VH1 Best Cruise Ever - Day 3

We docked on Grand Cayman very early in the morning and grabbed a quick breakfast on the Lido Deck before dashing off to the Paris Lounge to meet with our tour group and take a tender to the port. Our group was about 15 people and we all hoped in a van and headed out on the island. The first stop was 7 mile beach, where we learned it’s really just over 5 miles long. Next up was the Old Homestead Pink-and-White Caymanian cottage that was built in 1912. We learned about how they got water in the early days on the island and also how they like to bring sand up from the beach to ensure their yards are covered for Christmas. After this stop, we saw the Governor’s Mansion where Queen Elizabeth stays when she comes to visit each summer. It was beautiful and has a private beach out back, since it’s right on the water. After that, we went to the Tortuga Rum Factory and got to sample different flavored rums and rum cakes.


Our ship - The Carnival Inspiration

Old Homestead

Next stop was Hell. This is a total tourist trap that I’ve been to before, but still fun. It is basically one giant rock formation with a gift shop and post office to send postcards postmarked from Hell. After this, we headed to the Turtle Farm. They have sea turtles ranging from a few pounds to others that are over 500 pounds. Some of the larger turtles are between 25 to over 40 years old. It was so much fun learning more about their conservation efforts and getting to hold and interact with actual sea turtles.

Hell

Geof where he belongs (just kidding)

Pretty conch shells

Geof at Tortuga Rum Factory

Geof likes turtles

They were so cute!

The highlight of our excursion was taking a boat ride out to the sandbar known as Stingray City. Geof and I were some of the first people in the water and immediately began holding and touching the stingrays. We even gave them a little kiss. They’re completely harmless unless you’re jumping around and acting like a lunatic in the water. At one point Geof was feeding them and the scent from the squid must have been all around because I was surrounded. That was the only part that freaked me out and may or may not have screamed. We got really lucky though because there was bad weather on and off all day on the island and the rain managed to subside for the entire time we were at Stingray City. On the boat ride back, one of the tour operators dove down and brought up a Starfish for us to hold and later we saw a dolphin showing off in the ocean. We had a blast there and then finally returned to the ship late in the afternoon.

Stingray City

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I'm surrounded by them


Geof thinks he's tough in this pic

Stingrays

We met up with Amy, Chad, Jessica and Amanda and grabbed a quick lunch together on the Lido Deck. After that we took a dip in the pool and then got in the hot tub. There was an interesting incident with a drunk guy out by the hot tub. He tried to steal all of our towels and then was dancing around in his boxers and most of us saw it all…gross. We had enough at that point and headed off to the Lifehouse show. Because of the weather, they moved the show inside to the Atrium and it was perfect. The sound was great and they played for about 45 minutes. They played one of my favorite songs entitled “Everything”.

Back on the ship with Grand Cayman in the Background

Lunch with friends


Lifehouse


This pic cracks me up because here we are and Steve took this from above. Stalker pic...LOL!

After Lifehouse, we got cleaned up and Geof and I went to get some Sushi on the Promenade Deck. We ran into Jason from Lifehouse again and this time Geof got a pic. Just like the day before, he was as nice as could be.

Geof and Jason Wade

We headed back to the cabin to sneak in a quick nap and then got ready for the SafetySuit and Shinedown show in the Paris Lounge. We met up with Amy and Chad who were awesome for holding a spot in line for us. When the doors opened we made it pretty close to the front. The show started around 9 and SafetySuit rocked the house for about an hour. Their set was top notch and the guys put on quite a show. Once they were finished Shinedown came on and rocked for about an hour and half covering all of their hits and then some. They even did their cover of “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The lead singer, Brent Smith’s voice was incredible. That was a concert that I won’t soon forget.

SafetySuit

Amy and Chad rockin' out!

Shinedown

We headed up to the Candlelight Lounge and ran into Amanda and Jessica and then Geof and I met up with Steve and Cathy for some late night pizza on the Lido Deck. Overall, it was a jam-packed and fun-filled day!