odds and ends

It just might be time to wrap up this cruise theme and throw it all together in one post.


We went on a Carnival cruise, I don't recommend them. There wasn't anything "wrong" with it but well lets move on. We all agreed it wasn't quite right. That doesn't mean we didn't have a great time together.

After informing, the Rosie that she needed a dress I allowed her to choose it. It wasnt anything I would have picked but she loved liked it so that was what mattered. Lily on the other hand had to be reined in when it came to packing her dresses. I love to dress up occasionally so I didn't mind at all.

Every 5 seconds a ships photographer was attempting a photo but the were not good photos. I decided to take ours.

Lily and Rosie. Sadly the dining rooms were freezing, to the point it was difficult to eat as you were so cold so Rosie always had to wear a cardy or some type of sweater.

My 3 girls.

familia

sistas from different mistas

Lucy and her Mama, more to come on Lucy shortly

the 3 of us

I cannot believe I have so few photos of this one. (and she loves the camera)

cheers

When we weren't eating or disembarking we did this:

admiring the scenery

I love this photo

Rosie loved the waterslide

A lot

Lily was more about a cold lemonade on the side of the pool

again

do you think they had fun?

Rosie took these photos. Every morning her and I would go together to get coffee for Jakie and I. One morning every single deck chair had a towel animal on it.

funny

We also saw many many shows and participated in some quizzes. The girls thought I really ought to get in a show so I did. Thankfully the photos that Rosie took are not any good. I walked away with a medal and 2 proud kids.

 If you take a Caribbean cruise i suggest during the cooler months unless you are from somewhere hot or truly love steam. Carnival caters to a younger crowd and is called the fun ship. This time there wasn't much for the girls to do unless they went to camp carnival. I take the girls with me as I like being with them but  a lot of people drop there kids at camp from 9am til 10pm. If you have a specific question just leave it in the comments.

cayman

When "the Sista" talked of another cruise and mentioned Cayman, actually that part was Lucy, I was so giddy. Cayman is on my bucket list. We decided to go it alone and not take an organised excursion. The day couldn't come fast enough especially after a full day at sea.

The Caymans are teeny tiny Islands and the ships are unable to dock so a tender is required. The kiddies thought it was the best fun.

all aboard the tender

Looking back at the ship

welcome

We knew we needed to take snorkeling equipment with us as the order of the day was to find a lovely beach. What we found was a super crowded beach filled to the gills with tourists but it offered everything we needed. But it was in Cayman with its silky soft sand. Being able to snorkle so close to shore and see such amazing fish was wonderful. Since I am not big on the ocean cos it's dirty and filled with fish ( i know I know) this was perfect.

The sand was as soft as flour

Lunch, right on the beach

my favourite photo from the trip

oh the sista will kill me for this, but I love the water colour and Lily

such a happy little pickle

After lunch we split up and the girls and I stayed on the island.

silly geese

Isn't that meant to be red??

I suppose it matches the beachy feel better

the main drag

As we meandered the streets we saw a Guy Harvey studio. The sign outside read, meet the artist. We assumed that was just a way of getting people in. Since the girls love his work we went in and whaddaya know. He was there. Guy Harvey designed the swim caps for Flying Fish and is a good friend of the Coach so of course that was it, the girls and he bantered back and forth about Andrew and then he suggested a photo.

don't they look giddy?

As much as I loved Cayman it was hotter than the bowels of Hell. It was time to head back to the ship and some coolness.

as we queued up to get on the tender we noticed this sign, better late than never!

she is hot.

I❤️Cayman. But not so much the heat.

ocho rios

Everybody that has cruised into Ochi has done the Dunne River Falls experience and we couldn't wait to do it either. A massive waterfall that you have to climb up, the girls would love it. Well that thought went right out of the window when Lucy and I were reserving excursions and we saw one for zip lining and river rafting. Much more our cup of tea.  We could barely contain ourselves, now the day at sea would be even harder to deal with.

(for Viv, and anyone else who was wondering) I don't deal with the days at sea very well. It's certainly not boredom and it certainly isn't sea sickness, it's lack of control. I cannot get off the ship and I don't have my car. I am marooned. Even though there are many many things to do, I need to know I'm not stuck on a boat with 88 million of my closest friends. There were not 88 million people of course but there were more than just us. I'm not a social creature and I like to be able to do my own thing with my peeps.  ~And so with this in mind the day at sea was longish. But we had fun.

We awoke on Wednesday to this view.

Ahhhh, mountains. My heaven

Lovely

nice morning

We were off the ship like a rocket and thrown into this mad, hot, colurful display of a Jamaican market outside the port.

street vendors

I apparently have a death wish as this photo looks like it was taken from the middle of the road.

We were all corralled and placed on a hot little bus. And this is where we stayed as we climbed higher into the mountains on death defying roads. I loved it.

Ready to go

as we were riding I looked up and saw this.

Lets go zip lining

Hope the river rafting water is better than this

so beautiful

loved all the pretty bridges

lily loves her some, WATA, now we have bottles from both trips there

hmm, taken out of the window on our way there

It's a little poor around there but at sometime, probably the 80s there was a lot of of gorgeous homes that now sit in wreck and ruin.

We were told to find a locker and lock up everything that we didn't want ruined, stolen or wet. That included cameras. Crappitty. So as we zip lined through the Jamaican countryside and rafted down what is the cleanest river I have ever seen You will just have to take my word that it was fabulous. I could have taken photos on the ziplines. They might have been a bit bumpy but I could have managed, never mind

 We got back to "camp" and ready to eat our preordered food only to be told there was none left. It's not  as if you can make a fuss as this was Jamaica and they never have a problem with anything, only situations and all situations have a solution. Anger goes against their creed. So some greasy chips, and 2 quesadillas for five people and some WATA and we were golden.

Rosie didn't seem at all perturbed about the lack of food. Here she is eating one fry.

The bus dropped us off outside the port and we had a couple of minutes to check out the markets. Both girls had some spending money and were eager to see what crap, souvenirs they could find. It didn't take Rosie very long at all and she wasn't about to get bullied with the price either. She told the vendor what she wanted to spend on his wooden carvings and he was shocked. He wasn't about to sell his wares for $5. LOL, She had plenty of money but decided that was all she was willing to spend. He wanted $30, she walked away and he chased her down. I encouraged her to stand firm but to listen. She ended up getting a darned good price for the giraffe.

We needed to get back on the ship

Meet Ochi, the giraffe

The queue to get back on the boat was long, but you have to expect that.

Good bye Ocho Rios. It was fun.

This is an aspect of cruising that never gets old, the views. having a balcony was lovely my sista from another is so smart!

Next up the fancy pants dinner, Cayman and just random stuff.