Ochos Rios, Jamaica

Look at the morning sunrise. Isn't it beautiful? This is what greated us as we awoke on Monday morning.



We had finally arrived at our first destination. Ochos Rios, Jamaica. The morning was perfect. Sunny, warm and the landscape was so green. I guess we didn't know quite what to expect, but I guess we didn't expect things to look so green!









We had decided the night before to change our excursion to something more relaxing. We were going to do a tree top tour, but we opted to go to the beach instead.

So, we got off the ship and headed out to find our tour guide.





Once we found our tour guide, we loaded a bus to head to the beach. It was then we learned that the beach we thought we were going to had been destroyed by a recent hurricane. So, we were headed out on a 25 minute drive to another beach. Also, our tour guide Audra, told us there weren't problems in Jamaica, only situations. That made us feel much better (not).

On the way, we saw lush green country side (see the pictures I took from the bus), cows, goats, horses and interesting billboards. Joel's favorite was one of a cracked motorcycle helmet with the words "Protect your head or end up dead." Gotta love truth in advertising.







We had finally arrived at our destination. A very secluded beach. Or, so we thought. We soon discovered that we were somewhat sharing the beach (or coastline) with the Headonism III resort next door. Clearly, this made all of the men on the beach very happy.

We were greeted at the resort by Jamaican dancers and lots and lots of rum punch. We eventually learned that the rum punch was 51% alcohol (slightly more than what we would have here in the States). Needless to say, there were many happy people on the beach later in the day.

Joel and I found a good spot and set our stuff down to head to the Caribbean ocean. On my way to the water, I almost stepped on the little crab below. Can you find him?



Here we are at in the ocean!







Our surroundings were beautiful. And, needless to say, the ocean was so blue. We spent the rest of the day lounging around (under a canopy - as to avoid serious burn), partaking in the entertainment, eating the local food (sausage, rice, pasta and jerk chicken) and reading our books. Now, this was truly a vacation.











As we were leaving, several people came up to me to say my face was extremely red. I really didn't think anything of it, as my most of you know my face is naturally red. I explained this to the individuals and they seemed to understand. But, I recall, this is the only place I didn't put sunscreen. I didn't think I needed it. I had my sunglasses on and I wasn't facing the sun. But, I was wrong. On our ride back to the ship, I realized my nose was starting to hurt. I thought at this point I might have been burned, but didn't think it was too serious.

After we arrived at the cruise terminal, Joel and I decided to hit some of the shops. We thought about buying some alcohol to bring back for everyone, but once we realized the steps we would have to take to get it back into the states, we opted not to purchase any. But, we did find a great gift for Bernadette (inside joke). We also went through some jewelry stores where Joel was able to take a look at some watches he had not seen yet (and I could buy some gold earrings).

During the shopping trip, I noticed my face was hurting a little more. So, we headed back to the ship and to my horror, realized I had been burned pretty badly. The rest of my body was a little red - but not like my face. So, I promptly took a shower and headed out to buy some aloe vera. That helped.

That night, I couldn't bear to sit for photos that night, as I was clearly a little "red" in the face. So, we went out on the deck and took a couple of our own.





At dinner, the Matradee stopped by and was very worried about my face. He would proceed to stop by every night to check on me.

Oh, and the animal creature tonight...Stingray.

First Day at Sea

Our goal for this trip was to spend time relaxing at the pool, having a few more drinks than we did on our last cruise and simply chillin'. We got off to a good start by hanging out at the pool on Sunday morning. Joel enjoyed a Pina Colada. I thought that might be a little too early, so I had water.



We decided to partake in the Art Auction on board the ship. We enjoyed this part of our trip last time. We had no intention to buy any art this time around, so we thought we would go just to learn about the history of the art. Well, I got a little excited and purchased a print on the first day (Aloha Bugs). It is a Warner Brother's image of all of the characters on a beach in Hawaii with a Cruise ship in the background. Plus, I won a facial and another piece of art. So much for not buying anything.

After the auction, we headed back to the pool to enjoy some more sun. We enjoyed the "drink of the day." And yes, it came in a replica of the Carnival Cruise Ship smoke stack.



But, what we enjoyed most was being able to watch a football game on the huge screen out on deck. Or, at least, Joel enjoyed it. He thinks we need to replicate this set-up at home somehow. I am not sure how we will be able to replicate the weather, but I am sure he will come up with something.







When the sun went down, we headed back to our room to dress for dinner. It was formal night. But, after seeing the wide variety of "formal wear" on our last cruise, Joel opted for slightly different attire. I decided to recycle the dress I wore last time. It worked.

We proceeded to take our own pictures - including some with the Halloween decorations on board (yes, we knew that they would be having a Halloween party on the ship).





We again decided to have our photo taken by one of the ship photographers. Here are some of the pictures he took.





We enjoyed Steak and Lobster that night for dinner. And, it should be noted that this was the second night in a row that Sarah had fish. And, it should also be noted that she had fruit every day of the trip. For those of you who know her, this is quite a feat.

Anyways, the waiters sang a song for us in Italian (the ship's captain was from Italy) and the ship photographers came around and took more photos.









After dinner, we decided to head back to the Lido deck to enjoy the World Series Game.





But, when it got a little too chilly, we headed inside to the Disco to enjoy a little electric slide. Joel did not participate, but Cecilia and I really tore up the dance floor.

We headed off to bed to get a good night's sleep. We were excited that we would be waking-up in Jamaica.

Oh, but I can't forget about our towel animal. Carnival is very famous for this. They create a towel animal each night of your trip. The animal comes with some chocolates and the newspaper with the next day's events. Tonight's animal...Elephant.

Embarkation

Here it is, the Carnival Destiny.



Embarkation. This was something we had feared, as our last experience was not the best. We had to wait in very long lines to check-in and board the ship. But, we were hoping our VIP status would change all of that (honestly, we don't know how we got it, but we were glad we had it).

We arrived at the terminal an hour before embarkation was to begin. But, we thought we would be pretty close to the first in line. Turns out, we didn't have to wait. We walked into the terminal and there were two lines (longer) snaking around to the x-ray machines. A person stopped and asked if we needed help and we said that we have VIP boarding passes. VIP, no problem. We were escorted to the front of the roped line, allowed in and were told to put our bags on the x-ray machine (now, this was ahead of all of those who had been waiting in line). So far, so good.

We headed up the escalator's to the check-in area. We looked for the VIP line and discovered it was not a line, but a room. So, we walked in to what I best can describe as a fancy airport lounge. They promptly asked for our names and asked us to have a seat. They would call us when they were ready. We waited no more than 5 minutes. Once our name was called, we handed them our ID's and they handed us our Sign and Sail cards (your lifeline while on the ship) and away we went.

We proceeded to the nearest escalator to have our embarkation photo taken and to board the ship.



The photo is much better than the one we took in San Diego a couple of years ago. We realized what they were doing this time (last time we stood 20 ft. apart from each other and didn't smile). I think it turned out nice.

We boarded the ship only to find out our room was not ready. We were bummed, as we had carried on some of our luggage. But, we decided to explore the ship and take more photos of the Miami skyline.











We had reserved a suite and were excited to see what it looked like. We discovered it had a dressing area with a walk-in closet, a "double-wide" balcony and a whirlpool tub (which neither of us used). Oh, and if you look closely at the bathroom photos, the white box on the wall is a hair dryer. Honestly, the wierdest looking hair dryer I have ever seen.















We proceeded to unpack and wait to be called to our muster station for our life safety drill. Now, Joel will not allow me to share with you his photo of this drill (you should ask him why), but mine is below.



We headed back to our room to prepare for the ship's departure. We opted to sit out on our deck and watch as the other ships left, including the huge Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas.





By the time we left port at 6:00 p.m., it was raining. We couldn't take any more pictures from the Lido deck before leaving, so we opted to have one of the ship photographers take our photo (we had decided that we would have them do this every day). Here are some of the photos they took.







Our cruise had assigned dinner seating and we were anxious to meet those we would be having dinner with throughout our cruise. We had such a positive experience on our last cruise that we were hoping to have the same, if not better, experience this time. We were not disappointed.

Cole and Cecilia are a young couple from New York. She is from Brooklyn and he is from the Bronx. They were great and we really enjoyed getting to know them.



Well, our cruise has begun. We are sailing to our first destination...Ochos Rios, Jamaica.

Miami, Florida...The Beginning

Now, I told you yesterday that I would let Mommy and Daddy use my blog to tell you all about their vacation (as long as I got to tell you about mine). So, I have now told you how much fun I had at Aunt Angie's house. Now, I will let Mommy and Daddy tell you all about their vacation. I told them to start from the beginning...

Once we dropped Cosmo off at Aunt Angie's house, Joel and I made our way to the MSP airport. Much to our surprise, there were plenty of parking spaces and very short security lines. Once we made it through security, we got a bite to eat at McDonald's (knowing we wouldn't be eating there for some time).

We boarded our flight to Miami (which was mostly full) and we took off on time (never happens). We arrived in Miami a few minutes ahead of schedule and our luggage was one of the first ones off (again, never happens).

We took a Taxi to our hotel (which was under construction. We checked into our huge room (it was a conference room and a bedroom. But, it overlooked the cruise terminal so we would be able to see our ship in port.

This was the view from our hotel room...





Once we settled in, we went down and asked the bellman where was the nearest place to eat. It was at this point that we should have realized we were not in downtown Miami (as previously advertised). He indicated at a place called "Bayside" was about 10 blocks away. So, Joel and I set out to walk the 10 blocks. Needless to say, it was somewhat creepy. There was no one around - and I mean no one. Again, there was no way we were in downtown Miami.

Once we arrived at Bayside, we went looking for a place to eat a late lunch/early dinner. Also, Joel recognized Bayside. He said that when he was in Miami a few years ago on business that his friend Nick had taken him there for dinner and drinks.

Anyways, we found a little place to eat and then decided there was no way we were going to walk the 10 blocks back to the hotel. We found a cab and headed back.

Later that evening, we decided to charge our iPods before getting on the ship tomorrow. It was then that Joel brought the wrong charger and that we needed to get another one. We opted to hop in a cab late that night and go back to bayside to find one.

Our cab driver did not have change - so Joel needed to get some. We gave him $5 before heading to get some change. But, something wierd happened - all of the cab drivers got in their cars and spead off - including ours. And, at the same time, I wathced someone get mugged and the ";robber" take off running with someone's belongings. Needless to say - I wanted to get out of their was quickly as possible.

We made it back to the hotel and called it a night. When we woke up the next morning - there were three ships in port.







Our ship was in the middle of the pack (we eventually learned). Anyways, we packed up our stuff and took one last picture before checking out and heading to the boat.



We waited forever for the elevators and once we arrived in the lobby we realized why. There were a ton of people checking out and heading to cruise ships as well. Clearly, we had picked a popular hotel. But, Joel and I agree, one we would not come back to.

We checked out and caught a cab to the Port of Miami to start our long-awaited vacation...