My seventeenth birthday was not
your typically "boring" 17. My parents took me and the rest of our
family on a cruise to the Caribbean the summer of 2003. We traveled on
very large cruise ship for five days and four nights. We began the trip
in Cape Canaveral, Florida early one morning.
My boyfriend was invited on the
trip and during the security check-in, he had to "strip" his top layer
of shorts. My family still talks about that story today. Apparently, my
boyfriend was tired of carrying his extra pair of shorts through the
line and decided to put them on over the pair he already had on. When it
came time to walk through the metal detector at the security check
point, the alarm went off to everyone’s amazement. He had emptied his
pockets but not the second layer! This was a funny start to our
wonderful vacation!
The weather was beautiful the
entire trip, from Cape Canaveral to Freeport, Bahamas, to Nassau,
Bahamas. We enjoyed the friendly locals at the market places and my
sister even had her hair braided like the natives. Of course we
purchased the tourist shirts, but we also took a boat ride to Blue
Lagoon in Nassau where we snorkeled and took several underwater
photographs.
My brother, who was only ten at
the time, found a coconut and put it into our carryon bag as a keepsake.
The water is so crystal clear in the Caribbean, which makes it one of my
favorite places to visit. The scenery is one of the reasons tourist
flock to this destination. Another reason, however, is the entertainment
on the cruise ships. While at sea, we played in the casino (didn’t win
but had lots of fun), danced in the night clubs, went to the nightly
shows, and ate until our hearts were content. The cruise line had some
of the best entertainment ever! One night, I was called on stage to
assist the magician and the next day, I was watching professional ice
sculptures compete on the main deck.
The fun was never-ending! The
hot tub and workout room on the ship had huge windows so you could view
the ocean while you exercised or just relaxed. My family and I had a
wonderful time together and are looking forward to our next cruise in
the near future.