Paradise revisited!

You know that saying "When it rains, it pours", or "good things come in bunches", well that is how we felt this year when we realized we would get to go on two cruises within 6 months of each other. To quote another oft used phrase "it's either feast or famine". Speaking of feasting, we had a fabulous Caribbean cruise with all my siblings last October and in February we got to go on another Caribbean cruise with Jon and Sara. We had decided to give our kids trips for college/graduate school graduation rather than other stuff, just because it gives us buddies to travel with. We had to wait a year because Jonathan couldn't travel last year during his Dental residency program with the Air Force, but it was worth the wait. We had a wonderful time. The months leading up to the cruise were a little ominous with news of cruise ships running aground, and outbreaks of the "noro-virus" sending ships back to port early, but we bravely pressed on. We met up with Sara and Jon in Fort Lauderdale on-board the Grand Princess. Boy were we an excited bunch! Many thanks to Gene and Silvia Cardon for babysitting the Cardon kids so Sara and Jon could escape to Paradise for a week.

Of course the first thing we did was eat.
The "Sailaways" are some of our favorite activities.

First night in the dining room. Unfortunately, we ate ourselves silly.
Jon ordered the "stinky" cheese plate in Devin's honor. (Devin doesn't care much for dessert but LOVES cheese, ever since his mission to France)
Sunday was an "at sea" day so we relaxed, read, sat in the sun, played Trivia (yeah, the Trasher's won) and had our own little "gospel" discussion. We enjoyed an English pub lunch in one of the other dining rooms.
Jon and I both love seafood and often ordered the same entree at dinner. Here's our cioppino (fish stew).
Nothing like a Caribbean sunset.
Monday was another "at sea day" so we soaked up the sun, played ping pong(all in honor of Taylor), swam (Tom swam in all 5 pools),
read, played more Trivia, and relaxed. Monday night was our first Formal night. What a handsome couple! Tom thought it would be great fun to meet the captain and pour champagne down the "champagne waterfall" (an appropriate photo to post outside the Bishop's office, don't you think?)
We finally made it to land on Tuesday and spent the day in ARUBA. What a beautiful island. We rented a car and enjoyed driving all over the island, sightseeing and exploring lots of beautiful beaches.
We had some great snorkeling. This pretty much sums up our feelings about ARUBA.
Another beautiful "sailaway".
That night, after a delicious dinner, and an obligatory piece of pizza, we had a "deck party" complete with line dancing (electric slide), games and a conga line. The life of the party.
Next stop, CURACAO.
What a beautiful, quaint place. We loved the pastel colored buildings and the cobblestone streets. It was very Dutch "European-esque". We only had 4 hours to explore the island, so Sara and I opted to shop while Tom and Jon took a tour. What a beautiful sailaway. We ate gourmet pizza in the pizzeria when we were all back on board. YUM! That night we had one of my favorite desserts a menage a trois.
Thursday was another "at sea" day. We passed back by Haiti so we waved to Taylor. Can you see it off in the distance? We enjoyed another day of sun, games and relaxing.
Our final "formal" night. Yum lobster and shrimp,
beef wellington, and chocolate soufle with "banilla" sauce. Our cute waiter Jasper from the Philippines and assistant waitress, Irina from the Ukraine. We watched the sun set from our own private window in the dining room each night.
We went to all of the evening entertainment.
There were 3 great production shows with singing, costumes and dancing, and a great comedian and hypnotist.
Friday we were in the Bahamas and spent the day at Princess Cays (Princess cruise lines private beach). What a beautiful spot.
It was the perfect day for sunbathing, swimming, snorkeling and relaxing. The snorkeling was fantastic, lots of colorful fish, sea fans, coral and we even saw a stingray. Awesome!
I can't end this travelogue with out a shout out to the International Cafe on deck 5. They had salads, rolls, paninis, fresh baked cookies and 12 different desserts available 24 hours a day and we took great advantage of this little gem. Oh how I miss that little International Cafe.
Our last night in the dining room they had the "Baked Alaska" parade. This picture pretty much sums up our new friend "the cruise gut".
Farewell Paradise, we can't wait until we visit you again!!!