Who sleeps the night before going on vacation. No one. I maybe got 3 hours of sleep, max, the night before going on the cruise. Our flight to Florida took off in the early morning. I had to be up at 4 am. We all know we have to be at the airport 3 hours before your flight. I am not a morning person, but not when going on vacation, I woke up with a huge smile on my face.We drove to the airport at the crack of dawn, and checked into the park and ride. Because we were so excited to get to Florida, none of us slept on the plane. 4 hours later we had landed in Fort Lauderdale. It was the early afternoon. We were all so excited. First time on a cruise, who wouldn't be excited? We were quick to get our luggage and head to the taxi's to take us to the Ship. The taxi ride was not even 10 minutes, and you could see the ship a mile away. It was huge! Considering The Oasis of the Seas houses over 6,000 passengers for a whole week, they were very organized. We were checked into our rooms at no time.
When you first get on the boat they take your picture and you're handed a card. This card is with you at all times during this trip. With this card you can purchase drinks, food, souvenirs, and its also your ID when getting off the ship when docked at different ports. This card allows you to get anything on the boat, but of course you have to pay for it, just not at the time, you get a nice big, VIsa/Mastercard bill once you get home.
The first place we docked was in Nassau, Bahamas. Here we got off the ship and headed to a smaller boat which took us to a reef where we could go snorkeling. I had never been snorkeling before, it was amazing! It should be on everyones bucket list! It amazing seeing the different types of fish, and so many different colours! The instructors were with us in the water, and one of them handed me some bread, and he said "just hold your hand under the water watch what happens." More than 10 fish came swimming to me! They weren't scared at all. It was amazing to see. After an hour of being in the water, we headed back to land, then had a few hours to do some shopping. We walked around town looking at the different flea markets they have. Everyone wanted our business, and everyone wants to give you the better deal. Very different then shopping here, that's for sure. Few hours later, we boarded the boat and it was off to our next destination.
The second place we docked was Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas we docked early morning, about 9am. I remember being in the dining room eating breakfast and looking out the window and seeing the mountains of St. Thomas. It was beautiful. Imagine waking up and seeing the bluest water you've ever seen, the greenest grass. Feeling the warm summer air. Nothing I've ever experienced before. In St. Thomas we booked a tour of the island. Our drivers name was Justin. He was so nice; I spoke to him the whole tour. He told me about his work, and how he loves his job because he gets to meet nice people like me every day. He also told me about his wife and his son. He told me how his son was born during a hurricane that hit a few years ago. He and his wife were in the doctor’s office at the hospital while his wife was giving birth, and the doctors told her to hurry up before the water came to the hospital. I was shocked when i heard this story. I could never imagine myself going through something like that. So we continued with our tour, Justin was a crazy driving, then again everyone there was. And I thought it was funny, their car's steering wheels are on the same side as ours, but they drive on the opposite side of the road, they drive on the left side rather than the right side like we do. After a few hours of driving through St. Thomas' winding roads it was time to board the ship once again and off to our next destination.
Our third and final stop was Philipsburg, St. Maarten, we hadn’t booked any excursions for St. Maarten. St. Maarten is known for having the best shopping, so that’s exactly what we did. We spent most of our money in St, Maarten. This is where we bought most of our souvenirs for friends and family, and including ourselves. Everyone in the shops were so nice, a lot of them sold jewelry. I went to one shop where a lady was looking at earrings that were over $3,000! Who spends that much on earrings! I thought it was ridiculous. After doing a little bit of shopping we went to the beach and just relaxed and enjoyed the view and the weather. Then it was finally time to board the ship again and head back to Florida and go home.
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