Hi All!!!
Sorry it’s been so long since I last wrote but I have been having way too much fun with Chris on board. Let me catch you up since I last wrote.
The cruise after Christmas was the New Years cruise. New Years Eve started for me at about 8.00am in the morning when I rang home to count down to the new year with Chris over the phone as it was midnight in Australia. Later that night we went from party to party on the ship starting in the Spa when the Spa team put on a party. We then adjourned to the Atrium where the band was set up and Dave & I sang a few tunes with them. That was the more formal area of the ship that night. We (the cast) then headed up on deck to bring in the New Year with everyone else. Most of the crew were up there. We then spent the early hours partying in the night club. It was a fun … although I particularly missed Chris that night.
In Costa Rica, Dave and I did a river cruise which we loved. We got to see crocodiles! In Guatemala I got my hair done onboard (it was well overdue) and we all met ashore for Nate’s birthday lunch. I had the best prawns and salad. In Huatulco (Mexico) I spent the day on the beach texting Chris who was at LA airport waiting for his flight to Acapulco. By that stage I was counting down the hours til I saw him.
Acapulco morning as soon as the ship was docked and cleared I headed straight to the gangway. Chris was there waiting outside. As you can imagine it was very exciting. We had a great day in Acapulco. One of the highlights was Los Flamingos an old Hollywood hangout for the likes of John Wayne and Tarzan (can’t remember the actors name). The view from there was amazing and the food even more so. I had Flambé Cognac Prawns that they cooked at the table.
The next day we spent the day on the beach at Huatulco. Chris and I hired a jet ski for while which was a good way for Chris to see some of the beautiful scenery. We also went on the Banana Boat with everyone. That was heaps of fun.
In Guatemala we went into Antigua for the day. I took Chris to the old Monastery that’s now a hotel for lunch.
In Costa Rica we took a 3 hour coach ride up into the mountains to this fabulous hot springs resort. This resort at the base of a volcano is beautiful set out with a number of hot springs with temperatures of up to nearly 42 degrees Celsius. It was a very unique experience… plus we got another great meal.
In Aruba, Chris, Dave & I went the water park that we spent Christmas day on and went helmet diving. It’s the only place in the world that they do it. Now that was a very unique experience. The helmets sit on your shoulders and the push the air down. Your head remains completely dry, yet you can scratch your nose with your hand.
In San Juan we spent the day shopping and as we have a late sail away there we went out to dinner with some of the cast in Old San Juan to a restaurant called ‘Dragon Fly’ that the New York Times recently rated as the best in the Caribbean. It was a lot like Tapas. Again the food was amazing.
This cruise we have a completely new itinerary to experience and we are loving it!!!! Our first stop was in the British Virgin Islands… I thought Tahiti was great, but this place in incredible. We docked in Tortola. Chris really wanted to do a dive at some point while he’s here so he went there and dived around the wreck of an old postal ship from the 1800’s. While Chris enjoyed his dive, Dave and I spent the day on a Catamaran tour where we went snorkelling, had lunch on the beach on Norman Island at a place called Pirates and got to visit the famous Willy T’s floating bar and restaurant. Now that was an experience… a place of many stories. Richard Branson has had a number of parties there and the week before last Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were there. When we all got back from our tours the three of us had a look around town where we found a British shop. It was filled with food imported from the UK. Chris was like a little kid buying things he hasn’t had in 14 years.
Our next port was Dominica where Chris, Dave, Nipples and Tara (ship shopping guide) and I went river tubing. After a 30 minute drive to the Layou River we then jumped into our own inflated donut tube where we then spent the next 45-60 minutes floating down the river and through its rapids. It was so fun!!!
In St Vincent Chris and I did a tour in a speed boat. Again the scenery was great! We got to snorkel and see the set of the Pirates of the Caribbean. That was exciting. Most of the all three movies were filmed there on the island. The only bummer of the day for me was being stung by a jelly fish. But I’ll live.
In Grenada, Dave, Chris and I went on a morning snorkelling cruise and when back on shore found a lovely little restaurant with a our new cast member Tara. Tara replaces Jayne who goes home in Manaus. Jayne is the Aussie cast member from the last cast that stayed on after Jill broke her foot. We will really miss Jayne but love Tara too. She is lovely.
By this point we are exhausted from none stop ports so when we got to Trinidad Dave, Chris & I headed to the beach and slept on the beach for hours.
The second half of the cruise has had a couple of short tender ports that don’t really have much at them so we haven’t bothered getting off. Plus I’ve had rehearsals as we incorporate Tara into the cast. Yesterday however we docked in Santarem which is in Brazil along the Amazon river. Sailing down the Amazon is really unique. The water is like thick brown soup. Dave, Chris & I went on a river cruise where we saw a mini version of where the two waters meet. The way the colours of the two waters meet is extraordinary. We also got to fish for Piranha’s and Chris actually caught one. They then cooked it and we got to try some. Two days ago we crossed the equater… always a messy occasion up on deck with the ‘Crossing the Equater Ceremony’… I’ll talk about that more next time.
Life on board has been fun and constant. Chris has been enjoying the shows and the food, and the life of living onboard a ship. Everyone loves him (of course), so he’s been having loads of fun with all my friends. I’m not looking forward to him getting off at all!!!!
Tomorrow we arrive in Manaus where we are going on a 15 hour tour. I’ll update you all on that one on my next blog update.
Am missing you all and trying not to think about Chris going home in two days.
HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!!!! I’m wearing my fake ‘I Love Australia’ tattoo with pride today!!
Photo’s
Here are some photos for you. I don’t know what order they’ll end up in on my blog but basically they are of our day in the British Virgin Isles, our tour yesterday where Chris caught a Piranha. A photo of our helmet dive, New Years, the Hotsprings, the Crocodile tour and us in Acapulco & Antigua.
Sorry it’s been so long since I last wrote but I have been having way too much fun with Chris on board. Let me catch you up since I last wrote.
The cruise after Christmas was the New Years cruise. New Years Eve started for me at about 8.00am in the morning when I rang home to count down to the new year with Chris over the phone as it was midnight in Australia. Later that night we went from party to party on the ship starting in the Spa when the Spa team put on a party. We then adjourned to the Atrium where the band was set up and Dave & I sang a few tunes with them. That was the more formal area of the ship that night. We (the cast) then headed up on deck to bring in the New Year with everyone else. Most of the crew were up there. We then spent the early hours partying in the night club. It was a fun … although I particularly missed Chris that night.
In Costa Rica, Dave and I did a river cruise which we loved. We got to see crocodiles! In Guatemala I got my hair done onboard (it was well overdue) and we all met ashore for Nate’s birthday lunch. I had the best prawns and salad. In Huatulco (Mexico) I spent the day on the beach texting Chris who was at LA airport waiting for his flight to Acapulco. By that stage I was counting down the hours til I saw him.
Acapulco morning as soon as the ship was docked and cleared I headed straight to the gangway. Chris was there waiting outside. As you can imagine it was very exciting. We had a great day in Acapulco. One of the highlights was Los Flamingos an old Hollywood hangout for the likes of John Wayne and Tarzan (can’t remember the actors name). The view from there was amazing and the food even more so. I had Flambé Cognac Prawns that they cooked at the table.
The next day we spent the day on the beach at Huatulco. Chris and I hired a jet ski for while which was a good way for Chris to see some of the beautiful scenery. We also went on the Banana Boat with everyone. That was heaps of fun.
In Guatemala we went into Antigua for the day. I took Chris to the old Monastery that’s now a hotel for lunch.
In Costa Rica we took a 3 hour coach ride up into the mountains to this fabulous hot springs resort. This resort at the base of a volcano is beautiful set out with a number of hot springs with temperatures of up to nearly 42 degrees Celsius. It was a very unique experience… plus we got another great meal.
In Aruba, Chris, Dave & I went the water park that we spent Christmas day on and went helmet diving. It’s the only place in the world that they do it. Now that was a very unique experience. The helmets sit on your shoulders and the push the air down. Your head remains completely dry, yet you can scratch your nose with your hand.
In San Juan we spent the day shopping and as we have a late sail away there we went out to dinner with some of the cast in Old San Juan to a restaurant called ‘Dragon Fly’ that the New York Times recently rated as the best in the Caribbean. It was a lot like Tapas. Again the food was amazing.
This cruise we have a completely new itinerary to experience and we are loving it!!!! Our first stop was in the British Virgin Islands… I thought Tahiti was great, but this place in incredible. We docked in Tortola. Chris really wanted to do a dive at some point while he’s here so he went there and dived around the wreck of an old postal ship from the 1800’s. While Chris enjoyed his dive, Dave and I spent the day on a Catamaran tour where we went snorkelling, had lunch on the beach on Norman Island at a place called Pirates and got to visit the famous Willy T’s floating bar and restaurant. Now that was an experience… a place of many stories. Richard Branson has had a number of parties there and the week before last Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were there. When we all got back from our tours the three of us had a look around town where we found a British shop. It was filled with food imported from the UK. Chris was like a little kid buying things he hasn’t had in 14 years.
Our next port was Dominica where Chris, Dave, Nipples and Tara (ship shopping guide) and I went river tubing. After a 30 minute drive to the Layou River we then jumped into our own inflated donut tube where we then spent the next 45-60 minutes floating down the river and through its rapids. It was so fun!!!
In St Vincent Chris and I did a tour in a speed boat. Again the scenery was great! We got to snorkel and see the set of the Pirates of the Caribbean. That was exciting. Most of the all three movies were filmed there on the island. The only bummer of the day for me was being stung by a jelly fish. But I’ll live.
In Grenada, Dave, Chris and I went on a morning snorkelling cruise and when back on shore found a lovely little restaurant with a our new cast member Tara. Tara replaces Jayne who goes home in Manaus. Jayne is the Aussie cast member from the last cast that stayed on after Jill broke her foot. We will really miss Jayne but love Tara too. She is lovely.
By this point we are exhausted from none stop ports so when we got to Trinidad Dave, Chris & I headed to the beach and slept on the beach for hours.
The second half of the cruise has had a couple of short tender ports that don’t really have much at them so we haven’t bothered getting off. Plus I’ve had rehearsals as we incorporate Tara into the cast. Yesterday however we docked in Santarem which is in Brazil along the Amazon river. Sailing down the Amazon is really unique. The water is like thick brown soup. Dave, Chris & I went on a river cruise where we saw a mini version of where the two waters meet. The way the colours of the two waters meet is extraordinary. We also got to fish for Piranha’s and Chris actually caught one. They then cooked it and we got to try some. Two days ago we crossed the equater… always a messy occasion up on deck with the ‘Crossing the Equater Ceremony’… I’ll talk about that more next time.
Life on board has been fun and constant. Chris has been enjoying the shows and the food, and the life of living onboard a ship. Everyone loves him (of course), so he’s been having loads of fun with all my friends. I’m not looking forward to him getting off at all!!!!
Tomorrow we arrive in Manaus where we are going on a 15 hour tour. I’ll update you all on that one on my next blog update.
Am missing you all and trying not to think about Chris going home in two days.
HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!!!! I’m wearing my fake ‘I Love Australia’ tattoo with pride today!!
Photo’s
Here are some photos for you. I don’t know what order they’ll end up in on my blog but basically they are of our day in the British Virgin Isles, our tour yesterday where Chris caught a Piranha. A photo of our helmet dive, New Years, the Hotsprings, the Crocodile tour and us in Acapulco & Antigua.
