But it really was.
For starters, it was Matt's and my first vacation together. And we've been together for four years. (Waiting four years to vacation again will never happen again). Another thing is that it was my first time seeing the ocean, standing in the ocean, and hearing the sounds of a beach (other than Lake Michigan). For Matt, it was such a special moment to witness as I was like a child on Christmas morning. For me, it was surreal. I am the typical Midwestern girl who road tripped to Texas or Georgia to see extended family or visited Wisconsin Dells, Chicago, or Branson, MO for a family vacation. Going to another country, learning about another culture, and standing on the edge an island knowing how far we were from home was amazing. Something I will never forget.
Our honeymoon actually started off a little uneasy. It was actually before we left. The Thursday before our wedding, I got a text message from my sister asking if my Carnival cruise was cancelled. Ah, the infamous Carnival Triumph that left passengers stranded for four days without working toilets happened only a WEEK before our honeymoon. Rumors spread that Carnival cancelled all their upcoming cruises for maintenance checks which put Matt and I in a frenzy right before the BIG DAY. We spent hours (no, seriously--- hours) on hold with customer service. In the end, everything was fine, we did NOT get stranded, and had zero issues with using toilets. Whew.....
Sunday Night/Monday Morning:
We spent the night at my parent's house the Sunday night after our wedding. A limo picked us up at 4 AM to take us to O'hare and we didn't get much sleep because we were so incredibly excited. Lets just say that 4 AM snuck up on us quickly. We had a HUGE stretch limo and I felt like such a high roller. I even tried to take a picture with Matt in the limo and this is how it came out.
(Apparently the flash was too bright for him at 4 in the morning)
We passed out in the limo before we even got out of Rockford. Before we knew it, we were at O'hare and checking our bags.
We got through security and found our gate pretty easily. We bought two venti cups of coffee from Starbucks and waited for our 7:50 AM flight to Miami.
This was only the 3rd airplane I had ever been on in my life, so I of course had to take a picture in front of it! :-)
The flight to Miami was very nice. Matt dozed off a little bit, but because I had the window seat, I stayed awake the entire time and took pictures of my view.
I had to wake Matt up when I first saw the ocean.... It was AMAZING!
Monday Afternoon:
Once we landed in Miami, we had to locate our shuttle to the Carnival port. And this was probably the most annoying process of the trip. At one point, I remember thinking to myself "What did we get ourselves into?" The bus was a broke down, rusty piece of shit and we sat for what seemed like forever before we actually left the airport to go to the port. Next time, we will definitely cab it.
But once we actually arrived at the port, our excitement grew and we couldn't wait to get on the ship. Looking back, I feel like we were pacing through the halls because we were so excited.
A woman at the airport, who knew we were cruising with Carnival and had cruised before, told us to make sure we look up at the ship when standing next to it. Its amazing how big the ship actually was. Simply put, it was a city on water.
Matt insisted on getting a room with a balcony because he thought that an interior room, or even a room with a window, would be too claustrophobic. And O-M-G, I am so happy I married such an intelligent man. He couldn't have been more right. Our room was amazing. And when you are on a ship with 4000 other people (and all of those 4000 people want to sit and watch the ocean), a suite with a balcony is your best escape. We spent most of our time in our suite. (Get your minds out of the gutter, people!) We had a stunning view and a private, peaceful, quiet balcony with two chairs and a table for our drinks. It couldn't get more perfect.
Suite 9205
Our Room
Our Amazing Balcony
After seeing our room, we decided to go explore the "Lido" deck. Conveniently, our room was off of the main (Lido) deck with all of the bars. YES!!! And it was only a short walk to the yummy food, delicious drinks, and several pools.
At four o'clock, we set sail into the Atlantic Ocean. Our next stop would be the Grand Turk at the Turks and Caicos Islands on Wednesday morning at 7:30am.
We're MOVING!!!
For the rest of the night, we explored the ship, drank a lot, then got ready for dinner at the Atlantic dining room.
The main lobby/bar
Casino (where we spent a total of $30 before we got annoyed/gave up on our gambling careers)
Stairwell that reminded me of Titantic.
Dining Room
Ready for Dinner
At Dinner
Following dinner, I told Matt that I was feeling a little off.... Maybe it was that we had practically been awake since Friday morning (before the wedding rehearsal) or maybe it was that we had been drinking almost all day (it probably could have been a little bit of both) But-- Matt also said he felt the same way... hmmm what could be wrong?
WERE WE SEA SICK!?!
Suddenly, I felt awful and told Matt I needed some medicine immediately. We went to the convenient store, bought some overpriced behind-the-ear drop meds, and went straight to bed hoping we would feel better when we woke up.
Tuesday:
Our day at Sea...
Apparently, the first night of our cruise, we were hitting 12 foot waves. That explained a lot. But even without the 12 foot waves -- we still didn't feel 100%.
*Later on, my dad described it perfectly as having "sea legs" That's exactly how we felt.
We woke up around 8 am and immediately went to the bar for our very beloved Pina Coladas. With a view like that, how could you not enjoy a tropical drink?
Pina Coladas, Mai Tais, Mohitos, and the list goes on and on.....
By five o clock and after a full day of drinking, we decided we should go back to our room and get ready for the "Formal night" dinner. And then, we laid down. And we were OUT like babies.....
Wednesday:
Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos
We woke up in a rush realizing that we had just slept 15 hours. Whooooops! Feeling completed refreshed, we gathered our things and prepared to go explore the Grand Turk. We purchased an excursion to go snorkeling on the Governor's Beach at the Grand Turk and I was looking forward to standing in the ocean for the first time ever!
I'M IN THE OCEAN!
There were only about 10 people on this private beach, so we had a wonderful time snorkeling and enjoying the sun.
But I, like the dumbass that I am, decided to snorkel over the only patch of rocks on a one hundred foot stretch of clear beach. Of course, I cut my knee and started to bleed. I call this: "my shark bite"
We enjoyed the entire morning on the Governor's Beach. I should mention that the locals strongly suggested putting on sunscreen. It was "going to be 80 degrees and you will burn" said the guy in a Jamaican accent. I thought to myself.... ya ya ya I've been tanning all month for this wedding and Matt never burns. ***This will come in handy for your entertainment later....
We left Governor's Beach and got some lunch and drinkies back on the ship before going back out on the island.
Once we got back on the ship, we went to the Serenity Sun deck (adults only area) to catch some more rays.
We set sail for Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas later that night.
At dinner, they sang (to the turn of Happy Birthday) "Happy Honeymoon to you. Happy Honeymoon to you. Happy Honeymoon! Happy Honeymoon! Happy Honeymoon to you" and brought us yummy dessert!
I will cover Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in my next Honeymoon posts (swimming with stingrays and dolphins and exploring South Beach Miami).
***Here is the entertainment I've promised. Remember how the locals told us to wear sunscreen... Here is what I looked like two nights later.
Laugh away at "Lobster Jaclyn"
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