My tan will fade, but these memories will last forever.
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I know I have been away all month, but I'm back, and have stories to share with you homies!
Allan and I didn't really get a chance to take a vacation in 2013, so when we heard that there was a freestyle cruise ship that left out of New York City, we decided to squeeze one in with the Norwegian Cruise Line right as soon as we got back from our trip to Washington state. People say cruises are tacky, but we decided to go on one anyways and had a wonderful time. We embarked right out of NYC, so we saved some $cashish$ on flight/rental car/hotel that we would have had to arrange if we left out of Florida. It was the perfect 7 day getaway and super convenient/economical for us. I didn't have to worry about a single thing! Food was included, our room was paid for, and the cruise directors lined up daily itineraries filled with entertaining things to do and places to go!
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Luckily, our cute little mini-suite with balcony was facing the NYC skyline as we left. We waved to the city ciao for now, and couldn't wait to run around the Norwegian Gem.
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The Norwegiam Gem was unveiled in 2007 and is one of the Jewel-Class series. As you can see the decor is totally wacky and pretty retro. I was so happy that we decided to pay a little extra for this room category instead of a normal stateroom on the lower floors. The regular stateroom are super tiny, no windows, and may cause extreme claustrophobia, so keep that in mind when planning for your cruise.
Sidebar: I just want to highlight that this cruise ship is not really suitable for singles but, it's great for couples and families. I don't know that I would have had the same experience if I would have gone as a single girl with all of my wild and fun girlfriends. So if you're single and ready to mingle, try a Celebrity or Royal Caribbean cruise line.
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I think the newer ships like the Norwegian Breakaway has a lot more to offer, but just in case you are wondering, here are some of the things this ship offers: 10 restaurants & dining rooms, 11 bars & lounges, Bowling Alley, Rock Climbing Wall, Tahitian Pool, Hot Tubs, Ying & Yang Spa & Beauty Salon, Fitness Center, Outdoor Jogging/Walking Track, Basketball/Volleyball/Tennis Court, Trade Routes Boutiques, Video Arcade, Art Gallery, Library, Card Room, Chapel, Cigar room and more.
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Out of anything, I was most interested in the lounge-chairs.
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Allan ran around the ship and pretended to be the king of the world.
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We got tipsy off of Piña Colada served out of pineapples and coconuts throughout our days on the ship.
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Our mornings were always spectacular. We started every morning having delicious breakfast outside with beautiful views and kisses from the sun.
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Allan got to chill at the cigar lounge a few times.
I couldn't mind too much because someone told me that, cigar smokers appreciate a good butt.
I couldn't mind too much because someone told me that, cigar smokers appreciate a good butt.
:)
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Allan really wanted to try the rock climbing on the ship. Sounded adventurous at first but when we got to the wall, there was a long line of mostly 10 year old kids haha. My boo went for it anyways and rang the bell at the top loud and proud.
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Remember when I said there were 10 restaurants and dining rooms? Every night, Allan and I got fancy and went to dinner. We went to almost every single restaurant throughout the ship. Yeah, I gained about 5 pounds since the trip. #WTF
The housekeeping was excellent on our floor. Our guy's name is Emmanuel, and he took such good care of us during our stay. Almost every night, we would walk into our room and discover a different towel-folded animal to marvel at.
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After one full day at sea, we arrived into Port Canaveral Florida!
Port Canaveral is a cruise, cargo and naval port in Brevard County, Florida. It is one of the busiest cruise ports in the world with nearly 2.8 million multi-day cruise passengers passing through.
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There were a bunch of excursions to choose from, but we decided to visit the Lone Cabbage Fish Camp to see and eat some gators.
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No Frills!
Relaxing and low key, the air-boat ride let us enjoy the scenery while the captain told us gator stories along the way. We saw a few baby gators pop in and out of the water that made us all ooh and ah.
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When we got off the air-boat, there were trays of fried gator meat laid out for us all to try.
I was intrigued...
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Allan thought it was delicious but, I wasn't a big fan. The meat is very chewy and a bit fishy tasting. Everyone kept insisting that it tasted like chicken, but we can agree to disagree on this one ;)
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After the gators, the tour guides surprised us with an awesome treat and introduced us to the reps from C.A.R.E Foundation. The reps brought with them, a python, opossum, alligator, and a White-Faced Capuchin monkey. The C.A.R.E. Foundation serves two functions as an exotic animal rescue center, and wildlife educational facility.
With a donation of $5 per animal, we got to take as many pictures as we wanted. I couldn't think of a better way to spend five beans.
Before everyone freaks out, let me introduce you to Opie. Opie is a super sweet domesticated Opossum. Opie has a disabled tail and works with kids who are autistic or have other special needs. Once you meet Opie, you would be able to see why he is different from other wild possums that run the streets.
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We both had a blast and I will always remember the time I got to hold a real alligator and cuddled with an opossum.
Once I was ready to leave the animals, we decided it was time for a long stroll on the beach.
Cocoa beach is a beautiful beach just six miles long and less than one mile wide.
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The weather was absolutely perfect and the sand felt so good brushing against my toes, so I went along the beach collecting seashells along the way...
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Look who we ran into on our way back to the ship! Yep, that's a manatee!
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After a long day filled with exciting activities, the sun finally started to set and we decided it was time to head back and get ready for dinner/deck party.
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Booski and I were having an amazing time so far, and could not wait to get to the Bahamas the next day!
I missed you homies. Come back later for pictures of our Bahamian adventures~
XO
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