Cruise-Saint Thomas

I woke up to a balcony view of beautiful St. Thomas. It all seems so surreal. You wake up and you're in a different port. You get out of bed and open the shades to see an island you have never seen before. It's absolutely gorgeous. Once fully woken up we shower, get dressed, eat a quick breakfast and get off the ship. We find ourselves on the sunny island where we make our way to the parked taxis. When I say taxi, I mean a truck with the back turned into rows of seats to make it look more like a trolley than an actual car. So we jumped in the "taxi" and headed to the beach. The beach was fabulous. We rented lounge chairs that were right next to huge iguanas on the sand. After we settled in to our spot on the beach, we went straight to the water. While everyone else jumped right in, I took my time. As I was walking in the water a fisherman walked by and said "oh wow look at that fish" and my reaction was to jump out of the way. The fisherman then said "there's a barracuda right behind you." I laughed, and he said "no really there's a barracuda right behind you." I didn't see anything and assumed he was joking. However, a little bit later we saw something jump and realized that there actually was a barracuda that had swam right behind me. Apparently none of us saw that sign at the front of the beach that said be careful of the barracudas. So I ran out of the water and was quite unhappy to think that these barracudas were ruining my beach day at St. Thomas.

Now that I felt unsafe in the water, I relaxed and watched my boyfriend swim trying to take pictures of this barracuda, all from the view of my lounge chair. I stayed on the beach for awhile, and we ordered lunch from one of the beach side cafes. We fed some of the ducks and iguanas, and eventually I was ready to get back in the water. I am glad to say the barracudas did not bother us. Even though the locals said they were harmless unless provoked, I did not believe this and was still a little wary of where I was swimming. However, before I knew it, it was time to leave the beach.

The taxi picked us back up, and dropped us off by shops. Again, I shopped for souvenirs as we all realized we were extremely sun burnt from the beach. So, we also had to purchase a bottle of aloe. After we got back on the ship I took a very painful shower and then dressed warmly because I was feeling cold from being so burnt. Thinking back about the pain now, I cringe just knowing that I could barely walk without feeling hurt. This caused my ankles and knees to swell up because the burn was so bad, not exactly my idea of a fun vacation. Still, we had a few more stops on the cruise before heading back to NY, and I don't regret anything that has happened so far.

Cruise-Puerto Rico

It was the afternoon of the fourth day, and we had arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico!! Upon our arrival, we explored the shops in the terminal, since we had time to spare before our zip line adventure. After exploring for a little, we lined up at the assigned location and waited for our adventure to start. Knowing I was going to be spending the majority of the day in the rain forest, I wore capri work out leggings, a tank top, sneakers, and wore my swimsuit underneath. I also packed a bag with a long sleeve shirt, umbrella, water, camera, money, ID, and hand sanitizer. I was prepared, especially since it was already starting to rain.

We followed the group and boarded a tour bus. We watched videos of the zip line tour on the tv's in the bus, and were instructed to not worry about the sharp turns our bus driver would have to make to reach our destination. As our journey started, the bus drove us a half hour away. On the highway we heard a noise, but thought it had been from the bus running over something lying in the road. So we ignored it, and held on as our bus driver whipped through the small streets and brought us to our destination. As we got out, we had realized that the noise we heard on the highway was actually a tire blowing out on the bus. Very surprised we were glad we had made it with our risky bus driver. 

We then were helped into our zip line gear consisting of helmets, a harness, and gloves. I was beyond excited. I had only gone zip lining once before, in Catalina Island-California, but this was going to be my boyfriends first time. We followed the tour guide up the hike trail while he explained the instructions along the way. I made sure we were first in line. Once we reached the first platform, I stood excitedly first in line. With everyone else being a little nervous, making sure I was first was not a problem. Even my boyfriend seemed to be a little nervous, but I told him that after the first one you will love it and you will no longer feel nervous. He was a little surprised I was so eager to be first. After all the tour guides went, it was my turn! They hooked my harness up and I was off, it was amazing. Imagine zip lining through a rain forest with trees above and below you! My boyfriend was next, and I was right. After his first leap he was hooked. We continued on to a few more platforms including one that was a vertical drop. And soon the adventure was over. I enjoyed every single minute of it, even through the rain and heat. After we hiked back to the second bus we were given water to cool down. The next stop on the bus was shopping! 

We were dropped off at local shops. At this point we were tired and extremely hungry, but I insisted on not eating until I found souvenirs for all my friends and family, since we did not have much time before the ship was to leave again. After a couple hours of shopping, I finally found everything I was looking for. Including a hat made from actual bamboo, which was surprisingly soft! While I was happy I was done shopping, the heat and not eating had made us extremely hungry and tired. So we looked at a few menus of outdoor restaurants and finally decided to head to the Senor Frogs near the ship. Senor Frogs is a mexican party themed restaurant. When we entered we were given a buzzer to wait for a table, and made our way to the bar. Feeling hot and dehydrated we started with two yards of margaritas. One was in a blue cup, and I made sure mine was put in a pink one. After we paid for our drinks, the buzzer went off and we made our way to our tiny table right in front of a stage. We had a perfect view of a dj and fellow cruise members who were drunk and participating in games. After a few moments we were front and center for a fight between a few girls, all from the same cruise as us. We ordered nachos and enjoyed our drinks and the show. After eating, we made our way to the Senor Frogs gift shop where I purchased a pink shot glass, and then left the restaurant. 

Now being dark out, it was soon time to head back to the ship. We started walking, and stopped to see a street artist make a beautiful air brush painting while speakers blasted music. We watched this man create a beautiful picture from start to finish, before getting back on the ship. Once back on the ship we finally showered and changed for dinner and another amazing show. After another couple hours at the bar, we easily fell asleep and awaited our next destination.

Cruise

I recently vacationed on a Caribbean cruise. This being my second cruise I became overwhelmed with excitement the day of departure. It was very early on a Thursday morning when the cab came to pick us up. We journeyed to New York City where our smiling ship was waiting (I say smiling because the art work on the front of the ship makes it look as though a happy face was purposely placed there-using windows as the eyes). So,  after hitting some traffic we arrived in front of the Norwegian cruise ship. After checking in we headed to our balcony room. It was just like I remembered, somewhat small, but lovely. This would be my "home" for the next 10 days. After settling in a bit, we explored the ship. We started with the pool deck where I had my first drink of the vacation, a mojito in a souvenir cup. After walking around the pool deck, I realized I was not dressed properly. The weather predicted cold and rain, which had been the weather for the many days leading up to the cruise. However, it ended up being the only sunny day in weeks. Yes I was grateful, but that did not help the clothing situation. I had worn yoga pants and a juicy couture zip up, not exactly fit for walking around on a sunny pool deck. Still, I had no choice, for my luggage had not yet been delivered to my room after check in. So I rolled up my sleeves and continued to enjoy my drink. 

After exploring the outside decks, we went on to take a tour of the gym and spa. Yes gym, I did actually try to stay healthy on this trip, and yes it was a miserable failure, but I will get to that later. So we took a tour of the gym, and decided to sign up for an afternoon spin class to take place the next day. Next was the spa tour. As a late Christmas present my boyfriend offered to pay for massages. I was thrilled. So we took a tour of the spa to decide which massage we would like. Maybe this was not the best tour to take while the ship was still in port, for the air conditioned had not yet been turned on and again me being dressed fairly warmly I was sweating. The tour ended and we made an appointment for a massage an employee recommended for the last day of the cruise. After the spa, we explored the ship a bit more, ate lunch, and then made our way to the top deck to watch the ship depart. Being in the city, the ship gave us amazing views of the skyline, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the Verrazano Bridge. This was a picture perfect moment that included lots of wind. At this point I was once again glad I was all bundled up. 

After we took in all the breath-taking views we went back to our rooms. My suitcase was the first of my group's luggage to arrive. I was very happy, for I always get a little nervous that somehow my luggage may get lost, which would of course ruin my whole trip. I am obsessed with clothes, and I always tend to pack my favorite outfits on trips. The people I travel with also worry about my luggage being lost because they too know that the whole trip would be ruined if that were to happen. Luckily, that was not the case this trip. So I began to unpack my bulging suitcase, as the rest of my group began to wonder when their own luggage would arrive. After everyone unpacked and showered it was dinner time. We enjoyed the first all you can eat meal of the trip, then went on to enjoy the first night's show. It was an introductory show that included a hilarious comedian. After the show it was bar time and soon after bed time. I was overly tired from a night of packing and almost no sleep to an early morning wake up that made me pass out very quickly. 

The next day started with the buffet breakfast. For those who have not been on a cruise, all inclusive means all you can eat, including 24 hour room service. Since I knew it was going to be impossible to for me to eat entirely healthy on this trip, I decided I was going to stay fit by working out. I was excited to get to the spin class my boyfriend and I signed up for the day before. After eating lunch we changed into workout gear and headed to the gym. There was a group of about ten people in the class, including a very fit and young instructor with an accent. I had not taken a spin class in a few weeks and felt out of the loop just entering the room, so I opted to take a bicycle in the back of the room. However, my boyfriend insisted on being front and center. So we adjusted our bikes and got ready for an intense workout. As I started to warm-up by pedaling I started to feel dizzy and hot, thinking I may not have eaten enough, I brought this concern up to my boyfriend. I was then informed that I was not in fact dizzy, but that the ship was rocking and I was not used to taking a spinning class on the sea. As for the heat, the room did not contain as much cool air as I would have liked. This should have been the first sign that I was not ready for this class, but I ignored such signs and got ready to work out. The instructor took his bike, his first question "has anyone taken a spin class before?" I proudly raised my hand, and was wondering why I was the only one who answered yes, especially when I knew for a fact my boyfriend had taken a few spin classes before. The instructor then responded to me by asking "you've never taken a spin class before?" with a puzzled look on his face. I then realized I had misunderstood his accent and corrected my answer. I looked over to my laughing boyfriend, who had just realized I could not understand the instructor's accent. I leaned over and said I love the Australian accent, but I can't understand one word he is saying. My boyfriend responded with the instructor has an English accent not Australian, I still do not believe him to be right. I know I heard an Australian accent. So the class continued, I continued to not understand one word, and felt out of place when my bike's pedals kept getting stuck. I stopped pedaling as hard or doing any of the standing moves since my bike kept getting stuck. While again I felt out of place, I fantasized about being in the cold refreshing pool just outside the tinted windows of the gym. After an hour the class was finally over and I felt gross. I needed to get to a shower, and fast! Needless to say, I did not sign up for another gym class on the cruise. 

After another enjoyable dinner and show, day two was coming to an end. The third day I decided to spend as much time as possible relaxing by the pool, drinking buckets of beer and wine, and enjoying the night sky on my balcony. It was perfect.