Western Caribbean Vacation Fun Times

We're back from our long week vacation the other Sunday and I finally got the chance today to sit down and check all my emails and update my blog site. It's back to reality, vacation is over =(

It was a very memorable vacation and we definitely had a blast. Here's some of the pictures that I can share online.

11/6/2010 - Departure Day - Headed to Miami, FL for an extra day to stroll around before we embark Carnival Cruise the following day.

Aerial view of Miami

          South Beach Miami

Dinner at Anthony's in Doral, FL

 

The coal oven roasted chicken wings was our favorite. Yummy! We also tried their pizza and it was so good too. I wish they will open a store where we live but so far on the east coast they only have it in DE, PA ,NY and soon to open in NJ.

11/7/10 - Port of Miami - Enjoyed the hot continental breakfast in the hotel where we stayed at and then we started heading to the port for check-in with Carnival Valor cruise. Here's where the excitement began! =) Our ship left Miami port around 5:00pm. We roamed around the entire ship checking out every floor and getting settled into our house for a week. So exciting. =)

A view from the upper deck of the ship overlooking Miami.

 Upper Deck Pool Side

Miami Skyline

 Elevators

 Lobby

 Fish and Chips restaurant on the top floor and Rosie's Restaurant below

Lincoln Dining Room

 Casino

 Togo Sushi Restaurant

 Enjoying Sushi (My favorite!)

 There are tons of paintings all over the hallway of the ship

but I was drawn to this for it's simplicity and elegance.

Here we are waiting for the comedy show to start in Eagles Lounge.

11/8/2010 - Fun Day at Sea - We checked out different shows scheduled for the day. There are plenty of things to do on the ship that we can't even keep up. Fun times here and there. My husband and I are amused with the entire team in Carnival Valor- from the cruise director down to every single one of the members that always make it a point to let everyone have a good time. And yes you can really feel that you are on a vacation.

This day also was the 1st Cruise Elegant Night. It's amazing because it suddenly gives me a flashback of that Titanic movie- everyone looks so elegant and pretty. Hats off to all the crews and staff for they were all on the top of their game making sure we all have the best experience possible. It's amazing too that I saw a lot of my fellow Filipinos working on the ship. I feel at home right off the bat. I wish I can share some pictures here but I don't like posting any pictures of anybody without their permission so you'll only be seeing mostly me, my husband and some views.

Fun day at sea. It won't be long before we reach our first port- Grand Cayman, BWI

 Dessert

Dessert

Our second "good night" turn-down from our room attendant with our schedule for tomorrow

 and the animal folded towel- I think it's a seal, what do you think?

11/9/2010 - Grand Cayman, BWI - Our first port of call. . We decided not to get an excursion on this port. We were tendered by a small boat to the shore and from there we walked a couple of blocks to catch a bus that took us to the Tiki Beach-Seven Mile Beach where we relaxed on our lounge chairs with refreshing drinks and all you can eat lunch buffet sitting in front of the beautiful Caribbean sea.

Unfortunately we forgot our camera in our room after taking a lot of shots while entering the port so we just have couple of shots taken from the cameras of our friends on the beach- what a bummer!!! 

The water was amazing- you can't resist the clear turquoise blue water that complements the white sand. It was very relaxing. =)

 Approaching the port of Grand Cayman, BWI

 Our lounge chairs in Seven Mile Beach together with our friends

 An Iguana right above the tree where I'm sitting at.

Everyone was taking pictures and the Iguana seems to love the attention.

 Enjoying the sunset by the deck before dinner. So Beautiful =)

A lovely eskimo folded towel, the schedule for the following day

and 2 chocolates provided for their turn-down service. Good Night =)

11/10/2010 - Mahogany Bay- Isla Roatan, Honduras - Arrived around 11:00am. No boats tendering us this time. As soon as we got off the ship, we went to meet up with our tour excursion guide. We picked the Clear Kayak, Snorkeling and Gumbalimba Park. It was a fun ride to the park, it reminded me so much of my hometown in Philippines.

 Start off the day with a yummy breakfast in Lido Deck (I have to mention though that

the hot chocolate that's available 24 hours a day is so rich and delicious -no kidding =) )

 Entering the port of Mahogany Bay, Isla Roatan

 The view on the other side while entering the port

 On our way to meet our excursion guide

 Shopping and Information area

 Clear Kayak

 Passing the beach

 Resort areas

 Sitting on the hanging bamboo chair when our friend saw an Iguana again =)

 Monkey's made out of a coconut shell (Cutie!)

Saying "Good Night" this time is a dinosaur (Awwwwwww!)



11/11/2010 - Belize City, Central America - Arrived at 8:00am. On this port, we were tendered again by a boat to the shore. We chose the "Raiders of the Lost Mayan Cave" also known as the "Dragon Mouth" on this stop and our experience was well worth it. Our tour guides were amazing- we travelled through different levels of the Mayan underworld by way of via-ferrata, zip lines, swinging suspension bridges, and a rappel down a cliff. We enjoyed it very much.

On our way back, we stopped by the base camp for lunch that awaits us. We were served chicken barbeque kebab, a tortilla, with beans on a side and a refreshing fruit punch. It was super delicious.

This day was also our 2nd Cruise Elegant Night.

 Welcome to Belize- Let the fun begin. =)

 A picturesque shot of their town

 A sample money shown to us by our tour guide while on the bus heading to our destination.

 Getting nearer....

 The Dragon's Mouth?

 My turn to do the combination rappel and zipline by the cliff (Fun, fun, fun!!!)

 An elephant formation inside the cavern

 Swinging Suspension Bridge

 And off I go (Yeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyy)

 Seafood Appetizer

 Our favorite chilled soup appetizer- This one is the Raspberry chilled soup. 

(The peach chilled soup we had the day before was the best though) 

 Main Course - Roasted Chicken

 Main Course - Fish (I forgot the name for this dish but this is the dish that the chef won first place in one of the cooking contest abroad- I also forgot the place but it was one of the prestigious contest- I wish I took a picture of the menu with that description) - I can see why, it was delicious. =)

 Dessert - Assorted ice cream with fudge cake

 Dessert - Chocolate coconut cake

A souvenir I got from Belize.

 A "good night" from a cute bunny welcoming us back to our room. =)

11/12/2010 - Cozumel, Mexico- Arrived at 8:00am. We did the "Mayan Ruins of Tulum". We enjoyed it so much but we wished there was more time to spend there. It's an amazing place. Someday, we would like to go back there to stay longer and enjoy what Cozumel has to offer- maybe a week long vacation in one of their villas- sounds good to me. =)

Playa Del Carmen

Mayan Ruins of Tulum

Mayan Ruins overlooking the Caribbean sea

Lining up to get back to our ship. Carnival Valor on the left and Carnival Liberty on the right.

"Good Night" from the man's best friend. =)

11/13/2010 - Fun Day at the Sea - A bitter-sweet day because we know this is our last night on the cruise- meaning back to reality but at the same time we missed home. On our last fun day at the sea, we went to see all the shows and activities. Enjoyed the different food offered on different restaurants on that day alone- it's like a farewell food galore. I splurged on their "chocolate buffet", mongolian food, fish and chips- the ahi tuna with watermelon was also one of my favorite. The fun never ends. As we head back to our room to retire for the night, a heart folded towel greeted us. We will definitely miss this experience but like they all said,  "there's always a next time". Our special thank you to our room attendants for doing such an outstanding job in making our vacation a blast. To our dining attendants- for an excellent job in making sure that our dinner each day is a special one. We hope to see you all soon. XOXO

What better way for our room attendants to say "Good Night". Well, the Heart says it all =) 

Songs that Inspire Me

"My Wish"
By Rascal Flatts

I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,

But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.

But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

This is my wish
I hope you know somebody loves you
May all your dreams stay big


**************************************************************************************************************

Josh Wilson - Before The Morning Lyrics

Do you wonder why you have to
Feel the things that hurt you?
If there's a God who loves you
Where is He now?

Or maybe there are things you can't see
And all those things are happening
To bring a better ending
Someday, somehow you'll see, you'll see

Would you dare, would you dare to believe
That you still have a reason to sing?
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling
It can't compare to the joy that's coming

So hold on, you gotta wait for the light
Press on and just fight the good fight
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling
It's just the dark before the morning

My friend, you know how this all ends
And you know where you're going
You just don't know how you'll get there
So say a prayer

And hold on
'Cause there's good for those who love God
But life is not a snapshot
It might take a little time, but you'll see the bigger picture

Would you dare, would you dare to believe
That you still have a reason to sing?
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling
It can't compare to the joy that's coming

So hold on, you gotta wait for the light
Press on and just fight the good fight
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling
It's just the dark before the morning

Yeah, yeah, before the morning
Yeah, yeah

Once you feel the weight of glory
All your pain will fade to memory
Once you feel the weight of glory
All your pain will fade to memory, memory, memory, yeah

Would you dare, would you dare to believe
That you still got a reason to sing?
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling
It can't compare to the joy that's coming

Would you dare, would you dare to believe
That you still got a reason to sing?
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling
It can't compare to the joy that's coming

Come on, you gotta wait for the light
Press on and just fight the good fight
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling
It's just the hurt before the healing

Oh, the pain that you've been feeling
It's just the dark before the morning
Yeah, yeah, before the morning
Yeah, yeah, before the morning

With these songs in our heart and actually applying it in our lives, I think we will be in pretty good shape. Be inspired and keep the faith <3

My Weekend Highlights

Friday- Movie night at home with my husband. We watched "Date Night". It was hilarious. Steve Carell and Tina Fey were great. We had a good laugh. =)

                                                                              <3 <3 <3

Saturday- Went to check out some fish for our aquarium and here's some that caught my attention.....

You've got to love the eyes.

Love the color of this fish.

Beautiful stripes and dots.

And here I am, enjoying the sight of these beautiful saltwater fish. I wish we can have this at home but my husband said it's too expensive so we're pretty happy and content with the freshwater fish. =)

Had dinner at one of our favorite Thai restaurant. I love this restaurant, food and ambiance is great, price is very reasonable, servers are very friendly, not to mention the area is just minutes away from the city dock so the scenery is fantastic and to top it all, the weather was undeniably perfect for fall. =)

                                                                 <3 <3 <3

Sunday - We had an inspirational message at church after which went to our favorite breakfast restaurant to have brunch then head to this new Shop-rite that opened in our area and I must say that I am very impressed with this new grocery store. I like how everything is organized and everywhere you look someone is offering you free samples. I hope that they will keep it that way and not only because they are new.

See how happy I am (lol)

Then we biked the remaining of our afternoon. I think we're ready for the week.......... =)

1st Blogsite I followed

http://www.completely-coastal.com/

In connection with my weekend DVD movie night, as I researched the movie location, I found Maya's (The author of the blogsite) blog and I am hooked because it's like hitting two birds in one stone. Her site is amazing. As you all know, I love everything nautical and her blog has it all. You just have to check it out yourself and you'll know what I mean. She inspired me. More power to you Maya. =)

DVD movie I watched.....

So last Sunday, I watched "The Proposal" again for the 2nd time while accompanying my husband in our living room while he's busy doing his planted aquarium and as usual I enjoyed it.

Little facts about me: One of my hobbies is to collect the DVD's of the movies that I love so I can watch it over and over again if I wanted to and the one thing that I love to do is to wait for the credits to see where the location of the movie was shot and then add that up to my list of places to visit to (maybe soon or in the future). =)

Rockport, MA

Sitka, Alaska

I love Sandra Bullock's preppy outfit here.

Source: http://www.completely-coastal.com/

Joining Facebook

So finally today, after much convincing from friends and family I opened my facebook account. My husband told me that I should mark this date because it was so hard for me to be convinced. Oh well..........

Weekend Wish

To spend my weekend in a sunny, blue skies, white sand beach........

Then be lazy in a hammock tied between the palm trees as long as I want...............

Watch the sunset with my husband.............

And end the night with a simple dinner of wine, salad, seafoods & pasta (maybe steak for my husband hahaha) in this location? What more can you ask for...... =)