Cruisin'

My friend Carrie and I finally took a long planned and awaited cruise two weeks ago. Literally, we had been talking about this for over five years. Anyway, we left out of Charleston and sailed to the Bahamas and back. It was a nice trip. Actually, I'd be fine if I could do this every year, but alas, the budget does not allow for that! So here are some pictures and stories from Day 1:

We drove to Charleston on Saturday morning and arrived at the pier at 12:30. I was highly impressed at how efficient the parking process was. After making sure we were not security threats (and had all our documents), we left our luggage with porters to be carried on ship for us. After parking my car, we then proceeded to a shuttle bus that took us to the terminal. Once at the terminal, we went through more security and then checked in. We were given a card that was our key and way to pay for anything on board. This card also had a photo of me and anytime I left the ship it was logged and then when I came back on board, it was also logged. I thought that it was a neat way to make sure all the correct people are on board.

After checking out our room (which had two portholes), we went to find some lunch and do some exploring. Man these ships are huge! It took me most of the cruise to figure out all the decks and where everything was.

We stayed up on deck for departure. How exciting it was to be sailing out into the ocean. I think I might have inherited some of my Navy dad's genes because I just loved the feel of being completely surrounded by water. It was a bit windy, but a great start to a fun trip!

Leaving Charleston:

Here's our towel critter for the day: We think it's a seal.

Stay tuned for day 2: "Fun" day at sea!