Thanksgiving Cruise

On Sunday morning we got on the Norwegian Star. I was really excited to try another cruise line since all I had been on before was Royal Caribbean. We had the afternoon to hang out. It actually was pretty cold and windy in NOLA this day. Fun Fact: We cruised along the river for about 150 miles before getting into the Gulf. Too bad it was dark and we couldn't see anything!

Sunday night we went to dinner in one of the main dining rooms. 

 In the Red Lion pub after dinner.

Monday was our first sea day. It was in the 70s that day, a little chilly in the shade, but perfect in the sun. We laid by the pool the whole day.  

Cute Nan!  

Monday night we had dinner at one of the specialty restaurants on the ship - the Italian place!  

Drinks before dinner!  

After dinner we went to the casino for a little while. As you can tell, I was cold!

I had an obsession with this game where you could win $500 and an ipad. All you had to do was use a lever to get a key in a hole. I think it was rigged because I landed SO close (like a millimeter away) every time! All you had to do was swipe your room key for one try. One try was $1.00. I had 50 tries before the end of the trip...

Had to include the towel animals! Blake and I were getting coffee at the cafe one day and saw our room attendant, Melanie, giving an audience lessons on how to make these. I don't think I could recreate if I tried.  

STOP 1 - COSTA MAYA MEXICO

Our excursion this day was to go to the Mayan Ruins of Chacchoben. We had never been to any ruins before so it was really interesting to see. This day it was just me, Blake and Grant that went.

My recent obsession is coconut water and what better way to get it than a coconut itself!  

Chacchoben. They didn't discover these ruins until 1972. The ruins had so much vegetation covering them for over 2000 years! AND, GOOD NEWS - the Mayans don't believe the end of the world is December 21, 2012. They believe that a new calendar will start then. All this worrying for nothing! :)

Monkey at the ruins.

Not sure what this one was but it was cool with my Ray Bans!  

STOP 2 - BELIZE CITY, BELIZE

I was so excited to go to Belize. I have always wanted to go there. Our excursion in Belize was Crystal Cave tubing. It was such neat experience!  Since everything you took down into the cave with you would get wet, I opted not to bring my camera. Instead, I just took a few pics from the Internet.

What the entrance of the cave looked like from inside.

You divide into groups of 7-10 people and each group had their own guide through the cave. The tour took about an hour and a half. We wore the super awesome head lamp helmets too!

So many stalactites and stalagmites - the crystals were gorgeous. Also, it was SO incredibly dark in there. Literally, the only light came from your headlamp.

After the tour we had a traditional rice and beans Belizean lunch along with Belkin, the country's beer. It took about an hour and a half from the port to reach the caves, so we got to see a lot of the Belize country side, but also all the poverty. I would love to go back to Belize and stay on Ambergris Caye (where most of the resorts are).

That night B and I had a date night. Enjoying a glass of champagne on our balcony.

At the French restaurant.

STOP 3 - ROATAN, HONDURAS (THANKSGIVING DAY)

Roatan was our favorite stop. It was beautiful there. Here is the view from our balcony when we woke up in the morning. The port was super clean.

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Our excursion in Roatan was the Tabyana Beach Party. Basically, we just went to the beach for the day. The beach was beautiful!

So pretty and relaxing.

We had a Salva Vida or two. Honduras' finest beer.

And, another coconut water. :)

About to board the ship.

We came back to the boat and went to the pool for another couple drinks.

Granty!!

Our Happy Thanksgiving towel animal - a turkey!

We went to the Red Lion pub for a drink before dinner.

LOVE this picture. They did have an option at dinner for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. So, at least we got turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing. However, the entire ship did not have traditional pumpkin pie, and I LOVE pumpkin pie. Mom, be sure to have pumpkin pie for Christmas or I will literally lose it.

STOP 4 - COZUMEL, MEXICO

In Cozumel we went on a catamaran to snorkel and go to a beach. The catamaran picked us up right from the ship. Below is the boys getting ready to snorkel. I didn't feel good this day so I sat the snorkeling out. Turns out I had a sinus infection!

Blake got stung by a small jellyfish. Ouch!

The beach!

Our catamaran.

After we got back to the ship we headed right across the street to Carlos n Charlies. Walking in took me right back to Spring Break of my senior year of high school. Such fun memories there!

The next day was our last at sea day. Unfortunately, it was really cloudy and cold so we kept ourselves busy inside. B and I played a good game of scrabble in the game room. :)

Dinner the last night in the steakhouse - so good!

Nan and Pat - Thank you again for your generosity, thoughtfulness, and all preparation you did for the cruise. We had a absolute blast! It was so nice to be able to spend a week with you guys in paradise! :)