Christmas Cruise!

Last week was our amazing cruise with Andrew's parents and sister. We had a fantastic time! This was the first cruise for both of us and we decided we'd definitely go on another one.

Highlights:

* The food. It was amazing! I am not a huge buffet person (mostly because I can't ever eat enough to do them justice, haha), so dinnertime was my favorite. Delicious and unusual appetizers, dinner entrees that made you feel like you were eating at a 5-star restaurant in New York, and awesome desserts. Now that I think about it, I'm mad at myself for not taking pictures of the dinners and making a blog post just about them; it was foodie heaven. But I did manage to get my hands on the recipe for the dinner I ordered the first night; as soon as I find the wine that the sauce calls for, I'm going to attempt to recreate it.
* The shows. Besides the ship's singers and dancers, they also had a comedian, a juggler, an impressionist, and a professional ballroom dance couple. They were all spectacular, and I think it's awesome you get to enjoy such first-class talent included in your ticket price.

* Haiti. My favorite port was Haiti (although the competition is kind of skewed since our Jamaica stop got canceled due to the stupid weather). It was beautiful and relaxing, and since it combined beach + mountains + sunshine, it's definitely a place both Andrew and I could agree on as perfection. ;-)

* The service. I'm pretty sure our dinner waiters and the bar waiters have ruined me for all other waiters! They were fun, interesting, perfectly attentive, and had a great sense of humor, even if they didn't always get our American jokes (I'm convinced they only understood a third of what my father-in-law said, haha).

Anyway, it was a great week. I have a nice tan (and some sunburn in some places of course) and some beautiful mementos (all from Haiti, which had the best local handmade items):

By the way, one weird/disturbing thing happened during dinner one night that I keep seeing in my head and I wish I could get it out. We were in the middle of dinner in the dining room when we heard a woman scream. It wasn't the "Eek I saw a mouse!" kind of scream; it had a horrid, scary tone in it that immediately brought the whole room quiet. Then I saw a couple half-dragging a young woman (obviously their daughter) away from their table, trying to get out of the room. Their head waiter was trying to help them and the woman started screaming to her, "Help me! She's a witch!" over and over and pointing at her mom. It was horrible to watch. They eventually got her out of the room. She was obviously mentally ill and I've never seen anything like that--it was like something you'd see in a movie. I felt so bad for her parents, although if I had a family member who was prone to psychotic breaks I doubt that a cruise would be the kind of vacation venue I would pick. =\