Day 5
Cayman Islands, spelled with an “a” not an “e”, is the third Island I woke up to during this week long vacation; specifically Gorge town. Since we didn’t have a dock, we had to catch a tender to get to the island. It’s important to know that you can reserve a tender to get on and you’ll be grouped by letters and chosen at random between 8am and 10am. Lamonte and I made sure we booked a tender for our group the night before, so we could spend as much time possible on the Island. We spent a total of three and a half hours walking around, shopping, eating and relaxing on the beach. I am convinced that the Cayman Islands has their own orbiting sun, because I left the ship as shade 445 from Fenty Beauty and came back a 450.
After we got back on the ship, we headed straight for the spa around 3:45pm (yes, again!) and I sorta, kinda learned how to swim! Unfortunately, we had reservations at a Hibachi restaurant at 6pm so I didn’t spend as much time as I wanted to in the spa. Around 5pm, Lamonte and I changed, got dolled up and made our way to dinner. Tonight I wore a gorgeous tight yet flowy leopard print satin dress from fashion nova to compliment my freshly tanned skin.
While I am not the biggest fan of hibachi restaurant, this particular spot on the ship named Teppanyaki was the BOMB! The bomb dot come. the B-B-B-B-B-Bomb! I started the night off with a Wasabi Martini (basically a Lychee Martini) which is my all time favorite martini. As an appetizer, we had miso soup (yum!) and edamame. Then, after a while, our chef started preparing our garlic fried rice, flipping eggs in hit hat, doing onion tornado’s and making us all haha and hehe. Since I’ve been craving steak for the entity of this trip, I ordered shrimp and filet mignon. The food was so good, I completely cleared my plate and wanted more!
I ended my night at the theatre where I watched a musical named SIX about the six wives of Henry VIII. Have you ever heard the story of a King who married multiple women and killed all of them as punishment for giving him a daughter rather than a son? Turns out that story is false lol. The true story is, Henry the VIII is famously known for having multiple wives and mistresses. He divorced his first wife, banished her and married his mistress who was then beheaded. He then married his third wife who birthed him his first son, but she died days later. His fourth wife is when things start getting “reality TV’ish” dramatic. He sent for a woman in Germany, married her as his fourth wife, but when she came to England he divorced her because she didn’t look like her portraits and paintings…. like, ctfu! She ended up getting a HUGE settlement and was banished to the same place his first wife was. His fifth wife was a teenager (disgusting), I believe they mentioned she was 12? maybe 16?? She committed adultery and was beheaded, which was very sad because her song consisted of everyone taking advantage of her. FINALLY, we got to his sixth wife, who wasn’t banished or beheaded, but succeeded him. According to my memory, she’s known for her push and efforts to women’s rights and education. I highly recommend seeing this musical! It was the perfect end to my night.
Day 6
The last Island we sailed upon was Cozumel in Mexico. I was super super excited to visit mexico for the first time and try the local TEQUILAAAA. We stayed in Cozumel for a total of six hours and had the most FANTASTIC time meeting people, getting drunk and enjoying our day.
When we got back on the cruise ship, Lamonte and I ate lunch, then decided to try a drink at every bar on the ship and rate the on a scale of 1-5 to pass time (we clearly had fun). At 7pm, we had reservations to go into the Ice Bar! If you’ve ever visited Barcelona, I’m sure you’ve heard of their crazy creative ice bar. You basically put on a parka and gloves and go into a bar that completely ice or covered in ice. You’ll drink your drinks out of Ice cups, sit at ice tables in ice chairs, look in to ice mirrors and witness beautiful ice sculptures in super cold weather. The Skyy Vodka Ice Bar on the Norwegian cruise is nothing in comparison to the bar in Barcelona LOL.
We changed our clothes to cover our legs and arms, wore parkas and gloves they provided, and then walked into the ice Bar. NOW, no one knew what to expect! They don’t allow you to peak inside, there aren’t any windows and they won’t give you any information other than the temperature in the bar. So, we expected to witness something amazing…. They took our asses into a deep freezer that fits 10 people MAX. I was shocked LOL. The ice sculptures weren’t real. They had flat, white plastic cut outs of the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building, inside of a large cube of snow.They had one chair, or a thrown, that was made completely of ice, the bar was topped with ice and our cocktail glasses were solid ice. I didn’t quit like the cocktail glasses though because they seem like a cool creation, but how do you clean and sanitize these cups? They had a container of maybe a dozen ice cups, so wonder if they had hundreds in the closet where we couldn’t see. We had tickets to get two free drinks and danced for the whole 45 minutes we had at the bar. The bartender liked us so much after dancing the electric slide with us, that we got another free drink. It was a really fun time.
Later that night, I was fed up with the buffet and SUPER fed up with Shanghai for STILL NOT LETTING ME SIT AT THE RESTAURANT to the point where I got visibly hangry. Lamonte took me to Osheehans for some food (probably hoping that I’d shut up). All my body wanted were some fried and 3 chicken wings, and my attitude magically disappeared right on time for bed!
Day 7
Our last and final day of vacation was spent at sea. I’ll admit, I started getting a little bored with the cruise. After a while, the spa gets boring, the pools are all crowded and we found ourselves just walking and sitting around. But eventually, things started getting kind of fun.
Sometime in the morning, after breakfast, Lamonte and I headed to the seventh floor and waited for Deal or No Deal to start. First, we got reservations for a table at Osheehans (we had the perfect view of the stage and screen), then we went to the bar for an Irish Coffee and Mimosa. At the moment, we were watching a game show where we guessed different celebrities based on their baby pictures. It seems cheesy, like a freshmen icebreaker in college, but there was nothing else to do! So, we made friends with other couples and families around us, drank and played the game from afar.
When it was time for our reservation, and Deal or No Deal finally began, this is when the grandma and grandpa in us came out. We were screaming and shouting which case the contestants should open. At one point I got out of my seat because I couldn’t see past two teenagers. The whole bar was entertained by this game! we stuck around for about an hour and half until I got bored again. So we went shopping. I went to the bakery and go a box of macaroons (my favorite), then we headed upstairs to shop for perfumes and witnessed a raffle.
We shopped around for liquor and tested a few different perfumes to pass time until the raffle began. The ship was giving out several free pieces of free jewelry to several lucky raffle winners. The raffle took FORVER because different people who entered didn’t show up, so multiple tickets were called but no one was there to claim them. Eventually, we got bored and decided to go drinking. There’s a bar in between Taste and Savor that we stopped at, and I asked the bartender to make me something sweet. He responded with “Okay, but it’ll be off the menu and I can’t tell you what’s in it.” Instantly I was excited to try this concoction! It was sweet yet dry, and had a shot of Amarula and an orang-y tang at the top and a cherry. It was so good, everyone decided to try it. After 2 drinks we were pretty tipsy and ready for dinner.
We had reservations at our last restaurant, Ocean View, at 7pm. Tonight I wore a white dress from Get Choosy that I purchased months ago and finally had a moment to wear! I was really excited to try this restaurant because they were seafood based and I was praying to lay my hands on some crab legs. But, I was let down… per usual. The food was good though!
I started with Clam Chowder topped with bacon bits. For an appetizer, I had pan seared scallops on top of barbecued pork belly and for dinner, I consumed a wonder Alaskan salmon in tamarind sauce with french fries and risotto. I also ordered a raspberry cheesecake to send to my room for dessert. Drink wise, I had a Long Island and another Wasabi Martini while Lamonte had a watered down cranberry vodka. This restaurant was great and worth every penny. I really wanted to try the bowl of mussels, but I was concerned with how many would come in the bowl. I hate going to restaurants and not having enough to eat.
We ended our night with a magic show at the theatre. I’d grade this magic show a three out of five stars. I was expecting something that you’d see in Vegas, (even though I’ve never been to a magic show in Vegas lol) but if the magician was that good, I’m guessing he’d actually be in Vegas and not on a cruise ship…. But, it was a cute show. His magic tricks were based on his family and love but it was so slow, dark and quiet, we all FELL ASLEEP. It was just a long day, we were full and had one too many drinks to end the night.
Day 8
Upon waking up, the first thing I noticed is how cold I was. The second thing was the terrible view of Florida and the reminder that I have to go to work tomorrow. I didn’t want to get off the ship, and I desperately wanted to go back to a beach somewhere that wasn’t Cocoa Beach.
Getting off the ship was pretty easy. After our last day of breakfast in the buffet (and my last day of complimentary food), we grabbed our luggage and made our way towards “TSA.” It took us 45 minutes to get off the ship, another 45 to get to the airprt via coach bus, and another 45 minutes waiting + riding in the shuttle bus to our hotel. Lets just say, we were TIRED, and the minute we got back to our hotel room, we passed out.
All in all, I 100% recommend anyone wanting to vacation for cheap and see as many countries as possible. I spent $1,625 for my spa suite stateroom with a balcony + complimentary food. $125 for a three day specialty dining package that covered the cost of my three course meals at three different restaurants. $300 of my own spending money, and Lamonte had a $118 drink package (includes free drinking for cocktails, wine by the bottle and beer). Free drinks, free food, specialty dining and unkimited access to the all spa with a private pool, hot tub, whirl pool, water fall, rain showers, steam room, saunas and salt rooms at a cost of $2,168 for SEVEN DAYS and lets not forget, I started paying my half for this cruise in January of 2019…. I basically put up $180 a month towards this cruise. Let that sink in.
I recommend this type of vacation for people who want enjoy trying new things, drinking all day day, everyday and for those who enjoy an adventure. This was my first time going to the Caribbean and visiting all four of these countries and it is an experience that I will forever cherish. I had such a great time that Lamonte and I are already planning our next cruise for 2021! If you haven’t already, you should research different cruise lines, pick an ocean to sail through, put up your $100 deposit and START CRUISING!
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God’s country: Jamaica
Admit it, you loved reading this. You grew up in the Reading Rainbow era and prefer Twitter over Instagram because that’s how much you love reading. So don’t stop here! Click a link below and read some more!
- Bahama MamaZip lining through an island. Peaceful or terrifying?
- The Cayman IslandsA place to relax, reflect and recharge. The most beautiful island that many people don’t know about.
- JamaicaJamaica, aka God’s country, is a beautiful island filled with sunshine, cool breezes, goats that act like cats, and not a single McDonalds in sight
- Cruisin Paloozing Pt TwoDays 5,6 and 7 in part two!
- Cruisin Paloozing!Seven days, six night, five people, four countries, three top notch restaurants, two days of sea sickness and a once in a life time adventure
Traveling While Black 