Cruise Highlights

Well, the vacation finally came and went. It was amazing. Alan and I are generally pretty frugal with money so blowing money on what seemed like such an extravagant vacation was a little uncomfortable. I felt really guilty at first. But we worked hard and were smart with our money this year and it was an amazing experience. So I think I'll be able to forgive myself for busting into the savings account. I could write a ton about what happened on our trip, but that would be really long to read so here are the highlights.

The ship was really nice. It is only 3 years old. It has a 40,000 sqft spa facility which is where we spent a lot of our time. We went every day and got 4 different spa treatments. We also spent a lot of time on the "serenity deck" which is the quiet "adults only" deck. I got a lot of reading done and Alan had some homework to do (unfortunately) so that was a favorite spot. We saw some shows in the theater and caught a couple of comedy acts.

Of course the food was out of control. The scale said that I had gained 9 pounds the night we got back. In all fairness, it probably wasn't that much because I was fully dressed and it was night time on a full tummy when I weighed. But I feel like I gained 9 pounds so I am going to count it. We met some really great people and I was so excited that the couple we were assigned to eat with every night in the dining room was so fun. They were great and we really enjoyed getting to know them. On the last day there was a chocolate buffet. Did you hear me people? A CHOCOLATE BUFFET!!! The whole thing was devoted to chocolate dishes and deserts. No wonder I gained 9 pounds.

We booked 2 excursions through the cruise line and did some stuff on our own. I went out of my comfort zone a lot this past week. I was pretty proud of myself. We went zip-lining, hiking and repelling in a huge canyon, drove on a bus for a very long time with a very, very crazy Mexican driver, rode in really fast boats, rented jet skis, swam and snorkeled in the ocean, rode horses through jungle canyons and jumped off rocks into waterfalls and ate authentic food on beautiful private beaches accessible only by boat. These descriptions don't really do the activities justice, but I am pretty sure that I won't ever forget them, even if I don't describe them in detail. And to top it all off, I sang Karaoke with a live band, in front of a room full of people, all by myself. Yes, you heard it right, I sang Karaoke, ALONE! Of all the things I was scared to do this week, that was the most horrifying. I probably sounded like crap because I was so nervous, but I didn't chicken out or hyperventilate and that is what counts.

Alan was the adventurous one when it came to eating. He ate tons of seafood and steaks since I don't really like those things and we never really eat them here. But he also had sushi, clams, duck, alligator, shark and frog legs. He skipped the escargot because he said he had already tried it. I was thoroughly impressed but really grossed out at the same time.

There were so many things to do on the boat, that we didn't even begin to scratch the surface. Honestly we didn't even try. Our main goal was to relax, not to party and I think we accomplished it. It is nice to be home now, even though we both still feel like we are on a boat today. I keep rocking back and forth with the tide of my living room floor! ;-) We will have to start saving our pennies so we can try something different next time. Hopefully it won't be another 7 years before our next vacation!