Jason & Makensie: Summer Fun, Part I: Cruise

It is July 7th and I am just barely getting around to blogging about our amazing cruise. "I've been busy?" Ya, I have been vacationing too much. It's rough.

The Gilb's, Diamond's, and Us set out for an adventure. We booked a cruise with Royal Caribbean and made our way to Haiti, Jamaica, and Cozumel!

We boarded the ship on Sunday afternoon. We walked around the 17 floors in awe. There was sooo much to see. I was usually lost and didn't know which way I was headed.

our hats are unplanned. we look white, tired, and 80. :)

"Central Park"

the 5th floor, main shopping area

Monday was a day at sea, which was nice so that we could see what the ship has to offer. All of the guys are high energy, so they constantly kept each other company between basketball, soccer, dodgeball, flow riding, volleyball, etc. The women enjoyed the pool deck, relaxing, and reading our books the first day. Once we got our relaxing time in, we joined in with the guys. We even took 2nd place in the dodgeball tournament! Monday night, we went to the aqua show, which was awesome. Guys diving off 50 ft. platforms and doing tricks. It was way fun!

Tuesday, we were in Labadee, Haiti! It was deathly hot AND humid!! Our little white bodies were not prepared for that weather. The boys went jetskiing in the morning while we did yoga on the beach. Talk about amazing! We played soccer and volleyball on the beach, but then it got way too hot. We found some shade and snorkeled a little bit. We headed back to the ship a little early to get some food and AC! Haiti was fun, but not our favorite port.

Wednesday, we were in Jamaica! We found a van driver, Chris, to drive us around the Island for the day. It was the best $40 we spent. He was great! He took us to all of the hot spots, i.e. Usain Bolt's elementary school, Johnny Cash's old house, found us sugar cane off the highway, authentic jerk chicken and festival, non-touristy private beach, and a record shop for the Diamonds. It was a great day seeing what Jamaica has to offer! Thanks to Chris.

eating sugar cane

Our driver, Chris

After dinner that night, we "rock climbed under the stars." Then, we checked out the comedy show. It was sooo funny.

Thursday was another day at sea. The boys did the flow rider a ton! We played ping pong, mini golf, pool volleyball against the staff (no bueno), basketball, dodgeball, soccer, etc. It was a fun filled day.

Friday, we were in Cozumel! This was my favorite port. I loved it, we did the non-touristy thing. We rented a jeep, asked the locals where the good snorkel spots are, and were on our way. Our second stop was phenomenal. The beach was called "Playa Corona." We stopped at a little restaurant to use their beach. We snorkeled for probably an hour and saw SO many things, i.e. 3 sting rays, bright green eel, lobsters, huge 'buffalo' fish, barracuda, lots of fishies. After snorkeling, we had the BEST tacos I've ever had. YUM! We stopped at another spot, Punta Sur, where there were Mayan ruins and crocodiles. Brandon loved the crocs:)

Those were some serious churros. YUM!

The last day on the ship was full of more playing! J, Brandon, and another guy from Miami took 2nd in a bball tourney. We went to another comedy show. The staff on the ship did a flow rider show, which was awesome!