Shark infested waters

The waiters know us so well when we arrive at our table for dinner there is already two butter dishes and two pieces of french bread each. In 'real' life I hardly even eat bread but here I can't stop. Thank goodness I have 1 month unlimited hot yoga booked when I get back to work it all off.

Our waiter is lovely, Raj from Nepal. He actually knows where New Zealand is which is more than I can say for a few people here! He has been working on ships for 12 years. I suppose it's almost like being institutionalized. He won't ever want to leave.

We just arrived at our last stop, Grand Turk. This place is postcard gorgeous. Just beautiful. Tropical paradise. Snorkeling time!

A day later...

We did a three hour snorkeling tour first off. Was amazing. The first reef we visited however, they failed to mention that there would be about five sharks floating around. And of course, me, ever the over enthused snorkeller was first in and first to get the surprise of sharks right under my flippers circling me!

The sharks were reef sharks, with a mouth under them, similar to a sting ray. The crew went to the bottom, picked them up, cradling them upside down like babies for us to pat on the surface of the water. They were beautiful and gentle, soft on the bottom and sandy on the top. Hopefully some of the pics from our underwater camera turn out.

There were lots of other cool fish their too like these ling skinny flute like kingfish type fish that swam only on the surface of the water. There were also jelly fish everywhere, I was pretty worried but they were harmless.

The second reef was at the 'drop off' just like on Finding Nemo. The ocean went from 15 feet to 60 feet over the ledge. Was awesome. Huge schools of fish everywhere, from little blue and orange ones to big silver and yellow ones.

After snorkeling we relaxed on the picture-perfect beach and swam in the clear turquoise waters.

I'm really sad that this was our last stop on the cruise as we've had such an awesome time but happy to finish off with such a beautiful location. Would definitely recommend a Carnival Cruise to anybody heading these ways!

I went ring shopping again, ever in search of the perfect diamonds, but there wasn't a large selection of stores and I wasn't particularly fussed on any.

One more day on the ship and then back to normal civilization... Nooooo!

Ps. Kim if you're reading this, and I know you are, you must learn how to make amaretto cake.. Melt in your mouth goodness!

San Juan

San Juan is probably my favorite stop on the cruise. Surprisingly considering that it isn't my typical choice of location. No sweeping beaches, palm trees or snorkeling.

We began the day with a 5 hour Puerto Rico favorites tour which included three 'cities' and a rainforest trip.

I spent the entire rainforest trip scouring the greenery for animals and the most I found was a dead bug. Typically, being a tropical rainforest it rained but due to all the lush vegetation you could nearly tell.

Gemma was busting to go to the bathroom and of course there wasn't a rest room at the stop. Hilariously (even more funnier as she was wearing a full length jumpsuit) she ran up the road and popped a squat in the bushes. Being the great friend that I am, I didn't help with privacy or location choice as I was too occupied laughing at her. Moral of the story, if you're on a tour and there's a restroom, use it. You never know when there will be another one. Also don't wear a jump suit when you may potentially have to pop a squat.

We visited old San Juan and then the new, checking out a Fort that was built to protect the city in the event of sea invasion. We had 45minutes at the Fort so Gemma and I entertained ourselves with some amusing photography. How many times did I have to jump for Gemma to take a good pic of me mid air? Eight it would seem. And how many times did Gemma have to jump in the air for me to get a good jumping pic? One.

We were dropped in the main shopping area and had a look around the shops. They're so cute. Pebbled roads, multi colored pastel and bright shop fronts with wrought iron balconies and doors. I could have stayed there for days.

I found a Guess outlet store and nearly bought two pairs of jeans for $75. I didn't and it is with regret. If you see something you like on a cruise stop, buy it! You can't go back and get it. Second time in two days that has happened to me so I was a little cut . Ahwelll bring on shopping in Los Angeles!

When we were nearly back at the boat we came across a stand with dozens of beautiful, huge multi-colored parrots sitting on it promising a photo shoot for $10. Gemma and I gave it a go, was so funny. The birds are extremely well trained.
At one stage I had about 14 of them on me and the trainer yelled 'boobies' at two of them and they flew over and landed on my boobs! We ended up buying a few more pics and I had a Macaw Parrot kiss me! Literally. I closed my eyes and it opened it's beak around my lips and stuck it's tongue out. I didn't buy that pic but Gems did.

Back on the ship our rooms are serviced twice a day, (perfect as we nap every arvo and come back to a perfectly made and turned down bed) but most importantly each time we come back there is a cute towel animal waiting for us. We have had a koala, bunny, elephant and something that I'm not sure what it was meant to be but it was cute!

Each night we head to the top deck for entertainment. The Americans all know these dances to songs like 'the wobble' so everyone gets on the open deck of the boat and learns the dances, it's heaps of fun especially after a few drinks!

Bushwhackers at height

St Thomas was our second stop on the trip and the first time the weather wasn't fantastic. Not that it was bad, just a few showers and a little overcast.

Lisa, a friend who has worked on a cruise ship in these waters suggested we didn't do a planned tour on this island and instead caught a sky ride up to the top of the island to check out the view and have one of the famous drinks they serve at the top.

When we arrived we decided to do sine shopping first as I wanted good pics from the top and it was pretty overcast.

In town a guy rounded us up to go visit a jewellery store. He may well have been Bob Marley's cousin with his dreads, rasta outfit and smooth talking. Anyway he was we decided to check out the store. I was looking for a rose gold ring anyway so it made sense. Have I mentioned that jewellery is super cheap in Caribbean and Bahamas due to being tax and duty free?
Anyway I was looking at the bands and the owner comes over to me and says 'I have the perfect ring for you', as they do. Except he did. Rose gold with a chocolate solitaire surrounded by 4 white diamonds either side and a hefty discount, I was I love. I said I'd think about it however as I wanted to look around make sure I didn't see anything I preferred more.
After looking around a bit I decided I wanted it, only to realize I hadn't bought my credit card with me! I would have to go back to the boat and get my card then make my way back to downtown. This sounded like way too much trouble so I concluded to leave the ring as there would be many more like it, right? Wrong. I should have bought it then and there.

By that time the cloud had cleared a bit so we made our way to the sky ride and to the peak of the Island. There were fantastic views and Gemma had the famous Bushwacker drink which comprised of various liqueurs  mainly baileys and kahlua. It was too creamy for my lactose intolerant stomach so I settled for a few sips of hers and an amaretto sour.

We took a taxi to Maghan's Bay, one of the top ten beaches in the world of which St Thomas is home to two. The road is narrow and windy and our driver took it at a slow pace which was nice as you had to beep before corners to ensure no oncoming traffic!

You have to pay $4pp to enter Maghan's Bay but it is worth it. The water itself is turquoise and clear with a lake like quality in that there were no waves and seemingly no current. There are beautiful palm trees and white sand along a crescent bay. We sunbathed and swam until it was time to get back to the boat.

That's when we met John. John was on the other boat on port. John was on holiday with 10 or so friends and relatives from North Carolina. Archerfield or some where that sounds like Archerfield. Anyway we ended up in a safari bus with him and his entourage.
There were 16 of us packed in with open sides. This driver didn't care so much for the roads and drove at a fast rate. John and co didn't mind, they thought it was great fun as they were all on their 10th rum for the day. St Thomas is also the home of Bacardi. I was a little nervous we were going to roll but we made it safely, not without a little drama though!
One of John & co had become engaged and one had renewed their vows this day so they were all in great spirits and reasonably trashed. The father invited us to stay with them for as long as we liked and the daughter told us she loved us. Then she fell asleep. Then she spewed. Haha I haven't moved that fast in ages, she was sitting right behind me! The spew was orange and just kept coming. Needless to say when we eventually stopped at the port we all but ran away. Guess we won't be staying in North Carolina after all!

Back on ship we had our first elegant evening. Everyone gets dressed to the nines, apart from us as we had nothing elegant to wear. It was beautiful to watch and the lobster dinner was delicious!

Just Cruisin'

Cruising. My family don't know it yet, but we are going on a cruise. As soon as I get my hands on Dads credit card!

We are aboard the Carnival Liberty, an impressive, gorgeous, huge ship with 12 floors above sea level.

Cruising the Bahamas over 8 days to Half Moon Cay, St Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk it's luxurious and I'm so happy we decided to book it.

I've cruised the Greek Islands and I do not remember it being like this. This is amazing. It's just a gigantic floating party!

I think there are approx 3,000 guests on the ship and 2,000 staff. There are 20 activities to do at any time of the day, from pool parties, to team challenges, to dance shows, comedy shows to information sessions. That's just the planned activities. There are pools and spas all over the deck, basketball courts, tennis courts, shopping, day spa, gym, casino, about 20 bars and restaurants.

Yesterday we visited Half Moon Cay. The island is actually owned by the Carnival group and only has a handful of inhabitants.

The water is sparkling clear turquoise as you pull in to the marina, with white sand and lush tropical vegetation. It looks like a post card.

We went straight on a snorkelling trip - I love fishys and there aren't many places I would rather be than snorkelling or diving in tropical waters.

We stopped at a spot only 20 mins boat ride from the island with 3 reefs to visit and an hour to snorkel. The temperatures are in the thirties everyday and the water was refreshing but still very warm.

The reefs were nice and the fish were cool, lots of blue an yellow ones and a few parrot fish but I must be spoilt as I have seen better. Perhaps my expectations were too high...

Having eaten too much from the island BBQ we headed to the beach to tan and swim. It's so hot you dot last long lying out before the pull to run in the crystal clear waters becomes too strong.

Feeling a little burnt we headed to the bar for an afternoon tropical cocktail.. Two cocktails later, a Florida Keys creation and a Watermelon cooler we both felt half cut. And it turned out we weren't just a little burnt, we resembled lobsters!

The cruise entertainment team has activities on the beach front all day, the highlight for me being the men's hairy chest competition. 10 hairy men start with a little boogie, make their way 'sexily' down the steps to the first of three judges. The first, a single 20-something, judges their dancing. The next, a 40-something Mother, feels their chest and back hair. The last judge, a 60-something Grandma, has to spank them! Meanwhile all hilariously commentated by the Carnival Team. May have been the cocktails, but I nearly fell over I was laughing so hard!

Luckily we found a deserted double hammock under the trees in the beach so spent a few hours snoozing and swimming before going back to the ship for some more snoozing!

I have not slept this much in a long, long time. I'm not sure if it's New York catching up on me, the 'jet lag' /time difference or the rocking motion of the boat but I can't stop napping.

They say the main activity of cruising is eating.. no wonder I like it so much!

Breakfast is a buffet, lunch is a smorgasbord and dinner is a three course formal event. And it's all delicious!!

Speaking of which I'm going to find some strawberries...