Ever since I was a little girl watching the Love Boat, I dreamed of going on a cruise. Frank and I have talked about it many times over the years, with me doing most of the talking, and him avoiding the topic.
Last year, Paige and I started a tradition of going on a girl's only trip for our July birthdays. She saw a commercial for Carnival cruises and decided that was the vacation for us. I thought it was a great idea...except for the cost.
Then I remembered that Frank has been saving Baker Bravo points that he gets from his AC supplier ever since he went into business for himself. He had enough points saved for a 4 day cruise! He and Jacob both swore they had no interest in joining us girls on a cruise, so it was anchors aweigh for Paige and me!
I decided to cruise out of Jacksonville because I was familiar with the city since we lived there when we were first married. Carnival offers one ship, the Fascination, in Jacksonville, and our cruise was to Freeport and Nassau, Bahamas.
Paige really wanted to swim with dolphins, so I surprised her with a Dolphin Encounter excursion. We were able to see the dolphins perform, learn a lot about them, and then get in the pool with them and pet them and were even kissed by a dolphin!
The weirdest thing about Freeport was the ride through town...they drive on the wrong side of the street!
We were really blessed to make friends our very first night on the boat. We met a girl and her mother from Camilla, Ga of all places! Bethanny was pretty close to Paige's age, and her mom is a teacher, so we had plenty in common and really enjoyed spending time with each other on the ship. Paige and Bethanny were instant friends and spent almost every waking hour together. They wore us mama's out! We went to all the shows and ate, and ate, and ate! Midnight buffets and room service became our best friends. Everything they say about cruises is true. And we loved every minute!
We had great service and Paige was always excited to see what towel animal we had in our room every night.
Ever since I was a little girl watching the Love Boat, I dreamed of going on a cruise. Frank and I have talked about it many times over the years, with me doing most of the talking, and him avoiding the topic. 
Last year, Paige and I started a tradition of going on a girl's only trip for our July birthdays. She saw a commercial for Carnival cruises and decided that was the vacation for us. I thought it was a great idea...except for the cost.
Then I remembered that Frank has been saving Baker Bravo points that he gets from his AC supplier ever since he went into business for himself. He had enough points saved for a 4 day cruise! He and Jacob both swore they had no interest in joining us girls on a cruise, so it was anchors aweigh for Paige and me!
I decided to cruise out of Jacksonville because I was familiar with the city since we lived there when we were first married. Carnival offers one ship, the Fascination, in Jacksonville, and our cruise was to Freeport and Nassau, Bahamas.
Paige really wanted to swim with dolphins, so I surprised her with a Dolphin Encounter excursion. We were able to see the dolphins perform, learn a lot about them, and then get in the pool with them and pet them and were even kissed by a dolphin!
The weirdest thing about Freeport was the ride through town...they drive on the wrong side of the street! 
We were really blessed to make friends our very first night on the boat. We met a girl and her mother from Camilla, Ga of all places! Bethanny was pretty close to Paige's age, and her mom is a teacher, so we had plenty in common and really enjoyed spending time with each other on the ship. Paige and Bethanny were instant friends and spent almost every waking hour together. They wore us mama's out! We went to all the shows and ate, and ate, and ate! Midnight buffets and room service became our best friends. Everything they say about cruises is true. And we loved every minute!
We had great service and Paige was always excited to see what towel animal we had in our room every night.
It's very hard to describe how absolutely beautiful the ocean and the sky were out there. The whole experience was awesome, and we are definitely going back! I've even talked Frank in a cruise for our 20th anniversary in 2012...as long as it's to Alaska!
In Nassau, we decided to take a taxi cab out to the beach. Paige wanted to get her hair braided by the ladies. We spent the day at the beach, and it was BEAUTIFUL! We were going to go to the Atlantis resort too, but were just too tired. That is the only day I got Paige to take a nap! The water was so clear, the waves were like sheets of glass. 
There was so much to do both on the ship and in the ports, that we just couldn't get to all of it. I would be more than happy to go back on the same ship to the same ports again and again...it was that fun! Paige has already put in that we are going back next summer...and I'm already looking at deals to go back. I just wish I could talk the guys in our house to join us for a Thanksgiving cruise! 
No comments:
Post a Comment