We Stick Together: Cruisin'

We took another cruise this year. I could get used to this, really. What's not to like? I can eat whenever I want, have ice cream whenever I want, have a pool boy wait on me hand and foot, zip down the waterslides, see exotic locations, enjoy awesome broadway-type shows, use the free "kids camp" (babysitting) so I can feel like a grown up for a few hours each day, let someone else do my cooking and cleaning, and let the sea gently rock me to sleep at night.

Yeah, there might not be anything better in the whole world. :)

We went back on Carnival, a big ship this time. This is the same ship Alvin and the Chipmunks filmed Chipwrecked on: Carnival Dream. The kids thought that was pretty cool - they looked for them but never did find them ;)

The ship almost didn't fit into my camera lens!

I think there were over 4000 people on here, including crew members. Crazy! It really didn't seem that crowded though - I guess they have the traffic flow issues down pretty good.

We left as soon as school was out. No sense on waiting! Let's get this vacation started. ha. Which also means that Little Miss Emma had the most spoiled birthday present ever! Oh yes, this 6 year old was on a cruise on her birthday. We paid a little extra to have the room decorated for her. I think that should've been included for the amount we paid already, but.... She also got a card from the Carnival crew and the dolphins. She was so excited the dolphins knew it was her birthday! :)

Oh yes, the rooms really are that small. We got an inside cabin this time. It seemed smaller than the balcony cabin that my parents had, but we did save some money. Tips for an inside cabin that really worked: I bought an alarm clock that has a light that slowly comes on 30 minutes before the alarm goes off to simulate a sunrise. I also turned the TV onto the channel that showed the front of the ship and muted the sound. At night, it was dark. In the morning - blue skies out our "porthole". I had no problem with not seeing the light of day. I tricked our brains :)

First Day. Good bye land, hello fun! (Really, I should be a spokesperson for them.)

A little more crowded in the background than usual since we were pulling out of port and everyone was excited to see the land leaving - well, except for Pappy and Luke. Game on. Let's get this party started. No time to waste!

Second Day. Look at us, we are fun waiting to happen! We are happy cruisers. HAPPY!! (Have I mentioned how much we love cruising?!?!)

Third Day. Cozumel, Mexico. We went to an Adventure Park which was really no big deal - but it was great for the kids. Great for my mom too :)

And then the real fun began. On the other side of the park was a pool, beach and open-air restaurant. Have you ever had a Mexican Margarita? Oh. My. Strong!!! And real seafood nachos from Mexico? Oh. My. Yum!! We love Cozumel!

The beer was pretty good too.

Maybe a little too good.... these men were HAPPY! Truth be told, so were my mom and I - but there is no proof of our drunkenness. We're the smart ones. ha ha ha.

This was also Emma's real birthday. Back on the ship for dinner. With some really bad singing. At least the waiters were happy for her :)

Fourth Day. Belize. We saw some Mayan Ruins and did a Belize City bus tour.

Fifth Day. Isla Roatan, Hondorus. Gorgeous. The port was built up as Carnival's own private beach. Fun restaurants, shopping, activities and the beach. Perfect.

Doesn't it look like we got right off the boat and walked onto the beach? We didn't, but it was neat to see our ship while we were on the beach.

Sixth Day. Costa Maya, Mexico. We didn't leave the port because it had a big swimming pool, restaurants, shops and even a little show. As the day went on, the crowd got a little wild and it became child un-friendly. Senor Frogs was right next to the pool (with a swim up bar). Looked fun, turned wild. Teenagers were licking each other, waitresses were feeling up the shot-buyers. Male or female, it didn't matter. Lots of "woot-woots" and "yeah babies". My kids kept asking what was going on. Was glad we weren't in this port very long and had dolphins in containment (poor dolphins) to distract the kids. Boy how my perspective has changed in 20 years.