We flew to Tampa the day before our sail date as a precaution- don't want to miss your cruise due to a delayed plane. We stayed at Chase Suite Hotel with their Snooze n Cruise package. It was a great hotel- way more than we needed, clean, nice pool, they provided a free shuttle service, and was located right next to Bahama Breeze which is one of my favorite restaurants and where we ate dinner! We thought about going to Clearwater for the day, but it would've cost way too much for a taxi so we just hung out by the pool.
Tampa we have arrived!!
Our view at Bahama Breeze!
The next morning our shuttle dropped us off at the cruise terminal and we were actually able to board the ship hours before we thought we would have! The rest of the day was spent exploring the ship and watching our departure from the top deck.
The first day at sea was spent lounging by the pools, eating a lot of yummy food, taking pictures, and enjoying a few comedy shows.
Pulling away from Tampa Bay
One of the beautiful sunrises!
Next up was Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands- our favorite part of the entire trip! We booked a Stingray City excursion and it was incredible. We took a bus ride from the port to the "Yacht Club" where we boarded a Catamaran. It was about a 45 minute sail to the sandbar- in the middle of the ocean- where the water is only 3ft deep and hundreds of Stingrays come to interact with us humans. The water was crystal clear and the stingrays weren't scary at all! We fed, kissed, held, and interacted with them for about an hour. It was such a unique and cool experience! Something I would definitely recommend!
She really liked my husband ;)
The following day was our second and final port of call- Cozumel, Mexico. We booked a Mayan Ruins and beach tour and to be honest it was kind of a flop. We think that's partially due to how awesome the Grand Cayman excursion was. It just didn't even compare, but it wasn't horrible either. If we ever do go back to Cozumel we'll be renting mopeds and choosing a beach instead.
Our last fun day at sea and complete day was spent the same way the first one was- eating a lot, laying out for the majority of the day, and just enjoying each others company.
I always had an ice cream cone in my hand ;)
We had an amazing time and can't wait to take our next vacation together! We will definitely be cruising again one day.
I am so freaking jealous of the swimming with stingrays! I died laughing at the photo of Thomas kissing the first one. Too cute. hah. ♥
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh that water!!! Take me there!
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