I am here in lovely Miami with internet, cell-phone reception and mosquitoes :D
The cruise was more than wonderful and I have so much to show and tell about it.... I hope you enjoy this super long post!
Ok, and I am going to start this post with a question that was asked at one of the game nights. Do your best to figure out the answer:
What is the most popular peacock lime?
Think about it. Wait for it. And see the answer at the end :)
The cruise was more than wonderful and I have so much to show and tell about it.... I hope you enjoy this super long post!
Ok, and I am going to start this post with a question that was asked at one of the game nights. Do your best to figure out the answer:
What is the most popular peacock lime?
Think about it. Wait for it. And see the answer at the end :)
...The Cruise Ship...
Here was my home for the past week! An outrageous floating mansion called "The Brilliance of the Seas"
"This world keeps spinning
And with each new day"
"My mind begins to spread its wings
There's no stopping curiosity"
"I want to turn the whole thing upside down
I'll find the things they say just can't be found"
These cards are the Top 10 best inventions ever.
I was in love with the Big Band show they had. I loved, loved, loved it!
Dad, this picture is for you :)
And it would be rude of me to not give a big "Hello!" to Vanda, our awesome waitress every night. We all loved her dearly
"I'll share this love I find with everyone"
Ok, this is brilliant. Every morning they would put in the day on the elevator floor. SO smart, cause man, it is so easy to forget what day it is!
And these vacuum cleaners made me smile. I want one.
...Aruba...
"We'll sing and dance to Mother Nature's songs"
Oooh Aruba. Aruba was my favorite stop. Aruba
Aruba is "touristy", but it doesn't feel America at all. The locals are very, very nice. They little, colorful town is so much fun to just be in. You know how commercials for cruises or resorts have the sweet little clips of everyone laughing and having fun, with music playing in the background? Well, thats kind of what Aruba is like
They also have unbelievable jewelry. Like, if any guy was smart he would buy a ticket to Aruba, buy an engagement ring there, and fly back. I promise you would pay half the cost of going to the neighborhood Zales. And the rings are just stunning.
I love the colors!!!
Here was my home for the past week! An outrageous floating mansion called "The Brilliance of the Seas" "This world keeps spinning
And with each new day"
"My mind begins to spread its wingsThere's no stopping curiosity"
"I want to turn the whole thing upside downI'll find the things they say just can't be found"
These cards are the Top 10 best inventions ever.I was in love with the Big Band show they had. I loved, loved, loved it!Dad, this picture is for you :)And it would be rude of me to not give a big "Hello!" to Vanda, our awesome waitress every night. We all loved her dearly"I'll share this love I find with everyone"Ok, this is brilliant. Every morning they would put in the day on the elevator floor. SO smart, cause man, it is so easy to forget what day it is!And these vacuum cleaners made me smile. I want one....Aruba..."We'll sing and dance to Mother Nature's songs"
Oooh Aruba. Aruba was my favorite stop. ArubaAruba is "touristy", but it doesn't feel America at all. The locals are very, very nice. They little, colorful town is so much fun to just be in. You know how commercials for cruises or resorts have the sweet little clips of everyone laughing and having fun, with music playing in the background? Well, thats kind of what Aruba is likeThey also have unbelievable jewelry. Like, if any guy was smart he would buy a ticket to Aruba, buy an engagement ring there, and fly back. I promise you would pay half the cost of going to the neighborhood Zales. And the rings are just stunning.I love the colors!!!
... Cayman Islands ....
Grand Cayman was, well, beautiful, but it was kind of a weird day for me.
The day before was my whole sick/fainting/ER day, so I wasn't feeling awesome. I decided not go snorkeling and then, the para-sailing trip was canceled :( bummer.
"I don't want this feeling to go away"
But, God blessed me with a wonderful place to walk around and take pictures! It was perfect for me that day and I had so much fun roaming around the island.
... Costa Rica ....
Ok, so Costa Rica was by FAR the least tourist-y place we went. It was definitely a foreign country.
In the morning Lexie and I went on a zip-line through the rain forest. We left the port at 8:00 am and it was quite a dreary little morning.
We drove our small bus through the city, then up the side of a muddy mountain. I am sure it was not the safest thing in world, but we made it.
Once we were in our flattering harnesses, I was the first of the group to go. It's crazy to be standing at the top of a tree on the top of the mountain and being hooked onto a wire and then jumping off! It was SO fun, though, and I loved how everyone along the route called me "lady." "You ready to go, Lady?" "Walk this way, Lady" "Lady, jump now"
Once we got back, my mom and I shopped in the town and I took pictures, of course.
I love how in the central park there are palm trees covered in names. "Miguel + Maria" "Jose + Andrea" It was cute :)
Speaking of couples, I did meet someone in Costa Rica.
Three someone's.
I completely love these three little guys - Eduardo, Manuel and Ricky 
Mom and I were walking around the city and the come running up "Hello!HELLO! Hi Lady! Do you want to see a sloth? Come, come here!" They grabbed my hand and brought me to a tree and showed me a sloth. "You are so pretty. Wow. You are beautiful. I love you. Look to there more, see, see the sloth?"
Hahahah I really liked them
... Panama ....
Captain of the cruise: "Goooood morning Ladies and Gentleman! We are now passing through the Panama locks and, well, as you can see its a tight squeeze."
I rushed out of bed to see what this Panama Canal was all about. When I got to the window I saw a wall. It was literally less than a foot from me. When he said tight squeeze, he meant tight squeeze. But it actually was pretty fascinating going through the canal!
One of the most amazing parts of the entire trip was as we were passing through the canal, an unmarked, US submarine passed through with us. Another boat had gone right before we did, and the military men in the submarine chose to wait for us because of safety. The submarine was barely above the water, and there were little boats ALL around just decked out with men and machine guns. It was so, so exciting because they were on there way home from war - they all looked so tired, and brave and just happy to be going . I was very proud of all of them and waved my heart out when they passed by (and in doing that I forgot to take a picture) but it was very neat.
Other than that, I didn't see much of Panama... the line to get off was very long and we had a spa treatment to get too :)
I did look over the balcony and saw this, and that was enough of Panama for me!
... Us! ...
Here is the whole group: My grandpa, my Aunt Pam, me mommy :), me and my awesome cousin Lexie
Oh yeah, and Timmy
A major part of cruising is eating. All the food is really good, really accessible and really good.
I ate a lot of it. 
Hahahah and that's why PhotoBooth is awesome haha
Here are some pictures from the formal night :)
I got to wear my favorite, favorite white heels!
My mom has this card game called Phase10 that she loves so much. We all, well, they all played it a lot and totally earned a spot on the blog hehe
My cousin going to be a senior, so I did some portraits of her, which was way fun.
I don't get to see Lexie too much, since she lives on the other side of the country, but I always have too much fun with her. She has the best laugh on the planet and I love to hang out with her!
Early in the week Tim got a bad sunburn, so he was stuck inside for a few days. He played ping-pong like it was his job. There was this little Japanese father-son team that were incredible and Timmy even bet each of them a time or two!
And my mom put up quite a fight for Timmy! She only lost to him by two :) Woohoo!
Mom and Aunt Pam are quite a combo. They make ANYthing 12 times more fun. They laugh so hard, and smile so big and "count the number of times their breath is taken away" ;)
Oh, we also layed out a lot. And got very tan. But we didn't photograph that hahah
Oh yeah! And my mom learned how to text!!!! BIG moment for her
My mom had a great idea to wear t-shirts on the last day to thank Grandpa for taking us on this amazing cruise! He loved it, and so did EvErYoNe else. If you ever want attention, have your family wear matching shirts
And this is me singing a sad-leaving-the-cruise-song :(
I am so grateful that I got to go on this trip - I know that many people don't get to do things like this, and I am blessed beyond words that I was able to! If you ever get a chance to go on a cruise, do it :)
Oh, and what is the most popular peacock lime?
Answer: Do you come here often
Yeah, when men with Romanian accents say "pick-up line" it sounds a lot like "peacock lime"
hahahhaa
Grand Cayman was, well, beautiful, but it was kind of a weird day for me.
The day before was my whole sick/fainting/ER day, so I wasn't feeling awesome. I decided not go snorkeling and then, the para-sailing trip was canceled :( bummer."I don't want this feeling to go away"
But, God blessed me with a wonderful place to walk around and take pictures! It was perfect for me that day and I had so much fun roaming around the island.... Costa Rica ....Ok, so Costa Rica was by FAR the least tourist-y place we went. It was definitely a foreign country.In the morning Lexie and I went on a zip-line through the rain forest. We left the port at 8:00 am and it was quite a dreary little morning.We drove our small bus through the city, then up the side of a muddy mountain. I am sure it was not the safest thing in world, but we made it.
Once we were in our flattering harnesses, I was the first of the group to go. It's crazy to be standing at the top of a tree on the top of the mountain and being hooked onto a wire and then jumping off! It was SO fun, though, and I loved how everyone along the route called me "lady." "You ready to go, Lady?" "Walk this way, Lady" "Lady, jump now"
Once we got back, my mom and I shopped in the town and I took pictures, of course.I love how in the central park there are palm trees covered in names. "Miguel + Maria" "Jose + Andrea" It was cute :)Speaking of couples, I did meet someone in Costa Rica.Three someone's.
I completely love these three little guys - Eduardo, Manuel and Ricky Mom and I were walking around the city and the come running up "Hello!HELLO! Hi Lady! Do you want to see a sloth? Come, come here!" They grabbed my hand and brought me to a tree and showed me a sloth. "You are so pretty. Wow. You are beautiful. I love you. Look to there more, see, see the sloth?"Hahahah I really liked them
... Panama ....
Captain of the cruise: "Goooood morning Ladies and Gentleman! We are now passing through the Panama locks and, well, as you can see its a tight squeeze."I rushed out of bed to see what this Panama Canal was all about. When I got to the window I saw a wall. It was literally less than a foot from me. When he said tight squeeze, he meant tight squeeze. But it actually was pretty fascinating going through the canal!
One of the most amazing parts of the entire trip was as we were passing through the canal, an unmarked, US submarine passed through with us. Another boat had gone right before we did, and the military men in the submarine chose to wait for us because of safety. The submarine was barely above the water, and there were little boats ALL around just decked out with men and machine guns. It was so, so exciting because they were on there way home from war - they all looked so tired, and brave and just happy to be going . I was very proud of all of them and waved my heart out when they passed by (and in doing that I forgot to take a picture) but it was very neat.Other than that, I didn't see much of Panama... the line to get off was very long and we had a spa treatment to get too :)
I did look over the balcony and saw this, and that was enough of Panama for me!... Us! ...
Here is the whole group: My grandpa, my Aunt Pam, me mommy :), me and my awesome cousin LexieOh yeah, and Timmy
A major part of cruising is eating. All the food is really good, really accessible and really good.I ate a lot of it. Hahahah and that's why PhotoBooth is awesome hahaHere are some pictures from the formal night :)
I got to wear my favorite, favorite white heels!My mom has this card game called Phase10 that she loves so much. We all, well, they all played it a lot and totally earned a spot on the blog heheMy cousin going to be a senior, so I did some portraits of her, which was way fun.I don't get to see Lexie too much, since she lives on the other side of the country, but I always have too much fun with her. She has the best laugh on the planet and I love to hang out with her!Early in the week Tim got a bad sunburn, so he was stuck inside for a few days. He played ping-pong like it was his job. There was this little Japanese father-son team that were incredible and Timmy even bet each of them a time or two!And my mom put up quite a fight for Timmy! She only lost to him by two :) Woohoo!Mom and Aunt Pam are quite a combo. They make ANYthing 12 times more fun. They laugh so hard, and smile so big and "count the number of times their breath is taken away" ;)Oh, we also layed out a lot. And got very tan. But we didn't photograph that hahahOh yeah! And my mom learned how to text!!!! BIG moment for herMy mom had a great idea to wear t-shirts on the last day to thank Grandpa for taking us on this amazing cruise! He loved it, and so did EvErYoNe else. If you ever want attention, have your family wear matching shirtsAnd this is me singing a sad-leaving-the-cruise-song :(I am so grateful that I got to go on this trip - I know that many people don't get to do things like this, and I am blessed beyond words that I was able to! If you ever get a chance to go on a cruise, do it :)
Oh, and what is the most popular peacock lime?
Answer: Do you come here often
Yeah, when men with Romanian accents say "pick-up line" it sounds a lot like "peacock lime"
hahahhaa