This post is long overdue and brace yourself, I really did try to keep it brief. So, here is an overview of the mind boggling fabulous cruise we went on with my immediate family and Weztel aunts, uncles, cousins and Nana:

Saturday, December 15:

 We awoke at 3:30 a.m. and flew from SLC to Miami via a layover in Houston where we met up with Mom, Dad and Brad. Because we didn’t want to risk missing the ship the next day, everyone flew in on Saturday. After checking into our hotel we attempted to go to a “recommended” local restaurant but after sitting down to dirty glasses with a germ-o-phobe brother, we immediately left and went to Pollo Tropical and then headed back to the hotel for playing cards and catching up with everyone arriving.

Sunday, December 16:

Sunday we piled our luggage into a trailer and hitched a ride to the pier. We did some quick math so bear with us…there are on average 3,000 guests per ship and usually 4 ships in the pier at once. There are about another 1,500 workers per ship so we’re already up to 18,000 people (not to mention the workers on the pier). Now, guests leave the ship between 6:30 a.m. and noon and then the next week’s guests begin arriving ON the ship at 1:30 p.m. To get to the point, that is one heck of turnover time and a lot of people in a small vicinity. OK, back on track. Once we arrived we were helped by a very nice gentleman with a rather unique “accent” (if you can call it that and Steven does an amazing impersonation of it). The day was spent exploring the ship, experiencing the ever present safety drill, bidding bon voyage and beginning the dining room experience of steak, lobster, shrimp, various types of fish, duck, pasta with truffle sauce, gourmet soups and beautiful desserts. That evening the show was a acrobatic-ribbon dancer, which was amazing but quite eccentric, and a comedian.

Monday, December 17

Monday was a day at sea and we all wisely used the time to relax, read and soak up some rays. That evening was the first formal evening and to our surprise each of the girls wore polka dots. Later we went to one of the amazing live shows, which were some of the best live entertainment especially considering it was all happening in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. The show was a Broadway review and covered everything from Phantom to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat to Carousel to Chorus Line.

Tuesday, December 18:

Tuesday afternoon we arrived in San Juan Puerto Rico. My brother-in-law, Jeff, actually opened his mission call on Wednesday and will actually be serving in Puerto Rico! When we got off the ship, we set out to find the historic fort El Morro. We were heading in the right direction but seemed to go in a round about way, which proved to be in our favor because we discovered some of the neatest cobbled streets and buildings in Old Town San Juan. One of my favorite things was an old “park” (more like tropical jungle) that Steven stumbled upon. The fort, with walls standing 7 ft. thick, and its history were extremely interesting. We also saw what is the White House of Puerto Rico, which was completely decked out in Christmas decor. That evening we went to the newer part of San Juan to the restaurant Ropa Vieja, which is a restaurant that one of my dad’s branch members (a Puerto Rican native) said was a must eat. As a fellow connoisseur of cooking with spices I absolutely LOVED the meal. The combination of spices were SO unique and surprising. You know it’s seasoned well when my dad and I don’t have to add any salt.

Wednesday, December 19

Wednesday morning we awoke to the island of St. Thomas. Being there was especially fun for Benj and Gretch because they honeymooned there a few years ago. Immediately after getting off the ship we boarded the Castaway Girl catamaran and sailed to Duck Island to go snorkeling. As we sailed on the catamaran, the view of St. Thomas was picturesque. Imagine mountains covered in dense, dark green, tropical foliage spotted throughout the crystal-clear blue water and you’ve arrived to the Virgin Islands. Snorkeling was such a fun adventure especially since Steven’s goggles fit over his glasses, mom got to use a pair of prescription goggles and Kent and Mar have an underwater digital camera. This excursion was one of my favorite parts of the entire trip. You can put me on a huge sail boat in the middle of the Caribbean and go snorkeling, spotting sea turtle, barracudas and beautiful coral ANY DAY! After snorkeling, we met up with Dad (he gets a little too sea sick to have been able to enjoy that excursion) and then went into town to shop the flea markets, open-air stores and to grab a pina colada or two. That evening we celebrated Nana’s birthday, which was in June, at dinner and had the dining room joining us in her birthday song. After dinner, we went to a magic show.

Thursday, December 20

Thursday morning we awoke in St. Maarten (ahhh the beauty of cruising). IF we HAD to choose, Steven and I both agree that St. Maarten was probably our favorite island because it had a little something for everyone. In the morning, Steven and I explored the town and pier. We again found cobble stone streets, pastel colored buildings and palm trees lining sidewalks letting us know we could be no where else but the Caribbean. We found a street called “Old Street,” which had classic Sinatra Christmas songs blaring and equally decorated. We then met up with my parents, Benj and Gretch and went to a zipline in the middle of the extremely dense, tropical foliage. The zip-line was exhilarating, exciting and challenging. By the end of the course, we were each pouring sweat which felt extremely rewarding after the past few day’s food consumption. After the zip line we relaxed in a chique, open-air lounge and sipped on (once again) some more pina coladas. When returned back to the pier, Steven and I caught a taxi and went to Orient Bay, the French Riviera of the Caribbean. Every stereotypical idea of a Caribbean beach was there: white sands, crystal clear water, shades of blue you’ve never seen before and yes even some nudy-ba-tutties! We lounged on some chairs under an umbrella and played in the water before heading back to the ship.

Please keep in mind this picture was taken with the water up to my chest and you can STILL see what color of toenail polish I’m wearing! The water was clear as bathwater!

Friday, December 21 & Saturday, December 22

Friday and Saturday were both days at sea and spent basically doing everything on the ship we hadn’t done yet. Oh, I should mention that every night after the shows we went hot tubbing on the upper deck of the ship, which was perfect because the water was hot and we had the cool ocean breeze. Afterwards, we would go to the pizzeria (mind you it was 1-2 a.m.) for fresh pizza and then would walk down the promenade to the European cafe for fresh baked goodies. Friday and Saturday we did karaoke, surfed, climbed the rock wall, mini golfed, shuffle boarded, went to the ice skating show and I should also mention that we went to this interactive game-show called the Quest where Steven helped our team come in 3rd place by adorning a woman’s bra and purse and shirtless while grooving out…it was fabulous (he’s such a good sport).

For dinner on Friday, we went to Chops grill which is a specialty steak house and extremely posh posh. We enjoyed sharing memories and stories with one another and just some fun bonding time. After Saturday’s dinner, we went to a Shrek inspired show that was insane. The plot was traditional fairy tales set to modern/popular music (oh and of course they had a live orchestra in an orchestra pit that moved up and down…remember all in the middle of the ocean).

They had karaoke booths with a green screen behind you and you could record your song. The booths also had windows that you could choose to make transparent for passerbys to see or you could have them fogged. Steven and I performed “Summer Lovin” from Grease in one  of the shows.