Cruise in Review

We're Baaaack!

In case you didn't know, on February 6 we left for Orlando to hit up Islands of Adventure and cruise the Caribbean! We got home late Sunday and I'm proud to say that we were unpacked before noon Monday! We thought we would share a few of our highlights:

1. Orlando's Beautiful Weather

Nawt. It rained and was cold the whole 3 1/2 days we were there. So lame. However, we were cold in t-shirts and sandals, rather than in snowsuits, which makes it all the more bearable. 

2. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

This area of Islands of Adventure was very nerdily beautiful to me. When we walked in it was  moment of aw, all of the buildings look so amazing and are covered in fake snow. It felt so real! I'd love to go back when Diagon Alley is up and running and you can really ride the Hogwarts Express!

We rode the main ride, "Harry Potter & the Forbidden Journey" 2 times. I would have gone more except it took quite a while to get through since the line up was a tour of the Hogwarts school. So wonderful. The ride was a combination of video and real with a lot of special effects, and I was smiling the whole time - except for the part when they took my picture and I had taken a moment to itch my face, and the part with the Dementors where my eyes were closed. Other than that - all smiles. 

3. Butterbeer

Rootbeer mixed with butterscotch = heaven. Legit, I'm pretty sure that after the pearly gates there is a pool of butterbeer into which you can plunge and drink for eternity.

4. Exploring our Ship

Philip & I are kind of freaks about exploring things lol. I feel like if we go to a hotel or anywhere new, we get to our room, put our stuff down, and then get so excited to wander about exploring. This ship was gynormous. It had all of the usual stuff we expected as past cruisers, but there were also features like a rock climbing wall, surf simulator, ice rink, and of course horrible things like dressed up characters. The Kung Fu Panda may have caused me to jump and accidentally elbow Philip in the face with fear. 

5. Albert & Ygnacio

We had the amazing experience of sitting at the same table every night with the same waiters. They were so funny and nice. They were one of the best experiences of our trip.

6. 2 Hour Downhill Mountain Trek

In St Maarten we were transported to the top of their highest mountain "Pic Paradise" (the tour guide had an accent so I thought it was Pig Paradise for the longest time). The drive started in a comfy air conditioned bus for about half an hour, then we had to climb into a truck bed filled with wooden plank benches and ropes holding us in instead of sides. So bumpy and had to duck so tree branches didn't get us in the head - Adventure begins! We got walking sticks and started the long walk down. It was so beautiful! The mountain used to be a sugar plantation and so there are even old copper pots that slaves used, and you can see the stone wall terraces that they built down the sides of the mountain where the different work areas were. There were lots of monkeys around, except for a dog decided to walk with us and he chased them away before we could see any. We did hear them though...which is about 1/10 as cool. 

Anyway...it was an amazing trip! We had a great experience, came back decently tanned, and can't wait to crack open our tiny $10 box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Hopefully they aren't all vomit flavored. I will post some pictures later this week! Waiting to get some from my sister-in-law and the cruise ship because we didn't take many photos on our iPhones since they were off without reception anyway.