Top Ten Cruise Moments--part 1

After a cancelled flight, getting re-routed, and losing one suitcase....we made it back. And eventually, so did my lost suitcase.

If I tried to blog about our whole cruise, I would be here all day typing and no one would have the patience to read it all. So, I narrowed it down to the top ten cruise moments. Even then, it's going to be a lengthy entry, so I'm going to share moments 10-5 today and will type up the top five later.

Ready? Here goes.

10. Getting all dressed up for formal night My parents just got back from a cruise as well and there's was "freestyle" where you never have to dress up. I really liked getting dressed up all fancy for formal night. We had two of them on our cruise. And I have to give a BIG shout out to Shelley and Nicolle for letting me borrow their great outfits. (And I actually will get to return them to you since my suitcase showed up!) It was fun to see all the other guests dressed up, too. Some of them went ALL OUT. I loved getting dressed up in our version of fancy-schmancy. I even wore heels, which doesn't happen often, but I thought I did pretty well. No broken ankles or anything.

First formal night
(Andrea's wardrobe courtesy of Shelley)

Looking off into the sunset

We teased Tony and Andrew that they looked like
they could be bodyguards or CIA agents.

Second formal night
(Andrea's wardrobe courtesy of Nicolle)

Here are all four of us in the dining room

9. Lying on a lawn chair reading Since we had an extra day at sea due to our missed port in Mexico, we had plenty of time to just chill. Andrew and I loved just relaxing on the Lido deck and reading as the sea breeze tossled our hair.

Every once in a while, I'd have to peek over
the railing and there was nothing but ocean
as far as the eye can see.
Isn't that blue water BEAUTIFUL?

8. Walking to the beach in Ft. Lauderdale We flew down to Florida a day early, so we had some free time, but no car to get around. Our hotel was just a mile and a half from the beach, so we power walked down there. It was fun just to be outside and active. I loved holding hands with Andrew and talking as we walked. We saw lots of cool crabs and lizards on the way. (I made sure to keep my distance from the lizards.) There's nothing like the feeling of walking on the beach, sand between your toes, wanting to get your feet wet, but trying NOT to get the rest of your clothes wet. Loved it.

Beach lovers

Footprints in the sand

For all you Vanilla Ice fans, we crossed
the A1A--Beachfront Avenue!

7. Playing "Find the ______" while waiting for showtime The four of us would usually sit up in the balcony of the main theater while waiting for showtime. One of the nights we got there early and while waiting for the show, we would come up with a person to pick out of the crowd like "Most likely to be a CEO" "Most likely to be a former professional athlete" or "Most likely to be an undercover agent." We would each pick out person out of the crowd and see if any of us picked the same one. It doesn't sound that fun now that I put it in writing, but it was hilarious. I think we cracked ourselves up more than any of the comedians on board.

Who needs a professional comedian?

6. Learning line dances from the cheezy Carnvial dancer who LOVED to shake his hips. On our cruise, they didn't teach you the Cha cha or the Salsa, they only taught line dances. We learned a country one, a hip hop one, and a disco one. Our instructor was hilarious. He loved to do hip thrusts and during any other move, he would figure out how he could shake his hips. We would pick him out during the shows and his crazy hips would crack us up.

I didn't get a photo of our teacher, but here
are Tony and I showing off our moves.

5. Dancing with Andrew Yes, this gets an entry of its own because it was not any form of line dancing. We had plenty of opportunities to use the moves that Seth and Carrie taught us. It was so fun! Since most of the dance floors are very dimly lit, this was the only pic we got that turned out decent.

How romantic!

It has been kind of hard coming back to the real world of packing, disciplining kids, making my own bed, and only eating three meals a day. Plus, I still haven't gotten my land legs back. I still feel like I'm on the boat sometimes. It's dizzying.

To be continued...