Florida for Christmas and our first cruise ever!




For our Christmas break we decided to head to Florida and go on our first cruise! So, on Dec. 27th we flew to Miami, met Janette there and spent a few days in Miami before embarking on the Carnival Horizon. It turned out to be one of our very favorite trips!

First stop: The Taco stand for the best burritos we’ve ever had!


The place didn’t look like much but it shows looks are deceiving!


We also visited Little Havana and Bayside and saw some Cuban relics:


And here are the girls getting ready for the cruise! 😎


Next place to check out: Everglades National Park with lots of Alligators:


Airboat tour through the Everglades:







And a wildlife show with Alligators and Snakes: 😳



At the Shark Valley place - no sharks but more alligators:



And some cool looking birds:


Nearby is the Big Cypress Nature Preserve:







Next day - trip to Key West. We went with a bus tour (3.5 hour each way and got to spend  6 hours in Key West). It was a bit too cold to swim so we rented bikes and explored the island pedaling around.




Here we are at the southernmost part of the continental USA:





Sunday: Church in a Spanish ward (on accident) and then time to embark on the Cruise 


Best part about the cruise ship is the all you can eat food options basically anytime of the day! And the food was surprisingly very delicious with lots of variety. 


Janette filled up like a soon to hibernate bear. Almost every dinner she ordered 2 appetizers, 2 entrees and 1 desserts!! And ate a lot of that with some help from us!


We also enjoyed the shows and music (minus the not so in tune singers).




The outdoor activities were also lots of fun:





First stop of the cruise was Nassau in the Bahamas. The weather was perfect, blue sky and turquoise water. 



We got lucky and were able to see the New Year’s Day parade at Nassau, the most energetic and fascinating parade we’ve ever seen!






Here’s one guy carrying a horse and a king on the horse!!








After the parade we walked about 7 miles passed some small beaches and ended at the  Goodman’s Bay Park Beach 



The water was a bit chilly, but some brave souls still made it in:





And then an expensive 10 min taxi ride ($40) to the Queen’s staircase from where we walked back to the ship.




At 4:30 pm it was time to head back to the ship.


After the Bahamas it was one day in the ship and then on Wednesday we landed in Turk and Caicos with even more turquoise water than the Bahamas.



This was one of our best vacation day: First, we went snorkeling.


We saw a lot of fish and coral close up, and I got to swim right next to a sea turtle. It was pretty awesome!




Afterwards we went to a place where stingrays frequently visit. They came quickly and surprisingly loved to brush up on our legs and didn’t mind to be petted!








And then it was time again to head back on the ship.



The next day was the last stop of the cruise: Dominican Republic. We signed up for the tour to the 27 waterfalls of Damajagua and it was so awesome!  We only saw a few waterfalls since the water level has been low for the last 2 years so we only did 2 jumps and 3 water slides, but they were super fun. 



The hike to the top of the mountain  took only about 45 minutes and the trail was well maintained.




The water temperature was perfect; so unlike other canyoneering trips in Utah, we did not freeze!





Here's the first of 3 waterslides:




Second slide:


And the 18 foot jump:


A very picturesque waterfall:




And last slide:




What made it extra fun was the photographer we hired (for $45) who put us in all kinds of poses and the tour guide was also very entertaining, chatting with us/Janette a ton in Spanish. Here they are in this picture:


The photographer took a ton of pictures and videos of us and all of us even cooperated!!





After the adventure we enjoyed a delicious Dominican Republic Lunch buffet that was included in the tour.



So fun to have Christmas in the Caribbean!


Then it was time for going back to the ship, one more day on the sea and then back in Miami.


Well, I wasn’t sure if I would like a cruise, but now having done one I can say that this has been one of our best vacations ever and I can’t wait to go on another cruise! Not to have to worry about hotels, rental cars, where to go, what to do and where to eat, makes this a real and relaxing vacation!!! 😊


The End












































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