Enduring the long, dark, winters of Alaska must explain why we want to chase the sun and tropical weather for our vacations. We had always chosen Hawaii as our vacation destination, but we were ready for something different. Our daughter suggested a cruise vacation. We could visit several different places, unpack only once, and enjoy tropical weather, ocean, sandy beaches, and relax. It was the perfect idea!
Within a few weeks we were booked for our first cruise vacation, an eleven day Caribbean Cruise!
When the big day came and we set foot aboard the ship, “Wow! And ‘incredible!” were the only words we could manage. The ship was absolutely beautiful. The crew was gracious. Our cabin was everything promised. A cruise vacation was definitely the right decision for us.
We had opted for a cabin with a private balcony, which was an excellent choice! One evening while relaxing on the balcony, our daughter noticed a pod of about a dozen dolphins. They came out of the water several feet in the air in perfect unison, then right back in…they did this several times before swimming on, except for one young rebel who jumped and spun around in midair. What a treat, he gave us our own private show!
The days at sea were nothing short of wonderful. Between all the activities to choose from and time spent exploring the ship, we never lacked for anything. Our daughter attended a cooking class one day, a beauty seminar another. We took in a movie, a show, and spent lots of time at the spa…facials, spa treatments, manicures, you name it. They were there to serve, and left us feeling like celebrities. My husband learned to play Caribbean stud poker, and even won a little at the casino. Our cruise shp vacation allowed us to play hard or not at all. It was totally up to us how we spent our days.
You’ll never go hungry on a cruise. Every meal was fantastic and all the food incredible, making it hard at times to decide what to order. But, even that, we found, was not a problem. On one particular evening, I could not decide on which dessert, and jokingly said to our server, ‘I’ll have one of each.’ He laughed, and then appeared several minutes later with literally one each of every single dessert!