Sunday 29th April 2007

We'd set a wake-up call this morning to allow us plenty of time to get off the cruise. My mum was picking us up and so we had to be on time (if not early).

We chose to check ourselves off the ship, to save time. This meant Nikki couldn't have any breakfast. We made our way off the ship (which took about 10 minutes, when we were told it would take hours) at about 8.15am. We stood outside the terminal building and waited for mum and keith...

... and waited...

... and waited...

They arrived to pick us up at about 9am. Apparently they'd taken a wrong turn on the freeway and had ended up in suburbia. Those kids - it's a wonder that I manage to sleep at night, what with the worrying about them!

They drove us back to Westgate Resorts. Our apartments are cool. We have two - one for mum and Keith, and one for me, Nikki and Emma. Ours is the better one: it overlooks the beach. Emma got the best deal though - me and Nikki share a sofa bed (that dips in the middle), while Emma gets a room with a jacuzzi and a 6ft wide bed... to herself!

After catching-up by the pool and getting our bearings in the new area, we headed down to the Lincoln Street Mall to get a bite to eat. We ended up in Johnny Rockets - which was cool. The staff were giving us nickels to put old songs on the jukebox.

When we'd finished eating, we gave Emma, mum and Keith a tour of the South Beach area (which was packed) and went into Tattoos by Lou (another famous tattoo parlor). Emma and Keith are going to think about getting tattoos, my mum got one there and then... not!

Mmmmmmm, Johnny Rockets!

Saturday 28th April 2007

Today was our last day at sea, so we intended to make the most of... doing nothing!

We tried to have a lie-in this morning, but room service woke us by banging on the door trying to tell us we needed to collect our alcohol, alcohol we'd never bought. If I hadn't been half asleep when I answered the door - today would've been spent drinking free Jamaican rum. Oh well, Diet Coke it is...

Nikki, being Nikki couldn't make her mind up today on how she felt. One minute she thought she was hot and wanted to sit in the shade, the next she missed the sun, then she was hungry (no change there!)

We had our dinner, then went to watch the show. Tonight it was passengers from the ship in a kind of 'Stars in their Eyes' show. They were very good - even better than the cabaret we'd watched the previous nights!

After the show , we went to a bar and had a few drinks with Tom and Lyn before coming to bed at 1.30am. We're meeting my mum tomorrow, so we'll set the wake-up call for 7am... probably sleep through that!

Cruising has been great. Eating, drinking and lying in the sun... a life at sea is DEFINITELY one for me!

Goodbye cruising... hello Miami!

Friday 27th April 2007

When we woke up this morning, the ship had already docked at Ocho Rios, Jamaica... yeah man!

We'd set the wake up call for 7am - but slept through that! So, at about 8.30am we went and got some breakfast.

After breakfast, we left the ship and went to shore. We quite fancied going to visit the Dunn's River Falls, which is a 600 foot waterfall. The excursion on the ship would have cost about $45 each, but we managed to get it for $46 between us... woo hoo!

When we arrived at the falls, I had my Bristol City shirt on and some guy recognised it, saying that Bristol was his place. From then on, all the Jamaican's (who were all really friendly) were calling me 'Inglish Maan'.

The climb to the top is actually up through the middle of the falls and I got to slide down rocks and jump into pools. It was very cool!

After our climb, our taxi driver dropped us off at the Taj Mahal shopping centre, where I brought a Jamaica t-shirt before coming back to the ship for lunch. Today's 'Taste of the Nation' was Caribbean, so I had jerk chicken, with rice and shrimp... mmmmmmmm!

Tonight we watched a Cuban comedian. I thought he was quite funny - but Nikki didn't think much of him - she thought he was a bit of a perv.

We're on our way back to Miami now. It's going to take a day - so tomorrow will be spent at sea... yippee!!

Jamaica... no problem!

Thursday 26th April 2007

Today we docked at Grand Cayman Island. We had to get on a small boat which took us to the shore, approximately 200 people could fit on the boat per trip, so this took a while. We had a look around the port area, which had loads of shops and restaurants.

It was absolutely boiling on Grand Cayman and the streets were packed, so at about 1pm we came back onto the ship and had Chinese for lunch.

We explored the ship some more, had a little gamble in the casino (where we lost) and then went to the library, where I taught Nikki how to play Scrabble - the score wasn't bad for, well you know... Nikki!

After our exhausting Scrabble marathon (2 games), I came back to the room to do some more of Wilksi's tattoo while Nikki went to the gym (again... twice in a week is more than when she had a membership at home!).

After dinner me, Nikki, Tom and Lyn went to this Irish bar that has a huge piano in the middle. You request songs, the guy plays them and everyone sings along. It was a lot of fun. At about midnight, me and Nikki went to the nightclub, which was having an 80's disco and had a little boogie to songs like 'Beat It' and 'Love Shack'.

When we got back to our room, the Information Pursers Desk had left us some complimentary chocolate covered strawberries. The strawberries were decorated to look like they were wearing little suit jackets. Of course, even though we were about to get into bed, we ate them!

Mmmmmmm, chocolate covered strawberries!

Wednesday 25th April 2007

We overslept this morning and missed breakfast (d'oh!) - but it didn't really matter, there's so much other food on the ship, there's something for everyone - especially me and Nikki.

As we were at sea today, we were able to explore the ship some more. I think we've finally seen everything now. The cruise is brilliant - days at sea are our favourites!

It seems to get hotter every day, so rather than waste it we lay in the sun some more!

At about 3pm, I went into one of the bars to watch the Chelsea vs Liverpool game, and do some more work on Wilksi's tattoo (yes, still doing it!).

After tonight's evening meal we went to watch an illusionist in the main Caribbean Lounge and then a comedian, who was very funny!

All in all - another brilliant day.

Tuesday 24th April 2007

We woke up this morning at about 9am, to find that we had docked at Costa Maya, Mexico. We went down for breakfast and got there in record time - 12 minutes (bloody ship!).

We didn't have any excursions planned, but decided to walk to shore anyway to see what was about.

There wasn't much there, but we had a look around the local stall-type-shops, in which Nikki almost made some little old lady faint. We were looking at some hand-made dresses when the lady said we could have one for the cost price of $55 (as opposed to the normal retail price of $65). Nikki said she was sorry, but didn't have enough money. The lady asked how much Nikki was willing to pay, to which she replied... $5 - good ol' Niks!

When we'd been told that $5 was not acceptable (we were the first people EVER to offer such an amount), we decided to leave. By the time we'd reached the door, the lady was offering us the dress for $25 - so much for cost price!

We went and got ourselves a drink in this cool beach bar. Nikki had some fruity cocktail, which she liked, before we went to lay in some hammocks.

After a couple of hours, we came back to the ship - just in time for lunch. Each day there is a selection of food from different countries called 'Taste of the nation' - today was Mexican... Mmmm Mexican!

Lunch was followed by more laying in the sun. As i've just had my tattoo done, it's recommended that I keep it out of the pool, so I dangled my legs in, while Nikki had a swim and a go on the water slide.

By now, it was getting VERY hot, and so we went inside for a beer. We found a bar we'd not seen before and ordered a Fosters, which was HUGE - it was well over a pint, and so we shared a can. We sat drinking and watched the end of the Man United vs AC Milan game (which United won 3-2. Come on!).

Right next to the bar was the casino so we went in the for a quick flutter. Nikki randomly picked a slot-machine in the middle and I told her she could have $5 (I have to limit her, otherwise she goes wild!). After spending $2 she won it back, so cashed in her $5. As I was getting ready to walk away she wanted one more go... and won $10. She decided enough was enough, and was ready to leave - but not before treating herself to the biggest slice of carrot cake known to man: good girl!

Once again, dinner on the ship was fantastic. After this we spent some time in the karaoke bar, where some of the singers thought they were on American Idol! Then we went up on deck for a 'Midnight Deck Party'.

Cruising is nothing but laying in the sun and eating... suits us!

Monday 23rd April 2007

The beds on the ship are great - very comfortable and HUGE - I had a very good nights sleep!

We woke up at about 8.30am and lay chatting for a while about what we thought of life at sea, before heading out to try and find the breakfast restaurant. We set off at 9:15am and finally found it at 9:40am.

At breakfast you're sat as you arrive (as opposed to having a set table) - and so were sat with this really nice couple from Illinois and a very miserable couple (we don't know where they were from - we were too scared to ask!)

After eating our 'Eggs Benedict' we decided to head up on deck for a day in the sun. We lay there for a while, but it was VERY hot and so went for a walk. By now it was probably about 11am and yet the queue of Americans, waiting for pizza, was about 50 people long!

This afternoon, we did nothing - we just lay in the sun. That was until Nikki got restless and decided that she fancied a session in the gym (yes, you did hear right - the gym!), so we went there.., for about 15 minutes, until we remembered we were on holiday!

We were reminded that this evening there was a cocktail party - hosted by the Master of the ship. This was a formal occasion, so me and Nikki got ready in our posh gear.

At the party, everyone was all dressed up. We saw some right chavs who looked like they were going to fancy dress... brilliant! It was fun, but a bit poncy: I wanted a nice cold beer after all the laying in the sun i've done today, but had to make do with cocktails. The sea was getting quite choppy and so after only 1 cocktail, I felt as though i'd had about 10. We saw the Master of the ship and all his crew (we were a little concerned as to who was steering the ship at this point), and then went down for dinner.

We sat down for dinner with Tom and Lyn (the nice couple from Wigan). Nikki had the LARGEST slab of beef I have ever seen, but couldn't eat it, the waiter had brought out an extra lobster tail so Nikki swapped and had that instead. I also had lobster tail... twice!

Dinner finished at about 10:30pm, and we then went to see the nightly entertainment - some all singing, all dancing cabaret about 'Living in America' - Woo Hoo... High Five! This was followed by some American comedian called 'Fat Cat' - he was very funny.

By now we were exhausted. The laying in the sun had caught up with us and so we went to bed at about 1am.

Life on the ocean waves... brilliant!

Sunday 22nd April 2007

The alarm woke us up at 8am this morning - we had to get up, there was going to be no taxi driver banging on our door today and today... was cruising day!

We finished packing our bags and checked out at about 9am. We rode the bus for about an hour until we got to Bayside. We could see the Carnival Victory ship, and so figured that, to save money, we would walk to the port.

Oh dear! After 6 days we obviously thought we were experienced travelers - I can assure you, we are not. The walk took about an hour and with our shells* on our backs, it was a struggle. At one point, because of the sun, I was starting to wonder if the Carnival Victory was just a mirage!?

When we got there at 12.30pm we went straight to check-in. As our room number was to be allocated on arrival, we were unable to give our shells* to a porter. Boy, was I going to hear about this later...

The check-in procedure was worse than at an airport - you go through this scanner, that scanner, go over to that line, spread your legs for that big hairy man (just joking) - and Nikki was starting to dehydrate... with her shell* still on her back - oh dear..!

After finally checking in, the fun really started. We chose to sit in the lobby of the ship and take everything in while all the Americans were charging around. We were lucky we did, because when it was announced that there was a buffet on the Lido Deck there was a mass stampede!

We tried to find our bearings on the ship and then went up onto deck as the ship set sail. We then lay on some sun-loungers as we left Miami. We lay here for about an hour before exploring some more and then getting ready for dinner.

Dinner was amazing! We were sat with a couple from Wigan and had a lovely meal. The staff were fantastic - taking care of our every need.

After eating we went for a wander and headed to the Caribbean Lounge, where there was a 'Welcome Show'. This was fun, and went on quite late - so once it had finished we headed back to our room to rest after a long day.

Americans are the Kings of food... eating it anyway!

*our backpacks - we like to think of ourselves as snails.

Saturday 21st April 2007

The weather this morning wasn't too great. It was still warm, but it looked a little overcast - so we decided we go to some more shops - this time the Bal Harbour Shops.

This place was right up our street. Unfortunately our budget didn't agree. The shops included Gucci, Armani, Versace, Tiffany's and Dolce & Gabbana. It was cool to look round and when Nikki was trying on some Versace glasses and dropped her own on the floor, the store guy nearly had a heart attack. He breathed a huge sigh of relief when we left!

After looking in all the shops (and buying nothing), the weather looked like it was brightening up so we bought some food and had a picnic on the beach, we had sandwiches, sushi and key lime cheesecake.

When we'd finished our picnic the weather became overcast again so we decided to head back by walking along the beach. The walk took about 2 hours and about half way along it started to rain - we got soaked!

By the time we got back to our hotel, the sun was out again so we sat by the pool and dried off.

We spent a few hours in our room, packing our bags for tomorrow's cruise before going out for dinner. We decided on Tony Roma's and had a lovely meal before coming back to chill out.

Shop till we drop... yeah right!

Friday 20th April 2007

Nikki woke me this morning with our usual bowl of Special K and cup of coffee and we decided that we'd find out about the Adventura Mall.

When we asked at reception, the lady said that they were about 200 stores (cool!), a cinema (brilliant!) and a Cheesecake Factory (Woo Hoo!) - we were sold!

We made our way on the S Bus for $1.50 and got there in about 20 minutes. We looked around the shops for a few hours, with Nikki constantly reminding me that it was her birthday in 2 weeks (like I could forget), before stopping for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.

Nikki had a Chicken & Avacado sarnie and I had a pizza. The portions were HUGE and so we decided against a slice of cheesecake!

After lunch we went to the cinema and watched Blades of Glory. This was hilarious: we was wetting ourselves the whole way through.

Later we had another quick look around the shops and found a stall that sold lush outfits... but for small dogs. We asked how much a 'hoody and tracksuit bottom' outfit for Betty would cost and they said $55 (sorry Betty, we really wanted to buy it for you, but our £45 budget doesn't stretch that far). Maybe we'll shop around.

We made our way back to our hotel, sat on our balcony reading and chatting before coming to bed for an early night - but not before doing some washing. I even helped!

If only it wasn't for that silly budget...

Thursday 19th April 2007

We woke this morning and decided that we would make our way further into Downtown Miami - to Bayside to be specific. We had one goal: to find, and eat in the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant.

On the bus journey there, we spotted the Carnival Imagination ship in dock, which was good as we know where to go to for our cruise on Sunday... hopefully we'll get there on time!

We got off the bus in Little Havana. We had a quick look round but we were more interested in finding Bubba Gumps, so set off to the Bayside Market place.

The market was really nice and right on the water. We had a quick scout round and then went for lunch - Nikki had shrimp salad and I had a bbq pork sandwich.

After lunch we made our way back to South Beach to hang out there. We tried to get into the Versace Mansion but the big guy on the gate was having none of it! We then went into this bar called Mango's, which had loads of semi-naked Latino girls dancing on the bars - Nikki loved it!

We led on the beach for the afternoon, and then went for a walk, that included walking past the Miami Ink tattoo studio. Nikki persuaded me to go in, and I thought (in case we don't walk past again) I may as well get some ink done... so I did: two stars on my left arm - one for me, and one for Nikki.

After getting the tattoo, we remembered that we'd not eaten since lunch and so went into this little supermarket: Nikki had spotted that they were selling cooked dinners, including mashed potato. She decided that she didn't want the cooked meal after all, so we settled for a crusty roll with Houmous and a big bag of Doritos, which we ate in our room whilst watching some crazy hill billy families argue on TV.

Mmmmmmm shrimp!

Wednesday 18th April 2007

Boy, what a day!

We woke up at 9am and decided that today was going to be spent on the beach - so off we went...

At lunch time, we decided that we'd go to Denny's. They had a promise that if your food didn't arrive within 15 minutes, then your meal was free. Our meal took 16 minutes - but was it free? No, it was not - tut tut Denny's!

After lunch we went back to the beach.

At about 5pm we got ready to go out, as we'd heard that there was going to be a free Jazz concert later that night. We went to the Jazz concert for a while before setting off in search of food.

After 2 hours of wandering around, looking at menus, we ended up in Subway, (which is one block from our hotel), and shared a Steak sandwich. On our way home we brought some Reese's Peanut-Butter Cookies and sat watching American Idol.

Wow, traveling is hard!

Tuesday 17th April 2007

So, we woke up on our first morning abroad... well, Nikki woke me - AT 5am! and it was freezing - bloody air-con! I couldn't wait to get outside, where it was 67° already!

We decided that we'd travel to Downtown Miami today - to go hunting for Hulk Hogan. We caught the bus for $1.50, which was good because the journey was about 40 minutes long.

We arrived at South Beach, Downtown Miami at about 9.30am and it was really quiet. Hardly anything was open. We found this really nice coffee shop called David's Café, which had pictures on the wall of tons of famous people who had been there. We offered our picture for them to put on the wall, but they turned us down.

We spent the next couple of hours walking about, exploring. We stopped for lunch at an American Diner called Johnny Rockets and both had a Route 66 burger (cheese, mushrooms and onions).

After lunch, the temperature had reached about 85°, so we decided to take a walk along Miami Beach. On our way there, we were talking about where we thought the Miami Ink tattoo shop was, and then spotted it on the other side of the road. We crossed to see if we could go in, but they stopped us because they were filming, so we stood and watched for a few minutes, when all of a sudden Darren Brass came and sat outside. I went and had a chat with him and asked for a photo - he was cool, and told us that the shop is only open to the public from 8pm, when filming has stopped!

We continued exploring Downtown, and think we came across the hotels used in Scarface - but still no Hulk Hogan, so we went home... and had take away pizza for tea.

Mmmmm pizza!

Monday 16th April 2007

Finally, today has arrived - the day we set off on our World Tour!

We started the day as we'll probably go on - by sleeping through the alarm and almost missing our taxi to the airport... the taxi driver had to wake us by banging on the door!

The flight lasted 9 hours - it was bloody boiling, and Nikki moaned how she was 'going to pass-out' the whole way (no change there then!)

When we arrived in Miami, we got a Super Shuttle from the airport to the hotel and the driver was an absolute maniac. For some reason he refused to use his indicators!

Our hotel is cool. It's a 1950's building, which really stands out amongst the high-risers - its better though, as tall buildings cast shadows on the beach! Its only basic - but clean, and our room (Room 209) is 105 steps to the beach FACT!

We went for a quick walk, and bought some supplies... cereal, milk etc, before having a paddle in the sea and then coming to bed.

I've decided, traveling is fun!