Hi friends and happy Friday. We’ve been back from our cruise for 2 weeks and I’m finally getting around to sharing a recap of our travels. Hold on tight because this is a photo heavy post but after seeing all the beautiful images, I’m sure you’ll want to book a cruise vacation.
I mentioned in a previous post that we traveled with three other couples on this cruise. Here’s a photo of all of us together at dinner one night. We’re all wearing matching t-shirts that Marie made for us.
left to right: Jack & Dorothy (from Ohio), Sal & Marie (from Florida), and Roberto (front) and Eileen (next to my hubby also from Florida)
Looking at the photo you might think that we’ve all been friends for years but believe it or not, we met each other for the first time, 2 years ago on a Carnival cruise!
Whenever the hubs and I cruise, we always request to be seated at a large table for dinner. We love meeting people and making new friends is always fun when you’re cruising. We’ve met lots of couples over the years but meeting this group was different.
Two years ago, on the second night of our cruise, we headed to dinner and were the last couple to arrive at the table. We introduced ourselves to the other couples and it was non-stop conversation and laughs the entire night. Over the course of the cruise we hung out together, played cards and got to know each other. We all became instant friends!
After our first cruise we kept in touch and the hubs and I spent a few days in Florida with Sal and Marie. We took our second cruise together last year and traveled together again on our most recent cruise. We’ve already started talking about a cruise for 2019 and are looking at Alaska or the Panama Canal.
Sometimes it can be hard to make new friends as adults but I truly believe meeting these guys was meant to be. All I can say is…there are friends, there is family and then there are friends that become family! We love these guys to pieces.
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Ok, enough about out little travel group, now it’s time to share photos from our trip. I’m going to keep the verbiage to a minimum so you can enjoy the photos.
This year we set sail on a 7 day cruise with Norwegian Cruise Lines, on the ship the Getaway. We left on a Sunday afternoon from Miami and enjoyed the beautiful Miami waterfront before we hit the open waters.
Our first day was spent at sea and I enjoyed lots of time soaking up the sun.
Cruising is a little bit like being in a casino in Las Vegas. There were lot of neon lights, music blasting and this stunning chandelier hanging in the lobby of the ship. Each night of the cruise the lights changed to a different color.
The Norwegian Getaway has an impressive line-up of restaurants on the ship and we dined at a different spot each night.
There was a comedy club on board with both family friendly and adult comedy shows. The only downside was that the same comedians and shows repeated throughout the cruise.
Our first port of call was Costa Maya, Mexico.
p.s. I’ll never get tired of seeing the beautiful blue Caribbean sea.
We spent a few hours lounging on the beach and relaxing in the water. The water was a little muddy from the recent storms that had moved through but it was still blue, warm and tropical.
Fresh coconuts were just a few dollars along the beach.
Beautiful pink flamingos!
Our second port was Harvest Caye, Belize. Harvest Caye is a private island/resort area owned and operated by Norwegian. It was truly breathtaking with lush tropical greenery, a massive pool area and a large beach front lounging space! I waded in the ocean and worked on my tan while the rest of the group explored the area. #myhappyplace
The third port of call was Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras. This was our first time in Honduras and all I can say is it was hot!!!
Once you leave the ship you enter a small shopping area in Roatan. We decided to stay in the area and shop rather than take a taxi to another part of the island. The hubs always buys small gifts for his team at work so we had fun picking out handcrafted pottery pieces and trying what little Spanish we know.
Day 6 of the cruise and took us to Cozumel. We’ve been to Cozumel several times before and wanted to do something different this time. The group decided to hire a van and driver to take us around the island. We had a great time and learned so much about the area that you typically wouldn’t be exposed too.
The unspoiled coastline was just stunning.
How fun is this wall of fishing buoys? When I saw it, I immediately starting thinking about DIY Christmas ornaments that looked like these.
We also stopped at the local ruins and did some shopping there. Dorothy is a master negotiator when it comes to jewelry so after she did all the hard negotiating, I jumped in on the deal and purchased a beautiful ring.
We also found a new friend. My hubby loves wildlife so he was excited to come upon this creature. I went running and screaming the minute it moved!
Like most cruise ports in Mexico, alcohol is a hot commodity and was abundantly available for purchase at every turn.
All in all, we had an amazing time. Despite some predictions of rain, the weather was spectacular the entire cruise. We relaxed, ate way too much and enjoyed another adventure on the high seas with our dear friends. I’m already looking forward to our next cruise.
On Monday I’ll be sharing my Insider Tips For Cruising Like A Pro so be sure to stop by and check out the post.
Happy weekend!
**all photos taken by me