the pub crawl in Key West? We loved it and had the best tour guide. Looks like you had a great time-bet you were happy to get home to use your own bathroom, right?

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    1. That's too funny! (It would have been more funny if we had somehow been on the same ship and hadn't realized it!) It did take me a few days to get used to the miniscule shower. No pubs for us, though.

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  15. Just found your blog. So cute, and your vacation cruise looks like a fabulous time...XoXo

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  16. Awe I love this post! I love cruising and have been on two. Dunns river was AMAZING! Did you swim the sting rays in grand caymen?

    My sister and I took so many of those weird set up photos when we went with my family. they were freaking hilarious! They made us take our shoes off for the "beach" ones. Lord.

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  17. I have a love/hate relationship with cruises - been on 3 now and they were all spectacular in some regards (food, size of ship, entertainment) and less than spectacular in others (sameness of destinations, crowds, small pools, lack of privacy).

    A family or group cruise is the way to go in my opinion. And you look like you had a ball. Dunns River is always a highlight for any group.

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  18. Fun recap. I feel like I was right there with you! (But that would have been weird).
    Glad you had such a great trip.

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  19. Your pictures prove that your cruise experience was truly a happy and memorable one! A Caribbean cruise is great! Hope to see more of your travels. =)

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