The Twelve Days of Swinter: From Castaway 'Key' to a Partridge in a Palm Tree!

[Moodyzblu]

Great update !! The pics are so beautiful. I've fallen in love with the beach.
Thanks for sharing !!

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Originally Posted by kittylady1972

Another great update...can't wait to read more!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Moodyzblu

Great update !! The pics are so beautiful. I've fallen in love with the beach.
Thanks for sharing !!

Thanks! That beach was so awesome!

[Woth2982]

I have been MIA for a while! I was on a family cruise. It was 87 when we left Mexico and 12 when we got back to Boston! But these updates from the Bahamas have warmed me up! Such great photos from Dolphin Encounters! We did the full on swim a couple years back, that place was awesome. I wish we had more time on the island but my friends "insisted" on going to the gym for 2 hours before they would go off the boat (as if the gym won't be there when we got back).

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Originally Posted by Woth2982

I have been MIA for a while! I was on a family cruise. It was 87 when we left Mexico and 12 when we got back to Boston! But these updates from the Bahamas have warmed me up! Such great photos from Dolphin Encounters! We did the full on swim a couple years back, that place was awesome. I wish we had more time on the island but my friends "insisted" on going to the gym for 2 hours before they would go off the boat (as if the gym won't be there when we got back).

Welcome back! That is quite a temp difference though! Yikes!

I'd love to know what you thought about Mexico. Did you do Disney's Western Car. cruise? I've been thinking about doing the Eastern Car., but the Western has more ports. Did you feel safe there? That's my only hangup with going to the Mexican ports. I'd love to hear your opinions.

I really want to do the dolphin swim! That's what I wanted to do this time but I knew DD would freak out in that deep water. I know I made the right choice, but if we go back, I'm doing the swim. Or we may do it at Discovery Cove. Either way, I WILL do it eventually!

[pooh'smate]

Great update!!!! I love the water it reminds me of when I went to Indonesia. Can't wait to hear about pirate night.

[Lovemy3babes]

Wow Rinky, your last two updates have been great. What a beautiful place!! I definitely would have stayed to enjoy the beach as well. I'm so glad you all enjoyed yourselves.

That's too bad about the workers in the bar. How nice to be at work and be high. Lovely. The prices are crazy!

I think I also would have walked back as fast as I could have to the ship. Foreign countries kind of freak me out to be honest. I guess I'm not very cultured.

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Originally Posted by pooh'smate

Great update!!!! I love the water it reminds me of when I went to Indonesia. Can't wait to hear about pirate night.

Wow! Indonesia! You are adventurous! I bet that was an awesome trip! I hear they have the best reefs there too, so some really good snorkeling.

Originally Posted by Lovemy3babes

Wow Rinky, your last two updates have been great. What a beautiful place!! I definitely would have stayed to enjoy the beach as well. I'm so glad you all enjoyed yourselves.

That's too bad about the workers in the bar. How nice to be at work and be high. Lovely. The prices are crazy!

I think I also would have walked back as fast as I could have to the ship. Foreign countries kind of freak me out to be honest. I guess I'm not very cultured.

Thanks Kelli! Well I can't say for sure that they were high or intoxicated, but I would bet they were by the way they acted. It appeared to me that that sort of thing is somewhat acceptable over there. It's definitely something I am not used to seeing though. I guess I am just a sheltered, country girl, but I have never done any kind of drugs. Heck, I've only ever been drunk once and that was when I was a stupid teenager, and one experience of that was enough to break me for life. Sometimes when I travel, and I see things that are outrageous to me (thong girl, pot smoking guy, etc.), I realize what a sheltered life I really do live out here in the sticks! And then I immediately thank God that he saw fit to have me born in the boonies!

And it's not just you Kelli. Traveling outside the U.S. freaks me out too. That is a big part of the reason that it took me so long to finally go on a cruise. Foreign countries just don't seem as safe to me and I worry about foreign governments. They can do some crazy stuff in those countries ya know and everything seems so corrupt and dishonest. IDK, maybe it's just me, but there is NOTHING like America in my book!

[Mndisneygirl]

I can offer my 2 cents on the western caribbean ports. we went on Carnival in January 2008 - our first cruise ever!
We went to Grand Cayman, Belize City, Cozumel and Roatan Island, Honduras. I felt pretty safe at all the ports, but Roatan was a bit weird. It was still being developed and there was a lot of poverty that was very apparent. But people did not pester us too much, and we weren't afraid, just on notice.

We had really good experiences in Cozumel. We wandered the shopping area a bit on our own. No problems there. there were a lot of people around, but no one bothered us. Except taxi drivers offering to take us places. We eventually did take one to a beach and had a blast.
That's the only Mexican port we had - it was in place of Costa Maya which had just been hit by a hurricane the previous season.

I guess I would say always be wary in a foreign country, but do some research and you will be fine. Especially on a Disney cruise - they do try to alert you to any potential problems.
I'm becoming more adventurous - there's just so much to see and do out there! I still love where I live and know that we have the best here in the US, but I just don't want fear to limit my experiences. So being prepared and educated can help.

So says the woman who is going to EUROPE 6 weeks from Thursday!!!!

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Originally Posted by Mndisneygirl

I can offer my 2 cents on the western caribbean ports. we went on Carnival in January 2008 - our first cruise ever!
We went to Grand Cayman, Belize City, Cozumel and Roatan Island, Honduras. I felt pretty safe at all the ports, but Roatan was a bit weird. It was still being developed and there was a lot of poverty that was very apparent. But people did not pester us too much, and we weren't afraid, just on notice.

We had really good experiences in Cozumel. We wandered the shopping area a bit on our own. No problems there. there were a lot of people around, but no one bothered us. Except taxi drivers offering to take us places. We eventually did take one to a beach and had a blast.
That's the only Mexican port we had - it was in place of Costa Maya which had just been hit by a hurricane the previous season.

I guess I would say always be wary in a foreign country, but do some research and you will be fine. Especially on a Disney cruise - they do try to alert you to any potential problems.
I'm becoming more adventurous - there's just so much to see and do out there! I still love where I live and know that we have the best here in the US, but I just don't want fear to limit my experiences. So being prepared and educated can help.

So says the woman who is going to EUROPE 6 weeks from Thursday!!!!

Well Sheree I would say that was worth way more than 2 cents! But your 2 cents is always welcome here! I agree that there is a ton of stuff to see and do out there, but I will admit that my fear does hold me back. It's a personality thing I guess. I told you guys a long time ago that I am just like Nemo's dad! I wouldn't say that I am a worry wart, but I just don't trust people, so it's hard for me to stray too far into uncharted territory. I'm working on it though and believe it or not, this cruise was a HUGE milestone for me! I really thought I would never leave the U.S., even though I've always wanted to see so many other places, so I have taken the first step. And then there's the whole fear of flying thing too... Let's face it, I just have issues!

I think I will make it to Europe one day though, but somehow that seems different to me, particularly the UK. I am quite fond of places that speak English and have a similar style of government. I think I could do Canada and Australia as well. Again that same language/government thing. Probably the only place that I really want to see that will never happen is Israel. DH and I both would LOVE to go to the Holy Land, but the thought of that scares me to death. The way those people have to live over there with the threat of attack always looming is so sad to me. I don't know how they ever feel a true sense of peace.

Anyway, thanks for giving your perspective on the Western Car. I haven't ruled that out yet and I appreciate the info. Our church made two mission trips to Honduras last year and that is the same way they described it, just a weird place. We are getting ready to go back and help some of the locals build houses and I would LOVE to participate in that.... but again, I'm just too afraid to go there. I'm working on it though. It's a process for me. I think our next mission project may be in Canada though and if it is, I think that would be a great time to get my feet wet so to speak.

I think the ports on the Disney cruise are Cozumel, Costa Maya, & Grand Cayman so I'll have to do my research on those. One thing is for sure... I WILL do my research!

[Mndisneygirl]

Yeah, I guess that might be a dollar's worth of my blabber.

My DH is very happy that we are visiting London where they speak English too! We had to get an iPhone app for French. We definitely prefer visiting "westernized" countries.

Canada is pretty easy to manage too - I like what you said about the same style of government too. The countries that are similar in those ways are much easier to visit!

I don't think I will ever visit anywhere near the Middle East. My friends recently went to Egypt and I'm too nervous about that. No thanks. My dad is from Syria originally and I used to think it would be interesting to see where he grew up. Uh - uh. Even he said he'd never go back. Plus it isn't the same anyway.

Sometimes traveling is hard and daunting and there are some very serious concerns - obviously there are people out there who don't like us and we have reason to be nervous and scared.

Anyway - sorry to hijack and lecture about traveling! I hope you do get to go to some fabulous places - just like Blue Lagoon! That was just gorgeous!!!

[CandleontheWater]

What lovely, tropical pictures! Just looking at them warms me right up!

Glad your dolphin encounter was such a success (minus the skimpy bathing suit). I've always wanted to do something like that, and DH and I wanted to do Discovery Cove before we moved away from Florida, but it didn't work out. We'll just have to wait until DS is older and we'll take him too!

You know, you could always take a boat to Europe, like one of those repositioning cruises! 14 days on a Disney ship sounds pretty awesome to me!

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Originally Posted by Mndisneygirl

Yeah, I guess that might be a dollar's worth of my blabber.

My DH is very happy that we are visiting London where they speak English too! We had to get an iPhone app for French. We definitely prefer visiting "westernized" countries.

Canada is pretty easy to manage too - I like what you said about the same style of government too. The countries that are similar in those ways are much easier to visit!

I don't think I will ever visit anywhere near the Middle East. My friends recently went to Egypt and I'm too nervous about that. No thanks. My dad is from Syria originally and I used to think it would be interesting to see where he grew up. Uh - uh. Even he said he'd never go back. Plus it isn't the same anyway.

Sometimes traveling is hard and daunting and there are some very serious concerns - obviously there are people out there who don't like us and we have reason to be nervous and scared.

Anyway - sorry to hijack and lecture about traveling! I hope you do get to go to some fabulous places - just like Blue Lagoon! That was just gorgeous!!!

Wow! Syria! That is right smack in the middle of the hotbed. Yikes! I wouldn't be going there either. I agree with you, the Middle East is not an option. I think that's probably the most dangerous place on Earth right now. Africa too... no way is that happening either. And it's a shame because both of those areas of the world are so unique and have so much cool stuff to see. That is really fascinating though that your dad came here from so far away. I bet he has many stories to tell.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall while you and your DH are translating French on your phones to figure out how to ask where the bathrooms are! I have no room to talk though. The only French I know is 'Target'.

Originally Posted by CandleontheWater

What lovely, tropical pictures! Just looking at them warms me right up!

Glad your dolphin encounter was such a success (minus the skimpy bathing suit). I've always wanted to do something like that, and DH and I wanted to do Discovery Cove before we moved away from Florida, but it didn't work out. We'll just have to wait until DS is older and we'll take him too!

You know, you could always take a boat to Europe, like one of those repositioning cruises! 14 days on a Disney ship sounds pretty awesome to me!

We want to do Discovery Cove too. It looks awesome! Don't feel bad about not getting to go there yet though. Everything is better when you experience it with your kids.

I'd love to do a European cruise but man do they put a sting in your wallet! They are REALLY expensive! There's a 14 day to Hawaii too that is also outrageous. Honestly, I don't know if I could handle being on a ship that long. I think I would be very, very sick.

[jenseib]

Love the beach pictures. But were was miss "lady". Did she come and sit near you guys? .....become your new best friend.

Love the pictures from the dolphin package too

Originally Posted by lovegrumpy

Loving the pictures. We really are thinking of booking again for Dec 2013. Your pictures are making me want it more. My youngest would love the doing the dolphin excurisne. Did you book that thru disney?

You do "HAVE" to book with Disney to do it. I inquired about doing it on my onw and found that Disney has a contract with them and so the ycan't take anyone coming off a disney ship independently. And when you fill out the form to do it, you have to put your resort or ship.

Originally Posted by Woth2982

I have been MIA for a while! I was on a family cruise. It was 87 when we left Mexico and 12 when we got back to Boston! But these updates from the Bahamas have warmed me up! Such great photos from Dolphin Encounters! We did the full on swim a couple years back, that place was awesome. I wish we had more time on the island but my friends "insisted" on going to the gym for 2 hours before they would go off the boat (as if the gym won't be there when we got back).

I am so jealous...I could use a cruise and some nice weather...all in one package there.

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Originally Posted by jenseib

Love the beach pictures. But were was miss "lady". Did she come and sit near you guys? .....become your new best friend.

I nearly choked when I read this! I won't ruin the TR suspense, but you just remember that you said this. That's all I'm saying for now!

[jenseib]

Originally Posted by RinkyTinkyTinky

I nearly choked when I read this! I won't ruin the TR suspense, but you just remember that you said this. That's all I'm saying for now!

I'm guessing that my psychic abilities have shown through