Western Caribbean Cruise Vacation Review

At the beginning of May, CJM and I went on our third cruise, a Western Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas. We've always cruised RC, but this was our first time on such a large ship. We left Sunday morning from Savannah, and arrived at Port Canaveral about 12:30 p.m. On our last cruise, we were the last people on the ship, and basically ran through the gate at 2:57 p.m. This time we hit it right in the middle of the busy time, but it really only took us an hour to get from our car to our cabin, which wasn't bad to me. It definitely helps to be loyal to a line, because our Crown & Anchor Society membership allowed us to get checked in faster in a special line versus waiting in line to our corresponding deck number.

Oasis of the Seas

Oasis of the Seas--The Boardwalk at Night

Oasis of the Seas--Central Park from inside

Going through cruise check-in is a lot like going through TSA at the airport, and then checking in on the other side. Once we got on the boat and checked in, we got a cocktail and started exploring. This ship is so huge, and there was so much to see. It started raining once we got through security, so we didn't get to explore the pool area much {it also rained every cruising day, so we really only spent any time on the top deck on the second day for a quick drink}.  We did try to make the most of the huge ship and all it's amenities by being sure to exercise each day we were at sea, eating at all the different dining options, and checking out all the bars.

Oasis of the Seas--Aqua Theater

Oasis of the Seas--Champagne Bar

Oasis of the Seas--American Icon Grill Main Dining Room

On the ship, we enjoyed the main dining room each night thanks to amazing food and waitstaff, visited the casino a few times, and loved all the shows and entertainment. We ended up doing a ton of things, but there were still activities on board that we missed even with our week long itinerary!

Haiti

Oasis of the Seas in Haiti

Haiti

Labadee, Haiti

Oasis of the Seas at Labadee, Haiti

Our first stop was at the private Royal Caribbean beach of Labadee in Haiti. It was absolutely amazing, and way better than CocoCay. It was a beautiful beach, with tons of different sections to lay out at. The water was beautiful, and we spent too much time swimming by the floating bar which ended up with me getting my first real sunburn!

Bamboo Beach Club in Jamaica 

Falmouth, Jamaica

Falmouth, Jamaica  

Bamboo Beach Club in Jamaica 

Our second stop was Falmouth, Jamaica. I had read a bunch of questionable reviews about this port, so I booked a shore excursion through the cruise line. We boarded a bus and drove over an hour to the Martha Brae river where we tubed with our group down crystal clear cool water for about 45 minutes. Then we were taken to the Bamboo Beach Club where we received a sampling of Jamaican delicacies. On the way back on the ship, we picked up  beef and cheese Jamaican patties which was delicious and so spicy!

Cozumel, Mexico

Cozumel, Mexico

Cozumel, Mexico  

Cozumel, Mexico

Cozumel, Mexico

Oasis of the Seas in Cozumel, Mexico

Catamaran in Cozumel, Mexico

The final stop on our trip was Cozumel, which we both absolutely loved. I had the best margarita of my entire life at the Thirsty Cougar Seaside Boozery {cucumber + jalepeno for the win!} and a delicious steak burrito at like 10 a.m. thanks to the time change. We explored some, and then walked {and walked, and walked...we clocked over 5 miles that day!} to a ocean side beach club to wait for our next excursion. I had booked a catamaran sail and snorkel via Viator that had great reviews. We got nervous because no one else showed up, but it turned out to be our lucky day! We were the only two on the tour, and go to snorkel privately for over an hour before cruising around the bay while eating homemade guac, margs, and delicious fruit and pico de gallo!

Oasis of the Seas Central Park at night 

Oasis of the Seas Ice Show

 

Oasis of the Seas Ice Show

Oasis of the Seas Ice Show

Overall, we had the absolute best time. I keep saying it was more fun than our honeymoon because we weren't as tired, and we really maxed out all of our options and experiences this time. We really love cruising, and I can't wait for our next one. We're thinking about doing Cuba next  year!

Guacamole Addiction

Almost the moment we stepped on our cruise, I began to have intense cravings for...guacamole. Super strange, I know, especially considering I just started like guac a few weeks ago. I love avocados, but something about guac was kind of weird to me. Anyways.

Cruises are known to have a wide variety of endless amounts of foods, most of which are not chips and dip, unfortunately. Luckily for us, there was a Mexican restaurant on board called Sabor. We learned of a guacamole and margarita making class to be hosted at lunch on our final day at sea, so Christopher and I signed up, the great lovers of Mexican food that we are. 

I am so glad we did! Not only did we have an endless amount of guac, tacos, and multiple margs, but we walked away with the recipes for each after learning how to make them! We tried our own variation of each last week once we were back home, which made a Wednesday night dinner really fun. I'm also glad to have a little honeymoon souvenir to go into my recipe card box from my bridal shower!

Guacamole Recipe for 4
1/2 cup of diced red onion
2 tablespoons of diced fresh jalapeno
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 avocados
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 of a lime, juice
1/2 of a lemon, juice
1/4 cup cilantro
1/3 cup diced tomatoes

In the Mocajete {in my world, the grindy thing}, grind the onion, jalepeno and garlic. Add the cumin. Score the inside of the avocado into small cubes and remove the outer skin. Add teh avocado and mash lightly to a lumpy consistency. Add the juices, salt, cilantro, and mash again. Add the tomato last {if you add earlier, the guac will turn brownish}, and enjoy with fresh tortilla chips!


Margarita Recipe
1 oz. tequila
1 oz. orange liquor
2 oz. lime juice {fresh is best, but Rose's works well, too!}
1 oz. orange juice
1 oz. of simple syrup

Shake, with ice, and serve in sea salt rimmed glasses.


I think there might be more couples cooking classes in our future! 

Week Recap: Honeymoon Cruise

In the water at St. Maarten

Hellerrrr!

I'm back! It may have taken me a full week to recover from my honeymoon, but the house is mostly clean, and I finally download the hundreds of pictures from our cruise last night, and felt the blogging buzz again!

We left for an eight day cruise the day after our wedding. We went on the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas Eastern Caribbean tour which included stops at their private island Coco Cay, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten in the Virgin Islands. The entire trip, Christopher and I kept saying "This is so much nicer than our college cruise!" and it really was. The ship was glitzy, the stops were fabulous, and we truly had a ton of fun. We also had a beautiful balcony room, which was such an improvement over the interior stateroom shared by four college kids a few years ago!

Christopher and I love dressing up and going out for dinner and drinks, so it was wonderful to be able to do that for a week straight, even if the scale wasn't thrilled with that idea when we got home. We had some amazing food: prime rib and lobster one night, lamb the next, with as many desserts as we could handle! One of the bars on board made the absolute best Bloody Mary's, and we quickly figured out which spots made true Tom Collins', and not just gin with sour mix.

Freedom of the Seas

We loved going to the shows each night. There were a couple Broadway style productions, various comedians, an illusionist, and even an ice performance on the indoor skating rink. We did a little bit of shopping in port, but mostly relaxed on the beaches or the upper deck by the pool. We did 'casino' a little bit--I even won $40 on a slot machine on my first try!

BLT Bloody Mary 

Of course it wouldn't be a trip with me without an "urgent care" visit...I got to stop by the ship doctor for a round of antibiotics midway through the trip, but that didn't slow us down. Of course, by Saturday, we were pretty ready to come home to the pups. Sunday we got up super early to leave as soon as the doors opened, and we came home to a fully stocked kitchen and cleaned house by my wonderful mother. That was the best! 

St. Maarten

We spent our first week back home redeveloping our routines {Christopher started his final pharmacy rotation at the local hospital}, opening wedding gifts, unpacking, and doing lots of laundry. We've always enjoyed cooking in the kitchen together, so we have done that most nights during the week. This weekend we went to the Georgia Southern vs. Clemson baseball game, cleaned some more, and went bowling. I think so far, we've both had a lot of fun doing this newlywed thing!

Our Wedding Rings

!

Bathing Beauty

Between bachelorette planning, and plotting the best honeymoon cruise there ever was, I've bought a ton of new bathing suits. I may have even gone a little overboard...get it? 

I just couldn't help myself! Target has a ton of new cuties this year, and many that I can mix and match. I also love a good one piece, and I've scooped up two--one from Target, and a Trina Turk from last summer that was an eBay NWT steal! 

At the end of last summer, I picked up a beautiful floral caftan cover-up from Talbots. I really loved it because it was much more dress than cover-up, and was wonderful to wear into beach side restaurants. They don't have anything similar this season, but Target does! 

Top Left | Top Right 
Bottom Left | Bottom Right 

Hot Pink Ruffle

Trina Turk, similar

I've been a long time lover of the one piece, especially ones that have a little extra oomph! Both of these have somewhat of a plunging neckline, but they do keep you securely protected which is important.

I really loved the hot pink ruffle bikini top, and multi color Triangl inspired suit. And I totally think the cheetah print top will work with some hot pink bottoms, even if Christopher finds that combination a little questionable! What do you think?

Check back in this week for a bachelorette weekend recap!