Christmas Cruise

9 days at sea and no sunburns or seasickness! I’d call that a win.

Off we went early one morning to catch a flight to Miami, then a taxi to our the port, and then set sail for the Caribbean!

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If there was one theme to the trip it would be windy, because it was windy every day of the trip. The ship was rocking and swaying throughout the entire 9 days at sea, and one day was rocking so much that it would toss you back in forth in you bed. We heard of several people getting seasick, but none of us got sick at all. We actually enjoyed the constant rocking. It seemed pleasant most of the time to me.

Temperatures were great every day, and only a little chilly on the first couple of nights, and a little hot (upper 80’s) just one day at sea. Other than that, it was 60’s and 70’s most of the time. Very nice!

First stop was Haiti and a place called Labadee. I went on a kayaking excursion. It was nice! I was dripping with sweat by the time we were done, but it was still a good adventure. Then I took some time to just chill on the beach and watch people fly down the zip-lines.

Then we set sail again. We woke up Christmas morning in the port at Aruba! Holly, Ivy, and I disembarked from the ship and got on a submarine. Yes, a real submarine. It took us down to about 150 feet and along a reef and sunken vessels. Neat experience!

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Next up, the Island of Curacao (pronounced ‘koor-a-sow’). Holly and Ivy took an excursion to the Sea Park Aquarium and got kissed by a sea lion. They had lots of animals like sharks, flamingos, star fish, stingrays, etc etc. I went on a snorkeling excursion and got to swim along a reef and over some really deep water (kind of creepy). We also saw a bit of the island and how the people of Curacao live. Nice place!

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Then off to the island of Bonaire. We have all day on this island, so we rent a golf cart and go tooling around the island. We stop at a nice beach and Ivy and I go snorkeling. Wow! Thousands of fish and crystal clear water. We saw a couple of colorful crabs, too. I really enjoyed snorkeling here! We continued our golf-cart journey all around the southern half of the island passing the salt mines, pink beaches, slave huts, lighthouses, and even a donkey sanctuary.

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Eventually, Holly and Ivy had enough of this adventure and wanted to go back to the ship. I dropped them off at the dock, and within 5 minutes or so a guy hailed me and asked for a ride… he thought I was a taxi! LOL. I told him and wife that I wasn’t a taxi, but hop on and I’ll take you wherever you want. So they did. They were just going to a restaurant on the northern side of town. After I dropped them off, I drove around and went exploring a bit more, got a little lost, saw an iguana crossing the road, and eventually stopped at a little bar to have a drink and use their free wifi. Bonaire is nifty island! Everyone was very friendly and chill.

The rest of the trip was at sea as our ship headed back toward Miami. Once again, we could see the lights of Cuba and Haiti. On board, the activities kept going with a really good Ice Skating show, a Journey cover band (surprisingly good), an 80’s dance night in the middle of the ship, a fun parade (yes, a parade on a ship), and lots more. Of course, the food was non-stop, as well. Great food! Too much food. Omg. I ate way too much.

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On December 30th, we finally make it back to Miami, disembark from the ship (delayed due to government shut down), made our way to the airport and back to Houston. It was actually our 12th wedding anniversary, but we were all so tired and maxed out from entertainment, food, and travelling that we just unspooled at the house and went to bed. lol. Kind of the same thing the next day – New Year’s Eve – and didn’t do much of anything. In fact, I fell asleep about 9:00 pm and slept right through the NYE celebrations. Didn’t hear a thing!

Overall, it was a great trip. We enjoyed it very much… so much that we’ve already booked another cruise for 2019.

Watch the video! 19:00 length