We're Home!!

Home from our week-long vacation. Had a wonderful time!

I blogged a bit about our cruise last Thursday:

This is the last day of our cruise. We left Sunday afternoon (Halloween), and were out at sea for a day and a half. Tuesday, we spent the afternoon on Grand Cayman Island. And Wednesday, we spent the day on Cozumel island. We will arrive in Miami tomorrow morning (Friday) and will spend the entire day getting home. I've had a WONDERFUL time, but cannot wait to get home to my girls!

This cruise has been great. We have spent a lot of time just resting and relaxing; I would order room service and eat my lunch on our balcony overlooking the Caribbean. Last night, they set up a "Chocoholic Buffet," and Dustin got a couple plates full of various chocolate cakes. He couldn't finish them, so my breakfast this morning consisted of chocolate cakes at 8:30am on a beautiful morning at a sea. ;D Although I think at that point, I was looking out at the Gulf of Mexico...

We've roamed the ship, eaten a ton of food (they have various eating places set up that are open most of the time and are free, though I am pleased to report that I gained no weight), and relaxed on our balcony. We've also gone to some shows. Norwegian has a partnership with Chicago's Second City, so we went to three nights of comedy shows, featuring the talents of Emmy-nominated comedians. Hilarious. We went to a movie one night at the cinema. (It really is not much of a cinema, but we still enjoyed the movie.) Another night, we dressed up and went to a nice restaurant that had really delicious food. Afterward, we relaxed in the hot tub under the stars, followed by another night with Second City's comedy troupe.

The islands we've stopped at have been really fun also. We shopped and spent time on the beach in Grand Cayman. It was hot!! I had forgotten since my past travels that the sun down here is not the same as the sun in Illinois, even on it's brightest, hottest day. So I got a little sunburnt.

Now, Cozumel was especially enjoyable. We signed up for a shore excursion, and were taken to Playa Mia Grand Beach Park, a resort about 15 minutes or so outside of downtown Cozumel. Once there, we donned chef hats and aprons and spent the next hour and half learning how to make delicious Mexican food. While our very charismatic chef taught us how to make mini huaraches and fish filet wrapped in banana leaves, his assistants continued to bring us rounds of drinks, as well as all the supplies and ingredients we needed. Now, that was a way to cook!! After a little more shopping, we boarded the ship to head back to the states.

So, I know the biggest concerns about a cruise ship are the room sizes and the swaying of the boat. First, yes, the rooms are really small. Our room is smaller than we expected, though it holds a Queen size bed, a small couch, and a couple of tables. But with the addition of mirrors on the walls and the floor-to-ceiling sliding doors, the smallness is not bothersome in any way because it is open to the wide seas. Especially when you come back to it every afternoon and evening to see it all cleaned up, with cute little pillow animals on the bed, it feels like a very nice place to stay. The other issue: yes, the boat sways a bit. We haven't had any queasiness from it at all, though we now find ourselves in a permanent state of vertigo. It seems even on solid ground, our blood is still sloshing around a bit. ;)

I was able to call the girls yesterday, and talk for just a bit. I am especially anxious to get home to Claire, since it sounds like she came down with something and isn't sleeping well. I know she is in very good hands, but I want to take care of her. :(

While we have really enjoyed this time on Norwegian Dawn, we have realized that it is not our style of cruising. This particular ship seems more appealing to the rowdy, drinking type. Next cruise we take, we will chose a more "mature" cruise line. Also, we are on a Freestyle cruise, meaning you can wear whatever, whenever, and do whatever, whenever. I think most people would want that, since it it your vacation and you need to relax. The problem with freestyle, however, is that is means sitting across the restaurant from a person hanging out from her bathing suit, and her hair a big mousy, tangled mess sticking up from her head. Honestly, after a couple days, I was annoyed with the sloppiness of people. I was up every morning, doing my hair and putting on make-up. This is because I actually had five whole days where I could do this uninterrupted and in my own time frame, and I was going to take advantage of it!

I did not bring my digital camera with me on the trip because we had limited space and I didn't want it to be getting in my way. So I do not have any pictures to show you. :( I did take some with a disposable camera, that are, in fact, still in existence.

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Written tonight:
The week really flew by, though I missed the girls. But the girls did great, despite a bad sickness that Claire had. Lara continues to tell me that she had a lot of fun at all her visits. They are both tired and have taken long naps the last couple of days. Dustin and I are still suffering from vertigo...actually, the correct term for it is "land-sickness," meaning that Dustin and I had adjusted so well to the movement on sea, that we are not currently accustomed to the stability of ground. :) It's just annoying; no sickness is involved. While on the ship, I found the gentle movement to generally be quite relaxing, especially while falling asleep.

But now it is back to reality. *Sigh...* Dustin and I are incredibly lucky to have such wonderful parents who were willing to sacrifice their time and sleep to watch our children. I know it was not an easy thing, but they survived, and the girls seemed to have a blast!