More about our cruise

We flew into Miami on Saturday night and stayed at a lovely hotel by the airport, the Sofitel Miami.  Though we waited over an hour for the airport shuttle, once we arrived, we really enjoyed our brief stay.

Hannah still likes the airport play areas.

 Simon and Lydia flew on an airplane for the first time.  Lydia pretended to feel a little queasy.

 Waiting for the shuttle.

The view from our room.

We were taken to the Port of Miami Sunday morning.  None of us had been on a cruise before, except my dad, so we were all filled with anticipation.  My parents were staying with friends in Miami, so we didn't meet up with them until we were on the ship.

The ship boarding process was much easier than I expected and took less than 30 minutes.  Though I have seen cruise ships from a distance, I have never been close to one.  The size was incredible!  This is a picture of the Carnival Glory that set sail just before we did.

 The inside of the Carnival Valor was incredible! I felt like I was walking into a casino in Vegas, only this was floating.

 Leaving the Port of Miami was quite spectacular!  The city of Miami is beautiful.  We even saw the road that Don Johnson drove down in Miami Vice, too cool!

 Our first day was spent at sea cruising toward the Grand Cayman Islands.  I spent most of this day searching for my family.  I cried at least once and swore I would never do this again.  The ship seemed so huge, it was easy to get lost.  I found this extremely frustrating!  Thankfully, we adjusted quickly and by the end had no problem finding our way around.

 Hannah and Lydia each made a Carnival stuffed animal at the kids club, that was fun!

So wonderful to be able to have breakfast with my mom!

Our second cruise night was the formal Captain's night, so we all dressed up for dinner.  It was fun walking around and seeing everyone dressed up, I felt like I was going to Prom all over again.

 Our awesome waiters, Imade from Bali and Luis from Costa Rica.  The staff on the cruise ship are incredible!  They made it special.  These guys work 10 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 6 months.  They have no days off and only see their families 2 months a year.  What a sacrifice they are making to give their children a better life.  I was so touched by their total selflessness!

No, I am not expecting triplets, the wind was just playing with my dress.

 Can you tell we were having fun?

The best part of returning to our room each evening was finding the adorable towel animals our steward had made for us.

 Each night we fell into bed exhausted, but very happy!

My chores are calling, so I am going to close this post now.  In my next post I will take you to the Grand Cayman Islands!