Back to Reality...

My friend and I got back from our first cruise a week ago tonight. We had fun, or at least I did. She was seasick, sore foot, etc., so she didn't have such a good time. What an experience!! This is something I've always wanted to do and I'm so glad I did!! It was sooooo relaxing. We met so many really nice people on the ship. That was the best part of the cruise, I think. And of course, the food was good, just as everyone had told me. But, what surprised me the most was how peaceful and relaxing the sleep was!! The ship rocked me to sleep every night. We had an inside cabin, so it was pitch dark inside the cabin. It was actually the best sleep I've ever had in my entire life. Amazing to think of all the things I did and saw on the fun-filled journey, but the thing I enjoyed the most was truly, the good night's rest for seven nights in a row!

We stopped at Montego Bay, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. While at Jamaica, unfortunately and sadly, seventeen people on a tour bus from our ship were robbed at gunpoint of their money, cameras, passports, and other personal belongings. There were even several children on this bus. Thankfully, none of these people were harmed physically, but I'm sure they were terrified, nonetheless. There is an article about this occurrence on the web-site CruiseCritic.com, under the "news" section. There are also suggestions on this web-site about precautions one should take when taking shore excursions while stopped at these ports.
As first time cruisers, we learned a lot of the do's and don'ts of cruising by asking friends and family members about a million and one questions. We definitely did not get any of the good tips from our travel agent. Now that we have a much better idea of what to expect, the next cruise should be less stressful and way more relaxing. Our next cruise is less than a month away. My friend is not too excited about it, since she was miserable the whole time. However, I am looking forward to it because my daughter(who will turn 15 four days before we leave) is going on this one, along w/one of her friends, and another one of my friends from junior high & high school is going on this one. It will also be a shorter cruise - 5 days, as opposed to 7 days. I think that will be much better. Seven days was a bit too long for me.

The people we met were the best!! I fell in love with one family, in particular. It was a grandmother and grandfather, who were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary!! The grandmother was in her 80's and was just beautiful. She didn't look a day over 60!! Their daughter, Jeannie, and grandson, Mike, among other children and grandchildren (I think 14 in all) were there, as well, to celebrate the occasion. We ran into Grandma, Grandpa, Jeannie, and Mike almost everyday after we met them at Margaritaville in Jamaica. They were the sweetest people, we just loved them to pieces. There were several other couples that we met who were very nice and friendly, but our little 60th wedding anniversary family was our favorite!!

More about the cruise later!! Take care & God Bless. :)