LadybugLoUCKs: February 2011

Royal Caribbean:

Voyager of the Seas

Roatan, Honduras - Belize - Cozumel, Mexico

We were picked up at the Houston, TX airport on a limo bus and taken to the fancy Tremont House Hotel in Galveston, where we were to port out. And by "we" I mean me and my co-workers.

But before I get into the cruise details, let me share how excited I was to spend an evening with my brother and his family the night before we ported out. They live in Houston,and so were able to make the easy drive down to Galveston. It had been way too long since I'd seen them last. We ate dinner at Maggie Maes and had chocolates at a confectionary store.

This is my cool boss and his beautiful wifey who afforded the awesome gesture of taking us on this venture. I've worked with the same five people since I started two years ago, so needless to say, it was nice getting to see them, getting to know them (and their significant others), outside of work.

We celebrated our departure with a bon voyage party on the top deck....

the party was hosted by Kim and her friends - folks also in the dental profession but also frequent cruisers and good friends with each other.

It was a great pleasure getting to know these people! They are great conversationalists, kind, funny, trivia junkies (woot!), and delightful dinner company.

Port #1

Beach Day

This beach was beyond amazing! And for being a relaxing day, it certainly went by very fast. I suppose my mind & body needed more beach relaxation than was alotted.

I'm hoping one day to return to these hammocks

and maybe take a nap here :)

Port #2

Ziplining and Cave Tubing with the whole team

Ziplining was pretty tight. There were eight different platforms, including one really long ride. Cave tubing was also a couple miles long and mostly in some dark caves. Really relaxing! Would have probably fallen asleep if I hadn't had to paddle myself along every so often. The end of the ride was my favorite... mostly for what it felt like being in that moment. It was comfortably humid and warm, it started to rain so brilliantly, and I was drifting down a river watching the rain cause falling leaves. Essentially the moment felt like experiencing three seasons at once. And I didn't want to be anywhere else. (well.... except maybe at the lunch table, cuz i was starving)

Nacho! Kind soul. Our guide and host for the day

and Nacho's wife, Cynthia. Kinder soul.

Port #3

Scuba Day!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can remember wanting to learn to scuba since I was 10, watching my family below and I snorkled above them.... being spoiled by the ridiculously beautiful colorful
coral reefs of the Red Sea.
Now, Cozumel is not the Red Sea... but still incredibly beautiful. I was more wrapped up in the awesome-ness of finally getting to scuba dive, side by side with the fishies, hearing the crackling of the fish eating coral, and.....well.... breathing under water. So cool.

Not being certified nor having any kind of lesson before this day, it was surprisingly easy to catch on. We had a thirty minute lesson on the boat, some quick tests to pass in 5 foot water (like how to get water out of your regulator and mask, consciously NOT holding your breath, and of course pressurising your ears). And then gradually easing into 40 foot water. We had two full tank dives. I was instantly hooked!

Roatan was my favorite port, Scuba in Cozumel was my favorite adventure :)

Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas was our docking neighbor. Trippy how small you can feel between these two ships.

Besides the fantastic ports was REALLY good food,

really great dinner company, the service superb....

Dufify: to lay a bottle on its side-after drinking its contents-to collect the few remaining drops, which can then be poured (or dribbled) into a glass

I took lots of photos of my meals each night because they were so pretty and tasty, but instead of overwhelming you with food photos, I thought I'd just post one from the night I ate 5 desserts (simply because I could). yum

Also, there was an abundance of great entertainment. Here is one representation, an UNBELIEVABLE ice-skating show (on a tiny rink, on a boat). Sometimes you forgot you were even on a boat.

Dressing up for formal dinners was fun, too. Sometimes you just need a reason to wear the dress you've had tucked away in the back of your closet. For me it was a dress my dad bought me for my birthday one year.... and now I finally got to wear it. yay

My brother recommended waking up for a sunset. This particular one rose at 6:15 (i think). Totally worth it!

Oh yeah, and lets not forget one simple "official" reason for the venture....