The Cruise

On September 27th, dad took us to the airport, while mom stayed with Brady and Logan. Then dad picked up mom and the boys, and took them to their house. Brady was so excited to be with Grandma and Grandpa Gibson. The plan was for the Gibson's to have the boys through Wednesday morning, October 1st. Then the Skidmore's had them October 1st, Wednesday afternoon, through October 5th. We are very thankful for wonderful grandparents to care for the boys while we went on vacation. The 27th was a day of travel. We left Las Vegas at 9am pacific time and arrived in Fort Lauderdale at 6pm eastern time. When we arrived in Fort Lauderdale, we were supposed to have someone from Carnival Cruise Lines pick us up and take us to our hotel. We stood around the baggage claim area for about 15 minutes, and no one came, so we called the cruise line. Vance was on the phone with them for about an hour. They finally told us to take a taxi, and they would reimburse us. We stayed at the Fort Lauderdale Grand Hotel and Yacht Club. It was 4 miles from the airport, and the taxi cost us $20.00. I was shocked at the price, but the area was beautiful. The hotel was right on the water, so there was Yachts parked along the hotel. We went to a nice restaurant called the China Grill that night. By that time we were tired, so we went back to the room. Despite being stranded at the airport, it turned out to be a nice evening.

On September 28th, we were picked up at the hotel at 12pm by the Cabana Club bus, which was set up by the cruise line. At least they didn't leave us stranded when we had to be on the ship by a certain time! We finally arrived at the Miami Port around 2pm. When we finally were able to board the Carnival Valor, we were so hungry so we went to the buffet on the ship. There was such good food on the Cruise. Then right as we were just about to set sail, an alarm sounded. We all had to get our life jackets and practice what to do incase of an emergency. After that we could just relax and do whatever we wanted to. Our fine dining time was at 6:00pm. The fine dining was great. The waiter would sit us, put the napkin in our lap, and take our order. They made such good food. Then everynight there was a show. They had comedians, professional dancers, and a ventriloquist on board. The shows were differnt every night. Today was the Welcome Aboard Show. It was pretty fun.

On September 29th, it was a day at sea. We spent our time at the pools, spas, and water slides. We also planned what to do in Belize because our Cave Tubing Excursion was canceled due to operational difficulty. Tonights show was the "Nightclub Express" that the dancers put on. This day was pretty relaxing.

GRAND CAYMAN

On September 30th, we arrived in Grand Cayman at around 7am. Our room was located on Deck 2 at the front of the ship. In Grand Cayman, they put the anchor down. When they put the anchor down, it woke us up because it was so loud. It was hard to tell if it was morning because it was so dark in our room because we didn't have a window. We got ready, and went to the breakfast buffet. Then we had to catch a tender (boat) to take us into the island. We did a little window shopping until it was time to go parasailing. The day was overcast, so I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to go, but then it cleared up a little. They took us on a powerboat, and there were 10 other people besides us. It took them forever to get the parasail up, but once they did it went pretty quick. We were sitting on a tandem bar, and then they lifted us up about 400 feet in the air. The view was great, and then they brought us down and dipped our feet in the water and lifted us back up in the air. We were in the air about 15 minutes. It was so peaceful and the water was so clear. Ater we were all finished parasailing, they took us to the seven mile beach. The water was so warm and clear.

The show featured Manuel Zuniga, The Amazing Juggler, and Phat Kat, the Comedian.
Every night, the maids would roll towels into animals, and each night would be a different animal. Tonight was a turtle.

ISLA ROATAN, HONDURAS

ISLA ROATAN, HONDURAS

On October 1st, we arrived in Isla Roatan at 12pm. We were all set to go on our clear kayak, snorkeling and Gumbalimba Park shore excursion, but the weather did not cooperate. It was rainy, overcast, and the seas were rough. We decided to go on the Discover Roatan tour. It was really cool to learn about the culture of the island. They took us Marble Hills Farm where we were able to sample jellies made from Hibiscus, Island Plum, and Apple-Banannas which are locally grown flowers and fruits. Then they took us to Yuba: "The Garifuna Experience." We were able to meet Garifuna people and learn about their history and culture as they demonstrated their music and traditional dances. Then they took us to Dixon Cove Harbor where we went on a boat ride to show us the reef and visible shiprecks. We saw two shiprecks that were their since 1980 and 1982. After our tour, we had a little time to shop. The shopping was interesting because the parents would send their kids out to get the tourists to come to their store. It was quite an experience. Roatan is a poor, beautiful island. That night we went to the show with Al Ernst, a comedian.

BELIZE CITY, BELIZE

On October 2nd, we arrived in Belize at 8:00am. We went to the Altun Ha Mayan Site and River Wallace tour. We first went to the ceremonial center of Altun Ha. It was within the main temple of the masonry altars where the famous jade head of the Sun God Kinich Ahau was found during an expedition led by Professor David Pendergast of the Royal Ontario Museum. The site, which is set in the pristine rain forest, has three plazas and thirteen structures within its epicenter and was a vital trade center during the Classic Period (250-900 AD). Then they took us on a boat ride down the River Wallace to see some Crocadiles, Manatees, Monkeys, and Iguanas. Towards the end of the boat ride, our boat broke down so they sent for another one to pick us up. By the time we got back, there was no time for shopping. It was a great tour, but again the weather didn't cooperate with us. It rained off and on throughout our tour. That night dinner was formal wear, and then we saw a show by the dancers which was called "Far From Over".

COZUMEL, MEXICO

On October 3rd, we arrived in cozumel around 8am. We ate a quick breakfast buffet, and then we got off the ship to meet the people conducting our shore excursion. We went on a deluxe sail to Cozumel's famous reef where we snorkeled for about an hour. Then they took us over to a private beach. At the beach, they had a trampoline floating in the water, and a blow up ice berg climbing wall floating in the water. They also had kayaks that we could go on. It was a fun place, and it was such a beautiful place. We were able to do a little shopping, and then it was back on the ship.

On October 4th, Vance's Birthday, we were at sea all day on our way back to Miami, FL. We had a great day hanging out by the pools, water slides, and buffets. They sang to Vance for his birthday at dinner. Then we caught the nightly show which featured guests on the ship dressed up as legends, such as Elvis. Vance had a great birthday! What more could you want?!?

We arrived back in Miami, FL at 8am on October 5th. We were up by 6:30am trying to have an early breakfast so that we could try to be the first ones off the ship because we needed to catch an early afternoon flight in Fort Lauderdale. Once we finished breakfast, it was waiting and standing in lines from then on, but we made our first flight to Tampa, FL and found out our flight to Las Vegas was an hour and 15 minutes delayed. We finally arrived in Las Vegas around 5pm pacific time, and we were so excited to see the boys. We missed the boys, but we had a fun time!