Aruba

Day #4: Monday, February 15
Aruba

Aruba is one happy island, indeed!

Finally, time for our first port! I was so excited to see my first of the nine islands we were going to visit, and this promised to be a very exciting way to kick off our port days because...we were going SCUBA DIVING! Time to cross my first item off my "list," my friends!

We woke up before 8:00 that morning to get ready and have breakfast at the buffet before getting off the ship in Aruba. We checked in for our Discover Scuba excursion, and I did some souvenir shopping while we waited to depart (Eric and I collect a magnet and a postcard from everywhere we go, plus I decided to mail Eric a postcard from every port).

My first view of Aruba, from Heather's port hole: a wall. A brightly colored wall, yes, but still...a wall.

Our scuba tickets!

We took a shuttle to a hotel for an introductory lesson. We were outfitted with vests and fins and taken to the hotel pool, where our instructors got us hooked up to our air tanks. They taught us how to breathe through the mouthpiece, how to discharge water from it, how to get water out of our masks (without going to the surface), how to equalize our ears, what to do if we lost our mouthpiece, and the basic hand signals to use with our instructors while under water. For example, if you're trying to tell someone you're okay, you have to resist the urge to give a thumbs up, because thumbs up means "I need to go to the surface." Instead, you give the "a-okay" type hand signal.

After our quick lesson, they gave us some time to swim around and try out everything we had learned in the pool. I have to say, I really did not like it in the pool. I could not get used to breathing through the mouthpiece; I think I did not trust the equipment yet. Every time I would go underwater I felt like I couldn't get my breath, and then I felt panicked and I kept coming back up out of the water. I was starting to feel pretty anxious about going to the ocean - if I had to keep coming up now in the pool, what was I going to do when we were 25 feet underwater and just popping up to the surface wasn't an option? Heather was very sweet and kept telling me, "we don't have to do this, we can just stay on the boat," but I really didn't want to chicken out.

After the lesson they gave us some wetsuits (which was good, because we were cold!) then we all walked out to the beach to board the boat that would take us to the dive site. I was really trying to psych myself into excitement rather than anxiety, I have to admit.

The most flattering picture ever taken of me - getting into my wetsuit
(FYI, that was sarcasm.)

We look official now!

After a short boat ride, we arrived at our dive site: a sunken tanker from World War II. I was still very anxious and afraid I would panic underwater and not be able to come to the surface if I needed to. I told one of the instructors this, and she was very sweet. She said she would stay with me and we would go slow so I could do it. I felt a little better but still pretty nervous. Again, I just tried to pump myself up.

If Heather was nervous, she didn't let it show at all. Also, excellent demonstration of the "I'm okay" hand signal.

Don't let my smile (and hand signal) fool you - on the inside, I am FA-REAKING OUT.

One by one, everyone jumped into the water. You just held on to your mask and your weight belt and took a giant step off the boat. I was the last one in. I tried so hard, but I started panicking again. The instructor who promised to help me did just that - she pulled me back to the surface and got me to calm down my breathing. I took a deep breath and was finally able to get myself in the right frame of mind. One person from our group did get out and decide not to do it, so I knew if I backed out I wouldn't be the only one. But, Heather was already down there underwater. I didn't want to give up, and then Heather wouldn't know where I was.

So I did it. I relaxed and tried again. The instructor held my hand as we descended and I did fine. We would go a few feet, she would remind me to equalize (pop) my ears, would ask if I was okay, and when I said yes, we would continue. I had a little trouble equalizing my right ear for a bit, so whenever I told her my ear felt off we would go back up a foot or two and try again. It was a slow process, but I made it to the dive site - I was doing it! And Heather was down there waiting for me. I was so glad I made myself do it. Honestly, if Heather hadn't been there, I don't know if I would have gone through with it.

Hi, Heather!

Look! I made it, and I'm okay!

Once everyone was down there, we swam around that sunken WWII ship. It was so cool. There were lots of fish and various types of coral. Heather said one of the first things that happened to her when she got down there was a school of fish swam right at her and actually parted around her head as they swam past. Awesome! The dive lasted about 35 minutes, and before we knew it, we were heading back to the surface.

Heather swimming past a shipwreck

Shipwreck

Hard to make out, but that's a big ol' school of fish in front of the shipwreck

Scuba sisters!
(Heather on the left, me on the right)

When we got back on the boat, I was just so overcome with excitement that we really did it. I really tried my hand at scuba diving. I was so close to chickening out, but I conquered my anxiety and I DID IT. What an awesome feeling. Heather and I were both just on cloud nine and so excited.

We are PUMPED.

After returning to dry land and handing in our scuba gear, Heather and I went across the street to have lunch at a little restaurant called Salt & Pepper. Their "thing" is that every table has a different salt and pepper shaker set, from all over the world. If you bring them a unique set of shakers, you get a free glass of wine! That made me think of Toni, because Eric always brought her salt and pepper shakers whenever we traveled. It became sort of a running joke. If she ever makes her way to Aruba and wants to unload some of her collection, she could get good and drunk off free wine! Anyway, we had a delicious lunch (mahi sandwich for me, seafood wrap for Heather) and enjoyed some Balashi, the local beer. Very refreshing.

Heather modeling the Balashi

At lunch

After lunch we went back across the street to Palm Beach for a while. We found a nice spot in the sand and laid out. The water was so gorgeous, and the sand was white and soft.

Heather (and Stick Molly) catching some rays

I'm in Aruba!!!
(Also pictured: creepy guy on the right.)

After about an hour and a half at the beach, we caught the city bus back into town. We walked around the town (Oranjestad, the capital) for a bit - talk about colorful! I remember when my family first moved to Florida from Ohio, we were amazed at the colorful houses. I mean, you just don't see pink houses in Cleveland, but you do in Florida. But let me tell you...Florida has NOTHING on Aruba, or any number of these Caribbean islands for that matter.

Buildings along the water in Oranjestad

A closer look

A lot of places in town were closed for a holiday (Carnival), but some souvenir shops were open. I bought a cute beach bag and we took some pictures before we had to head back to the ship.

I like this picture because it shows small boats, bigger boats and really big boats (our cruise ship!)

After getting back on the ship, we went to Heather's cabin to rinse our sandy feet and make a cocktail. We got creative and invented our own tropical beverage, which we quite obviously named an "Aruba Scuba" - Bacardi, raspberry daquiri mix, champagne, and a splash of orange juice. Absolutely delicious. We took our Aruba Scubas up to Deck 15 for sail away. There was a Caribbean band playing festive music and we looked out over the edge at Aruba as the ship departed. Gorgeous.

Sipping our Aruba Scubas at sail away
(Also pictured: my miracle [for now] seasick patch behind my ear)

View of Oranjestad from the ship

I think I would like to go to that beach resort now, please.

Views of Aruba as we sailed away

After sail away, we went back to the cabin to shower and get ready for dinner. I got to call Eric again to tell him about our scuba adventure, too!

That night, in honor of Heather's first night off on this cruise, we fancied things up a little bit and ate in the Dining Room instead of at the buffet. We had a fabulous meal. (You all might remember from my Europe recaps how I love to describe/photograph food, so be forewarned that this vacation was no different.) We both started with shrimp and scallop appetizers and shrimp, spinach and crab soup. Heather had lamb as her entree, and I had a seafood medley of calamari, shrimp, scallops and a crawfish. We also split a penne pasta with mussels and white sauce that was very tasty. For dessert we shared a New York Cheesecake and Fudge Cookie with ice cream.

Mmm, food. From left to right: shrimp & scallop appetizer; shrimp, crab and spinach soup; seafood medley; penne pasta with mussels; NY cheesecake; and fudge cookie with ice cream

We had a very friendly waiter named Vanny who told us all about how he is from Portugal and will be moving to New York at the end of his contract to be a computer engineer. He seemed to take a liking to Heather and made sure to give us his Facebook information before we left. Ha! He was funny.

After dinner we stopped back at the cabin to refresh our wine, then we went to the Princess Theater to see a pianist named Kyle Esplin from Scotland. He was very good! He played lots of rock 'n roll-y type music and he was very cute. He is completely self-taught and can hardly read music. Interestingly enough, his wife is a classically trained pianist. I liked that!

Kyle Esplin performing in the Princess Theater

After the show we went to the Explorers Lounge for a martini (this time, Heather tried a Toasted Almond and I had a Milky Way, on Heather's recommendation). We listened to the Caribbean band "Flare" and watched people dance until the set ended, then it was back to the room for another episode of Jersey Shore before bed. What a day!

More delicious martinis!

Up next: A lovely day in Curacao, and another day at sea.

Just a reminder - check out our photo share site for more pictures from Aruba!

Out to Sea!

Okay, let's get this party started! I'm going to try to combine several days into this first recap post (which means it will be a long one, so brace yourselves), because we spent our first two days at sea, so they were relatively uneventful. Well, there was some fun stuff like touring the ship and seeing TWO of Heather's shows, so I don't really think they were uneventful, but some of you may. That's okay. That's why they're all clumped into this one post. Then tomorrow, we'll start getting to some island fun.

Day #1: Friday, February 12
Ft. Lauderdale/At Sea

Dad and I left St. Pete to make the drive to Ft. Lauderdale around 5:00 a.m. We arrived at Port Everglades around 9:00 a.m., and as we pulled up to Terminal 2, I got my first look at the Grand Princess. At this point, I was a tad bit excited.

Arriving at Port Everglades

There she is - my home for two weeks!

We waited for Heather to come through customs, then we all went to Publix so Heather could do some shopping. We also made a very important stop at the wine/liquor store so we could stock up for the trip. Needless to say I think we set a record for most money we have ever spent on wine in a single trip. But, when all was said and done we had 10 bottles of wine, 3 bottles of champagne, and a bottle of Bacardi. Please bear in mind that this is for two weeks, people. That's like, a bottle of wine per day, which is only a couple glasses per person. It's not as bad as it sounds. I think we scared my dad a little, though, as we loaded up that cart. (Which is another thing...I can't say I have ever used a cart in a liquor store before. That was kind of fun.)

Heather and our cart. Don't worry, we're not finished yet.

Our stash unloaded in Heather's cabin, plus a bottle or two in the fridge.

Heather's boyfriend Rick was coming down to surprise Heather for a day visit, but he had not yet arrived so to kill time we drove around and looked at the disgustingly huge houses in the area. Ick. But, I guess you need a big house if you're afraid your yacht will steal too much of the focus otherwise, right?

Once Rick arrived, we all went to Bubba Gump Shrimp for lunch, then loaded up our wine in our bags and got ready to get on the ship. We bid farewell to Rick and to Dad, then it was go time!

At lunch with Dad, Heather and Rick

Family photo after lunch

Getting through security and all that was no trouble at all, and we were on the ship and in Heather's cabin shortly after 1:00. We dropped off our stuff, then she took me out for a tour of the ship. She showed me all around, including the two theaters she performs in. I would spend much time in those theaters over the course of the cruise, that's for sure! I was pretty overwhelmed with how big the ship was and saw no chance that I would learn my way around. (Eventually I did, to some extent - mostly I knew how to get to Heather's cabin, the buffet, and the theaters. That's the important stuff, at least.)

Heather in her cabin. Also, meet our two travel companions: Molly-On-A-Stick, and Eric-On-A-Stick!

VIDEO: A look at Heather's cabin

The Atrium

The Princess Theater, where Heather performs most of her shows

My favorite part of the tour - Heather's headshot outside the Princess Theater!

The Vista Lounge, where Heather performs her "Motor City" show

The main outdoor pool on Deck 14. They show movies, etc. on that big screen.

Another pool at the back of the ship. I liked this one. Most mornings, we ate breakfast in this area so we could look out off the ship.

That evening, Heather had a sound check for the Welcome Aboard Show at 5:30. I went along with her, then we went back to her cabin and got ready for the evening. She had two shows that night, at 7:45 and 9:45. I went to both, of course. This was a new Welcome Aboard Show (or WABS, if you're "in the know") that they had never done before, but I thought they did a great job. The singers/dancers did four numbers, two as a group and one featuring each female singer. In between each number, the cruise directors would speak about the features of the ship, entertainment, food, etc.

I got some video of the performances, if you are interested in that. Unfortunately, my video skills are lacking and I did not actually record one of the numbers featuring Heather, although I thought I did. Blah. But, I did get two group numbers. I have posted the more upbeat one, "We Are Family," below, and if you want to see the other ("Sailing") click here.

VIDEO: "We Are Family" from the Welcome Aboard Show.
If you are looking for Heather at the very beginning, she is on the upper platform on the left when they do their first "pose." She has a long ponytail and is wearing a pantsuit.

Needless to say, I got super excited during "We Are Family" because Heather kept singing about "I've got all my sisters with me" and I was all HECK YEAH YOU DO!!!!!!

After Heather's last show, we had a glass of wine in her cabin. Her friends Leisel (a dancer), Ryan (a cruise director-type person), and Andrew (another singer) came to her cabin, then we all went up to the buffet for dinner. Unfortunately, the ship was rocking pretty bad and I started to feel pretty seasick. So, we didn't stay long. We went back to Heather's cabin and Leisel brought me a seasick patch, which was a MIRACLE WORKER (until later in the week...stay tuned for THAT story). I laid down for a bit and started to feel better, but it was time for bed. Busy day!

Day #2: Saturday, February 13
At Sea

We woke up around 10:30 a.m. I was so surprised at how dark it stays in Heather's room with her porthole closed! It is just as dark in there at noon as at midnight, so I never knew how late I was sleeping in. Heather was probably thankful for that, since I wasn't waking up early and interrupting her sleep. Ha! That girl does love her sleep.

I was very happy to no longer be feeling seasick (thank you, miracle seasick patch). We relaxed a bit then made it up to the buffet just in time to catch breakfast, which was delightful. I'll tell you what, I am already missing that breakfast buffet. I woke up this morning and was all, where are my eggs and bacon and potatoes and pastries and fresh fruit???? We ate nearly every morning out by the back pool, which was so nice.

My first breakfast on the ship

Heather at breakfast

We had hoped to lay out in the sun, but it was cloudy. So, we just walked around the ship a bit. We caught the tail end of a martini demonstration in the Atrium, and saw a Jacqueline Kennedy jewelry display (the hair brooch I wore for my wedding was from the Jacqueline Kennedy collection, so I liked this). We stopped in a couple shops then went back to the room for mimosas. We finished off the bottle of the champagne as I introduced Heather to the awesomeness that is the show "Jersey Shore." That show is glorious, if you are not familiar. It's a total train wreck, and I knew Heather would love it. Basically, we just lounged around all afternoon.

We did get off our butts for a bit to go talk to the shore excursions lady about getting the tours we wanted. She was able to get us all five of our top choices, and a couple of them we got for free! She was our new best friend.

We had a late lunch at the buffet, then Heather had another sound check at 5:00. I stayed behind and started getting ready for our first formal night of the cruise, then Heather came back to get ready for the show. That night she performed the show "Stardust," which they just premiered on the last cruise. It has much older music than some of the other shows, but there's lots of singing and Heather looked gorgeous in her costumes. I, of course, love every one of her performances. She's amazing.

Heather in "Stardust"

Heather and Brian

Below is a video of selections (read: parts Heather sings in) from Stardust, but I must take this moment for a disclaimer. My video skills are AWFUL. Actually, they're not usually that bad, but you are not really allowed to take video of these shows and I was pretty paranoid about getting caught and getting Heather in trouble. So, I tried to keep my viewing screen on the camcorder closed, and be as discreet as possible. This means that much of the time I was videoing, I had no idea what I was actually taping. So, I wound up with a lot of blurry footage, footage where Heather is behind someone's head, and even footage of the ceiling (that is more evident in my videos from the next show, so you'll see that later). In an effort to salvage these videos, I put in some still pictures in places where the video is pretty awful, so you can still hear the audio but look at something nicer. Hopefully this gives you enough of an idea of what the show is like!

VIDEO: Selections from "Stardust"

Heather once again had two shows that night (7:45 and 9:45), and I went to both again. Afterwards, Leisel, Ryan and Andrew came back to her cabin for a glass of wine, then we went to the buffet for some dinner. We were joined by Heather's friends Peter and Nikki (both dancers), and from there we went up to the nightclub, Skywalkers, where we danced, drank and talked. Leisel, Ryan, Heather and I were the last ones left up there and we talked until 3:00 a.m. Then, we finally called it a night!

Heather and me at Skywalkers with Stick Molly and Stick Eric

Day #3: Sunday, February 14 (Valentine's Day!)
At Sea

We woke up around 11:00. Our first stop of the morning was the shore excursions office to sign waivers for our first excursion (coming up in tomorrow's recap!), then went up to the decks to lay out in the sun for a while. Glorious, glorious sunshine. After a while we took a break and hit the grill for lunch, then went back to Deck 15 for more sun time. We were in front of the big screen over the pool that time, and at 3:00 they played a Cirque de Solei video. All in all, a very relaxing afternoon.

On the deck with Stick Molly

Looking out over the pool and big screen

In honor of Valentine's Day, at 4:00 in the Atrium the cruise director, Martyn, led a vow renewal ceremony for anyone who wanted to participate. Heather and I went to watch that, which was very sweet.

The Atrium decorated for Valentine's Day and set up for the vow renewal

Couples renewing their vows

After the vow renewal we did quite possibly the most shocking activity of the entire cruise: we WENT TO THE GYM. Do you believe it? Me either, but it's true. It's actually really nice because you can walk/run on the treadmill and just look out over the water. It's so beautiful.

Of course, we then negated our workout by stopping for softserve at the ice cream bar on our way back to the cabin, but whatever.

That night Heather gave the final performance of the Stardust show at 8:00, then we had some wine and hit the buffet for dinner again. I also bought a phone card and was able to call Eric, which was so nice. I missed him like crazy.

My Valentine's Day dinner from the buffet, with Stick Eric close at hand

With my husband-on-a-stick on Valentine's Day

That evening we ended up at the martini bar to listen to the pianist. Heather enjoyed an "'Earshey's Kiss" martini that came in a most elaborately decorated glass, and I had an "Oceans 11," which was really just my favorite Washington Apple with a fancy new name. The piano music was lovely and we were eventually joined by Ryan and Leisel. We did call it a night fairly early, however, because we had an early morning the next day!

The pianist in the Promenade Bar

The inside of Heather's glass - do you believe that's chocolate???

Lovely girl with a lovely cocktail

Cheers!

Up next: Our day in Aruba, including...SCUBA DIVING!

Also, NOTE: Just as I did with our Europe pictures (and continue to do with any other big events), I will be uploading all of my pictures from the cruise to our photo share site. That includes all photos seen here, as well as many, many more. So, if you're interested in seeing more after any of these posts, please check out that site!