The Time I Went On a Cruise.

Remember many, many moons ago when I posted about how we booked our first ever cruise? Well, we went on it in December. It was amazing. It was better than I ever thought it could be. I actually took a ton of pictures, but I'll spare you the picture bombing and only put up my favorites.

December 5th, we flew into Orlando bright and early and waited for the bus to come and pick us up and take us to Port Canaveral.

Waiting for the bus at the Orlando Airport!

We finally arrived and had to sit on the bus for a while, while they sorted our luggage. We got to see our cruise ship though and of course, I had to take a picture of it.

Finally, we were allowed off the bus and we made our way to check in. I've always heard horror stories of embarkation and debarkation but it went so incredibly fast I couldn't believe it. They checked our IDs, we both just brought birth certificates because we never got to the post office to get a passport. (shame, shame). We headed inside, where our bags went through the scanners and then it was off to get our room keys and verify our information. We were directed into another room, where we had our picture taken to purchase later of course. Then we headed onto the ship. Rooms weren't ready till 1:30 so we just walked around and took in the sights. We grabbed some lunch & then headed up to the top to make  phone calls & send some texts & of course, take some pics!

Finally, our room was ready, so we headed to check it out and look at the planning guide for the day. We chilled there for a while, and just watched some tv till it was time to head to the the muster station before we departed. They went through the drill and finally it was time to head out to sea! 

Bye, bye Florida!

That night we spent time exploring the ship for a little while & taking in the sights. Unfortunately, sea sickness made reared its ugly head. First, Dan got it & pretty it bad. I thought I would be okay, but slowly it took it's toll on me as well. =/

The next morning though, we awoke fine & went to find some sea sickness stuff for Dan. I also had packed some medicine but we had heard of the straps that are supposed to be a natural way to fight it off, so we bought some of those & Dan rocked them throughout the whole cruise. We took a pill every night before bed to ensure we didn't get sick again, and thankfully we didn't. 

The next day was a sea day. We explored the boat, got some drinks, went to the dress up night dinner and just enjoyed the boat.

The first port we got to was Nassau, Bahamas and what a sight it was. We pulled up to our dock with a bunch of other ships and off we went to explore. 

We headed up to this fort, I wish I could remember what it was called and just walked around. There were people selling things everywhere around it, but I just really enjoyed the view under a shady tree of Atlantis in the distance. We hung out at the fort for a while, and then headed back into the town and decided to take a taxi to Atlantis. You thought NYC drivers were crazy? I was pretty freakin scared. Thankfully, we weren't alone and we quickly made friends with this nice couple and their two kids. 

Finally, we were at Atlantis. We explored as much as we could. Many areas were blocked off because you had to be a guest of the hotel. But, regardless it was still an amazing place.

After that, we headed back into town, and explored the shops for a little. Then it was back to the boat, that island sun in December makes you so tired I tell ya! We took a nap, had some dinner and went to some shows and played in the casino for a while. Then it was off to bed, Half Moon Cay was up next.

The next morning, we awoke to see our boat sitting in the middle of the ocean, and a little glimpse of the island. We got ready, and hopped on the tender & headed over to Half Moon Cay. It was seriously the most beautiful island I have ever seen in my entire life. 

We played in the water for most of the day, and then headed to the BBQ that the Carnival staff provided. There were roosters just walking around the island, and it made me laugh. I couldn't get a pic of either them though. =( Then we headed back to the boat & took another nap. Explored the boat some more, went to the casino again (that was our spot) & took in some more comedy shows.

Our last port was Freeport. We woke up bright & early, got ready & headed off the boat to explore. I was a bit disappointed though, there was really nothing to do. We decided to make the best of it & explored the outdoor market for a bit.

We headed back onto the ship & grabbed some lunch & went to the adults only area & just lounged a bit. Then it was time for the our cruise ship to leave & we took some pictures & said our farewells to the islands & headed back towards Florida.

We arrived back at Port Canaveral, grabbed our carry ons & waited for our group to be called. Then we debarked, which was just as fast, and headed to the bus to go back to the airport. Overall, it was an amazing, amazing experience & I def will be doing another cruise in the future!