A review of our honeymoon

[BreakfastSurreal]

I will post each day...this is kind of long but Alicia wants to read it so maybe other people will too!

Day 1
• Matt and I arrive at the airport in a plush town car at 6:30am on Saturday, June 23, 2007. We did not anticipate the huge crowd in line for boarding passes and baggage checking. Good thing we arrived early or that could have been a problem for us. We board our flight and though I was a little apprehensive about flying, it was not that bad (especially after I got two bottles of merlot in me…the small airplane kind of course). When we arrived in Fort Lauderdale and got our luggage we were immediately met by a Royal Caribbean representative and whisked away to find a shuttle bus that was waiting to take us to the port. We waited no time at all after we were seated on the bus, we must have been the last people on there. As we arrived to the port, clear instructions were given to us about what to do next. We went through a few security checkpoints and then stood in line to get our sea passes. A seapass is a little card that is linked to your credit card, so that basically every time you spend money on board it comes straight out of your credit account. When boarding the ship at about 1:30pm, we went straight to the spa, and to Chops Grille on board to book our reservations, and then went to check out our room. Our room was very tiny, but we had anticipated this because we did book the cheapest room possible. The bed was nice, but it took up half the room easily. After scoping out our room, we went up to the Windjammer to grab a quick lunch. The food in there on the first day was delicious. At 5pm we met up for the muster drill on deck 5, which was a total pain but a requirement for anyone going on a cruise. After mustering I went to my spa appointment. I got an Ionothermie wrap, and lost 8.5 inches from one sitting. I don’t know that I would do it again because it was very very expensive, but it was definitely worth trying out. After my spa treatment I went back to the room and got dressed for dinner. Matt and I had decided to eat at Chops that night, so I put on a nice dress and he wore slacks and a button-down shirt. The service at Chops was amazing! After you are seated they bring around a hot towel for you to clean your hands with. At Chops you pay $20 per person and you can order as much as you want basically. I had the 10oz filet mignon with a baked potato, and Matt had it with mashed potatoes. They serve this onion bread there also with a spread of pimento and cream cheese that is just out of this world. I also had a shrimp cocktail as an appetizer, and a mochachino cheesecake for dessert. Yes, I ate a TON there. Matt had the Mississippi mud pie for dessert. We totally gorged ourselves, and the steak there was to DIE for. Hands down the best steak I’ve ever eaten. I am so shocked though that it is USDA choice and not Certified Angus Beef…I need to do some research I guess. Later that night Matt and I went to check out the casino, and I had a few drinks. Overall the first day on the ship was fantastic!

 

[GuesSAngel]

yay fun read

 

[Mrs Behavin]

sounds like yall had a blast the first day!

 

[BreakfastSurreal]

Day 2
• On our second day aboard the Enchantment of the Seas I woke up pretty early. Matt was tired so I let him stay in bed and I went up to the windjammer for breakfast. The breakfast there was so good, I loved the buffet style and I got a lot of different things. The one thing that stuck out the most in my mind was their version of biscuits and gravy…definitely not a southern US style, but whatever it was it was delicious! The gravy almost tasted like a sweet alfredo sauce with hints of spicy sausage, and the biscuits were very dense and slightly sweet tasting as well. After eating a huge plate I went back to the room and grabbed my camera and took some pictures of the ship. This was an at sea day, so I looked at our daily itinerary to see what kind of activities were going on. I had underlined about 9 or 10 things I was interested in doing, but instead of going to most of those I laid out by the pool and got some sun and had a few drinks. After I had my fill, I went to this adult art class, and we did pointillism, which was surprisingly really, really fun. It made me think about how bad I miss art class in school! After that I went to the room to change and Matt and I both head up to a get together for Honeymooners in the Viking Crown lounge. They had FREE champagne and mimosas and cake! As if I haven’t already eaten enough cake in the past few weeks…the champagne was good though and I had about 6 or 7 glasses! After that I went down to the Schooner Lounge for more drinks while matt went to the spa for his facial and shave. I met a girl there named Heather that I quickly became friends with and ended up hanging out with the rest of the trip, along with her friend Cari, who I didn’t meet until the next day. This was formal night on the ship, and Matt ordered a tuxedo to wear. I had my long purple dress on that I had been dying to wear for a while, so it was nice to actually be able to put that on and go out. We went to the Captain’s Ball in the Spotlight Lounge, and then to dinner in the dining room. We hadn’t met our tablemates yet since we opted to go to Chops Grille the night before, but we were very delighted with them when we did meet! The first there were a couple named Brandi and Blaine, who were originally from Mississippi but now lived in Missouri. They were in their late 20’s or early 30’s, and while Blaine was very easy going, Brandi was delightful to talk to, she is a true southern belle and her accent was awesome! They have 3 little ones they left at home and seemed to be glad to have the opportunity to just get away from it all and be on vacation. The next family at dinner was a woman named Misty and her 13 year old son Shea. Misty and Shea were a hoot! The best way I can think of to describe Misty would be to compare her to Phoebe from Friends. The mannerisms, the blonde hair, yep, that’s Misty! Shea was also wonderful…he reminded me so much of a younger version of Matt or of my brother…whenever he ordered his food he was so picky, he would get just plain noodles! It was very entertaining to watch him, and listen to him talk to Matt about Pokemon. After dinner I think Matt and I went to the casino and then up to the Viking Crown lounge where we met up with Blaine, Brandi, and Misty and danced for a little while. We didn’t stay up too late because we had to be up early the next day for Jamaica!

 

[BreakfastSurreal]

Day 3
• We docked into Jamaica a few minutes behind schedule, and Matt and I were worried we would miss our tour up to the Bob Marley Masoleum that left at 9am. It was pretty windy outside and about to storm when we pulled into port, and Matt and I were the last ones off the boat before they pulled in the gangway to reposition the ship. We found our tourbus, which reminded me a little of the Partridge Family bus…it was very colorful, and probably from the same time period as well! We left a little late because there were some people who had not gotten off the ship yet for the tour. Heather and her friend Cari were the last ones on the bus, I think they had partied too much the night before. This was actually the first time I met Cari, she was an absolute doll and I’m so glad the two of them were on that tour with us! They said that our bus driver was the best driver in Jamaica, and I really believe it after riding with him! The roads had no speed limit signs and were very twisty and only 1 lane, not each way, but just ONE lane! The best part of the ride up there was going through the beautiful Fern Gully, which had hundreds of different species of Ferns! The road we were on in that area was actually a dried up riverbed, and the Fern Gully looked like a rainforest! Next, the bus broke down! Not only did it just break down…it broke down for 45 minutes! We were very hot, and it had just stopped raining so it was very humid and muggy inside the bus, and they would not let us off for any air…I’m sure for security reasons. Finally they “fixed” the bus, and got us to our rest stop where we ate beef patties. The beef patties they gave us were certainly not what you’d think though! They were these flakey crust things..almost like hot pockets…filled with a spicy ground beef. Possibly goat meat? I’m not sure. They weren’t incredible but they were edible. There was also a bar where we stopped and I grabbed some red stripe and took a lot of pictures, the rest stop was very scenic. They were working on the bus again when we stopped, but finally we got back on and rode up to 9 Mile, where Bob Marley’s house is. As soon as we pulled in, we were harassed by locals to buy their pot and their tea. We asked the tour guide and he explained to us that it is in fact illegal to smoke marijuana in Jamaica, but that the police always turn a blind eye because it brings in a lot of money. Matt and I each bought a fat joint, but the price was a little ridiculous…$20 for each joint!!! Oh well, we were on vacation and had the money to spend, and the pot was very good. We went up to meet our tour guide at the Masoleum, his name was Captain Crazy, or CC for short. I envisioned Rastafarians to be very stoic and serious, but this guy was a hoot! All he did was joke around and laugh, and I couldn’t keep myself from laughing at him the entire time! We went through Bob’s house and the shrine where they have his body embalmed. I did not realize until then how much the local people actually worshipped this man. He was like a prophet to them. Inside the shrine we took a moment of silence and had to remove our hats and shoes. It was a very touching experience. After we left, we stood outside our bus for a good 45 minutes, they were supposedly “fixing” it again. Finally we got back on, and we thought everything was alright, but it broke down AGAIN! Luckily it broke down near the rest stop, where we stopped to have some Jamaican jerk chicken and red beans and rice. The jerk sauce is really really good, and I am looking to get my hands on some to cook with. They were supposed to send another bus for us, but before that bus got there to get us, a man with a car showed up and asked for 4 people who would ride back with him. Immediately Matt and Cari’s hands shot up, and we got to ride back in the air conditioned car. The driver was very nice, and he even stopped on the side of the road at a shop for us to buy some souveniers. I bought some pretty jewelry, and then we headed back to the ship. We made it just in time. We didn’t see anyone else from our tour onboard for a few days and worried that maybe they did not make it back, but finally we ran into one of them and they told us that the bus that was sent to pick them up broke down also, and that the ship had to wait for them to make it back in time. We were lucky! Matt and I had bonded with Heather and Cari that day and started hanging out with them more when we got back to the ship. At dinner that night I went out on a limb and tried some Escargot and Duck. The duck was ok, but the Escargot was DELICIOUS! I was so tickled and shocked that I liked it! It was in this pesto-like sauce and it tasted like tortolini. That night I think we just relaxed and went to bed early, the whole bus situation that day had stressed us out and made us very tired from sitting in the heat that long.

 

[BreakfastSurreal]

Day 4
• Day 4 we went to Grand Cayman Islands. The weather there wasn’t that great, Matt and I went shopping a few hours before our tour was to leave and we got soaked to the bone in a tropical rainstorm. It was ok though because we had our swimsuits on! I bought a wooden carved stingray and a turtle at a little shop, then matt and I went across to a cigar shop and bought the most expensive Cuban cigars we could find. Next we went to a jewelry store and I found the perfect ring…it was a white gold band with 10 small channel set diamonds across the top. Of course, we bought that since I still hadn’t gotten a wedding ring yet! Next, we headed over to where our tour was supposed to meet and it was still pouring, so I was a little worried we wouldn’t get to go. Our tour was a catamaran ride and snorkeling with stingrays. I was a little hesitant about this but I figured it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Misty and her son Shea were on the same tour as us and we all sat together on the catamaran. The storm had passed but was still visible and lightning was a little too close for my comfort. Never the less, we all got in the water when we got to the sandbar where the stingrays like to hang out. I was the last person in the water, I was terrified once I saw the size of the stingrays. Finally I got down in the water and they were swimming all around us. Then the tour guide came up and picked one up out of the water and let me give it a kiss…I will never forget how that stingray felt under my lips…it felt just like…the inside of my lips! Haha. After I got the kissing thing over with and saw how nice they were and got over my fears. Matt surprisingly was less scared than I was, and he normally won’t even set foot in the ocean! After we got back to the pier we had an hour to kill, so Matt and I decided to walk around. We were both hungry so we headed straight over to Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville restaurant. I had seen some other Margaritaville’s before, but this one definitely took the cake! Even though we paid almost $50 for 2 burgers and 2 drinks, it was totally worth it…nevermind that there was a gnat in my margarita either, I drank the damn thing anyway! While we were waiting for our food I ran down to the shop downstairs and bought the cutest Margaritaville hat and shirt. It was cool having a cheeseburger in paradise…in paradise!!! The burger really was delicious! After we finished up we headed back to the boat and relaxed for a while before dinner. That night at dinner I had a very interesting dish…it was a salmon alfredo pasta. I expected the salmon to be cooked, but it was raw, and sushi like! I tried it, because I had yet to try anything I didn’t like on the ship so I figured I might as well. It was absolutely delicious and the salmon tasted almost like bacon! It was extremely flavorful and I don’t know that I ever want to eat cooked salmon again after having that. The next day would be our last at sea day, so we had planned to stay up and party it up all night. Matt and I met up with Heather and Cari in the Viking crown lounge and left at midnight or 1am because there was a chocolate buffet in the dining room, and being drunk off our asses (yes even matt was!!!) we couldn’t miss out on those munchies! By the time we got there most of it was picked over, but I eyed some of that raw salmon and ate a bunch of that and some cheese and chocolate cake. After we ate we still weren’t ready for bed so we headed up to the Schooner lounge and hung out with our favorite bartender, Gaston. Gaston was cool because if you tipped him well, he would give you HUGE drinks. Like I’d order a daquiri and instead of getting a wimpy margarita sized glass I’d get a huge beer glass full of daquiri. He definitely took good care of us! After that we decided to all go swimming. We swam around for a little bit and then started causing a ruckus a little bit and made some people mad, so we went to bed then…about 6am or so.

 

[BreakfastSurreal]

Day 5
• Well the night before while I was drunk I made the mistake of signing up for a bar demonstration…only $10 for 4 drinks..not a bad deal, but I had definitely had my fill of alcohol the night before. This demo started at 12:30, and I rolled out of bed at about that time. I went down there to find Cari who told me that Heather had been sick all morning…too much to drink I suppose! We all looked like death warmed over and decided to hit up lunch before going to drink more. Cari and I got the pasta bar and it was really good, but I made the mistake of ordering garlic in my pasta…that came back to haunt all of us about an hour later at the bar demo! After we ate we went back up to the bar demo and Gaston served us up some drinks. I figured what the hell, I already paid my $10! So I drank em up. Then Cari and I went up to do a contest, we had to see who could make a drink the fastest. I bumped Cari and made her spill something, and I was probably the last person, but I made the best drink I think! I got to keep that too! After that I was supposed to go lay out with Heather and Cari at the pool, but when I didn’t find them I decided to go to the room and crash. I was pooped! I don’t really think I rolled out of bed until it was time for us to go to dinner at Chops that night. We had invited Misty and Shea and Brandi and Blaine to come and eat with us, and dinner was just as delicious as it was the first night there. I had a filet again and it was so yummy! The only drawback to dinner this night was that they seemed to be taking their time, I think by the time we were done with appetizers we had been there for a full hour already! This wouldn’t have bothered me but we had to pack our bags and have them at the door by midnight, and Matt and I hadn’t even start packing yet! I left before dessert, which was fine because Matt got me mine to go, and I went to the room and packed up all our stuff. After we finally finished packing we went up to the Schooner bar to find a very intoxicated and slightly belligerant Cari. We scooped her up and hopped on the elavator to head up to the Viking crown lounge to finish off our Cuban cigars. There were a handful of black people on the elevator and Cari immediately started telling these people “We’re white but we still got love!!!!” Matt and I quickly let them know how drunk she was, but we couldn’t help but laugh our asses off at that comment. I think that was the moment I completely fell in love with this girl! I wasn’t sure how crazy she was until that night haha. We went up to the club and had a few rounds, and then went to bed because we had to leave early the next morning.

 

[BreakfastSurreal]

Day 6
• Today was the day we disembarked from the ship. We woke up and realized we hadn’t left our deodorant out! Our bags had already been picked up the night before by the porters so it was too late to do anything about that but just stink! We made our way to breakfast in the main dining room and as we were eating we saw the boat come into port and dock. We were in a hurry because we wanted to get off the boat, we were running a little late as it is and didn’t want to miss our flight. We had to wait in the Spotlight lounge because we had a certain color tag on our bags, and you have to wait in the area assigned to your tag color. Heather and Cari were waiting in the same area as us, and we must have waited there for at least an hour and a half. We wondered what the holdup was, and later I found out that customs had found some drugs in some people’s bags, and they refused to let anyone off until they found everyone who was trying to smuggle drugs back to the US. Finally, they called our tag color and we were allowed to disembark. As soon as we got through customs, we hailed a cab and high tailed it to the airport. We were extremely lucky that there was a continental representative who was willing to let us skip the line and take our bags for us and give us our boarding passes. We got through the security checkpoint with no problems and our gate was close by. I think we were close to the last people allowed to board our flight, we literally made it by the skin of our teeth! The flight home was a bit strange for me, I didn’t realize it then, but I had a case of landsickness…so that made me feel pretty uneasy on the plane, so I had 3 drinks to ease my mind. Finally…we got home, and I did nothing but sleep for 2 days. What a vacation!