What a great time we had on the cruise!! We cruised for 7 nights, aboard the Carnival Valor. It was one of the smaller ships we've cruised on, but we still had a great time! We left on May 30th and flew to Miami FL to board the ship: This pic turned out misty, I think it was extremely humid (or it COULD have something to do with the photographer...don't look at me-I'm IN the pic!!!:) Anyway, I just color sketched using Photoshop to give it an interesting look:
KT waving goodbye to Miami:
THe first day we explored the ship and ate dinner in the dining room. This was Gail and Pat's wedding anniversary, so they shared some wine and we snapped some pics. Matthew was fascinated with what they were doing with the wine:
Onto day 2-Jason started his day off with some ice cream after breakfast (I think all the kids had about 10 ice creams a day, it's free ice cream so they took advantage of that). We enjoyed the day at sea, swimming and learning our way around the ship. Matthew was a little hesitant of the water (read that VERY hesitant of the water), but he loved playing in the fountain. The staff was wonderful about it-in face at one point they had turned off the fountain, and when the security man noticed, he ran over to turn it back on for Matthew. This was also formal night, so we all dressed up and ate an amazing dinner in the dining room that included lobster.
Day 3-This was our first port of call, Grand Cayman! It is our favorite port in the Caribbean so far, the water is as clear as pool water. It has a beautiful teal color, just gorgeous. Everytime we go, we swim with the Stingrays. Here's a link to Wikipedia to learn about the rays: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingray_City,_Grand_Cayman They stick around the sandbar in the ocean (you are literally standing in about 3 feet of water...in the middle of the ocean!), and you can interact and feed them. I believe it's the only place in the world you can interact with the rays with them not being captive. They go there for food, and they are free to come and go as they like. The only bad thing about this particular trip to visit with the stingrays is that is was busier than we've ever seen it. There are typically one or two other boats, but as you see in the pictures, several boats pulled up so there were lots of peeps. After taking the tender to GC, we went to our predetermined meeting location. We hired a captain and yacht for the day, which is something we do every time we are in GC. We hadn't used this service before, but it turned out to be one of the best yet. It's a more expensive way to go, but VERY worth it. We knew this would be our favorite port, so we were willing to spend a little more. When we saw the typical cruise excursion boat roaming around with 100 people shoulder to shoulder, we just are reminded the extra money is well worth it. Our captain also took us to Starfish Beach, where we played with starfish the size of my head! They were huge, and so neat looking. We didn't have much time there, but it was a lot of fun and kids and adults both enjoyed. Lunch was at the Yacht Club Restaurant, it was delicious and perfect for lunch. I shared a refreshing Mojito with island grown mint.
The next day, we stopped at Isla Roatan. We went to the nearby beach, with beautiful water and white sand beaches. It was unbelievably hot, so we spent a lot of time in the water. Steve lost his glasses in the water here, so I have fond memories of using my snorkel and mask to try and hunt them down. We never did find them, but he replaced them soon after returning from the cruise.
Steve and I also ate dinner that night in the 5 star cruise restaurant, Scarlett's. The food was amazing, I had the 12 ounce lobster (I had never tasted lobster like this-so fresh), and Steve had the lobster and Filet Mignon. Of course there were appetizers and desserts, it was all amazing. Jason was nice enough to watch Matthew as he slept so we could go. Yah, we had to pay him to do so-but it was money well spent for one of the best meals we've ever had.
The 5th day we were in Belize. Jason and Steve went on a tour to the Mayan Ruins. Matthew hung out with the camp counselors while KT and I shopped for a few hours with some of the Maues.
On the 6th day, we stopped at Cozumel. KT Jason and I swam with the dolphins while Steve and Matthew enjoyed some time on the ship. We didn't just do the encounter with the dolphins (KT and I had done that before), this time we swam and interacted with them. They pulled us along, pushed our feet to make us look like we were walking on water, etc.
Here are some extra shots that were taken around the ship:
I wanted to add this short videa of Katie playing with the stingrays:
KT waving goodbye to Miami: 
THe first day we explored the ship and ate dinner in the dining room. This was Gail and Pat's wedding anniversary, so they shared some wine and we snapped some pics. Matthew was fascinated with what they were doing with the wine: 
Onto day 2-Jason started his day off with some ice cream after breakfast (I think all the kids had about 10 ice creams a day, it's free ice cream so they took advantage of that). We enjoyed the day at sea, swimming and learning our way around the ship. Matthew was a little hesitant of the water (read that VERY hesitant of the water), but he loved playing in the fountain. The staff was wonderful about it-in face at one point they had turned off the fountain, and when the security man noticed, he ran over to turn it back on for Matthew. This was also formal night, so we all dressed up and ate an amazing dinner in the dining room that included lobster. 
Day 3-This was our first port of call, Grand Cayman! It is our favorite port in the Caribbean so far, the water is as clear as pool water. It has a beautiful teal color, just gorgeous. Everytime we go, we swim with the Stingrays. Here's a link to Wikipedia to learn about the rays: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingray_City,_Grand_Cayman They stick around the sandbar in the ocean (you are literally standing in about 3 feet of water...in the middle of the ocean!), and you can interact and feed them. I believe it's the only place in the world you can interact with the rays with them not being captive. They go there for food, and they are free to come and go as they like. The only bad thing about this particular trip to visit with the stingrays is that is was busier than we've ever seen it. There are typically one or two other boats, but as you see in the pictures, several boats pulled up so there were lots of peeps. After taking the tender to GC, we went to our predetermined meeting location. We hired a captain and yacht for the day, which is something we do every time we are in GC. We hadn't used this service before, but it turned out to be one of the best yet. It's a more expensive way to go, but VERY worth it. We knew this would be our favorite port, so we were willing to spend a little more. When we saw the typical cruise excursion boat roaming around with 100 people shoulder to shoulder, we just are reminded the extra money is well worth it. Our captain also took us to Starfish Beach, where we played with starfish the size of my head! They were huge, and so neat looking. We didn't have much time there, but it was a lot of fun and kids and adults both enjoyed. Lunch was at the Yacht Club Restaurant, it was delicious and perfect for lunch. I shared a refreshing Mojito with island grown mint. 
The next day, we stopped at Isla Roatan. We went to the nearby beach, with beautiful water and white sand beaches. It was unbelievably hot, so we spent a lot of time in the water. Steve lost his glasses in the water here, so I have fond memories of using my snorkel and mask to try and hunt them down. We never did find them, but he replaced them soon after returning from the cruise. 
Steve and I also ate dinner that night in the 5 star cruise restaurant, Scarlett's. The food was amazing, I had the 12 ounce lobster (I had never tasted lobster like this-so fresh), and Steve had the lobster and Filet Mignon. Of course there were appetizers and desserts, it was all amazing. Jason was nice enough to watch Matthew as he slept so we could go. Yah, we had to pay him to do so-but it was money well spent for one of the best meals we've ever had. 
The 5th day we were in Belize. Jason and Steve went on a tour to the Mayan Ruins. Matthew hung out with the camp counselors while KT and I shopped for a few hours with some of the Maues. 
On the 6th day, we stopped at Cozumel. KT Jason and I swam with the dolphins while Steve and Matthew enjoyed some time on the ship. We didn't just do the encounter with the dolphins (KT and I had done that before), this time we swam and interacted with them. They pulled us along, pushed our feet to make us look like we were walking on water, etc. 
Here are some extra shots that were taken around the ship: 
I wanted to add this short videa of Katie playing with the stingrays:
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