Life At Sea on the Carnival Destiny!

our first official Cruise picture!
all aboard the Carnival Destiny!

Carnival cruise line, you did it again. I went on a cruise 10ish years ago with my family and remembered having an awesome time and fun running around on the boat with my brother and sister and touring the islands with my family. I knew when Jordan and I booked our cruise that we would (obviously!) have a completely different trip but still the same amazing and rewarding experience. And we definitely did just that! I have told several people since our trip that if you're looking for a VERY budget-friendly and cost-effective vacation that includes a lot of EVERYTHING, then a cruise is the perfect choice! We couldn't have been happier with our vacation because we got the combination of perfect sunny skies and weather every day mixed with warm temperatures, fun adventure excursions, the beach, the ocean and countless views, funny entertainment and delicious food! It really was the best decision for us and a wonderful vacation to celebrate our marriage and escape from the world for awhile after a stressful semester!

Anyway! Back to the actual cruise itself to sum up our honeymoon recaps...not that I want to admit that our trip is over and I am out of things to talk about from the trip (but not really...I just don't want to keep boring you all, ha!) but we do have plenty of other things coming up and happening soon that I will be blogging on! The first day of the cruise we got through security super fast and were on board before we knew it with a drink in hand so vacation had officially started!

full shot of the top deck with the Miami skyline as we were leaving the port

ready for vacation to start!

We spent the afternoon touring the boat and checking out all of the hang out zones and where we would be spending our week. We unpacked our bag in our room, got settled in and then headed to the top deck to enjoy some drinks, dancing and celebrate setting sail! We roamed through the casino which turned out to be torture for Jordan each time but at least the one time we sat down to play, we won $30 and walked away so it paid off! We went to a comedy show and "game show mania" the first night then after dinner, headed back to the top deck to finish the night off by watching The Notebook on the big seaside theater. Yay for chick flick night and a husband who actually likes chick flicks!

our room...we picked it ourselves because of 11

Jordan loving the Christmas decorations!

"it wasn't over....it still isn't over!!"
one of the best chick flicks around!

The next day, we had a day at sea which meant a day spent in the sun while napping, reading and straight up relaxing with not a single worry in the world! It was perfect weather with clear skies. I can't say it enough how perfect the weather was all week while we were on vacation! Since it was Sunday, that meant NFL Sunday Football games so when the boat announced they would be showing two games on the big screen, Jordan was pretty stoked for that. Seriously, laying out AND watching football?! Sign me up! It was also the fancy formal night at dinner so after a day of sun, we got to dress up for the evening and enjoy feeling elegant! We went to another entertainment show then watched the football game and called it a night since we knew we had an early morning the next day with our stop in Jamaica! 

first day at sea!

dessert with a view!

prime time Sunday football

elegant night before dinner!
Merry Christmas from The Easton's on the cruise!

one of our many towel animals...
we loved seeing what our room steward made up for us each night!

one of my favorite pictures of us together from the trip.
love you Mr. E

The next two days were our days at the islands which left us with one full day at sea on Wednesday before we made it back to the mainland. Surprisingly, the week did not fly by which we were both pleasantly surprised about because I thought for sure the week was going to fly by in the blink of an eye. We spent our last full day at sea by getting in everything that we had been wanting to do throughout the week! We bought our photos along with a Carnival shot glass and a big fin Christmas ornament to commemorate our special trip together! Of course the day wouldn't have been complete without a couple of hours laying out in the sun so we did that as well to get a few more rays in before heading home to the cold winter weather! Since it was so close to the holidays, the boat was all decorated for Christmas with fancy trees and wreaths/garland every where which was beautiful! The last night they had a big holiday show and played ELF and White Christmas on the sea side theater. It was the perfect way to end the last night on our cruise and get us back in the holiday spirit to head home for Christmas! 

hanging out before dinner!
isn't that dress the most perfect dress for a cruise and sunny vacation?!
Thanks Gordmans for the great deal!

posing with Long Neck

another towel animal....we at first kept calling it a puppy
but now looking at it, I think it's supposed to be a pig!

lazy night in after our past two days of adventure!

snuggling with the puppy towel and pretending it was Paisley!

the path our ship took...it is crazy to think how far away we actually were
and that we went all the way around Cuba!

last full day....

why do all good things have to come to an end?! 

now that's love. 

Elf!!!! my all time favorite Christmas movie
while on vacation...perfect!

last morning so it was time to enjoy one last delicious breakfast
and mimosa before saying goodbye to the boat! 

good bye cruise! We loved you!

And there it is...our whole vacation! We had the trip of a lifetime and are so grateful and thankful for the help of my family especially along with several other family members and friends who helped to send us on this trip! It was a beyond amazing experience that we got to share with one another and I think proof that we could handle being on The Amazing Race together as a team (that is, if Janelle let's Jordan be my teammate although I would happily take either of them as my teammate even though I'm sure the two of them together would dominate...is there anyway we can do a team of three?!!) Anyway! We loved every minute of it and are happy to still have a golden tan and enough memories and pictures to last us a lifetime. Here's to many more amazing vacations in the future for us...and possibly the kids if we decide to be that crazy and let them join us! We already would love to go on another cruise with some couples so that I can enjoy laying out and some fruity drinks with the girls while Jordan and the guys enjoy some beers and gambling in the casino! All in all, it was an incredible nine days and I couldn't have asked for a better vacation with a more perfect husband to spend it with!