We went on our first cruise the week of May 7. It was a 4 night cruise from Miami with stops in Nassau, Coco  Cay- a small island owned by the cruise line, and Key West.



The first day was spent on the ship as we left the port. None of us made it to dinner because we all got seasick and stayed in. Later, I managed to sit in the cafe to eat a little, then I brought some bread and ginger ale back to the cabin for Jeannie. I then sat in bed and watched 'Van Helsing' on mute the rest of the night.

We arrived in Nassau the next morning. Our excursion included a short boat tour, and a tour of the Atlantis Resort and Aquarium. We went tourist shopping the rest of the day and bought some rum cake from the Tortuga shop- reminded me of Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans because they made it locally in the store.

It's funny to see the contrast between poorer areas and us tacky tourists.

That night was formal night in the dining room. It was kind of fun to get dressed up for dinner. I think I enjoyed the dining service on this trip most of all. We got to order multiple appetizers, entrees and deserts. I ordered the shrimp cocktail and lamb shank- it was huge. I normally don't like lamb- too gamey, but theirs was quite good. Hmm.

The next day we arrived in Coco Cay. We spent the day laying out on the beach and eating barbecue. A good day to do nothing.

Dinner that night included humus, angus steak and baked alaska for desert.

Our last day out was spent in Key West. We did some more souvenir shopping and tried some conch fritters. We also walked 10 blocks so we could be photographed next to the "Most Southern Point in the US" landmark- in hindsight, that was pretty far to walk just for that .

Key West is known for its six-toed cats... and street chicken?

In between the excursions, we ate at the cafe buffet, sat by the pool, had soft serve served by the pool, ate again at the buffet, watched a little tv in our room, ate once more at the cafe buffet, then ate at the formal dining room, then took in the evening shows. Did I mention we ate a lot on the cruise? We averaged four meals a day- I gained 5 pounds at the end of the week. Overall it was fun.

(these are supposed to be swans- they kind of look like snakes )