Day 4 The Cayman Islands

Here we are at day 4 halfway through our long awaited trip. We are stopping in The Cayman Islands today. As soon as we looked out our balcony we could see how beautiful it was. The water was just a perfect shade of blue. We grabbed a quick breakfast and took the tender to shore. The first thing we decided to try was right near the docks and it was snorkeling over a shipwreck. It cost $15 per person to have the snorkel, mask and flippers all day the only thing was we couldn't take it from that location. You climb down this ladder which is hard in flippers just saying to get into the water. As soon as you start swimming there is really cool fish to look at. If you swim a little bit further you start to see the remains of a ship. If you are into that stuff I am sure it could be really cool. It kind of freaked me out and I would rather look at fish anyway so I swam around and looked at all the different types of sea life I could find in that area. We did the snorkeling for about an hour and a half and it was well worth the money. After that we took the bus $2.50 a person to a public beach. I have been to many beaches and this was one of the nicest I have ever seen. There were chairs to rent for $5 if you wanted and a place to buy souvenirs  The ice cream trucks are near by if you get to hot but no one hounds you to purchase anything. The sand on the beach was a beautiful light colored and it was super soft. The water was a nice temperature and it was just a beautiful place to be. We laid on the beach for awhile and took the bus back into the dock area. There were some nice shops to look in an once again no one was pushy for you to buy anything. The line to take the tender back to the ship was very short and we were back on the boat. We got ready and enjoyed a nice dinner. The show tonight is a show of fellow cruisers. They had people sign up to do a talent which on our ship was all singing but it could have been anything. There was about 8 people who sang and one lady got up to read a poem she had written to thank her son for taking her on this cruise as it was a present for her for making it through a rough year health wise. I really enjoyed the show and most of the people could sing really good. The other people got cheers for trying. After the show we went outside and enjoyed the late night movie played on the big screen out on the lido deck. Probably one of my favorite days.

Day 3 Sea Day

Day 3 was a sea day meaning we were not going to stop in any ports. It was nice because we got to sleep in that morning and take our time getting ready for the day. We woke up around 9:30 and went to go eat at 10:30ish. They had started setting out the lunch buffet so we had a sort of brunch out by the pool. The pool area gets very crowded so if you want to get lounge chairs near the action you better go early. We found a spot on the upper deck near the back of the ship but it was very windy. Down by the main pool they had all kinds of activities going on like an ice sculptor, dancing, scavenger hunt, ping pong table and other things to pass the time. Sea day's are pretty kick back and relax so we spent most the day lounging by the pool reading. The ship offers mini golf, basketball, ping pong, the casino and the spa all day every day in addition to the planned activities so their is always plenty of things to do. At about 4ish we were feeling the heat so we decided to relax in our cabin. We watched some TV (The Hunger Games had been playing everyday since we boarded so we watched it for about the 4th time). There was 2 movie channels, some news channels and some other random channels to choose from. We hung out and relaxed and then went to dinner. After dinner there was a comedy show in the Punch Liner Comedy club so we decided to check that out. It was the family show and it was actually pretty good even though it was the not as funny comedian. The sea day really wore me out so that was the end of that day.

Day 2 Key West Florida

So today we are in Key West Florida. We got up and had some breakfast at the buffet. They offered yogurt, fruit, eggs, has browns, sausage, pastries and made to order omelets nothing fancy but pretty good. After breakfast we got off the ship and headed into Key West. We did the Old Town Trolley  Hop on Hop off Tour which took us around the entire island and had 8 stops where you could get off then get back on. The entire ride is about an hour and a half. We decided to first take the trolley around the entire tour so we could see the island. It was a very pretty place and the tour guide told us all about the history of the island. After we took the entire ride around we got off at the second stop which was a Cuban coffee place. I had saw on an episode of Kim and Kourtney Take Miami they had tried a cortidito and ever since then I had been dying to try it. We got one and it was amazing! After that we went to the Kermit's Key Lime Pie shop which is the place we heard you had to go to get key lime pie. They had a ton of things that were key lime and we got chocolate covered key lime pie on a stick. I didn't care for it because I don't like key lime pie but my dad thought it was great! After that we walked around a little bit more and then got back on the ship. Once back on board we ate dinner and then they had the married game show. It was set up like a game show and they picked three couples from the crowd who were just married, married for 10 years and married for 50 years. They had the couples back to back and asked 10 questions. The couple who answered the most questions the same won. It was a pretty fun show to watch. That pretty much ended day 2.

Day 1 Leaving Fort Lauderdale

Today we are boarding the ship in Fort Lauderdale Florida. After driving around for hours (or at least a half an hour) we found the rental car return place. One of the two shuttles has broken down so we are in for a long wait. It was hot and sticky outside I don't really know how else to describe it. It is Florida after all and you know what they say "The only thing worse than chlamydia is Florida" haha just a little movie humor. Anyway after standing in line sweating to death and also meeting some interesting people we finally got on a shuttle and made it to the port. 9 Ships in port today so it is very crowded. We got through the security and boarded the ship and I thought it was pretty impressive. The Carnival Freedom is the ship we are on. As we walked through the lobby it was loud and exciting with lights and people everywhere. We made it to our state room which is on the 7th floor the Empress Deck room 384. Our room is a stateroom with a balcony and I actually have to say its pretty spacious. We unpacked a little and went for some lunch on the Lido Deck. Lunch was about a 7 out of 10 in my book. The buffet had things like chicken, fruit, potatoes, desserts and things like that which were pretty basic but can't complain. They also had the Deli open where you can order sandwiches and wraps and the grill was open with hamburgers, hot dogs, fries and chicken tenders. There was a lot going on out by the pool as it was getting ready to leave. The DJ was out there and people were hanging out and dancing and it was pretty cool to just lay back and relax. After we set sail we walked around and discovered the ship a little bit. In the theater they had some kind of trivia going on so we sat and watched that for a while and then went to sit on our balcony. One bad thing about our particular balcony was we were so excited to get to sit and chill in our own space and watch the sea which is why we paid extra for the balcony but unfortunately on both sides of us we had smokers so the smell was enough to make us go back inside. It seems every time we wanted to go out our smoking neighbors were out there too and they were friendly enough but it isn't very desirable to sit outside for a few minutes and come back in smelling like the casino so keep that in mind if your trying to decide whether or not to get a balcony. If smoke doesn't bother you then it is well worth the view and privacy! Anyway after a busy day of loading the ship and unpacking we got ready and went to dinner. We opted for the your time dining because you don't have to commit to a certain time to eat and also don't have to wait for your table mates to be served. This option worked out very well for us and we never had to wait in line more than 3 or 4 minutes to get a table. The wait staff in the dining room is very friendly and very attentive. The options on the menu are pretty good and there are several things to choose from. You get a starter a main course and a dessert so the meals are very filling. After dinner (which takes about an hour and a half to two hours) we went and watched the welcome show in the theater. Hennie our cruise director talked a little about what to expect on the cruise and the show was pretty entertaining and well put together. After the show we walked around the photo gallery and looked at the pictures they had taken of us boarding the ship. The pictures cost $10 or a few dollars more for the big ones. There was several things going on including shows, the casino, the on deck movie and plenty of places to hang out for people of all ages. My 17 year old  brother really enjoyed the O2 club which was a supervised hangout for sailors 15-17. After all that excitement we headed back to our stateroom and decided to hit the hay.