FROM LAWRENCE, WITH LOVE

Unfortunately, our amazing cruise had to come to an end. . . Here’s the menu for our last night on the ship: For an appetizer, I had the Chicken Fettuccini.  It was wonderful. I also tried the crab cake and I wasn’t a huge fan of it. My main course was the jumbo panko crusted shrimp.  I LOVE shrimp.  You might have noticed how many times I ordered them on this cruise. Before dinner, some of my family and our travel agent brought Josh some Indian food because they got to meet

Unfortunately, we didn’t really do anything exciting in St. Kitts.  By this time, we were pretty tired and decided to spend some time shopping in the complex right where we docked. Like all of the other islands, the views in St. Kitts were beautiful as well. This is the shopping center.  I believe that it was a fairly new build and they definitely had a neat variety of shops to look around in.  Josh and I even ended up going into a convenience store/internet cafe to check up

Here’s the menu: I love how the fried shrimp is listed as "Fried Shrimps".  Apparently, the menu author isn’t a native English speaker. Josh had the chicken tenders marinated in Thai spices.  In my experience with Thai food, I know that I need to be careful when I order a Thai dish because sometimes, they are crazy spicy.  This dish was in the mid-range of spiciness.  It didn’t kill me, but it wasn’t Sunday at Grandma’s house either. I ordered the fried shrimps.  They were de

We had big plans in Antigua.  We were touring with Gordon of www.tourguidegordon.com and it was well worth the wait.  Gordon was actually our guide in our van and he did an amazing job of showing us all about his home.  When we docked in Antigua, the Norwegian Dawn was in port with us. One of our first stops in Antigua was an old Fort.  There was an adorable puppy at the Fort and it seemed like he didn’t really have a home.  We were all to scared to touch him, but he sure was

Again, no menu photos. For starters on day 4, I had the Corn Chowder and the Cream of Broccoli Soup, which were both very good. Josh has the escargot, which he always enjoys. He also had fried oysters. I don’t remember why I don’t have photos of both our main courses this night, but I did get a photo of the shrimp dish that we shared in addition to our normal main course.  Neither of us thought it was amazing. I got an artsy shot of the table since there wasn’t anyone

Day 4 of the cruise was the best day BY FAR!  I had been looking forward to visiting St. Lucia since I first saw the photos of the Pitons on Google Earth when we first booked the cruise.  I couldn’t wait to see those gorgeous mountains come into view backed by the Caribbean Sea.  I knew it would be a moment of the cruise that I would never forget. When we were talking about the next day’s activities the night before at dinner, Ashleigh mentioned that she and James and her mom

I forgot menu photos this night. After spending the day in the sun in Barbados, we were definitely ready for dinner.  I was excited to see a grilled chicken quesadilla on the starters menu.  It was very good. I was also excited to see sushi on the menu, but because it had mussels in it, I avoided it.  My dad is allergic to mussels and I have never wanted to take the chance that I’m also allergic to them, especially on a ship in the middle of the ocean, so Josh ordered t

On Day 3, we arrived in Barbados.  We didn’t have a shore excursion planned for this island, but I heard through Cruise Critic that the beach owned by Malibu Rum distillery was beautiful, inexpensive and well worth leaving the ship so Josh, Ashleigh, James and I got into a taxi and headed that direction.  We arrived and paid the fee (somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 per person) for the distillery tour.  With the tour, you also get access to their beach, a free drink and a

When we returned to our cabin after spending the day in Dominica, we found these. . . and this. . . And, no, they weren’t from Josh, as many friends and family assumed they were.  They were actually from Penny, our travel agent and friend who was traveling with us on the cruise.  She sent them to thank me for all the work I put into planning the cruise.  We took the champagne to dinner to share, but we ate the strawberries ourselves.  They were wonderful! This is a treat that

Day 3 of our cruise was our day in Dominica.  Dominica is called the “rainforest island” of the Caribbean, and I definitely know why.  Just sailing into Dominica, we could see the lush greenery of the mountainous rainforests in the distance.  It was breathtaking, as you can see in these photos. Josh and I spent some time on the decks checking out the island as we sailed in and we were really impressed with what we saw. When we got off the ship, Josh, my parents and I all join

Before going any further, remember to leave a comment on my post from yesterday to enter to win the FiberOne Gift pack. Well, this post will be all about our home away from home during our 7-night Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Victory.  We were in cabin 2229, which is an inside cabin on the 2nd deck toward the front of the ship. We really liked our room.  It was very convenient to the elevators, even though you had to walk a little bit when you got off the mid-ship elevato

We arrived in St. Thomas bright and early on Day 2 of the cruise.  We really didn’t have any solid plans for this island but I knew that I wanted to go to Paradise Point, which is within walking distance of where the ship docks. (Source: Ashleigh Trabert) Paradise Point is a viewing location that is high above the harbor in St. Thomas.  To get to the top, you have to take a sky ride.  This is what it looks like on your way up. . . Paradise Point is famous for the Bailey’s Bus

This was our first night in the dining room.  We were still sitting in the harbor in San Juan since we didn’t actually leave port until 10pm, which was very different from any cruise I’ve been on before.  It was nice to have the ability to get off the ship and do whatever we wanted to do all day after checking in and dropping our luggage off but Josh and I didn’t get off the ship after we got on.  It was too hot and we just wanted to explore the ship and see our home for the

Sorry for the delay in posting.  Things have been hectic and I’m just now getting around to talking about our amazing vacation. The trip started on Friday night, October 30th.  We headed for Kansas City when I got off work and checked into the Kansas City Airport Marriott to spend the night before our very early flight.  The Marriott is not as nice as other Marriott properties that I’ve stayed in, but it was still nice and we were happy not to have to wake up at 2am to leave

Source Sadly, this will be the last day of our vacation.  I know I will not be looking forward to it.  We’ll arrive back in San Juan on the morning of November 8th and then fly back through Atlanta and to Kansas City.  I hate when vacations end, but lucky for you all, you’ll get the real vacation review and get to see all of the great food we had very, very soon! Source #Carnival #PuertoRico #Wanderlust #SanJuan #Travel #CarnivalVictory #Cruise

Source The last day of our cruise will be spent in St. Kitts.  We don’t have anything planned here, so we’ll probably shop and take a day to relax since the following day will be filled with travel back to Kansas City.  I know I won’t be excited about coming home.  🙁 Source Source Source #Carnival #StKitts #Wanderlust #Travel #CarnivalVictory #Cruise

Source While we’re in Antigua, we’ll be touring with Tour Guide Gordon.  I’ve heard lots of great things about him from people on Cruise Critic, so we’re really looking forward to this island. Source Source Source Source #Carnival #Antigua #Wanderlust #Travel #CarnivalVictory #Cruise

Source St. Lucia is probably the island that I’m looking forward to the most.  It is the home of the famous Piton Mountains.  I absolutely can not wait to be laying on the beach that is between these two mountains on the coast of the island.  The pictures are breathtaking and I am SO looking forward to being there and getting my own photos.  We have contracted Cosol Tours to give us a tour of St. Lucia and our tour will end with a water taxi ride to the beach between the Pito

Source This is another island that we have no real plans on.  The Malibu Rum Factory and beach is on the island of Barbados, so we might check that out. Source Source Source Source Source #Carnival #Barbados #Wanderlust #Travel #CarnivalVictory #Cruise

Source On the second actual day of our cruise, we will be visiting the island of Dominica.  We’ve contracted to tour with Reyno Tours and we’re really looking forward to the tour.  There are mixed reviews about this island because of the poverty on it and some people’s impression based on just looking outside of the ship, but I’m told that for people who do tours on this island, it becomes a fast favorite of this itinerary.  I’m really looking forward to seeing some of these