Annual Girls' Cruise!

As most of you know, every year, a couple of friends and I take a cruise. Our annual girls cruise has become just three of us, though it started with a larger group. But Karla, Jen, and I just decided we travel well together and always have a great time.

This year was no different. We set sail on the Independence of the Seas from Fort Lauderdale last Sunday for a 6 night cruise (our longest yet!) through the western Caribbean. All three of us were SO ready for the cruise this year - I guess it's just been a stressful year for us all! That, and the early onset of winter just made us that more anxious.

We managed to get on board quite early (and easily) this year. They had a new system where they asked people to arrive based on their deck assignment. Not that they'd turn you away, but it helped spread the arrival times out and keep lines down. So we got on board and found ourselves some chairs by the pool until our room was ready and we had to do our muster drill. It was an absolutely gorgeous day - perfect to just be by the pool in waiting.

Our first day at sea was spent cruising to our next day's destination (so another day lounging by the pool, getting some sun), Georgetown, Grand Cayman. Karla and I had not been to this port, though Jen had and knew a few things. We actually signed up for an excursion at this port - a catamaran tour of Grand Cayman, complete with a swim with the ray at Stingray City. Alas, shortly after getting off the boat, they had to cancel it due to rough waters around the stingrays. So we had to make up our own fun at the spur of the moment. We decided to go to Hell.

Yes, you read that right... Hell. There is a town called Hell on Grand Cayman, though it's not so much a town as it is a few buildings built up around these odd rock formations. But how many people can say they've been to hell and back and actually mean it?? And not just because we were using the public buses on the island. After we took our pictures and had our fill of hell, we jumped back on the bus and went back to a little jerk restaurant called peppers that Jen had learned about from a local. That's one thing she's really good at... talking to locals to find out where to go and what to eat, locally. Can't help but admire her for being able to do that... I don't think I could! But off we went and the food was, indeed, quite good. The owner was there and loved to talk to his customers. Interestingly enough, he was from Jamaica (our next port)... part of the 10% of non-black people from Jamaica (no lie - a fact we learned the next day, phrased just like that). Jen promised him a good review on Cruise Critic and we were on our way to Seven Mile Beach. Which is just what it says... seven miles of soft, sandy beaches. It was quite overcast, so not the greatest beach day. We just chilled out for awhile, took a dip to get our salt water fix, and then headed back to the port area to do some shopping. We all agreed we'd have to try this port again, though, and actually go swim with the rays.

The next day we were in Falmouth, Jamaica. Well, our ship docked there, anyway. We ended up further east, past Ocho Rios, up in the mountains, jumping off rocks and playing in the waters of Blue Hole. The area is basically a series of small water falls and pooled water, going down the mountain side, that has become quite the attraction. Some locals act as guides down the series of jumps and swings, making sure you jump where it's safe and so on and so forth. And they do some crazy jumps of their own, for entertainments purposes, as well. We had a blast doing it! Afterwards, we hit another jerk place for lunch called Scotchies. Personally, I liked the place on Grand Cayman better, but I will admit, they had a killer sauce for their chicken! But then it was back to the port with just enough time to grab a few souvenirs on the way back to the ship. This port, by the way, was really nice. Somebody sunk a lot of money into it, just this year, to build a brand new port area that was more secure and tourist friendly. Jen was just here in February, and it wasn't done yet!

Port three was just another overnight sail to Haiti. Royal Caribbean has a private beach/peninsula on the north side of Haiti called Labadee. It's quite nice, actually, although you know it's nothing like the rest of Haiti. Royal Caribbean put a lot of money into this place, as it even has a dock - no tendering in here, anymore (apparently, they used to). This little private getaway is decked out to the extreme, complete with a long zipline and even a small roller coaster. There's a 'rough side' that has waves, and a 'calm side' toward the bay, so you get your choice of serenity. It was about the most perfect day we had in a port yet, which was a good thing, since there wasn't much here besides getting some sunshine (unless you wanted to do the adventure sports stuff). We started on the wavy side, but it got too crowded, so we ended up in a little area on the calm side that Jen had access to. So it was a little more quiet. I decided to explore a bit and take some pictures at some point, and went for a lap around the paradise. I managed to get some great pictures of some waves crashing on some rocks before heading to the end of the peninsula where it was all waves crashing into rocks. That was the draw, hence the little viewing point they set up on what they dubbed Dragon's Breath Point. The name comes from the 'hissing' you hear as the water pushing the air through all the holes in the rocks. It's pretty cool, actually. And it now brings a Segway to a story.

I almost died here. Okay, not really, but I did have a moment of life flashing before my eyes. I was wrapping up my exploration of Labadee, and this lookout point was one of the last places. They have a nice path with stairs that you walk along made of natural stones and cement... so it's an easy path to walk. With lots to look at as you go. I had my little waterproof camera with me, so I wasn't worried about some of the light spray that was coming up from the point. I had to follow the path up and over one rock formation, through a gate, and then back down and up to got to the little tower they built. I saw some RC person up there, taking pictures of guests and such, and there was a good stream of people going back and forth. So I took my time, snapping pictures along the way. I was working my way up the last part of the path to the tower when I saw a neat view back, where you could see the top of the ship. Then I hear a wave hitting the rocks behind me and think, "Ooh! Sounds like a good wave to catch crashing!" I turn around real fast and start to snap the picture and realize that the wave is not stopping. (yes - this is a picture of the wave that almost killed me) Next thing I knew, I was thrown off the path/steps into the rocks about three feet below. It all happened so fast and I was just sitting there in shock when the security guard from the lookout came running down to help me out of the hole. I walk up to the top with him and catch my breath, while those who saw it all happen kept asking if I was okay and seemed to be a little shocked themselves. Then they started pointing out my injuries... lots of little scratches which, just because, seemed to be bleeding a lot. But I looked at them and could tell it was all superficial. After the shock started to wear off and the security guy knew I was okay, he deemed the lookout point closed because the tide was coming in (so THAT'S why he was up there and why there was a gate further back on the path - so they could close the point during high tide!) One couple was almost scared to walk back down - they kept seeing more waves and thought they were all going to start coming in like that. Nah... that's just my luck.

So I get back to my girls and tell them my story. They have their own shock and awe moment and a second shock and awe moment hits me when I realize how much worse it could've been. I was thrown down onto sharp rocks, after all... yet, managed not to loose my camera, sunglasses, or hair clip... only lost my SeaPass card to get back on the ship, but that was easily fixed since this was a private port. And I didn't realize that was gone until about an hour later! By dinner that night, we were all laughing about my luck, likely because we all realized I was actually quite lucky it wasn't worse! My biggest injury was actually discovered later... a bruise across my butt that had more colors than I knew could exist in a bruise. I iced it that night. And then strategically took photos as to keep my injuries (lots of scratches!) out of the line of focus.

Thankfully, our last day was a cruising day... just another day to lay by the pool. I took a bag of ice up with me to sit on until it melted. It was actually starting to feel better - I actually think the ice may have helped. But the bruise will likely be around for awhile. The day, itself, was the perfect day to be cruising. The sun was the perfect intensity and there was just a few clouds. It wasn't until the ship turned more northerly that it started getting breezy and more clouds came into play. But it's was about time to head in, anyway.

All in all, it was another spectacular cruise. At least the ports. The three of us decided that the service on this ship wasn't up to par with what we were used to on Royal Caribbean... but I blame that on the fact that they just came back to the US and Caribbean circuit after being over in Europe for a long time. I just don't think the European cruising set expect or want the same things from the crew and staff that American's have come to expect. At least I'm hoping this is the case - I'd hate to think Royal Caribbean is losing it panache. I guess we'll see next year!