Jamaica

Jamaica is another port that people love to hate.  Yes there is a lot of crime in Jamaica but that doesn't mean you avoid Jamaica, it means you make smart choices.  The port did have a lot of security.  Sometimes it's hard to know if that makes you feel more secure or less secure.  

So, our smart choice was hiring a driver/guide for the day.  He picked us up and took us where ever we wanted to go.   In our case we wanted to see Irie Blue Hole, get real Jamaican Jerk for lunch and do a little shopping.  We felt very safe all day.  

Blue Hole is a series of waterfalls and swimming holes which are usually clear and blue.  But because Jamaica had several days of rain prior to our visit the water wasn't blue or clear.  I didn't have a great day here-there were too many ships in port and the place was crazy crowded and we were rushed through like an assembly line.  I had read so much about this place and I knew our experience was subpar compared to what I read about.  The good news was that the kids had a lot of fun.  They literally didn't know what they were missing.  

I mean this seriously differs ....

from this.....

But the kids had a blast.

After Blue Hole we went to the grocery store and souvenir shopping then we headed to Scotchies for lunch.  "D" loves jerk chicken so I wanted to make sure he go to try the real deal.  WOW!  I was so surprised.  The chicken we had was really mild.  It had very little "jerk" flavor.  I mean, it was delicious but very different than what I imagined. 

We made it back to port in plenty of time.  I won't name names but several members of my family napped almost the whole way back. 

"J" loved Jamaica.  This smile is genuine.  No bribery needed.  

And "T" was happy to get the last Auntie Anne's pretzel in port.  He's a trooper.  He is not an adventurous eater to say the least.  I was pretty impressed that he tried the jerk chicken-even if it was only a tiny bite.

The two ladies who bought pretzels before us nearly missed their ride on Liberty of the Seas.  My favorite part of cruising is the Sailaway.  Tonight I got to watch Liberty leave port ahead of us.

That's really it for vacation photos.  With all the kids activities, school and sports who knows when we will find time to travel again.  Not to mention how hard it is to find a house sitter for all of our pets.  "J" definitely wants to cruise again.  I think I could be convinced to book again if we can get our original itinerary.  "T" says all he needs is a weekend in a "fancy" hotel.  He is so easy to please. For now I am happy to catch up with laundry and get ready for Thanksgiving.

Haiti?

Royal Caribbean has a contract to use a small peninsula off the north coast of Haiti in Cap Haitien.  I found it really hard to vacation here knowing what a hard time the people of Haiti are having.  Actually that is one of my biggest complaints with cruising.  And I'm always torn between feeling like a jerk being a tourist in a 3rd world country and knowing that they desperately depend on tourism to keep the economy afloat.  But here most of the money goes back into RCI's pockets.  They pay the Haitian government a small fee per passenger.  And a few locals get to work and sell goods on the peninsula...but I still felt very guilty being here.

This peninsula is called Labadee.   I thought it would be a nice place for the day but I didn't love it.  Perhaps the main reason I didn't fall in love with Labadee was the rain.  From the afternoon we left the Bahamas to the morning we arrived in Jamaica we had rain.  In Labadee it rained on us all day from a light mist to an annoying drizzle.  Then there were the Sea Lice (tiny Jellyfish larvae) that stung the kids.  And the crowds.  Allure of the Seas can carry over 6000 passengers and I know we were sailing "at capacity" - and when all those people descend on the beach...it gets crowded.

I took this photo by accident.

This is the aqua park where the kids got stung

It looks fun but it wasn't.

Haiti is a beautiful island however with lush green hills.

In this photo everyone was fussy and grumpy but I bribed them to smile.

My daughter was missing her cruise friends but she couldn't find them anywhere.  My son had blisters...you know how it goes.  As my friend says "it isn't vacation unless someone is crying"

This dog wanted nothing to do with "J".  He was hanging around for scraps.

Here you can see the 30 second $100.00 zipline.  I told the kids no way was I spending 100 bucks for 30 seconds of ziplining.  We watched someone's go-pro recording on YouTube instead.  

This is the floating bar.  I'm kind of surprised it didn't sink with all the people on it.

In the distance you can see a Disney style scrim separating the Royal Caribbean beach from the rest of Haiti.  We wouldn't want to accidentally see a hovel or a hungry child while enjoying our vacation...

 "J" always finds a place to play volleyball.  I think she is so awesome to play with complete strangers.

 Now I'm ready for a hot shower and dry clothes.

Ports Of Call

Well we didn't get to go to St. Maarten and St. Thomas for obvious reasons, but we made the most of the stops we were given.

Here I am still trying to wrap my head around the size of this ship.

Our first port of call was the dreaded Nassau, Bahamas.  I say "dreaded" because everyone bemoans having to go here. Therefore I had very low expectations.  And I was actually very surprised.  I thought Nassau was lovely and fun.  Since it was a beautiful day, we just walked to the beach and did a little shopping.  I could definitely see returning here someday.

This was our first glimpse of Nassau-gorgeous!

Looking over towards the mega hotel and resort, Atlantis, on Paradise Island.

We spent a few hours here at the beach.  I didn't take a lot of photos because
1. my daughter really makes a fuss if I try to photograph her and
2. because I fell asleep in my lounge chair.  AWESOME!

I generally dislike any beach this close to a cruise port.  But the kids like crowds and fun music etc.  Honestly it wasn't bad.

Eventually we abandoned our children and stopped for a few fruity vacation drinks.

 

A Much Needed Vacation

This photo isn't from vacation.  It is from my book club three days before we left for our trip.  I thought my giant charcuterie and cheese board was so pretty I just had to share the photo.

Admittedly the Green family has a had a really tough year.  I don't like to complain (publicly at least) so suffice it to say we were ready for a vacation.  I don’t know what other families do…but we sort of vote on vacations.  I want the kids to have a say and be happy with where we go and what we do.  And the kids unanimously voted for a cruise.  But there was a caveat.  They didn’t want to cruise again until they were both old enough for the teens club. And while I’m not exactly a cruise enthusiast, I decided to give it another try.  I picked the Allure of the Seas because it is huge and has tons of activities I thought the kids would enjoy.  And I’ll have to admit.  This is an impressive ship.  I’m still marveling at the engineering behind creating this floating resort.  And even though our original itinerary was changed (two weeks before we left) because of the hurricanes in the Caribbean, overall the trip was a success.

The Allure has "neighborhoods" or different areas of the ship with distinct vibes.  There is a promenade with shops and restaurants.  Central Park in the middle of the ship with gardens and live music.  The Boardwalk in the rear of the ship with a Coney Island theme.  I still can't get over the scope of the ship.  It's really amazing.

A small section of the Promenade

 

 Here they are in Central Park

It was truly a relaxing oasis.

It was even prettier at night.

On the Board Walk

The Boardwalk at night.

At the end of the ship is an outdoor theater.  They have all sorts of shows from a Cirque Du Soliel-esque diving show to a belly flop competition.

This was very silly. 

There is even a show for kids...of all ages.

 Also on the boardwalk....

Up a few decks are all sorts of fun activities.

Here is my daughter playing volleyball with a bunch of men.  She rocked it of course.

 The teen club.  It looked pretty cool but adults aren't allowed inside.

 The ship also had two surfing simulators.

It was hard to get the entire ship in a photo