The Cruise Bug

I confess, I have been bitten by the cruise bug. These days it is my favorite way to travel. Each time I step on to a cruise ship, I just feel the stress melt away. I took my first cruise in 2012 and I haven't looked back since, A cruise vacation can be what ever you want to make it into. You want to just relax with a good book with some great ocean views, they have you covered, you want to get out and visit exotic ports, they have you covered, if you want to experience some great entertainment they have got you covered. And the best part about it is, you don't have to worry about moving from hotel to hotel. I now have 13 cruises under my belt and have one booked for later this year and look forward to many more in the future. Cruising has brought many days of pleasure to me in many ways. I have gotten to see some absolutely beautiful places, experienced other cultures and spent some great times with friends and family.

So far my cruise line of choice has been Carnival Cruise Lines, simply because they are The Fun Ship, and the fact that I live only an hour to an hour and half or so away from 2 cruise ports. I have been to Jamaica, Belize, Mahogany Bay, Cayman Island, Grand Bahama Island, Nassau, Cozumel and Key West. Out of all of those I am hard pressed to say which one has been my favorite, each port has had some great qualities that makes them all stand out in their own way. I'll just give you a few of my favorite features about each port. So, I'll begin with the Western Caribbean, and Jamaica. Mountainous and lush and green, with flowers growing everywhere, against that picture perfect turquoise sea, that's just a tip of what Jamaica has to offer.

Dunns River Falls, Ocho Rios

The first cruise I went on was to Jamaica. The beautiful lush trees and flowers were amazing and we found that for the most part people are very friendly. Of course with any where you go, it's always advised to stay in a group. Our excursion was to Dunn's River falls. It was beautiful. Although climbing the falls is not for everyone. Its kind of tricky and unless you are steady on your feet I wouldn't recommend it. We also took a chair lift up to the top of a mountain and had lunch (Jerk Chicken) and did a little shopping at the small market there. The views were amazing!

Last year when we sailed there we couldn't have asked for a better day! The weather was just beyond beautiful and we had booked a tour with Sheldon Anderson. Who met us at the cruise terminal and gave us a great tour around He took us up to Rose Hall, and to a beach area, where we were able to get some really nice pictures we went for a nice lunch at a local restaurant and had some great jerk chicken. He then took us down to a shopping area and waited around out there for us to do some shopping. Our last stop was at Margaritaville, before going back to the ship. Sheldon was great! Very knowledgeable of the sites and very friendly, we never felt unsafe. I contacted him about a month before our cruise, and he called me within 30 mins. of sending him a message. We set up the date and price, (which was very reasonable).

He met us at the cruise terminal and brought us right back there when we were ready to board the ship. Sheldon was a great chaperone and guide for the day, So we made sure and gave him a hefty tip.

Georgetown in Grand Cayman, was our next stop. My first time around we visited the Turtle Farm Cayman's most-visited popular land-based attraction, Cayman Turtle Centre: Island Wildlife Encounter hosts more than 300,000 visitors each year. The park is the only institution in the world that successfully breeds green sea turtles, and releases them into the wild. The park allows visitors to get "up close and personal" with sea turtles in various exhibits and supervised encounters. Local and Caribbean birds, marine predators, crocodile and other island wildlife are also featured in this Grand Cayman island favorite "must-see". We also swam with the dolphins at the Dolphin Discovery.