Swimming with Whale Sharks

On our cruise we had the opportunity to swim with whale sharks.

After we arrived in Cozumel we took a ferry over to Playa del Carmen. Once there we took a nice little van ride over to Cancun and then got into a little speed boat to begin our journey. (Lots of traveling)

Every year from mid-May to mid-September Whale Sharks travel to where the Caribbean Sea meets the Gulf of Mexico. This is where we met our Whale Sharks.

We spent most of the day swimming with them.

Swim with Whale Sharks. Scratch that off the bucket list.

It was beyond amazing! They are beautiful creatures. Huge and serene. It was an amazing opportunity and very well worth it. If you are ever down near Cozumel/Cancun in the summer I highly suggest taking this opportunity.

I am including a really raw video! We basically jumped off the back of a moving boat to swim with these guys! Enjoy, it is pretty awesome! Such an adrenaline rush!

Here is a picture showing the size of this big guy

Allure of Seas

We were fortunate enough to take our second cruise (a delayed honeymoon) back in May.  The ship was huge. Beyond huge. It is the biggest cruise ship in the world but still it's a mind blowing site. Our route was the Western Caribbean. We basically went counter clockwise around Cuba. We went to Haiti, Jamaica, and  Cozumel Mexico.

We had a balcony room and being able to step out and stare at the ocean for me is one of the most amazing things about cruising. The ocean is so vast and beautiful!

Our first three days were basically spent catching up on sleep, wandering around the ship, and eating.

We did the very fancy 150 Central Park on our second night of the cruise. It was a 7 course meal which we did with the wine pairing (very generous pours). The food and wine were phenomenal. It was fun to be foodies.

Here is the menu from 150 Central Park

Labadee, Haiti was the perfect beach day. We got chairs on the beach under some palm trees and napped. We also did a little swimming and shopping.

Our boat view on the way to the beach

In Jamaica we ate some local food, shopped, and drank/ate a coconut. It was hot and humid and we just didn't feel like doing much!

Bo and I did a lot of other fun things! There is way too much to mention and way too many pictures. Here are a few of my favorites.

stay tuned... next blog entry is about our adventure with the whale sharks. 

Honeymoon Update

We took our "Familymoon" after we got married last year instead of the traditional honeymoon. Bo and I were planning to go to Sandals in Jamaica at the end of May for our delayed honeymoon. We weren't exactly sure if Sandals was going to be the right place for it. After going back and forth of what to do we finally decided on a new destination!!!

We are doing a Cruise to the Western Caribbean on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas. We will be going to Labadee, Haiti; Falmouth, Jamaica; Cozumel, Mexico. We did the Eastern Caribbean last year on Disney Cruise Line so it will be a really neat experience to do the Western half this year. 

Allure of the Seas is currently the biggest cruise ship in the world (only by 5 centimeters).

Some of the more interesting things it has aboard include:

• Starbucks
• Ice Skating Rink
• Zip line
• Rock Climbing Walls x2
• Mini-Golf Course
• Johnny Rockets Diner
• Boardwalk with Carousel
• Central Park with 12,000 trees and plants
• Casino
• Bar that moves up and down between three floors.

Our room has a balcony so we can enjoy the ocean! We got an amazing deal with Costco with a ship credit and a bunch of fun little extras. I cannot wait to go! Only 91 days to go.