Miami to Grand Cayman to Jamaica and Back...

Saturday, March 29, 2008-Day 21-Florida
This morning I wanted to go for a run, but it was stil dark in Florida, so I hit up the continental breakfast instead. After we left Palm Coast, FL, where we spent the night last night, we headed south on I-95; the side of the freeway has a brick fence with colored fish on it. Near the port we stopped at the mall so I could buy some "cruise" clothes, since all I had were backpacking clothes, and apparently they aren't the same thing. By then it was 2:20 and the ship was setting sail at 4. The port parking was very confusing, so after circling several times (which means being 13 again in the backseat of the car with mom yelling at dad over directions), we finally dropped off our luggage and parked super far away from the ship. After making it through security, we walked on board at 3:45 and headed straight to eat...we were soooo hungry. The food was okay; it reminded me of a Vegas buffet; actually the whole ship reminds me of Vegas. Later, I went to the spa raffle, where I won 50% off of some service I have never heard of before, but it was recently featured on Oprah, so I guess it must be good. I go ahead and book it, but cancel later when the only time they have is when I will be in Jamaica. After that there is free liquor tasting on the Promenade deck, so I head up there and taste something called "Sheridans" from Ireland...it is like chocolate milk for grown ups. Before dinner I head up to the Olympic Jogging Track; there's a strong breeze, but there is no one else around and it's the only place on the ship where I can get some peace and serenity. In the middle of the track is a miniature golf course, which I might have to check out later (turns out I never did in 5 days of cruising). We are signed up for the late dinner at 8:15, and when we arrive there is a young couple already there named Kelly and Brian; they are from Oklahoma. There are 5 empty seats at our table and I don't know if they just missed the boat or came, saw us, and left. After dinner, Kelly, Brian and I head upstairs to the karaoke bar; where the old men on the ship are singing enough slow songs to make you want to jump off the side. After a while I throw down my rendition of "Preacher Man," but it's hard to follow a nine year old singing Michael Jackson. We eventually head to the dance club, where Kelly and I are the only 2 white girls on the dance floor (see cruise, day 2), but the music is good and we have fun. I don't know what time it is, but we decide to call it quits and go out on deck. What we learned is that you can't see anything at night from a ship out in the middle of the ocean.

Sunday, March 30, 2008-At Sea
This morning began early as mom woke me up to see if I was interested in running. My headache (hence, rum and cokes, karaoke, dancing late on a ship) were not so interested, but I drug my ass up anyway to visit the "Olympic" jogging track, where I logged 2 miles, then rewarded myself in the steam room. It is a funny feeling laying there, while the boat is rocking underneath you. After breakfast in the Pride Dining Room, I decide to visit the pool up on Lido deck. Once I got there I see 3 empty chairs, except for one pair of flip flops, so I gently move them over and make myself comfy before some lady says she has been sitting there for two hours and so has her family of ten. I bust out my Carnival Information sheet that reads "you can't reserve seats" which only makes her want to be my friend even less (since I am not here to make friends, I am fine with this). So, I point to the sign that indicates you can't reserve chairs which is right behind her head before I move to a chair on the opposite side (because I am so nice). Later in the afternoon I team up with the women to play "Battle of the Sexes." At a score of 17-12 the women handily beat the men, a big thanks to the drunk lady with umbrellas in her hair. I find out there's a library on ship and head over to check out a book...soon it's dinner time and we will have formal night tonight. Now, some people need to look up "formal" in the dictionary. Because to them it's simply changing out of their hunting gear and into jeans. I'm not really one to talk RIGHT NOW, since I've been backpacking for a month, but at least I found time to buy a semi-formal dress between Belize and Miami and some glittery heels. There are 2 new girls at our table-Anna and Erika-they are from Michigan and are cruising with their mom. Our table is a lot of fun and we are having a blast! For dinner tonight it's the lobster and shrimp and dessert is a Carnival Classic of warm chocolate melting cake. OK-this stuff is like liquid crack-it is addictive as hell and we all order 2 every night for the rest of the cruise. After dinner, me, Kelly, Brian and dad headed to the show titled "Coming to America," which was pretty ironic since none of the ships workers are from the USA and none of them know the words to the songs. ha ha At midnight there was an adult only comedy show by Perry Cruse II-he also gave a show last night-and he was hilarious. He gave a bit about the club last night and how there were only 2 white girls on the dance floor (hmmm....)...After that I decided to go to bed since we have to get up for Grand Cayman tomorrow.

Monday, March 31, 2008-Day 23-Grand Cayman
6:00 am came way too early. Since I had no idea today was even a port day, I was totally unprepared for the madness that lay before me. As mom and I had breakfast, the Imagination ship pulled into Grand Cayman Island. The ship anchored off shore, and we were shuttled in a boat to the island. Once we land, we looked into renting scooteres, but are told they are "Dangerous" as most drivers don't keep an eye out for scooters. As we tour around on foot, looking at all the banks Grand Cayman is famous for, we see a memorial set up the maritime soldiers and a mini bus operator. We shell out $2.50/pp and head North to the turtle farm. Once there we pay $18 US and join up with a tour from the ship (except we didn't have to do the ship excursion) to learn about sea turtles. They have big ones, little ones-tanks full of them! We get to hold them, pet them and learn how they are hatched, etc. Afterwards, we walked to HELL!!! Literally, HELL, Grand Cayman, BWI. It's about 1.5 miles South of the turtle farm, but it was like 85 degrees outside with a beach bag. Once I arrived in HELL, I visited the 2 places there (post office and gift shop) before leaving and heading to Cemetary Beach. It was supposed to have the best snorkeling on the island. As soon as I was in the water I saw fish, and decided to venture farther out. There were fish EVERYWHERE!!! They were following me all over the place and the fish even swam right into me! I videoed it because I know you people won't believe me. When we were done snorkeling we headed back to the shipa nd I gave myself a tour; I suddenly found an adult only area with 2 hot tubs-why have I been hanging out on Lido all this time? I get lost in the hot tub for 2 hours and watch Grand Cayman disappear. At dinner everyone orders 2 desserts (b/c we can) and the waiters dance for us while we spin our napkins around. Kelly and I think it's a GREAT idea for everyone to go back to karaoke; I urge all the girls to sing and Brian nicknames us "The White Supremes." After looking over the songs we choose "I will Survive," but it gets sung twice before us so we change to "Proud Mary." This means I have to go back to the room so I can incorporate my harmonica-it's the only prop that might save us. Now, I must tell you that there are 2 types of karoke singers on a cruise ship: 1-the kind of singers who sound like me. Those that suck and are tone deaf, but still sing and have a good time and know it. 2-the kind of singers who sing at church and the choir director tells them good job, then they come on a cruise w/ all their church fiends who tell them good job, even though they suck just as bad as me. So, needless to say, this evening is hillarious and the four of us are drinking fast for liquid courage (even though they don't know I could get to the lamplighter and landing in my sleep). When we get up there it's going OK, until I bust out my harmonical skills, at which point the room erupts into cheers and then we all just laught and I get so flustered I run out of breath. The end of karaoke.

Since our cruise fame has ended, we decide to give the dance club another try. There's a lot more people in there tonight and mom joins us on the dance floor to show everyone what moves we have brought to international waters. At some point we all decide we should get some sleep since apparently we are headed to Jamaica tomorrow.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008-Day 24-Jamaica
I am tired, so very tired. And today I am supposed to go hike Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica. At 6:20 someone knocks on the door...Room Service...oh', yeah', I ordered coffee delivered. Thank God. I drink coffee on the way to breakfast and eat as I watch Jamaica pull into view. It is beautiful-all green and mountainous. We are in Ochos Rios, which is on the Northern Tip. I head off the boat and take photos while I wait for mom and dad. We are shuttled over to Dolphin's Cove, where we are supposed to snorkel with stingrays. They give us some band and write a number on it, but we end up sitting around for 45 minutes while they help people swim with dolphins. I asked the lady when we were snorkeling with stingrays and she said after we watched the dolphins, so I informed her (not so kindly) that we didn't pay $89 to watch other people swim with dolphins. In the meantime, we walk around and spot an iguana, which the guide lets us hold, so I guess the wait was worth it. After only seeing one stingray the entire group angrily leaves shouting something like "I want my money back from Carnival." Our next stop is Dunn's River Falls; apparently, this is THE THING to do when you go to Jamaica. It's a 600-feet climb up rocks and waterfalls. We throw our stuff in a locker and follow the guide; there are like 20 people in our group and we are all supposed to hold hands as we go up this thing. The falls are beautiful and I am so happy I am in Jamaica doing this. It is a once in a lifetime experience; hiking the falls with my parents. After the falls mom and dad go shopping at the Taj Mahal and I head to Snorkelers Point Beach. The sand is golden, just like a piece of gold and very soft. The water is clear blue and there are jet skis running through the water and a party yacht with P-Diddy blarring. I park myself under a tree and don't leave until Carnival makes me. Once back on the ship I head to the gym and run on the treadmill as Jamaica disappears then hit up the sushi bar (YUM!!). Once we get back out in the open ocean I head up to the front of the ship and listen to my IPOD as the sun disappears; it is so beautiful. The ocean is such a dark, deep, blue and the sun is so dark. What a nice evening. I am the only person up here...After dinner I head to bed early and rest up. Tomorrow is the last night on the cruise and I want to enjoy it.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008-Day 25-At Sea
This morning I slept late and it felt really good. I headed to the gym and got in a good run before enjoying the steam room and breakfast all to myself. Even though there are 2,700 people on the ship, it is easy to find quiet moments to yourself. After breakfast I threw on my bathing suit and headed to the adults-only area where I remained until 6 p.m. I finished my new book and continued reading my old one. Occasionally I would doze off and listen to my IPOD. I had a lot of plans to join up with the ship's activities today, but that just never panned out. At dinner tonight it was very enjoyable to talk with everyone for one last time. Tomorrow I am going to try and join Anna, Erika, and their mom Sherry in Southbeach. We all headed to the show tonight, which was a collaboration of this week's best karaoke singers (I am so happy we were sitting in the back).

Thursday, April 3, 2008-Day 26-Miami, Florida
Today I fell in love...with Miami. This town is awesome!!! The architecture is amazing, the beach is so clean, the lifeguards actually save people, and apparently no one works (which at this moment is suiting me just fine). I walked down the street at 11 a.m. today and every restaurant was packed, like Richard Walkers Pancake House on a Saturday morning. I am staying 2 blocks from the beach and tonight I'm heading down the street to a place I saw today; I met the General Manager while walking by today and I was snapping photos and he gave me the 411 on Miami. Also, everyone here is beautiful and the sushi is good, too. I love it here. But, tomorrow I must move on. See you girls in Palm Springs and I'll be back in San Diego Monday.