Shipping Out

(FYI: This is post #1 of 8)

It's finally time to document our fun in the Caribbean sun.

And as you will see, we definitely had some fun.

Our boat ported our of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

At first we were unsure if going out of PR was going to be a good thing or not.

But after we realized that 1- it was the cheaper cruise, 2- it went to what we thought (and we were right) would be some amazing ports, and 3- flying to Puerto Rico was just as much money as flying to Miami during spring break: it was decided that cruising on the Carnival Victory was they way to go.

9 out of 10 of us were first time cruisers, and I think I can speak for all of us and say we have been converted.

I can't say enough about how wonderful this vacation was.

From the food, to the weather, to the service on the ship; everything exceeded our expectations; and let me tell you, they were pretty high to begin with.

Now it must be noted that I write about how wonderful and amazing this trip was fully aware that my child was sick in the hospital for a large portion of it.

For my own sanity I am doing my best to separate our vacation from what happened at home.

It really was a dream and a nightmare all at once.

Our ship did not leave port until 10pm that first night, which made us all feel a little stressed since our flight arrived in San Juan at 11 am.

We weren't sure how we were getting to the ship, what we would do with our bags when we got there, or how we would manage to fill nearly 12 hours of time before we actually left.

Everything fell perfectly into place.

We found an awesome deal on a taxi van that took us directly to the ship and just so happened to drive right up along side our friends who had arrived a few days previously.  It was crazy.

The cruise ship took our bags, let us on the boat, and even gave us an opportunity to eat lunch at the buffet before heading out to explore Old San Juan for the day.

I loved the old, colorful buildings that towered over us as we walked the street of Old San Juan.

Everything was so vibrant and inviting and the weather was perfect.

We made our way to the old fort El Morro, where we enjoyed exploring the amazing structure and taking in the views of the ocean.

The adjoining field was occupied by hundreds of people flying kites and enjoying a relaxing day in the park.

It was the perfect start to our adventure!