I've been on a cruise

 It was a welcome change from our gloomy cold winter days...an eight day cruise to the Caribbean.

The morning I was scheduled to fly out at 6am to board the ship that day, started off bad.

I got a text from the airline that the flight was rescheduled to leave at 10am...four hours later and not enough time to get to the ship!

  I went ahead to the airport anyway and they worked with me and got me there a bit sooner. By the time I collected my suitcase and found the taxi area (too late for my prearranged transportation), I had only an hour to get to the port...a 45 to 50 minute drive! 

The taxi driver saved the day when he found out my predicament. He drove really fast!

I was the last person on the ship with only 12 minutes before boarding time cut off.

Everything turned out okay though. In the future I won't risk flying the day of the cruise...I will fly a day early.

So, the first port stop was Nassua, Bahamas. There were five big cruise ships in port that day...a lot of visitors!

I had scheduled a trip to Blue Lagoon Island which included a sailing there on an open double decker boat.

Lots of beach goers but plenty of chairs.  This was a pretty good view.

Another port was Coco Cay, Royal Caribbean's private island. They have a huge water park there and all sorts of activities.

I was just interested in beach time.

I'll tell you how I got a seat so close to the ocean. It's sort of funny to me...in the next chairs were a young couple, and the lady had on one of those thong bikini bottoms.

I mean her whole butt was bare.

I guess men couldn't sit there without their wives getting angry about them enjoying the view...so the seats were empty.

I didn't mind...butts all look alike to me. Sorry, no photos. That's just my knee in the photo below.

Getting back on the ship. It is huge. It is the largest cruise ship in the world. That is, until it's slightly bigger sister ship is completed.

Later there was a port stop in Jamaica. My tour there was disappointing. It was described as a tour of the city then beach day, but it was mostly a bus tour and only 45 minutes beach time. It was sad to see the dirt and trash everywhere in the city and unemployed men hanging around on the street corners.

I wished I had stayed on the ship that day.

I did see these pretty little birds at the beach...

My favorite stop was Labadee Haiti.  Royal Caribbean either bought or leased this area and it is fenced and secured for guest safety.

 Beautiful blue water with views of jungle mountains.

Here is the ship...Wonder of the Seas. My cabin was on the 8th deck in that windowless front corner.

It was fine though, clean and quiet.

Another beach day for me.  Actually I was to the side of the beach area.

Still near the ocean but no swimming from these rocks. Quiet and relaxing here.

I wonder if the beach sand was here or did they ship it in from elsewhere?

Late in the afternoon...I practically had the beach to myself as everyone headed back to the ship.

There is so much entertainment and activities on the ship. Royal Caribbean has something for everyone.

I did get to see their major shows, including an ice skating musical and a high dive performance show.  Of course there is plenty of food of all kinds. 

Lots of families and children on board. With so much going on it can be a little difficult to just find a quiet spot to sit and gaze out at the ocean. That makes me miss having a balcony cabin.

I had a wonderful time though. It was uplifting and refreshing. I'm looking forward to going again.