Honeymoon Part 2: CARNIVAL GLORY

SATURDAY:

We drove form Walt Disney World to Cape Canaveral - about 50 minutes - to board the CARNIVAL GLORY!! It wasn't too long of a drive at all. Matt brought the car around and the bellhop loaded it up. Then we parked it and went back into the Contemporary. We decided to get the rest of our snacks off our Disney Meal Plan (which we would definitely recommend to anyone)...So after grabbing some snacks and some drinks, we hit the road! It took about an hour and we were at the port! We parked our car and carried our luggage to the check-in point....and that is when Matt and Kelly recognized they were VIP!!! Seriously, not kidding - our "ticket/boarding pass" was stamped VIP - so it meant no waiting in line! Woo-hoo! Then we went in and had to fill out information about swine flue (of course they didn't label it that...ha! ha! ha!)...and then it was back into VIP treatment! They took us and checked us in not at a counter but a separate room! SWEET! Then we were off to board the boat!!!!

We got on board and had about an hour and a half to chill before our room would be ready and luggage would be delivered a little after that. So we went and had lunch (the boat had it ready for us) and just hung out - getting accustomed to the boat...it was big! Then we headed to our room to get changed into suits to enjoy the deck! (kelly's parents had warned that the luggage might not come to late until the day so make sure and have suits/clothes to change into with them...so kelly packed a bag for her and matt!)....Our room was pretty sweet and had a great balcony! We met our room steward Ferry - "like Ferry boat"...He was pretty awesome! Then it was just hanging out on the deck while we set sail! Loved it! So beautiful - and Matt pointed out NASA - AWESOME! Pretty soon it was time for dinner!

Dinner was casual and as we had already changed our table to just a table for 2 of us....We met our waiters 2 guys GREAT GREAT GREAT guys - so fun! After dinner we went to the show in the Amber Lounge - it was well...anyways, we left the show a little early....and called it a night!

We got back to the room and Ferry had already turned down our bed and Kelly's favorite part - the first of many towel animals!!! SCORE!

SUNDAY:

When we woke up, we were still at sea - headed to Nassau, Bahamas! Matt and I went and got b-fast and then got ready for our day!

We arrived at 11 am at Nassau, Bahamas...After docking in the port and being cleared by customs officials we were able to leave the ship and venture onto our excursion. Our excursion was DEEP SEA SWIM WITH THE DOLPHINS in Dolphin Cay at Atlantis!

So we took a bus with the rest of our group to Atlantis. At Atlantis we got a brief tour of the resort and they ended the tour at Dolphin Cay! We filled out some forms (the first time Kelly got to sign as Kelly Wallace Marlow)...we given a wrist band...and then BAM! taken to go get changed.

Matt and I were signed up for the deep sea swim....and they placed us in a group with 4 others (3 guys who were celebrating their graduation from college...funny new jersey boys...and a girl whose family didn't want to do that excursion, but still let her go on it)....so we got into our wet suits (yes, you just read that right, and no, I'm not explaining more...they were wet suits...we all know what that means....awesome right??)....And then it was off to hand with the dolphins....

It is set up in stations....

Station 1: FOOT PUSH - we held a boogie board at our waist with our legs held out straight....and then out of nowhere a dolphin would come put his nose on the bottom of one of the feet and start pushing...you start out slow...and then BAM! out of no-where the dolphin gets a good hook into your foot with his nose and you take off flying...Seriously, I'm not kidding! You get going so freaking fast!!! It's so crazy!!!!!! It was so much fun! This was our favorite station - hands down the best part!

Station 2: HUGS/KISSES - this station we got to love all over Hercules! He loved it! We got to hug him and kiss him it was really cool! I had no idea what a dolphin would feel like!!! So fun - and they got some great photos! Man that Hercules is adorable!

Station 3: UNDERWATER DIVING w/ POWER SCOOTER: we were given power scooter things that would give us the ability to dive down further and see the dolphin underwater. Unfortunately they added 2 more people to our group and this wasn't our favorite station...As soon as you came up from diving you popped up into another person - any part of their body! Oh well - still very interesting that power scooter thing...took a while to get the hang of...actually still wondering how to get a hang of it! Ha! Ha!

Station 4: DOLPHIN SIGNALS/TRICKS: here we were able to see the dolphin do tricks and their signals...they flipped, high-fived, waved, ate loads of fish, acted badly (that wasn't part of the trick - but still super fun), sang, and so much more (well one pooped, but that definitely wasn't the highlight! ha! ha! ha!).....

Then it was time to get out of our wetsuits! They gave us drinks and then after drying off Matt and I bee-lined it to the photography part so we could buy the pictures we liked! Man - so glad we were able to get those pictures! LOVE THEM!

Matt and I then decided to take our on little personal tour of Atlantis! We did a shark walk, saw the stingrays and so much more...but then it was time to get back to the bus so we didn't miss the last bus to the boat!

On our way out of Atlantis - Kelly ran into a friend from law school (she takes a cruise every year with her mother) and she told Kelly that her boat had been de-toured to the Bahamas, and it made Kelly and Matt wonder if they might be de-toured thanks to Tropical Depression Anna or Hurricane Bill!

We got back on the boat and headed to dinner. An announcement was made after dinner by the captain - he said that due to Hurricane Bill our next two stops would no longer be St. Thomas and St. Marteen, but rather Half Moon Cay (Carnival's private island) and Grand Turks, B.W.I....and that we would arrive at Half Moon Cay in the morning.


MONDAY:

Well when we woke up we were supposed to be at Half Moon Cay - well anchored and taking little boats to the island...but instead we were still at sea! Matt guessed it the night before that we might still be headed to St. Thomas because we could see on the TV in our room our route and the captain was taking a very long way to get to Half Moon Cay....so when we woke up we found out that because Hurricane Bill had changed its course in the night we would still be able to make it too St. Thomas! So it was a fun day at sea and we would arrive at St. Thomas the next time!!!!!

Matt and I spent the day relaxing at sea....we read books, we layed out, we ate lunch, we ate ice cream....we just chilled. It was awesome! And at night was our first Elegant Night!!! That meant Matt was so handsome in a tux and Kelly was beautiful in a formal! They had such a nice time getting ready and it was a good night on the boat. At dinner they were honored as "newlyweds" with a cake and song...which was gifted by Matt's mom and sister!


TUESDAY:

We arrived at St. Thomas on Tuesday morning. Although we were supposed to go to snorkeling in St. Thomas around Buck island, the swells were 8 feet - so the excursion was canceled. Matt and I didn't mind - we were just happy to still be in St. Thomas! Matt really wanted to be back at St. Thomas at the time we booked the cruise. So we got tickets to go up to Paradise Point - at the top of the island with absolutely beautiful and amazing views!!!! After Paradise Point we grabbed a taxi to the shopping area of St. Thomas and just walked around. Then we headed back to the boat early - best decision because we were able to enjoy the back of the boat basically alone! We were all alone in the pool and hung out - it was so nice!!!! And the weather was absolutely beautiful! (aka thank goodness Kelly and Matt got 3 cans of sunscreen at Sams before leaving Virginia - because they used 1 can at Disney and 2 cans on the cruise).....


WEDNESDAY:

Back on our original cruise schedule, Wednesday morning we arrived at St. Marteen. Matt and I were all ready to go - we had nothing to do on this island, but explore! We had decided to just get off the boat - catch a taxi and ask them to take us to a beach b/c we had yet to get into the water! However, while we were eating our morning Pizza (breakfast was normally pizza on the boat)....the boat started reversing from the port. Let me explain - when we left the room to go eat breakfast - we were docked...the ropes were down - the gangplank out....we were just waiting on customs to clear us so we could leave the boat....As we were eating we starting reversing - Matt noticed it and then the pizza guy was like "what the heck is going on?"....Although Matt thought we were just moving spaces b/c there was work to be done on our boat and there was a big like tanker/carrier boat coming in too - but the captain explained different. He told us that because the seas were already so high at the port and because of Hurricane Bill was supposed to get worse in the course of the day, the port authority was closing the port for the next 5 days! So we had been asked to leave. That began our Fun Day At Sea.

For us just another day of relaxing and then our second Elegant Dinner!

We were told about our new course later that day - we were going to arrive at Grand Turks, B.W.I. the next day!

Great relaxing day at sea!

THURSDAY:

We were coming into Grand Turks, British West Indies in the morning and eventually arrived at the port. It was BEAUTIFUL! We were there with another boat - the Carnival Liberty. Kelly decided that Matt and she would be one of the first ones off the boat to make sure that they got the beach chairs they could see from the balcony!

SCORE! We got beach chairs!!! It was awesome - beautiful water - views and heaven!!! However, it wasn't quite sand, but more like lava rock with lots of holes...Matt and I spent most of our time on the beach chairs relaxing and hit up the water just a few times to feel it hit our legs! Then it was time to shop, shop, shop! We had fun shopping for gifts for our families!

Then it was back to the boat for lunch, pool, and hot tub!

FRIDAY:

Friday was our last Fun Day at Sea as we sailed back to Cape Canaveral. Kelly spent the day laying out in the sun and listening to her i-pod, while Matt switched between laying next to Kelly reading and winning big in the casino on the slots!

That night Matt and Kelly decided to try their hand at Sports Trivia! It was a packed bar with several people playing...25 questions! Matt and Kelly got 17.5 right and that was good enough to be tied for first place! They were cool with being tied, but the other couple was asking for a tie-breaker...so the tie-breaker was about hockey and Kelly got the right answer! SCORE! (Note: Matt got most of the 17.5 answers!)....so Kelly went and accepted their trophy - a ship on a stick!

Then it was time for a comedy show and dinner.

SATURDAY:

Arrive back at Cape Canaveral and drive to Sandestin. Not a bad drive - went pretty fast as we called family to tell them we were back and tell them a little bit about the honeymoon. Arriving at Sandestin, spending time hanging out with Kelly's parents and that night DATE NIGHT with Gwyne and Mark (Kelly and Matt's wedding photographers and close friends) at Cantina Laredo.