Thursday, April 22, 2010

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

\
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!

23 comments:

Blair @ Reasonably Swanky said...

I just finished catching up and looking at all of your cruise photos and can I just say....you look AMAZING!!! Beautiful jewelry, cute clothes...gorgeous gal!
Looks like y'all had a great time, I'm a tad bit jealous! Ha!
xo
Blair

Dana said...

Looks like fun.

Anonymous said...

wow Julesy! another awesome day! :-)

Leeann @ Join the Gossip said...

WOW, you did so much each day! It's so cool that you got to interact with the sea creatures and see the sights of Grand Cayman.

A little freaky that they named the city Hell haha!

Great pics =) I love living vicariously through you!

Unknown said...

What a wonderful vacay...how fun that you got to hang with all of those singers and see the bands!! Jealous!!

I remember Stingray City...they rub up on your legs like little kitty cats. It's definitely an odd feeling to look around and see yourself surrounded by stingrays, isn't it??

Thanks for sharing your trip with us and letting us live vicariously through you & Geof...you guys are so cute.

Sandra said...

What a fabulous vaca!! Those conch shells are gorgeous. xoxo

Katie said...

snorkeling scares me!! I hate fish!!

TS Hendrik said...

Wait you said "rum cakes," plural. Sampling multiple rum cakes is something I think I need to try one day. lol

You have a better pic of geof with a turtle than he posted. He looks like a little kid who's asking if he can keep what he found. haha.

Melissa said...

The sea turtles are so cute! That looks like a lot fun, as does swimming with the sting rays!

That drunk guy sounds creepy!

Sweet Southern Prep said...

Great pics! Those turtles are so cool. I want to hold one.

Ashley Turner said...

I hope you've had a great time here on our little island! I heard the VH1 cruise was coming here, but I didn't know when... Hell is fun, right?!

Lindsey said...

Amazing!!!!! I cannot get over how clean the water is!

Mrs EyeCanSee said...

I LOVED Grand Caymen!! Of all the cruises I've been on, this one still sticks out in my mind as a favorite. I'd love to go and spend some time there to really explore!!

Unknown said...

Looks like y'all had a blast! I can't believe how much you packed into your day in Grand Camen. I just posted about a stop there yesterday - small world. Have a great weekend!

MCW said...

Love how you guys made vacation friends. So fun! The turtles are adorable...

Melissa Miller said...

~WOW!!!! Jules how fun! Love those turtles and stingrays. Cool! :)

Chris 'Frog Queen' Davis said...

Wow, sounds like such a great time!! And now when someone tells you to go to hell....you know exactly where it is :D Looks nicer than I would have thought..I'd be willing to hang there for eternity :D

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers!

Trish {Pink Preppy Lilly Lover} said...

Hey pretty lady, you have done such an incredible job of documenting your vacation! You look awesome and like you had the time of your life. Couldn't have happened to a nicer gal! Geof holding that little sea turtle is precious, you need to frame that one :) Happy weekend sweetie, let's touch base this weekend about our date! Let me know which restaurant is your fave, I'm open!

Mrs Anne said...

omg omg omg he got to kiss a baby turtle!?

i'm so jealous.

love love love these trip pics!

looks like a blasty all around!

Brittany Ann said...

Are those turtles you all are holding real? Too cool!

CIP said...

This seriously looks like the coolest cruise ever and just made me so excited for my cruise next month!

Tasha said...

I love those pics with the turtles and the stingrays! What an amazing trip! The pic of Geof with the pirate looks like he could be on the Captain Morgan commercial "He's got a little captain in him!" ;-) All of the bands you guys got to see are INCREDIBLE!!! I'm loving the cruise recap! On to day 4 next!

Anonymous said...

Wasn't Stingray City awesome!?! We bought a few disposable underwater cameras for our trip and haven't developed them yet. I hope our pictures turn out as good as yours! I wish we'd gone to see the turtle farm...it sounded fun.