Our cruise!!!

Hi all!

Well, we made it back, safe and sound! We had a fabulous time! This wasn't just a regular cruise... it was a Music Boat cruise with the top Christian artists and bands! Both my favorites and the girls' favorites were on board!

Here is a link to a slideshow that I put together with just a few of the highlights of the trip. Music Boat Cruise 2008.

We arrived in Miami Sunday evening and stayed at a hotel that night so that we'd be ready to head to the ship bright and early Monday morning. We were a bit awestruck by the size of the ship! It was so easy to get lost on board! lol! We set sail around 5:00 p.m. and enjoyed a relaxing concert with Dallas Holm and Todd Agnew before dinner. After our delicious meal, I headed out on the Lido Deck to see the Katinas under the stars while the girls headed to see their favorite band, Hawk Nelson. Becca had her new camera with her and was right up front so she got tons of great pictures of the guys! They posed for her while they were singing and she got some great shots.

We had to be up bright and early Tuesday morning to head out to Key West . It was extremely hot, but we walked about a mile down Duval Street to the Butterfly Conservatory. The Butterflies were beautiful! They flew all around us and landed right in front of you. Got some great pictures there, and other great shots of the town. We walked back, stopping and shopping at various stores. We even saw Hemingway's House! We didn't tour it, but took some pictures outside.

Back on the ship that afternoon, I headed off to see Leeland, and my absolute favorite group, Casting Crowns! They put on a fabulous show! Becca and Jillian went to see the Indie Jam ShowCase where unknown bands got to perform and try out to win as the top new band of the cruise. They also saw The Afters. Our formal dinner was that evening, so we headed back to the cabin to shower and change into our fancy clothes. We watched Joy Williams after dinner, then headed off to bed as we were exhausted by then! lol!

Wednesday we slept in a bit. We didn't arrive in Calica/Playa del Carmen, Mexico until 1:00 p.m., so we just took it easy in the morning. Mexico was fabulous! Our personal tour guide, Eddie with Edventures, met us at the dock. He took us to the Tulum Mayan Ruins first, which were beautiful, but it was very, very hot! We only lasted there about an hour, then headed off to snorkel in the Dos Ojos Cenotes in the Riviera Maya. Those are underwater caves and caverns where we got to snorkel all around. The water was so cool and felt great after being so hot in the ruins! We left there and got on a boat with another family from our ship and headed out to the ocean. The water was very, very rough and the guides decided that it was too rough to explore the coral reef, so they took us to a calmer area and we jumped out of the boat to swim and snorkel with the huge turtles! We slowly made our way back to shore, then got back in the van and headed to their private lagoon to do some snorkeling there with the many colorful fish. What a peaceful and beautiful place! By then, we were all pretty much exhausted, so we headed over to a small little Mexican restaurant on the beach and ate our dinner, watching the waves and the sun set...

We made it back on the ship shortly before 10:00 p.m. and the girls headed off to see Hawk Nelson again, but this time on the Lido Deck under the stars! More great photos for Becca! By this time, the guys in the band were used to her snapping picture after picture! lol!

Thursday was our day at sea... we all slept in! We spent the late morning and early afternoon sunbathing on deck while listening to The Afters, Rush of Fools and Echoing Angels perform. Jillian enjoyed Dance Praise in one of the lounges… it’s like Dance Dance Revolution only with Christian music. Becca and I went to listen to a few comedy headliners and laughed quite a bit. Our last dinner that evening was again delicious, and the wait staff sang a farewell song to us! We headed back up to the Lido Deck to again hear Leeland under the stars. There is nothing like watching a ship full of people with their arms raised in praise to God!!!

We had to have our suitcases packed and ready to go before going to bed as the ship was scheduled to dock at 7:00 a.m. We got up Friday morning, dressed, ate some breakfast and were off the ship by 8:00 a.m. Our cousins from Ft. Lauderdale , Deb and Al, picked us up and took us to their house to change into our swimsuits and head to Danai Beach for a bit of swimming. After changing clothes, we stopped at his biker club to check it out. They took us to dinner at a BBQ restaurant then took us to our hotel. Our flight left bright and early Saturday morning and we arrived back in Pittsburgh later afternoon.

It was a wonderful trip that we will never forget! Becca and I took hundreds of pictures! We won’t bore you with them all, but take a moment to watch the slideshow to see some of the highlights of the trip.

Music Boat Cruise 2008