Bon Voyage

In April my Mom, Lauren and I went on a cruise to the Caribbean.  We had so much fun.  We left on a Friday night for the airport and took the red eye flight to Fort Lauder dale Florida.

 

My mom took so much stuff and it took her forever to get through security!!  Lauren and I kept calling her Waldo because of her shirt.

We made sure to get to the airport early so that we didn't miss our flight so we waited for a little while and then got on a plane and went to Atlanta. 

We were lucky and got upgraded to economy comfort so we had a lot of leg room and were able to sleep on the way to Atlanta.  We then got on another plane that went to Florida.  We got on a bus in Florida and it took us to the port where we boarded the Caribbean Princess ship.  

When we got on the ship we went and got something to eat in the Horizon Court, got settled in our room and then just looked around the ship.  I could not believe how big and nice the ship was!

Before we got ready to take off we had to go to our muster station to learn about the ship safety and what to do if we needed to get off the ship.  After that we sat out on the deck and watched as the ship took off.  We then went to dinner in the dining room.  The food was delicious and the dessert was even better!

Our room was so tiny but it was so much fun to stay in there.  We were so tired and with it being so dark in our room and the sway of the boat moving on the water we all slept so good.

The next day was a Sunday.  We ported in The Bahama Cays.  It is part of the Bahama island that only Princess cruise lines go to.

We had to get on little boats that took us from our ship to the island.  Lauren had to sit by this lady that had terrible smelling breath.  Lauren was not to happy about having to sit by her!

My mom had rented clam shells for us so we just had a beach day and laid out.  It was so warm and relaxing.  We had a few diet cokes, read magazines, talked and just enjoyed ourselves.

Us three know how to have a lot of fun!  We are silly but pretty dang funny if you ask me.  We came in from the island and got ready and went to dinner.

Our waiters name was Erwin.  He was from the Philippines and was so nice! 

Later that night we just hung out on the boat and then went and watched karaoke. It was so funny!!  There were some really good singers and then there were some people who thought they were good, but they were awful!!

The next day was a day at sea.  It was a fun day because we didn't really have much to do.  We went to breakfast and then laid out. It rained for a little bit but it was still warm so we just waited it out.  It cleared up quickly and we were able to lay out the rest of the day.

We enjoyed the band and had about 10 diet cokes with cherries and a lime. YUM!!

That night was a dressy night.  It was amazing to see some of the things that people wore... they were very dressed up!!

See what I mean!!

After dinner we had spa appointments.  My mom and I got full body massages and facials and Lauren got a manicure and a hair treatment. It was so awesome and seriously the best massage I have ever had.  We met a cute girl named Louisa that works in the spa.  She is from Romania and we became instant friends with her.  She was so sweet and cute. 

Tuesday we were in Curacao.  It is a really cool country.  They have a lot of dutch influence there.  We got off the ship and took a bus to a place where we got on a trolley and they took us around the older part of the town.

These little boats just pull up to a dock and sell stuff out of them right from their boats. 

This is the wedding cake house.  The most famous building in Curacao.

We went to a cathedral.  It was very interesting but definitely a different feeling than our church.  It was actually kinda creepy!

After our tour was done we walked the streets of Curacao.  We looked in some of the shops and bought some fun souvenirs. 

We laughed because this sign is the same one that is on the Forever 21 in the states. We went inside and it was nothing like it!! 

We found a McDonald's and enjoyed an ice cream cone, diet coke and air conditioning. 

I just love all of those cute colored buildings.  It was such a cute little place!

We went to the town center and found a place to get a little something to eat.  We had nachos and rice and beans.  It was so yummy!  I was finally able to call home and talk to Josh.  He said all was well. It was good to hear from him.

The next day we ported in Aruba.  This was my favorite of all the islands we went to!  It was so cool because half of the island is a complete desert with cactus and the other half is white sandy beaches with blue water and palm trees. 

We got off the ship and boarded a bus that took us to the place where we got on these jeep things that looked like the cars off of Indiana Jones.  There were four of them and the funniest guys drove them.  They were really nice and took us all over the whole island. 

The first stop was at these big rock formations that we climbed on top of and looked out over the whole island.

The next stop was at the Nature Bridge. It was a bridge that was formed by the water but it actually broke a while back due to a hurricane.  They have all of these little rock tower that they call wishing rocks. They are everywhere.  You stack the rocks and make a wish.  Apparently your wishes are supposed to come true. 

My wishing rocks.

My Mom's.

Lauren's wishing rocks.

The next stop we did some off roading and it was so much fun and really bumpy.  

Then they took us up to a famous church at the top of a mountain.  Again, it was cool to see, but kind of creepy! 

Then they drove us around and showed us the nice homes and resorts in Aruba. There were some beautiful places.  Our last stop was the beach.  It was a beautiful beach!  The sand was white and the beach was such a pretty blue.  The beach we were on was rated the third most beautiful beach in the world. 

We then went and walked the streets and looked around and bought some souvenirs.  Then we found a fun place to eat and get a diet coke.  Later that night we went to dinner, got ice cream cones, went swimming, went to karaoke, and just enjoyed the boat.

The last two days we were at sea. These days were really fun because she just laid by the pool and hung out.  I read a lot and drank a lot of diet coke. It was awesome!!  We had a ton of watermelon and salad during the day from the horizon court.  It was so dang good.

The second to last night was another dressy night.  We had some great people that we shared a table with. They were very fun to talk to and were so nice.  It was really fun to be at a table with them.

That night we watched a movie under the stars.  It was a blast.  We watched the movie Les Miserables and it was amazing!  They brought around blankets and pop corn.  It was so fun!

The last night we had to say bye to some of the people we met on the ship that we because good friends with. The first was Erwin.  He was our waiter.  He was such a nice good guy.  He is working on the ship to provide for his family.  He has three daughters and a wife at home.  This was the only thing about the cruise that I didn't like.... these people are on here away from their families for like 9 months at a time to make a living.  I guess it provides a good living for their families and that is a good thing, but they are away from them for such a long period of time!  Erwin played a little guitar like instrument and sang.  He had an amazing voice and was very entertaining.

This is Luisa from the Spa.  She was the cutest thing and a good friend.  I hope to stay in touch with her and see her again if I ever go back to Romania!!

Last but not least is Dan.  He sang int he Karaoke competition.  We met him the first night on the boat.  He bought this cruise for him and his wife to go on for her 50th birthday.  She passed away a few months ago and he decided to still come on the cruise. So he was traveling a lone.  He was a nice guy and was fun to listen to at the competition.

We also met this cute mom and her daughter one of the days at the pool.  They went with us to the final karaoke competition.  The daughter was Lauren's age and they really hit if off and became friends.  They were fun people to meet.

Lauren and Vinessa

The next day we got off the ship and headed home.  It was such a fun trip and I am so grateful for my parents for letting the girls do this and for paying my way!!  It was a trip I will never forget and was so needed!!  We became closer and laughed so hard the whole week.  I love my mom and sister so much and am grateful I have them as my best friends!

I brought this darling dress back for Stella from Curacao. She looks so cute in it!

While I was gone Josh had to speak in our ward as his high council assignment.  So James and Lexi came out and sat with the kids.  Apparently they were having so much fun with Dad that they didn't go to sleep because Drake fell asleep in church!!