(no subject)
so one week after i got back, i'm finally updating
about my vacation. mostly for my own benefit, so that i
can remember it, lol.
i sort of feel like i never went, actually.
but yeah, so we were supposed to leave on thursday the 16th.
we were taking royal caribbean's grandeur of the seas from
baltimore. we planned on hitting the road around 10AM,
but the other family that we were going with, the gizzos,
weren't ready on time. as usual.
we left around 10:30, and we had to stop in new jersey to
eat and use the bathroom. then we hit traffic as soon as we got
into baltimore because of construction.
we've taken cruises out of baltimore before, so we didn't figure
that we would have to ask for directions. but they sail ships out of
the other side of the port, now, not the side we've been out of before.
so we got lost.
by the time we got to the ship, it was 3:09, and customs had closed
the gate at 3PM. so they wouldn't let us on the ship.
there were four families in total. we bitched & complained, but nothing
we said made any difference. we were going to lose all of our money
unless we flew to san juan & met the ship there.
so we drove home thursday night, and friday morning the parents
booked flights & hotels san juan. it was a mad dash to repack the suitcases
& make them appropriate for flying. our flight was 7:30, and we got to the
airport around 3 & literally sat there until it was time to board. we weren't
going to be late for anything else, lol.
i haven't been on a plane in a really long time, because
we've been cruising for 10 years, so it was kind of exciting.
the parents were being really big babies about the whole flying thing,
so i was basically the opposite.
we got into puerto rico about 12:30AM. we stayed there friday
night & saturday night, and the ship was due to come in
sunday at 2PM. we also got to the pier super early to make sure
there wasn't any problem. there ended up being about 20 people
boarding the ship in san juan, including all the people we were with
at the pier in baltimore. so it made me feel better that we weren't the
only idiots there.
i really love puerto rico. it's kind of like being in america.
but the beaches are super nice & the shopping is amazing.
although it was over 100 degrees both days we were there,
and i got major sun burn on the first day, lol.
so we boarded the ship on sunday, and all was
right with the world. it kind of sucked, because we missed two days
at sea, and all the introductions & everything.
the ship was really small, compared to what we're used to.
our cabin was on the second deck with a porthole, which
was sort of a negative, because we could see the waves hitting
our window and hear the wind outside.
the second port was st. thomas. we've been there a couple
of times before. we had family friends who were staying at a hotel
a few minutes away from the ship, so we went there & spent the day
with them. the hotel was amazing.
but after the two days we spent in puerto rico, i know that we are
definitely not hotel people.
then we went shopping, because st. thomas also has great shopping
right by the ship.
next we went to samana, dominican republic,
we had never been there before, & we didn't know what
to expect. it definitely wasn't the best place to go.
its super poor, so you can't help but be a little scared when
you get off the ship.
we went to the beach, which was a little sketchy because we were
the only ones there, but we toughed it out and more people came
eventually. we had to tender, which basically means that the ship has
to anchor offshore and you need to take a smaller boat to get to land.
they were tendering people in lifeboats, which was a bad move.
we've tendered before, & i usually like it, but it's always somewhat of
an experience. the lifeboats are closed in and stuffy, so its easy to get
a little bit claustrophobic. we ended up getting really bad rain on the tender
ride back, and the wind was whipping and spinning the lifeboat in circles.
there was definite seasick potential, but i was having fun.
the last port was labadee, which is royal caribbean's private island
in haiti. it's a lot nicer now than it was the last time we were there.
they built it up & put a lot more money into it. it was a relaxing day.
the ship moved a lot because it was so small,
so everyone took turns being a little dizzy.
i'm usually pretty good with seasickness, which i think is
somewhat in my head. i want to work on a cruise ship, so i
just tell myself that i don't get seasick, & i usually don't.
wednesday night was really bad, though, and i was up all night
watching the red sox & rangers on espn.
we got back to baltimore on saturday, and we had a slight
problem. since we flew out of JFK in new york, we needed
a way to get back home from maryland.
the plan was to rent two cars.
so we got on a small 21 passenger bus to take us
to the airport to pick up the rental cars, and the driver
offered to take us back to ny himself. it turned out to be cheaper,
so this man drove us 3 1/2 hours home in his airport shuttle.
it was really kind of surreal.
overall this was a weird vacation. it obviously got off
to a bad start, and it was never really the same after that.
there wasnt really anything to do on the ship, and since i didn't
have christina with me, my activities were limited. danielle
just likes to lay out on the deck, and i get major ADD after a few hrs.
but the parents did nothing but complain, and so did my brother &
danielle's brother, so danielle and i bit the bullet and enjoyed
ourselves as much as possible, just because we were tired
of everyone's negativity.
so cruise #12 down for now.
and i can't wait til next year.