Miss Me? I’ve been a bit busy sailing the Caribbean sea these last couple of weeks. I managed to work my fins off right until it was time to sail out, so it was a much needed break. Where have I been? Well, this year’s vacation was a 14 day cruise and a partial Panama transit!

I spent the first five days at sea. Yes, you read that right. In all fairness the first port was supposed to be Grand Cayman but due to rough seas we weren’t able to leave the ship. I honestly didn’t mind too much, God must have had a reason that we needed to stay safe on the ship that day. 

Aruba was my first port, and of course I loved every minute of it. This was my third time to Aruba and while I call it one of my favorites, I haven’t actually seen the whole island. So, I decided to do an island tour which was definitely an eye opener. I still love Aruba dearly, but never have I seen so many cactus in my life. It truly is a desert island. My time on the island will be on the blog soon, but I’ll give you a hint… I climbed a boulder. In a dress of course! 

Curacao was my next port, after all it is right next door. I’m not the biggest fan of this island, I’ve tried y’all really I have. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a gorgeous island filled with bright colors and dutch buildings. I’ve done tours, shopping and just wandering on past trips. This time, I really didn’t want to spend time on the island. It was my third time there and I was once again reminded that I’m not a fan. I kept it pretty simple and walked to Starbucks to get on the wifi, then over the floating bridge to a special linen shop that I had been in last year. That’s it. I finished my afternoon by getting back on the ship and swimming in the aft pool. 

My sea days were filled with much needed naps, sunshine and plenty of iced lattes by the pool. There were 8 sea days in total. Not counting days I really didn’t go ashore or the Panama Canal day. It only took me two days to get my sea legs back but I have the bruises to prove it. Those walls just came out of no where y’all! This was also the first cruise where I have been the most swollen, I don’t remember it being that bad on previous trips but I was happy for the land days that had me looking a little normal. I will be especially grateful once my shoes fit normally again, for some reason I can’t wear slippers all over the ship… although I’ve been trying.

The Panama Canal transit was quite the exhausting slow moving day. It started out early with me sipping coffee and eating bacon while heading through the chambers. I accidentally discovered the best way to experience all the views and angles from the slow process and made sure to take naps along the way. I get the honor of saying that I’ve been through twice now. We went in, turned around and came back again.

I knew before I left the states that I wouldn’t be spending much time in Costa Rica. This sort of brings up a topic that I normally don’t talk about when visiting the islands but here it is. Trust your instinct, trust what God is telling you. If you do not feel comfortable, listen and trust that feeling. I didn’t feel comfortable about the port before I even boarded the ship. I did get off and walked through the extremely crowded shops within the port. But I did not leave the gates. I think I was only ashore for an hour before I found my way back on the ship. There is honestly not much there at the port, even the ship told us not to wander. Instead, I hung out poolside eating pizza and swimming. It was a perfect way to spend my day.

Honduras was a fun stop for me. It was my first chance to finally do some shopping! Y’all know I love my sundresses and this is where I stocked up. After being on the go so much I chose not to leave the port and just stroll the shops. It’s a fun stop with lots of options but this girl came home with three new sundresses.

Cozumel was my last port before heading back to Galveston. I took a cab to Mr. Sancho’s a few miles down the road. I can’t wait to expand more on this one for you, it’s an all inclusive beach side, all you can eat, all you can drink complete with pools, amazing food and waiters serving you wherever you are within the property. I have never felt more spoiled or relaxed than I did there. Let’s just say I was enjoying life one peach daiquiri at a time.

Saying goodbye to my staff from the ship was one of the hardest goodbyes. They were my favorite part about my time on the Carnival Freedom and feel like family at this point. I just wanted to scoop them up and bring them home with me. I’m glad to be home and ready to get back into my patterns, but y’all it’s going to be a tough adjustment period for this new carnivore. No more filet mignon for breakfast and prime rib for dinner for this girl. Pray for me! Have a blessed week!