Cruising ... it's what we do! We had no intention of taking a vacation until we learned of the horrific sinking of the Costa ship. After reading reports and listening to the news, we decided to test our luck at finding some good vacation deals. We lucked out and wound up booking an affordable cruise out of Galveston with a departure day that was only 3 weeks away. 
With the ship leaving out of Galveston, we left a day early and squeezed in a visit with Meg and Coop in the Woodland's. It allowed for us to have an easy travel day on the Sunday the ship sailed.
The first two days leaving Galveston were still a little chilly, but I was determined to try and get a tan. Grayson had convinced himself that he would have more time to study on the boat than on land and to his credit, he did study for one day which was more than I thought would happen.
We sailed on the Mariner of the Seas, part of the Royal Carribbean Voyager fleet, and had a fun time exploring and discovering all the ship had to offer. I even found a velvet purple TCU chair.
The food and the shows on this ship were phenomenal. Some of the best we've seen and let's face it, we've been on a lot of cruises and have seen a lot of shows! We had THE BEST company at dinner each night which made it all the more fun.
Here we are in Cozumel, Mexico ready to lay on the beach at Chankanaab National Park. We visited this spot before and loved it so we decided to do it again. We snorkeled and relaxed on the beach. I just love the crystal clear blue water.
The next day we decided to swim with the stingrays again in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. We texted Thurston from the ship and had him book an excursion for us with some of the friends we met on the ship. He pulled a few strings for us and got us in so we could enjoy the beautiful waters of Grand Cayman and their famous stingrays. (Our underwater camera is still being developed. Those pictures should be good)
Grand Cayman was celebrating Mardi Gras while we were in port, so we squeezed in some great people watching. Mardi Gras is what really allowed us to take this "spur-of-the-moment" vacay since Tech students and staff get off for Mardi Gras. The timing of everything really worked out perfect.
I knew I wanted to find a "Panama Jack hat" and we shopped up and down in Mexico, but I didn't find anything that I loved. I stumbled upon this gem as we were leaving GC and fully intend to break it in this summer on the lake! We rode the last tender in from Grand Cayman and got to enjoy this breathtaking sunset. It was quick, but we were able to capture the beauty and revel in God's handiwork. 
Before dinner one night. We made it our goal to try and be as low-maintenance as possible this trip which meant packing light and going low-key. We didn't really accomplish that goal, but at least we tried.
The last port we visited was Falmouth, Jamaica which Royal Carribbean is really trying to market right now. They recently built this port and are encouraging ships to frequent it. Because it was new and we weren't sure what to expect, we didn't book any excursions and decided to venture out on our own. We rented this scooter for a few hours and saw part of the city. The trip ended rather abruptly after we totally bit it and skinned up the entire right side of my body. Jamaica was not fun while we were there, but definitely made for a great story after we left.
Just enjoying another!
Grayson and our new friend Iggy climbed the rock wall.
The last formal night.
The only unfortunate event about this cruise, other than me getting a little skinned up in Jamaica, were the rough waters on the last day coming back into Galveston. We had 13 foot waves from about 7am until 5pm. I already getting motion sick quite easily and so this made for a rough day for me. After getting a nap from around 1-5pm, I was able to make it to a show and dinner, I just felt really weak. Thankfully, I wasn't alone and was able to share "seasick" stories with our friends at dinner.
We had a fantastic time on this cruise and the rest and relaxation were quite welcome. We didn't realize how much we needed time to sleep in, do nothing and just relax until we got it. It helped us to feel completely rejuvenated and ready to tackle the spring quarter with new energy.
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