Caribbean Vacation Part I

We just got back from vacation. It's the first one I've ever done in December that I remember. We took a train ride to Tampa, FL. We spent the night down town and enjoyed the sites in the city. I highly recommend the Hyatt Regency downtown. Super nice hotel with great service, and in December, by using Priceline, we got an unbelievable rate. Below are pictures of how we toured the city. We walked a lot, but the electric streetcars were fun too!

The next day, we got up, ate breakfast, and headed for Tampa's port to board our cruise ship. We sailed out on Thursday aboard the Grandeur of the Seas (Royal Caribbean).

I don't know what I expected, but I was in awe of its size!

The pool LOOKED great, but the weather wasn't so great, so we didn't use it at all. Too cloudy and windy most days.

Our room was tiny, but we only used it to sleep, shower, and change. But next time, we're gonna go a little bigger.

One of the cutest things they did on the ship was fold our towels into different animals. Matthew was fascinated and even wanted to learn how (yes...they did a little class on towel folding.)

My favorite part of the ship experience was getting dressed up to go to dinner. Our waiters, Amel and Roger were fantastic...super nice. The food was indescribably good! And we enjoyed dining with our new friends, Alex and Maria, from Kissimmee, FL.

I also loved how the ship was all decked out for Christmas. So beautiful!

This was an actual EDIBLE gingerbread village made by the chefs. So pretty!

Below is an elf carved out of a watermelon! Now someone is talented! Isn't he cute?

On Saturday, we sailed into Cozumel, Mexico. That is where we had the most fun!


Next time, I'll share more pictures and adventures from our cruise.