| Family Cruise to the Caribbean |
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In January 2005, my father invited the family on a week long cruise of the Caribbean. We all met in Fort Lauderdale, Florida the night before the cruise. We boarded the msWesterdam (part of the Holland America Line) the next day.
The very first night onboard was very rough for a majority of the crew and passengers.
75% of the passengers were seasick. I had never been on a ship out on the ocean before so I had no idea if I would get sick. I was among the 25% that did not get sick that night. I did feel bad for everyone who was sick that night but I did enjoy the dinner and shows that night. It was unusually rough waters that night. The captain said it was the roughest waters he had to navigate since he became captain of this ship. I was impressed with the waiters that night. I did not see any of them drop a tray even while some trays were being thrown off the carts as the ship rocked.
The next day we arrived at Half Moon Cay Island in the Bahamas. This is a private island owned by the cruise line. The waters had calmed down that morning and the rest of the cruise was smooth sailing. Unfortunately the winds were still high that day so some of the shore activities I had signed up for had to be cancelled, including parasailing. I was still able to go to see the stingrays and all of us enjoyed a lovely day on the beach. Sometimes as many as 5 ships are at the island at one time but we were lucky that day. We were the only ship there that day and had the island all to ourselves.
After we left Half Moon Cay, we spent the night and the entire next day at sea on our way to Jamaica. There were many things to do on the ship. Family members participated in contests, shows, karaoke, etc. I actually sang a song the one night. Unfortunately someone recorded it on their cell phone. I thought I was safe singing there, but apparently I was not. Ha. Ha.
In Jamaica, many of us went to Dolphin Cove and then Dunn's River Falls. If you view the pictures I took while in Ocho Rios, Jamaica you will see I took a lot of pictures at Dunn's River Falls. Since we still had some time left before we had to be back onboard, some of us went shopping in town.
We left Jamaica that evening and headed for Grand Cayman Island. We arrived in Grand Cayman the next day. The island was beautiful, even though we were there only months after the worst hurricane season on record (2004). There was a lot of shoreline damage. Some of us spend time shopping. Before heading back to the ship, a few of us took a trip in a submersible boat and were able to see a lot of the sea life that hangs out around the island.
After arriving back at the ship and spending a night at sea, we arrived in Cozumel, Mexico. We were given a long day of shore leave in Cozumel. Many family members went on various adventures.
A few of us went to the museum and then to Paradise Beach. Paradise Beach was fantastic. For a very small fee, you get full access. The beach had everything including climbing walls, parasailing, and a bungee launcher.
The sun was setting by the time we got back to the ship. We spent that night and the following day at sea heading back to Fort Lauderdale. Many of us spent that time trying to fit in as many events as we could from all of the ones available on the cruise. |
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