our last minute Caribbean getaway!

So as some of you know, Jonathan and I took a last minute cruise this past week. I am literally unpacking and doing laundry after arriving home just several hours ago from our 16-turned-24 hour drive home. Thought I'd give a quick overview of our week for those who care to know how our trip went :)

Wednesday, November 11
Smartcruiser.com advertised a 7-day cruise for $199/person for November 15-22. We'd been thinking about going on a cruise for a while now; just hadn't found the right time and price yet... could it get any better? Not a chance. They'd have to pay us if it was much cheaper. Plus, it was the ports of call I'd been interested in going to. So we jumped on the deal and then rushed thursday and friday to get everything in order. Three days notice for a 7-day cruise? This is crazy. And we decided to drive. Yes, drive... to Miami!

Saturday, November 14
We left around noon, stopped for a few errands, and then took off south for Miami. Jonathan and I hadn't been further south than Charlotte, NC by car together, so it was a fun experience, although very long. We drove through the night, discovered how long Florida is, and how pretty Jacksonville is at night... and actually arrived early enough to enjoy a morning break in Pompano Beach, FL before parking and getting on the boat.

Sunday, November 15
Not-so-fresh out of the 19-hour car ride (including stops), we got on the Norwegian Jewel and enjoyed a leisurely day overlooking Miami as we waited to leave port and start our adventure :) We started our 7-day anti-fast with fresh fruit, pizza, indian food, and ice cream.

Monday, November 16
Day at Sea
We played shuffleboard, played games, went to some presentations, got some free stuff, and we ate. A lot. I rate the food at about 8/10, the desserts about a 4/10 (Carnival was much better overall). We watched comedian Bud Anderson perform two different shows and loved him, most of it was improv and he was so ADD that he kept bunny trailing and telling stories in between his routine.

Tuesday, November 17
Roatan Island, Honduras
My furthest point south on this continent... Jonathan spent 3 weeks on this island a year and a half ago for his job, so it was neat to be there together this time. The port area was very poor and dirty, it was a sobering experience for both of us. Here we are "rich Americans" on a ginormous cruise ship, now walking amongst the poorest of the poor, stray dogs everywhere, trash floating along the murky shoreline... Unfortunately the nice beaches were on the other side of the island, and we didn't want to pay for the cruise's "excursions" and we were uncertain about getting back in time if we took a random taxi out there. We did some browsing at the souvenir shops, and Jonathan ran into a girl he had met in the market last time he was in Roatan. Her name is Delmis, 21 years old. So we took her across the street to get some fried plantains and a pear soda as we chatted with her before she had to get back to her shop. We were constantly surrounded by barefooted children, selling their bracelets and asking for money... it is difficult being in third world countries with such limited time and resources. On our way back to the port, we stopped on a pier and ate a bag of Lychee fruit (looks weird but tastes good!) that we bought for a dollar from a random guy in an alley ;)

Wednesday, November 18
Belize City, Belize
We took a small tender boat over to the port from the ship, which was several miles offshore. We spent quite a bit of time at Tanzanite International before exploring. We decided to invest in some tanzanite stones again, just as we did in the Bahamas on our honeymoon. After our wheeling and dealing, we wandered the streets, got harassed by taxi drivers, and enjoyed some fresh papaya and sugar cane. That night, we were treated to a free dinner (they have main dining areas, and then specialty restaurants that you have to pay extra for). We still don't know why we got the free dinner (normally $50 for the 2 of us), but I'm not one to complain :) We had a wonderful filet mingon meal, which I later turned my leftovers into a smiley face work of art that the waitress proudly showed the wait staff and chefs in the kitchen ;) I know, I'm mature...

Thursday, November 19
Costa Maya, Mexico
I think this was our favorite stop of the cruise. Costa Maya is rebuilding after Hurricane Tim (2006) flattened it to the ground, so if you walk behind the shoreline shops, all you see is dead brush and bare trees for endless miles, and hundreds of buildings under construction along the beach. Quite a surreal sight. We considered walking or renting bikes to go the beach a few miles down, but found a taxi with a group for a couple bucks a piece instead.
We swam in beautiful blue-green waters, looked for coral and fish, but only found a few white fish near the shoreline. The locals were very persistent, but generally friendly. The scenery was absolutely beautiful! We chased an iguana while we searched for cheap tacos for lunch... after an unsuccessful search, we took a taxi back to the port and ran into a local artist who was incredibly talented at his spray paint art (wait until you see the pictures later!). We spent a large majority of our time watching him paint tropical and planetary scenes. He pointed out a place where we got $2 chicken quesadilas (sp) and some peach juice. We ran back to the boat with minutes to spare... Totally worth it. We (especially me) got sunburned, but were very content with our day.

Friday, November 20
Day at Sea
We relaxed after 3 ports of call in a row. Glad for a break before our next stop! Played some Wii in a private room, more shuffleboard, other random activities, and ate, a lot, again...

Saturday, November 21
Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas (Norwegian's private island)
We decided to just spend a few hours on shore this time. After a quick round of ringtoss and a basketball shootout tournament, we went over to the island by tender boat. We were both pretty worn out, and I was still sunburned and didn't want to get worse, so we relaxed in a hammock underneath palm trees while listening to live music, then got some lunch and took a quick dip in the very clear and beautiful water. The beach was very crowded, though. We got back on the boat in early afternoon, played a round of crazy golf, then, yep you guessed it! Ate some more! I had Salmon 3 times for dinner... sooo good! ;) The main show in the theater that evening on the cruise was spectacular. Cirque Bijou, which was a mini verson/mix of Cirque Du Soleil, River Dance, and Acrobatics. This show made the cruise even more worth what we spent... I would have paid $50 a person for a show like that. The performers were incredibly talented (and flexible/fearless, lol), and we were actually the last audience to see them before they left their tour with Norwegien.

Sunday, November 22
Miami port
We packed up and had one last meal before heading back to the real world. There was a sign as we made our way through customs that said, "Thank you for cruising with Norwegian. Hope you had fun doing whatever." Haha! We picked up our car and made the looooong trip back. We stopped and got an oil change, and to get some Florida oranges :) Two hours into our drive, my car's ventilation system completely quit. No AC, no heat, no defrost, no air circulation, nada. Which was ok... until it started raining... and that was not too bad... until it got cold and STILL raining. And it rained and got colder from Georgia all the way home in Virginia. We were bundled up in blankets, opening the windows every so often to keep the windshield from fogging up. Not a very fun ride home, but we survived ;)


So to sum things up, we had a blast. Four countries, four states, in 7 days! It was so refreshing, and we are thankful for the opportunity and glad we took it now instead of waiting and possibly not being able to later for whatever reasons. Thanks for reading if you actually did ;) Wish you were there with us!

Charisma