WATERLOGUE WISTFULNESS

I love cruising. My travel goal is to see as much of the world as I can via a cruise ship. So far, I have been on seven different cruise ships; number eight will be in three months. Each ship has been decorated in its own unique motif, and I have liked each one for different reasons. One of my favorite ships is the Carnival Breeze. I loved these multi-colored, cloth-covered lanterns that hang several decks above the ship's atrium.

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A Great Europe Trip Planner 

Photo taken by me during my cruise on the Carnival Breeze in May, 2013.
Waterlogue image created by me.
Unauthorized use is prohibited.

  

FANTASTIC ATLANTIS

After visiting Grand Turk Island we had a day at sea before docking at our last stop, Nassau, Bahamas. 

Even though this was our third time in Nassau, we had never been to Atlantis. So for our shore excursion we hired a "taxi" for $4.00 each to drive us over the bridge to Paradise Island. I put the word "taxi" in quotation marks because our "taxi" ended up being a van crammed with 8 people and no air conditioning.  Thankfully it was only a 15-minute drive to Atlantis.

I've always wanted to visit the Marine Habitat so upon our arrival we purchased tickets that allowed us access to the lagoons, underwater ruins and even the famed casino. Tickets were $45 per person but given what we saw the price was well worth it.

A pool of stingrays...

Beautiful coral...

with brilliant, blue fish darting in and out...

Schools of gorgeous, colorful fish...

Seahorses...

A couple of hammerhead sharks...

And a manta ray with a 14-foot wing span...

We were told that she may soon be released out to the sea because she is just gotten too big.

Of course, we were also able to walk around the grounds...

Here are the Royal Towers...such an iconic view.

Near the Coral Towers...

The beautiful tropical foliage...

Next post: our walk through the famous Atlantis casino.

All photos in this blog post were taken by me during our cruise in May, 2013.

NEXT STOP: GRAND TURK ISLAND

After a day at sea, our next cruise stop was Grand Turk Island in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Here is our boat docked...

And across the pier was the Carnival Pride...look how much bigger the Breeze is!

A very short walk from the ships is the main attraction on the island, the Grand Turk cruise center. Built by Carnival Cruises in 2006 it features one of the largest swimming pools in the Caribbean...

and a Flowrider...

Of course there is the usual Dufry duty-free shopping which is always positioned so you have to walk through the store in order to get to the rest of the island's attractions...great marketing!

There are also the usual shops you find in Caribbean cruise ports...

Of course, the beach is the other main attraction.

And what is cool is that the ships are docked directly in front of the beach as you can see below.  It was so hot and humid that day and the water was so refreshing!

There are a couple of other "attractions" located near the cruise center. One is a large sculpture of two humpback whales "breaching" through the sand.

Another attraction in the cruise center is an exhibit commemorating the splashdown on John Glenn's Mercury 7 space capsule off the island's coast in 1962.  It was opened in 2012 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the splashdown.

In addition to a replica of the actual space capsule...

there was John Glenn in his spacesuit...

and storyboards depicting the accomplishments of the NASA space program.

I have to be honest and say I was very disappointed with Grand Turk Island.  It seems like it is still a starter cruise port stop because many of the buildings were empty and the few open stores had limited inventories of the usual merchandise you see for sale in cruise ports. It was strange to walk into a jewelry store and see half the cases empty.

   
Other than water sports there is not much to this island.  It has some of the most beautiful water you will ever see...

But unfortunately when the cruise ships depart, it is a ghost town until the next ships arrive...

All photos in this blog post were taken by me during our cruise in May, 2013.

IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL SETTING FOR A WEDDING

The first stop on our Carnival cruise was Key West, Florida. This cruise was a family wedding cruise, and the wedding took place at the Hyatt Hotel in Key West.

Taking a cruise for a wedding is nice enough, but the wedding locale was just beautiful.  The ceremony took place on a small beach on the hotel grounds with the beautiful ocean as the backdrop.

Isn't this a beautiful place to hold a wedding?

Perfect weather: sunny, 84 degrees and low humidity.

Ready to toast the happy couple after their "I do's"...

It's easy to see why Key West is the number two destination for weddings after Las Vegas...

Sights of the Florida Keys...jet skis, tropical birds, boats, and parasailing...

After the lovely wedding reception, held inside the hotel, we walked back through the town...

and boarded the Carnival Breeze, seen here docked in Key West, to continue our cruise.  Next stop: Grand Turk.

All photos in this blog post were taken by me during our cruise in May, 2013.

THE CARNIVAL BREEZE

As soon as I saw Carnival was launching a new ship, I wanted to cruise on it and before we even boarded the ship, I knew I would not be disappointed.

What a sight to see her docked in the Port of Miami.  She is the largest ship we have cruised on...1,004 feet long.

The first thing we did was find our cabin...a balcony is a must-have feature.

The second thing we did was find the food...Guy's burgers, fries and lemonade were delicious...

After filling our bellies, it was time to quench our thirst...those strawberry daiquiris were delicious!

Now, let's explore the ship: Here is the Tides pool at the back of the ship...

The Beach pool in the middle of the ship...

The waterslides and Waterworks area...I went down the yellow waterslide three times...I think more adults were on the waterslides than kids!

So much to do on the Sports Square including pool tables and miniature golf.

Ah, this is being on vacation!

The interior is as beautiful as the exterior...here is the atrium and its beautiful decor.

Piano Bar 88 lounge...I love the piano keys bar top.

The Liquid Nightclub disco...

The Ovation Theatre where we saw some terrific musical dance shows.

The Winner's Luck Casino...I was thrilled when I won $25!

We saw the adult-only comedy shows in the Limelight Lounge...

In the Ocean Plaza music plays every night...

Then there are the food options...Lido Marketplace.

Guy's Burger Joint...

Fat Jimmy C-side BBQ as seen from our balcony as we were docked in Key West.  It's open only on sea days.

Of course, this is only a small percentage of what you can see, eat and enjoy on the Carnival Breeze cruise ship.  To see the entire ship yourself, you will just have to book a cruise by clicking here.

NOTE: This was the third Carnival cruise we had taken. Despite all the previous events that had occurred on other Carnival ships, we had an absolutely wonderful time, and I would recommend Carnival to anyone.

All photos in this blog post were taken by me during our cruise in May, 2013.