Back in the states

The cruise was awesome!!! Kate and I had a blast meeting lots of new people and exploring 4 new countries. We met lots of cute single guys and Kate (being by far the more outgoing of the two of us) had quite an entourage. I even found a very cute sweet guy named Ryan with whom I thoroughly enjoyed spending some quality time.

I'll post pictures later when Kate sends them to me (I forgot to take my camera), but here's an outline of some of the things we did.

Day 1: I arrived in Miami early in the morning and finally found my way to my hotel in South Beach by about 9:30 a.m. Fortunately I was able to check in that early and get my room, where I promptly laid down and crashed. I got up again around noon and went out to explore South Beach. I had a few errands (such as finding a place to buy some contacts since I had forgotten to bring any extras) and otherwise I walked Lincoln Road (shopping district) and Ocean Drive (restaurants galore with the ocean right nearby). After lots of people watching and a few cat calls I headed back to the hotel with sore feet.

Day 2: Spent the morning exploring South Beach with Kate then boarded the ship. In the evening there was a sign up for a singles dinner which we went to and met many of the people we spent the rest of the cruise hanging out with, including Ryan, Trevis, Trent & Masha (neither single), Robert, & Lara. Then we all went to dinner in one of the main dining halls with them.

Day 3: A day at sea, which was a fabulous way to start a 7 night cruise. It gave us a chance to orient ourselves and get to know people. Robert, Lara, Kate and myself went to dinner at Il Adagio, a fabulous Italian restaurant on board. It was formal night, so I wore a beautiful long red dress. We met up with some of the other guys later and enjoyed the view from the observation deck.

Day 4: Our first port of call was Roatan, Honduras. It was a beautiful hot cloudy day with just the slightest bit of rain, which I loved. Kate and I did a canopy tour (translation: zip lines!) and met a cute 18 year old named Trevor who quickly became one of Kate's entourage (yes, far too young, but cute nonetheless). Then we got back on the boat early so we could go to the spa. Kate had a hot stone massage and I thoroughly enjoyed a seaweed wrap with a full body massage. We went to the singles dinner that night in the other main dining hall, which ended up being Ryan, Lara, Katherine, Kate and myself. I believe I went to bed kind of early that night (early being a relative term).

Day 5: The second stop was Belize City, Belize. Since it was Christmas day, there wasn't much open in the line of shops and such, except for the extremely touristy ones, but we did a tour of some Mayan ruins which were pretty cool. We met some cute Indian guys and their mom from Canada on the tour and became honorary daughters for the day. Dinner that night was in Le Bistro, a french and mediterranean restaurant, with Robert, Lara and the two of us again. We went to some of the evening events and then met up with everyone at Dazzles, the on board night club, which was actually pretty good once the DJ took over.

Day 6: The next stop was Cozumel, Mexico. Cozumel had the most gorgeous water I've ever seen... so clear and blue you could see everything! Our excursion that day didn't start until around noon, so we slept in a bit, got some breakfast on board, got off and did a little shopping, then met up with our excursion of the day, horseback riding. I really enjoyed the riding part, although the location wasn't really that interesting. My horse, Capitan, and I got along pretty well. Capitan had an attitude, but I had a bigger one, so I won in the end and we had a good time. Unfortunately Kate's horse hated her and the feeling was mutual, so she didn't enjoy it as much. But after the ride they fed us mexican food that was to die for! It was mostly chicken or beef fajitas and the best guacamole ever! Fortunately our dinner reservations weren't until about 9:45 that night, otherwise I would never have been able to eat it. Dinner again was with Robert and Lara at the East Meets West Steakhouse. After dinner we went dancing again and Ryan and I ended up spending some very nice quality time together. *grin*

Day 7: This was another day at sea. Kate and I enjoyed sleeping in a bit, then we spent most of the day by the pool (Kate getting a tan and me hiding in the shade next to Ryan, who was so kind as to hide in the shade with me). Ryan and I also went to a Merengue class. The same four of us as other nights had dinner at the Teppenyaki Restaurant, which was very similar to a Benihanas, and very very good. There was a chocolate bar that night that everyone except myself went to that was apparently really good. I, unfortunately, stepped in there and just about fainted from the smell of chocolate. It was way too much for me to handle, especially when stuffed from dinner as well. So I went up to Dazzles and talked to some random guy for awhile while they were enjoying their chocolate. Then we went dancing again that evening and didn't go to bed until very late.

Day 8: The last full day of the cruise was spent at the beach on a private island in the Bahamas. It was a perfectly sunny day with gorgeous imported sand and hammocks in the shade. It was a very relaxing day. Kate and I went snorkeling, which I actually really enjoyed after I got over the hyperventilating part. Then I sat in the sun for awhile until I could spot a bit of pink on my arms, at which point I wandered around a bit and eventually found an unoccupied hammock to lie in. It was idyllic laying there with a nice cold beverage in one hand. Unfortunately I didn't realize there was a big area farther down the beach where Ryan and his family were until late in the day, but I eventually found them, just in time to head back to the boat, barely in time for dinner. The same four of us plus Ryan went to dinner that night at Pacific Heights, a "healthy living" restaurant. The fish I had was really tasty. Then we went to a couple shows and danced a little (my energy levels had dropped significantly by this point... possibly due to very little sleep the last few days) and Ryan and I wandered around the boat for awhile.

Day 9: This morning we arrived back in Miami. Kate and I didn't have to disembark until about 9:30ish, so we slept in a little, got some breakfast and then got off the ship. We got a taxi straight to our hotel (a Sofitel near the airport) and we spent most of the day here, checking email, finding a random cuban restaurant nearby for lunch, sleeping, and having dinner in the hotel restaurant. Now I'm sitting here at the computer again writing this. Kate's probably in bed already and I need to get there myself. My flight is at 8 a.m. tomorrow, and I don't get into Anchorage until 7 p.m., so it will be a long day.

Other activities: I didn't really mention all the shows we went to throughout the cruise because I can't remember which days we saw what. The shows were really pretty good though, in general, and we went to most of them. Each evening there was generally a main show, a game show, and a comedy show, followed by dancing in Dazzles. Some of the highlights were Cirque Pan (a cirque style show telling the story of Peter Pan) and a latin dance show (the main dancers were really good). The game shows were highly amusing and the comedy was pretty good.

Anyways, that's the rundown. I'll try to get pictures up soon, but it'll be a few days at least, as Kate has to send them to me first after she gets home sometime tomorrow evening.