Bob Marley, the Beach Boys and Half Moon Cay

After we left Grand Turk, it was off to Half Moon Cay. I know, when I first heard of it, I was like what the heck is that?

Turns out it’s Carnival Cruise’s private island. (oooo la la!!) When we got there, our awesome cruise director named Noonan began this heavily apologetic explanation of how we exit the ship. It’s through a “tender” process. No, nothing to do with juicy steaks, but it’s an excruciating process that involves getting 3,000 people off the ship via … Read more ...

Grand Turk: Rebuilding After The Hurricane

We arrived at the island of Grand Turk and it looked like something out of the cruise ship’s marketing materials. But after spending a few hours there, we got a glimpse of an island that is still struggling to recover from a devastating hurricane.

Grand Turk Caicos IslandsGrand Turk is the capital of the Turks and Caicos Islands, which are a collection of Caribbean paradise just north of Haiti and south of the Bahamas. Grant Turk is seven miles long and boasts of white sandy beaches.

Once getting … Read more ...

The Calming Sea

There’s something calming about the sea. Maybe it’s the rhythm of the waves, I’m not sure. But I do find it very therapeutic. It’s strange in that the cruise ship has all of these bells and whistles.

There’s a casino, karaoke, an arcade, winebar, sportsbar, comedy shows, movies, swimming, hot tubbing (is that a real verb?) a library, shopping and yet all I really want to do is hang out on our balcony and write.

As I sit here, I can see navy blue water … Read more ...

Kickin’ Off Our Cruise With Vegas Showtunes and Harry Potter

Hubby and I were giddy during the check in process. When we’ve got that nervous energy we make each other laugh with mocking, joke-telling or other 5th-grade-level antics.

Still in Miami, we were among the first in line to board. It’s not like we were excited to stay a moment longer at the haunted Lexington Hotel. We took the obligatory before-cruise picture with the faux background of paradise and then, it was on to the boat.

The entrance floor looked a bit like … Read more ...

A Vacation in the Caribbean, Won’t You Come Along?

Aaaaaahh. Vacation. Such a great word. It stems from the Latin word Vacare. You can probably tell that I’m on one right now, because who has the time to pontificate the roots of the word “vacation?”

I wasn’t going to blog from my vacation, but then I thought, why not? It’s not like blogging is work. In fact it’s something I really enjoy. So I welcome you to come along with me for a cybervacation, if you will.

It starts off in Miami, then aboard … Read more ...