last month, cory and i had the opportunity to fly down to tampa and go on a cruise to key west and cozumel! it was the first cruise for both of us, so we weren't really sure what to think... but it was so much fun! the ship was royal caribbean brilliance of the seas. (fun fact for all my fellow true crime lovers: this ship was home to this honeymoon murder mystery in 2005). honestly, i've always been unsure about cruises due to the fact that you are "stuck" on a ship with only so many places to go during the days you are at sea. i was wrong... there so many fun things to do, places to go and things to eat. and the days you are out at sea, it's nice to lounge around and soak in the beautiful views of the open blue water. as far as the food goes, they had any kind of food you can imagine at all hours of the day. at night, elaborate shows were put on by the crew and they are so talented. there was an awesome jazz band and even a few broadway-esque productions.
this cruise could not have come at a better time. 2018 has turned out the be the year all expensive things in my life have decided to break/quit working, and right before this cruise i was having major car trouble which really stressed me out! also, it snowed 11 inches in north carolina while we were gone, so.... we win! haha. here's a look at the wonderful experience (including a video, of course):
we met up with my brother and his beautiful family before we departed from tampa!
this picture makes me laugh. my nephew took this... he is a budding photographer, and i like to let him use my camera while we are together to snap pics. he's actually really good, and it's so fun to see the world from his perspective (and grace's true feelings towards her brother, haha).
the whole gang! i love them.
we made it to the port
that's our ship. it seemed huge, but it's actually pretty small in comparison to other cruise ships.
getting ready for sail-off!
the goo goo dolls performed on our ship before departure. the concert is amazing and we managed to get a front row seat by standing in the pool to watch the show, haha! i honestly forgot how good this band was and how many hits they've had over the years. this was one of the highlights of the trip, for sure!
annnndddd we caught guitar picks from johnny rzeznik!
the ship felt huge! there's so many floors. i feel like i finally got the lay of the land by the last day, haha.
some of the money cory lost in the casino may or may not be featured in this picture.
we made it to key west!
we didn't have very long in key west due to a late arrival time, but we managed to revisit some of our favorite places we discovered when we were there last june (blog post here).
i took this for my mom! there's a butterfly conservatory on the island, and directly nearby you can see beautiful monarchs flying around all the tropical foliage. this is where i would live if i was a butterfly.
after a day at sea, we made it to cozumel.
since we didn't get much beach time in key west, we decided to make use of our time in cozumel at the nachi cocom beach club. it was all inclusive, and we basically ate, drank and lounged on the beach the whole time. i could definitely get used to that sort of thing :)
fresh guac and salsa on the beach!
doing what i do best.
you haven't lived until you've had fresh ceviche on a beach in mexico. just sayin'.
y'all know i can't go to the beach without taking a jumping photo. (cory loves taking the pictures for me too, *sarcasm*)
it definitely won't take me another 35 years to book our next cruise. while i still consider myself a beach resort kind of girl... cruising is certainly a unique experience. i'm thinking bermuda sounds pretty good for the next go around ;)
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