I'll start with an overview, which is more for me than for you because I've come to view this blog as more of a journal of our families memories, than a communication tool for you. If you don't want to hear about it, just skip to the pictures.
We set sail from Galveston on Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas. We are no stranger to cruising as this logged my 10th, Jacob's 7th, and even Brenna's 2nd. But, this was our first cruise with Royal Caribbean. We sailed in a Grand Suite, which was wonderful and included some great suite perks that come along with their Concierge Club. I won't go into all the details, but they did a fabulous job of making sure you were comfortable in all aspects of your vacation. The ship was the largest ship to set sail when it debuted in 1999. Of course, that's not the case now, but it is the biggest ship we've ever cruised with 3,200 passengers and 1,200 staff. The ship was beautiful both inside and out. Much more elegant than other ships we've sailed (with the exception of Holland America's Westerdam). There were more bars than I can count, in-line skating, putt-putt golf, rock climbing wall, basketball court, a casino, an arcade, an ice skating rink, and four pools, just to name a few things. And we managed to hit it all over the week!
The Ship - Royal Caribbean's Voyage of the Seas
Adventure Ocean Arcade
Our Room - Grand Suite
The Royal Promenade
Cleopatra's Needle and the Royal Dinning Room
La Scala Theater
The Casino Royale
The Solarium - Adult Pool
The Pool Deck
Adventure Beach - Kids Pool
Johnny Rockets
The Rock Wall with Basket Ball Court below
Adventure Ocean Arcade
Our Room - Grand Suite
Leaving Galveston
I was anxious to start taking pictures, so I got my camera out and sat on the balcony as we pushed away from the dock and started our journey out of the muddy waters of the Gulf Coast.
And if any of you are thinking of changing careers to bring in the big bucks that the Galveston Ship Pilots make (which is about $460k a year!!!) then you should be aware of one of the hazards of the job. This small pilot boat pulled against the cruise ship at full speed for the pilot to disembark.
The next two days were very slow paced. We really enjoyed these two days on board, just relaxing and exploring the ship. I came prepared with lots of "in-room" activities for Brenna that would give Jacob and me some down-time as well. Here's Brenna playing with her butter beans.
Cozumel, Mexico
As seen from our balcony bright and early
Despite the fact that I've been to Cozumel more times than I can remember, it's still one of my favorite Western Caribbean ports. On our last cruise with Brenna, we took her to Chankanaab to swim with the Dolphins, but we didn't have time to enjoy the rest of the park. So, we decided to the return to Chankanaab for a long promised beach day for Brenna. The park did not disappoint. It's so beautiful there it looks like it came straight off a post card. We had perfect weather for the entire cruise and Cozumel was picturesque with clear blue skies and beautiful turquoise water.
Here's Brenna getting off the boat and ready for her day at the beach.
First we hit the beach for some sand and water play time
This pelican wandered into the lagoon where we were swimming and soon located his lunch. He was less than 10 feet from me in water no deep than 4 feet when he quickly scooped up a fish for lunch. You can see from the pictures he had no trouble swallowing the poor fish whole.
Brenna made friends quickly where ever we went. This is Sophia. She and Brenna enjoyed pretending to paddle their "Boat" in the "Deep Ocean" in search of the rainbow octopus.
Next we moved up the beach while Jacob did some snorkeling. This was my relaxing view while Brenna played in the sand.
Next we enjoyed some time on the play ground. What better place to have a playground than in a tropical paradise!
Later that day, I took a tour of their botanical gardens. It was a lush, beautiful paradise with Mayan art scattered throughout the trails. Everything was so quiet and peaceful it was almost like you were in another time and place.
I got back from my nature walk to find that Brenna and Jacob had migrated back to the lagoon and Brenna had found a new friend, McKenzie.
I like ship pictures! So I took several throughout the vacation. This was our ship in docked in Cozumel next to her sister ship the Navigator of the Seas.
It was a long beach day. Time for a nap!
That afternoon after dinner we hit the golf course to enjoy some putt-putt and a beautiful Mexican sunset.
After a couple of games of ping pong, it was off to the room for a bath and bed and to get ready for Grand Cayman the next day.
Just look at those tan lines!
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Grand Cayman is a tender port, so we were anchored way off shore which allowed you to see the currents in the water off the coast line.
Brenna waiting in the Concierge Lounge for us to board the tender
More ship pictures as our tender made its way around the ship and to the shore.
In Grand Cayman we went to the Boatswain Turtle Farms. Jacob and I visited the turtle farms on our honeymoon, but it was destroyed after Hurricane Ivan in 2004. They re-built the farms in a different location and turned the attraction into a beach adventure park. Of course they had all the turtle tanks, but they also included a Bird Aviary, Iguana Exhibit, Shark Tanks, a fresh water pool, and an ocean lagoon for snorkeling.
These guys were alittle older and alittle more worse for ware. Unfortunately, you can't comprehend the size from these picture. Some of these turtles were over 100 years old. The bigger ones weighed up to 700 pounds and were the size of a very large coffee table.
Back to the beach!
Jacob did some more snorkeling.
Ok, just kidding. I took the last two shots from outside the shark tanks. But the snorkel lagoon was separated from the shark tanks by underwater plexi-glass, so you could actually swim up to the shark tank and see in.
The observatory for the shark tanks.
That night it was smooth waters as we left Grand Cayman.
Brenna all dressed up for dinner and a show. Tonight was the Ice Odyssey Ice Show. The show was fantastic and it was amazing what they could do on a cruise ship ice rink.
Falmouth, Jamaica
This is the newest of Jamaica's ports of call. The port itself was only just opened in March, so we were some of the first to see tourism come to Falmouth. Jacob and I have been to Jamaica several times and done nearly all the tourist attractions it has to offer. So, instead of doing an excursion, we took the day to get off the ship, check out the new port, and do alittle shopping.
Stilt walkers and live music.
Once we were back on board we played another round of golf.
Next, we cooled off at Adventure Beach before lunch at Johnny Rockets.
Next it was lunch at Johnny Rockets. Brenna insisted we sit at the counter because she liked the twirly seats. They had the best chili dog ever and the shakes were wonderful! The waiters do a song and dance every so often which was a fun show to see.
Just enough time for alittle painting on the balcony before dinner.
The Final Sea Days
Our last two days were sea days, which allowed for some downtime and rest after our exciting Caribbean ports. And of course, what better way to spend a sea day than to play.........putt-putt! We played alot of putt-putt!
Pool time was always fun and of course, we always made new friends.
We spent alot of time in the arcade over the week. $10 worth of time. That's alot of air hockey and dance revolution!
Enjoying the chocolate left on her pillow before bed!
On the morning of our last day we made a trip to the ice rink. We had been talking about ice skating all week and she really enjoyed the ice show. But, as soon as she saw a little boy about her age fall and tear up, she decided she didn't want to try. I wasn't too disappointed. I was thinking the same thing she was, only with a bigger fall!
So, like always, when you have time to spare on a cruise, you eat! We headed down to the promenade for a quick snack of pizza and cookies, before heading back up to Adventure Ocean for some basketball and bingo! There were only 3 kids Brenna's age playing, so we played until each child got bingo and they each won a hat!
Back down to the promenade for the Island Frenzy Parade!
Back to the room with streamers and confetti from the parade.
We enjoyed some bubbles on the balcony before dinner
We had two formal nights on this cruise. We took pictures both times, but only the second nights formal pictures came out and good. Here's the formal pictures that we bought. Jacob was very handsome in his suit and Brenna was the most beautiful girl on the boat. I was a lucky woman.
This was the sun setting on our McAlister Caribbean Vacation.
And this was one tired little girl after a fun filled week!
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