Fantastic Vacation!!

What a fabulous vacation!

First of all, myself and hubby have never been on an actual vacation ... not even a honeymoon.  So when we booked our cruise back in August, we didn't want to say a whole lot ... afraid we would jinx it :)!  Thankfully we were able to go and without a hitch!

We first arrived in Orlando, FL for a few days ... the weather was great; however we did have a few cooler days.  Of course, we had left freezing temperatures and about 3 feet of snow ... needless to say, we didn't mind the cooler weather :)!

We rented a fabulous house with some great friends ... and had a ball!  Even had our own heated pool - which made for some late night fun ... haha!

The pool was fabulous, well, then again, everything was fabulous!

Hubby and I enjoying a late night swim ... can't do that in NL!

Following our stay in Orlando, we heading for our cruise ... the Carnival Dream!  We had never cruised before and I was a little hesitant as I wasn't sure if I would suffer the week being sea-sick ... that thought quickly left me when I saw the beautiful ship we would be sailing on.

Carnival Dream, Port Canaveral, Florida

The boarding process was so quick, before we knew it, we were sitting on this beautiful wonder, taking it all in ... and enjoying our first cruise beverage!  Life is definitely great!

Our 7-day cruise began on February 12, 2011 ... yes, we got to enjoy Valentine's Day on board!  We actually had a lot to celebrate during February 2011 ... Valentine's Day, our first vacation, first honeymoon, and my 3 years post-transplant!!

FIRST PORT ... BAHAMAS (February 13, 2011)!

Horse & Buggy Ride, Bahamas

We only had a few hours at Bahamas, so we decided to do a little sight-seeing ... complements of the local people!  We had fantastic horse and buggy ride around town ... with lots of sights and sounds!

Following Bahamas, we decided to do a little investigating around the ship.  There was absolutely EVERYTHING to do ... including eating 24 hours a day.  Of course, we had to enjoy some late night ice-cream and frozen yogurt :)!  YUMMY!

Enjoying frozen yogurt midnight, Valentine's Day 2011

SECOND PORT ... ST. THOMAS (February 15, 2011)

After a well rested night and a day at sea, we arrived at St. Thomas!  I absolutely fell in love with this place and do plan on visiting again ... sometime in my life.  We were greeted with beautiful weather and hot temperatures.  The scenery was stunning!!

Coming into port

We decided to do our first excursion on St. Thomas ... snorkeling!  Neither of us have snorkeled before.  I am a have decent swimmer, but not the strongest.  Hubby on the other hand can't really swim at all ... not something we really worried about ... haha!  

Hehe, underwater shot of us enjoying out excursion!  We even got to see a wreck!!  Not the clearest picture, but it was fantastic!

Ship Wreck!

To end our day, we travelled up to Paradise Point ... we didn't really want to leave at this point.  I was quite happy to stay in St. Thomas ... forever :)!  Of course, the drinks helped that along a little ... well, A LOT hahaha!

Myself and good friend becoming a part of the show!
Thanks to the Bushwackers!!

Carnival Dream from Paradise Point, St. Thomas

THIRD PORT ... ST. MAARTEN (February 16, 2011)

Bright and early the next morning we were off to explore St. Maarten.  It was extremely hot that day ... not that we were complaining, so we headed off to another snorkeling adventure.  This one was a little more laid-back and relaxed, compared to our adventure in St. Thomas.  We didn't have a lot of luck with being able to see many creatures as the visibility was poor.  Nevertheless, we enjoyed dabbling in the water and relaxing at the Tiki Hut!

Tiki Hut Adventures

The views at St. Maarten were gorgeous as we the beautiful beaches and towns!  We again called upon a local taxi/sight-seeing company to take us around the island.  In 3 hours we had travelled the entire island ... both the French and Dutch side.  Even a stop at the nudist beach :)!

Just a casual walk down a street in St. Maarten

Leaving port at St. Maarten

Our next two days were at sea ... we enjoyed lunchtime BBQs, elegant evening dining, and just some relaxing.  Caught a few comedy shows, did a little dancing, and lounged in the Piano Bar.  Even did a little gambling and WON!!  WHEEL-OF-FORTUNE!

The ship was just beautiful ... nothing I could even imagine, until we boarded!  

Lido Deck

PORT CANAVERAL ... (February 19, 2011)

To end our vacation, we decided to spend our last few hours exploring and touring the Kennedy Space Centre.  I think hubby took more pictures of the Space Centre than all of our vacation :)!  But he loved it!!

We were a little depressed to have to come back home to all the snow and wintery weather ... but we're definitely hooked and will be cruising again!  We even have our next cruise picked out :)!