We're Still Grinnin'

What an awesome time we had cruising on Royal Caribbean's beautiful ship Rhapsody of the Seas— seven-night adventure starting in Galveston, Texas. After a full evening and day "at sea" our first stop was Key West, Florida where the warm weather and high humidity set the pace for the temperatures for the rest of the week. After just a few hours in Key West we headed south to Georgetown in the Grand Caymen Islands where the water was so clear and a gorgeous brilliant aqua blue in color. We disembarked the ship and scurried into town to look for treasures and margaritas. After walking around the town, the humidity along with the heat encouraged us to get back to the air conditioned ship. The next day was again spent at sea to get over to Cozumel, Mexico. Our big plans for the day in Cozumel was to venture out to go snorkeling. Jacque Crusteau discovered these beautiful waters to be some of the best waters for scuba diving and snorkeling, and he was right. We were all excited about going and we spent a couple hours swimming in the warm, crystal clear waters enjoying the various colorful fishes—it just seems like a whole other world under the ocean. Another day at sea took us back to Galveston where the cruise ended but we vowed to do it again. We liked the Rhapsody much more than the Monarch. It's a newer ship and the staterooms were just enough larger to make a big difference—after all we are used to confined living conditions. The service was fabulous. The activities and evening shows were outstanding. The food was beautiful in presentation and sensational in taste. Cecile and I enjoyed a morning in the Spa where we both had a facial, a foot massage, a head-neck-and-shoulder massage, and an eye treatment to get rid of bags and dark circles! We shopped 'til we dropped - our purchases being mainly T-shirts and jewelry. I won a raffle and my prize was a 21" gold chain of my choice! We played lots of Bingo swearing never to do it again because none of us won a dime! We all got to read a book while relaxing on deck—something we all decided to make more time in our routine to do. We used the hot tubs and then cooled off in the pools. We loved the Reggae music each evening around the pool while often sipping on the "Drink of the Day" --- one of those rum and juice concoctions that tastes like an exoctic punch.

We disembarked the ship for the final time in Galveston at 9 a.m. Our plane took off from Houston and got us to LAX by 8:30 p.m. - after getting all our luggage, arranging for the shuttle to take us to the parking garage and driving to Simi Valley to stay with Jen and gabbing about the trip - we were pretty wound up as you can imagine - it was great to get to bed around midnight. We were all up pretty early so we could see the grandkids off to school, had coffee and even played a couple games of Pegs and Jokers with the four of us plus P and J. We arrived home this afternoon and we're still grinning.

We are so thankful that we're able to do this with our good friends, Gary and Cecile. We have lots of plans for future times together.

It all started by waking up at 2 a.m. to drive to LAX to catch a plane. We spent one night in Houston (via Denver) to catch up on some sleep. And, of course, we don't go anywhere without a few games of Pegs and Jokers.

The first thing to do after boarding the ship is to report to our "Muster Station" where they account for all passengers before they can actually set sail.

I was in awe of the beautifully created centerpieces at the buffet counters. Sure makes me want to try my hand at carving a watermelon!

So nice to have the time in a "At Sea" day to just kick back and read a good book.

One of our rare shots taking in the entire ship. May times we were joined by other cruise ships most of which dwarfed the Rhapsody.

Beautiful Key West, Florida taken from the ship as we were docking. Amazing how they can maneuver these big ships sideways — or sometimes it seemed like we spun around on a dime to get our of a tight spot!

Walking back to the ship after an afternoon on the town. We'd always head back for lunch since we'd have already paid for THAT food!

This picture was taken at sunset in Key West from the window in the dining room where we were getting ready to enjoy a nice dinner. The people in the sail boat were enjoying the Sunset Wine Tasting excursion.

Here we are all dressed up for the Captain's reception before one of the two "dress-up" dinners.

Coming back to the ship in Key West.

I love this picture of my husband relaxing on a cruise ship—something he used to think he wouldn't enjoy!

Leaving Georgetown, Grand Caymen Islands

Shopping in Cozumel after a day of snorkeling.

Our last night of the cruise, in beautiful Cozumel.

And here are our travel-buddies, the ones responsible for getting us hooked on the idea of cruising—Gary and Cecile—enjoying lunch at Joe's Crab Shack in Houston, after the full week at sea enjoying the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.

Life is Good!