Spring Break-Day 7

If you've been reading since the beginning, thanks for your patience! Today is the last trip update, I promise:-)

Friday morning we woke up early to meet Caroline and Steve outside to get the best beach chairs. Imagine our shock and dismay to realize not only was it cloudy, but chilly and windy too! Sure, there were plenty of chairs available, but that's because it was miserable outside. We ended up grabbing breakfast and a quick trivia game before we returned to our rooms for more sleep. It was vacation after all. . . The rest of the day was spent alternating between sleep and the casino. I'm also pretty sure I wore out the phrase, "get me off this boat" that day too. With the wind and the rough waters our entrance to Charleston couldn't come soon enough for this girl!

Learning the ways of roulette from Caroline. She and Steve taught themselves and were actually really good!

Bored and stuck on a cruise ship? Find ways to entertain yourself!

That evening we had our very last visitor and addition to the zoo. I borrowed this adorable idea from Pamela!

All in all it was a fabulous trip and I would not hesitate to book another cruise in the future!

Spring Break-Day 6

After a few days off I am back with the final few days of our vacay!

We woke up Thursday morning to unfortunate news. Due to the wind and rough waters our kayak and snorkeling adventure was cancelled. I was upset until I made the quick decision to book an excursion out to a beach resort. It included a 30 minute tour around Freeport followed by a few hours on the beach and lunch at the resort. 

The tour was excellent, made so by our super personable bus driver. The resort itself was nothing like Atlantis had been, but was still better than being stuck on the ship! We settled into some chairs hoping the wind was kept at bay and the sun popped out. Things eventually started going our way, but not before Mr. Mobley had us do a quick workout on the beach! We probably looked ridiculous to all the beach loungers, but our booties had been stationary for too long and we needed to get moving!

Afterwards we settled in for a bit. I got out my book and did some hardcore reading while David explored all the resort had to offer. 

Bahamian beer anyone?

We then headed back to the ship and market area where we met Caroline and Steve for a quick trip to Senor Frog's!

David with the obligatory "yardstick".

Head back over tomorrow for the final details of our trip!

Spring Break-Day 5 (Nassau!)

I woke up super early Wednesday morning with the excitement of a little kid-we were in Nassau! Today was the day we got to swim with dolphins! Trying to contain my excitement was nearly impossible, so I woke up David and we got moving. In my extreme excitement I insisted we get off the boat an hour early. You know,  just in case. Well, rest assured we were there in plenty of time, so we occupied ourselves taking pictures.

 

After waiting in line and taking a quick ride from the boat to Atlantis (where we would be doing the actual swimming) we arrived:

Not too shabby, huh?

Our "visit" with the dolphins didn't start until 12:10, so with a few hours to burn we explored! We saw all sorts of fishies and sea creatures all around. We also hopped in the gorgeous clear-blue water  for a bit.

Please forgive the horrible quality of the following pictures, but they wouldn't let us bring our cameras with us. I guess that was their way of getting us to buy the photo package, which we totally did. The following images are pictures of pictures. Ghetto-fab, I know. . .

I loved every second of it, but David was not so into it. He was scared that any second Noah (the dolphin) would suddenly lose his mind and attack. We live to tell the tales, so he didn't. It was so neat getting up close and personal with them!

 Since it was Steve's birthday our waiters brought his dessert with a candle and had the dining room singing!

There was also a singalong from the dining room staff. Andrew (left) and Boris (right) got a little too into "Apple Bottom Jeans"!

 We must have been blessed by the cruise gods because Steve was chosen to participate as the team captain for the Scavenger Hunt at that evening's show. The premise was that the host would ask for semi-ridiculous items and someone in the room had to have them (you could not leave the room to find it). The team that had the most items won. It was so much fun scrambling around for some pretty random items in our purses and pockets. 

The game got even better when they requested one member of the audience be wrapped in toilet paper, as if in a wedding dress. David was our guinea pig:

The final way to earn points was to dress your team captain like a woman. Steve rocked it!

 What better way to celebrate your birthday than with a Carnival Cruise victory??

Come back tomorrow for Day 6 in Freeport!

Spring Break-Day 4

We awoke early Day 4 to get out and soak up some sun while we were at sea. Too bad the rest of the ship felt the same way! After some finagling Caroline was able to procure us a few chairs with a great view.

That afternoon Caroline and I headed to the spa for a 75-minute treatment including full body massage and facial. It was glorious. Not so glorious? The outrageous prices of the products the masseuse tried to get me to buy. $56 for an 8-oz tube of moisturizer? Not happening, lady. 

After a wonderful catnap we got all gussied up for formal night!

Dinner's selection was fantastic. So fantastic in fact that my husband devoured five, yep FIVE, entrees. I have no idea where he puts it all. . .

Enjoying the prime rib.

Tearing up lobster number three.

That evening we headed back to the casino for more video poker for the ladies and blackjack for the fellas!

We turned in pretty early that evening in anticipation of our first stop-Nassau!

Stop by tomorrow for Day 5 of our trip!

Spring Break-Day 3

We awoke bright and early Monday morning ready to hit the road to Charleston! One minor problem, David was on his last pair of contacts. After a quick pit stop at the eye doctor's office we were on our way!

After 4 hours of interstate driving and almost an hour of traffic in Charleston we were finally aboard. . .

From the moment we stepped on board we were busy exploring all there was to see and do while we waited for Caroline and Steve to join us.

 Gotta love the billowing hair as we set sail.

After the obligatory test run of sinking procedures we headed to the dining room for our first evening of gorging ourselves. Our waitstaff, Andrew and Boris, were absolutely hysterical and had us in fits of giggles the entire time. We opted for the "choose your time" dining plan, but we fortunate enough to have these two gentlemen every evening!

Following supper (forgot pictures this evening-sorry!) we headed to the "lounge" for the evening's activities. On the schedule? A trivia game! The first round was full of random questions, but all four of us were pretty confident with our answers. When the second round came around they were in search of some new faces and thanks to David's enthusiasm they chose him! 

 

 That's David on the far left!

He didn't win it all due to a minor Star Wars/Terminator blunder. He did earn a pretty sweet Carnival Cruises medal! Score! 

Following the show we briefly hit up the casino where I learned the very addictive game of video poker before we returned to our home away from home:

Wasn't as bad as I was expecting.

Stay tuned for Day 4 of Spring Break 2013!

Spring Break-Day 1 and 2

We have returned! I am pleased to say we not only survived, but thrived on our cruise with no issues! I'm going to spend the next few posts recapping our fabulous week. . .

We kicked Spring Break off at my parent's house celebrating Easter. Mama was running a 5K around Downtown Winston Salem on Saturday morning and asked me to join her. I didn't have high hopes for my performance considering I pigged out on cookie cake the evening before (not sorry) and ate a spoonful of peanut butter the morning of. So, you can imagine my excitement when I logged this:

That's right, folks, I shaved time! Whoo hoo!

Mama got a PR too!

Hello there Winston Salem. . .

Heyyyyy, Foothills Brewery!

That afternoon Mama treated our "aching" feet to pedicures and I must say I am rocking the Cajun Shrimp! Daisy took part in some sun bathing. . .

Day 2 of Spring Break had us at our home church, Hope Church enjoying a delicious breakfast and celebrating the resurrection of our Lord. We then headed on over to Mama and Papa Mobs' house for Easter supper and visiting. We also took in a few basketball games and a pretty dreadful break for poor Kevin Ware. 

Stay tuned for setting sail on Day 3!