We're back! Sun-kissed and exhausted!! It really was a wonderful trip though and we already paid a deposit on our next cruise - a promised trip for Kaleb! Now comes the task of organizing a time when all of our schedules line up, preferably not in the summer!!
Back to the trip, what an amazing experience for both of us. We've both been on a cruise separately before so we knew what to expect some what. Two of the ports were new though and what an adventure they were.
Our first port was Key West, of which both of us have already visited. This time though we saved the miles on our legs and rented an electric car. It allowed us to see more of the city and saved us from the sweltering heat! It was hot! Eric did most of the driving and we just rode around all over trying to see as much as we could. We had lunch at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville - yummy! Then some shopping and it was back to the ship.
Our next day was spent at Grand Cayman. We were gifted at our shower with an excursion to go snorkeling. What an amazing time! We snorkeled not far from shore with our ship in view which was really neat. After about 45 minutes, we moved to another location over a shipwreck - super cool! We were quite far from touching the ship but our pictures make it look otherwise. I highly recommend our excursion to everyone! Following our snorkeling adventure, we enjoyed lunch at Hard Rock Cafe and again, a little shopping. After a slight line "detour" we were back on ship and enjoying some time onboard the Carnival Freedom.
Our last port of call was Ocho Rios, Jamaica. If it wasn't for our excursion, I'm not sure either of us would have enjoyed the port as much. Jamaica is a poor country and it shows but at the same time, it's beautiful!! We were gifted our Jamaican excursion by a few of the faculty members at Lansing Catholic where Jodi works. It was like a 3-in-one, and a super good time. We took our adventure taxi up the hills to the ranch where we were going to start our zipline adventure. The Jamaican's that assisted us on our trip were amazing! Super friendly and really nice! Three swings through the trees and then it was off to our final part - a river rafting trip through the chilly waters of Jamaica! What an adventure though! Again, this was an excursion that I would highly recommend to anyone. After our trip back to ship, we didn't want to spend too much time on the island so we made our way back to the ship and enjoyed lunch in the buffet and some time aboard.
Our at sea days were great and we enjoyed the shows, food, bingo and laying out. Very relaxing...something we could get used to quickly.
Following our demarkation back in Florida, we spent an extra night in Fort Lauderdale. It was very relaxing and we took advantage of our last day of vacation.
Back in Michigan, July just flew by. We enjoyed some time with family and lots of downtime, enjoying summer and catching up Kaleb with some adventures of his own.
