First Cruise

We finally decided to try a cruise. So with fingers crossed that I wouldn't get seasick, we set sail Feb.18, 2012 on a 7 day Eastern Caribbean Cruise. We decided to go with Norwegian Cruise Line and departed out of Miami. I enjoyed booking the excursions and we decided to make some dinner reservations ahead of time. 

Welcome Aboard!

So long Miami

Casino gaming bar!

Our first night there we ate at Cagney's Steakhouse. Food was good and the
cheesecake was even better.

After dinner we strolled around the ship.

 
 Our first 2 days on the ship were "at sea days." So that meant we had plenty of time to explore the ship and chill out. We love to play Scrabble so there were many, many, many games played over the week.

Our daily breakfast/coffee spot on
our balcony

 The first full day on the ship was cool and windy. We had to take cover behind the plexi-glass just to stay on the upper deck. It was still a beautiful day and I had made it 16 + hrs on the ship with no nausea!!

Margarita tasting...yummo
Met some nice people and had some
tasty Margaritas

One of many awesome sunsets

2 of the performers

Night #2 we went to a dinner show, "Cirque Dreams and Dinner." It was like Cirque du Soleil with dinner! We sat up top in the balcony area so we had a great view.

 This would be our Scrabble attire and beverages of choice. What better place to play Scrabble than the bar?! We even had the bar staff interested in who was beating who. They would come by and check the tally even when they were not serving our area.

One of the best and most entertaining meals we had was
at Teppanyaki. This guy was very talented and the food
was delish!

Our heart rice

 One night we went to "The Legends Show". The show was great, they sounded very close to the real thing.

"Madonna"

"Steven Tyler"

All of our towel art animals.

A sunrise

Gathering of the boats

Another night we went to the "Blue Man Group" show. If you have never been to one they are a must see. Always very entertaining. We also enjoyed several smaller attractions like dueling pianos, comedy shows and musical shows. I did have one day of nausea when the seas were rough so I spent most of the day in our cabin with medications. David enjoyed a Martini tasting while I was laid up.

I don't think I ever mention the name of the ship, Norwegian Epic. It is huge!!! We had a wonderful week and were so glad that we finally tried a cruise. We now had the CRUISE BUG!!!!

I know that I did not mention any of the stops we made. I decided to give each place it's own blog posting. They all deserve equal exploration! So check back for more about St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Nassau......

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

For many years if we took a vacation is was usually to the beach (N.C or S.C coast) or to the mountains if N.C. Don't get me wrong, these were always great vacations and I love both locations. However, I have always wanted to visit others countries and with the girls grown and starting their own journeys we were finally able to start exploring the world. Not that they were holding us back, but as they leave the nest it does free up room in the pocketbook!

2009 was our break out year! October 2009 was going to be our 25th wedding anniversary so we decided what better time to spread our wings. I started looking at possible adventures for us to do; cruises, resorts, all-inclusive...
The list went on and on. We really wanted to go on a cruise at some point but I was afraid I would get sea sick. I have a problem with motion sometimes. I had a friend that recommended a all-inclusive vacation so I focused my researching on that. There are tons of places to go and many resorts that offer all-inclusive
vacations. We settled on Couples Sans Souci Resort in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

The beach just outside our room.

Some of the view on our ride from the airport to the
resort. It was a wild and bumpy ride. There are not many
driving laws and if there are they are not followed!

We had a beautiful room just steps from the beach. Large bathroom, separate sitting room, in room bar/fridge that was stocked daily!

 This was the view from our room. The beach was just at the end of the paved path. To the right of the paved path was a pool with a bar. So we had the best of both worlds, pool and beach. The places to eat were an easy walk to get to and the food was amazing.

Some of the amazing sweets we got to choose from.



The final night there is a big party. They set up on the lawn and have tons
of food and music.
 

One night during the week they have a Jamaican BBQ kinda night out on
the beach. They have local talent come to entertain. It was pretty
awesome.

This was our favorite place to eat. We had breakfast here everyday and dinner
a lot of the nights. We did try out some of the other restaurants but
thought this was the best place.

Our favorite bar tender and teacher. He told us a lot about the island and
its people. The people of Jamaica were very friendly. Everyone at the
resort was very friendly.

One of the many ice sculptures at the last night party event.

David enjoying the pool!

Enjoying a paddle boat ride.

David learned to scuba dive. He went out twice and had a great time. I
was too chicken to try. After watching them learn in the pool, I am glad that
I didn't try it. I would never have been able to go deep underwater with
the mask and breathing stuff. We did go snorkeling and both of us
fell in love with it.

One of the resident sea turtles

Couples Sans Souci Resort

Not only did we learn to snorkel, we had our first couples massage. All I can say is HEAVEN.....

We hated to see the week end!

                            But stay tuned, we have many more exciting travels ahead...