March 7, 2015 - Port Canaveral or Bust

Jillian and I know we don't have many years before our traveling days are minimized by the raising of a child or children, so we've made it a point to get in as many trips as possible while we can. That said, Jillian booked us a cruise to try and knock off a few Caribbean islands in one trip. To maximize days, she chose the Carnival Liberty out of Cape Canaveral. It was one of very few 7 day cruises that stopped at four islands and had two days at sea instead of three. It was also conveniently located near her grandmother, aunt and uncle so we turned it in to a family visit as well.
It was a long drive; a little over 9 hours with unexpected traffic heading toward Daytona. Turns out it was bike week... which would have been great to know before leaving. For one, we would have liked to have gone to the Supercross race happening that weekend. Anyway, we showed up at Jillian's aunt/uncle/grandmother's house, hung out for a little while and then took off for dinner with them along the Atlantic Ocean. The next morning they were kind enough to make us breakfast and we went to one of the local churches they had recommended (part of our lenten promise to attend church more frequently). We didn't really unpack much when we had arrived so getting everything together was easy before we left for Port Canaveral's Cruise Terminals.

I wont go into much detail about our time on the cruise ship itself, because it wasn't a lot of fun. Neither of us likes being cooped up on a ship and I wasn't particularly excited about baking on one of the numerous tanning decks. The casino was enjoyable in spurts and there were good shows from time to time. I looked forward to dinner until we had it for the first time. We were seated at a table for four and the couple sitting with us obviously had no intentions of making conversation. I asked them what they did for a living and they said, "Work"... It was like pulling teeth. (Unless you're Jillian; in which case, that reference would mean it was easy)The dining experience wasn't much better. I can't count the number of times my order was either wrong or didn't even show up. I will say that there were some highlights to our stay on the boat. Jillian won $200 in the casino while playing one of those "claw" machines that you find in any kids arcade. This one was filled with packs of 100 one dollar bills. There was a great comedian the first couple nights. The cruise ship's newlywed game was very entertaining as was their towel folding class. Other than that, not much to talk about.

STOP 1: Nassau, Bahamas
I was probably more excited about Nassau than I should have been. I'd seen those Atlantis Resort commercials for years and had always been curious about the place. Getting to go there for a while was an opportunity I didn't think I would have. In my opinion, it lived up to expectations. As a beach day/aquarium excursion through Carnival, we got there via a group bus around 10 am and had a 6 hours to soak up as much sun as possible while leaving time to view their various fish tanks. The beach was perfect but the water was cold and after being out there a while there were some pretty aggressive waves. A few kids were clobbered.
The aquarium was pretty impressive. We spent a good portion of our time trying to find their giant manta ray but it proved too elusive. We walked around the hotel/casino and water park as well. It almost made me regret not having a pass for the pools and slides. If we ever get an opportunity to take our kids here, I'm taking it. Atlantis was pretty amazing.

STOP 2: St. Thomas, USVI
I think this was the stop Jillian was most excited about. She had booked a snorkeling adventure at a spot off the island known for it's sea turtle population. We had about half an hour or so to walk around a few shops just off the cruise ship before meeting the captain; who was late. The sailboat ride out and back was the perfect way to spend the day. Snorkeling with sea turtles was the cherry on top although I realized pretty quickly in the water that my mustache was not ideal for a tight seal on a diving mask. That, and I was also out of shape. We both had a great time though and got some great pictures and video. After the ride back, we ate some pizza at the marina and then walked around the shopping center looking for souvenirs and gifts for family. I actually would have liked to stay a few more days. It might go on the list of "return to" destinations.

STOP 3: San Juan, Puerto Rico
I was glad this was a stop on the cruise when Jillian booked it. We had heard a lot about Puerto Rico and hoped to get an idea of what it's like. Flights there are pretty cheap from Mobile or Pensacola and they have a hand-full of Hilton hotels that I could use points at to stay free. The cruise terminal is in old san juan so after we disembarked, we started walking toward parts of the old fort, that wraps around the old city. Jillian wasn't really thrilled about the amount of walking but I thought it was worth it. We stopped at two different fortifications, neither one really being worth the cost of admission. We did some more walking along the northern shore line; seeing La Perla, a questionable neighborhood situated outside the old town walls. After exploring the town and fort, we had lunch at a restaurant on top of a hotel and got some good advice on how to quickly visit the Bacardi Rum distillery. Luckily, there is a 25cent ferry that will take you from old San Juan to Catano (a town across the bay in which our Ship was docked). Our time was limited at that point so we couldn't do the factory tour. Instead we had a guy let us in the back door, straight into their gift shop. It was pretty much mandatory that we get several bottles of rum before we left. A taxi and ferry back to Old San Juan and then we were back on the ship. Personally, I loved Puerto Rico. I would definitely want to return and see the rest of the island.

"STOP 4": Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos
As you may have seen in the video at the beginning of this post, Grand Turk did not happen. Too windy was the reasoning given by the captain. I think it was b.s. but what can I do other than complain about it after the fact. We had planned to go snorkeling again; this time with nurse sharks. I had shaved that morning so my mask would fit properly, adding insult to injury. Luckily, the people we had booked with refunded our deposit. Still a huge disappointment as we had to spend that extra day on a ship for no good reason. Such was how our trip ended. Overall, I enjoyed it. It left a sour taste in both our mouths regarding Carnival... and cruising in general. I don't think we'll ever use Carnival again. I'm sure our next several trips out of the country will be flights.