Two Tickets to Paradise

Okay, we didn't tell you about this trip, but we went on a sea cruise and it makes what we are about to do just that much less luxurious. We were aboard Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas on a 6 night vacation. We left from Fort Lauderdale and just returned yesterday.

George Town, Grand Cayman was our first port. We didn't plan an excursion for this port but as soon as we got off the shuttle to shore we decided to take a small bus tour around the island. We hit the hot spots; Hell, Dolphin Discovery, 7 mile beach, Old Homestead, and the Governor's House. After looking at the clarity of the water, we wish that we would have headed to the beach to snorkel but we just ran out of time. On the ship, I went to a port shopping seminar and learned that the most purchased item from Grand Cayman are diamonds. Sadly "we" didn't buy any of those. Onward. 

Jamaica was my favorite port. Royal Caribbean built a port in Falmouth so that their two largest ships could dock, as well as to create an upscale shopping area for their passengers. We had a horseback riding excursion planned for this port. The hour long trip to the horse farm was along the coast and really scenic. Scott rode a horse for the first time! Not only did we do a little trail ride through an old sugar cane plantation, we rode in the ocean too. It was seriously a blast, brought back a lot of memories of riding horses through the pond at Bahorel Arabians with my friend Sarah. 

Our final port was the Royal Caribbean owned private island called Labadee, in Haiti. The port was beautiful to pull into, our ship was nearly surrounded by green mountains. The private island had a "Dragon Coaster", a zip line, and plenty of beach coves. It really was the perfect beach day. I got some snorkeling in, and Scott rented this water mat to float around in the ocean all day (which he did). 

The ship experience was great. All of the crew were so friendly and they did a really good job keeping the ship clean. At dinner we opted to sit at a table of six and meet four new people. Lucky for us they sat us at the cool kid's table. We met a couple from Boston, Nikki and Luke and a couple from Toronto, Queenie and Todd. We ended up spending the last two days hanging out together in Labadee and on board the ship during our last sea day. On our last day we climbed the rock wall together (well some of us), watched Todd and his dodge ball team beat the crew, and dined at Johnny Rocket's for our last lunch. 

There was always plenty to do aboard; bingo, trivia, musical shows, comedy shows, seminars, bars, a casino and plenty of dining options. Scott and I got tickets to an ice show which we ended up watching twice because the tricks they did on such a small rink were truly impressive (if you're thinking I had to drag Scott to watch the show both times, think again. He likes the outfits the girls wear). We lost a small fortune to the penny slots in the casino one night after polishing off a bottle of wine. I hit the fitness center a few times, which was a really nice gym with a 180 degree view of the ocean from the bow of deck 11. It was a pretty great vacation. 

We are back in Fort Lauderdale but leaving tomorrow morning for Punta Gorda where we will be reunited with the truck and boat. Looking forward to provision and launch day! 

Resting up at Hotel Uznis, 

Lauren & Scott