Our Most Excellent Cruise Adventure

It was decided that instead of me spending a fortune that I don't have on gifts for Christmas that Stan and I would spend a fortune and pay for cruise tickets for our kids. We ended up with a family affair and besides Stan and me we had Josh and Syd, Becky and Shane, my sisters Patti and Barbara, my niece Mindy and my friend Jill. We had a blast. We took NCL out of New Orleans on a 7 day trip thru the western Caribbean leaving on my birthday. All I can say is the food is great, the staff was wonderful, the entertainment the best and BRING MONEY. We are not big drinkers(not evidenced by the pictures in the blog below this one) You have to pay for all alcohol, and colas but the coffee and tea and water are free. You had an option of dining in the 'free' dining room and other free areas or eating in one of the speciality restaurants for a very reasonable cost. The first night we ate at Cagney's Steak House and had a surf and turf for my birthday. Everyday the staff all over the boat went out of their way to make us feel special. The cruise was not without mishaps however: on day two while I was walking by the pool I rammed my right pinkie toe(the one where the piggy goes wee wee wee all the way home) into a chaise lounger and broke/dislocated the damn thing. I had to pull it back in place. I am a weenie when it comes to pain and this hurt bad enough I had to cancel my day 3 trip to the Mayan ruins. The ship doctor looked at it and said to just avoid putting any stress on it so I chose to stay behind and concentrate walking from meal to meal and to the pool. Interesting enough the night that I hurt my toe they had a martini tasting party. I lost all feeling to my face by the second martini and didn't know I even had a toe by number 5. Needless to say I missed dinner that night because I was face down in bed with a limited memory of how I got there. The best excursion for me was playing with the dolphins and getting to get up close with a manatee. I was just in awe of the whole experience. We capped off that day with cocktails at Carlos and Charlies in Cozumel. Oh my goodness. All I can say is look at the pictures in the blog below. We got balloon hats, sombreros and danced in a conga line. It all seemed very normal to me. I think I was out in the sun too long. I can't begin to tell you how much fun it was to be with all my family. I loved the fact that my children were enjoying themselves and that Stan and I got to have a great vacation. I loved being able to get up at 3 am and go to the ship library and sit in the quiet and read. I loved being able to order won-ton soup and BBQ wings at 4am when I got the urge to snack. I loved being outside in the warm breezes with a cup of coffee in my hand watching the sun come up. I gained a little weight on the trip and discovered that I wasn't nearly the biggest woman at the pool. I am in awe that they make two piece bathing suits for 400lb+ women. I am in equal awe of the guts it takes to wear said bathing suit with an attitude that fairly screams "I am so hot". I kept to my one piece and I made an effort to sunbathe with larger women. It made me look good.... how shallow is that?!? It was just simply a wonderful trip with wonderful people. We are now planning next years trip.