Holiday Cruise 2017

Our annual holiday cruise started in Miami this year, and we stayed at the YVE Hotel in a room that was extremely small, which in this case means smaller than the cabin we would have on the ship. It was almost all bed. I'm not complaining, we were only there for the night, but it's a testament to how precious space is in Miami. This hotel is very close to the Port of Miami, and the area has lots to offer. I was impressed by the fact that there is a local FREE monorail loop they call the people mover. Wish we had some free public transportation in our neck of the woods!




We found a nice place for dinner down by the water...

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The next day, we boarded Celebrity's Equinox and--I completely forgot to take pictures of our cabin. Since we were on a larger, newer ship, there were some nice upgrades. And we did have a little balcony. I took a fair amount of pictures there.



 


The first stop was Key West, where we decided to tour the Hemingway house again...










All the cats are named after famous people, and this here is Billie Holliday. She got to be The Cat on the Bed for this tour. Last time we were here, which must have been a decade ago, it was Archibald MacLeish--this time, we paid our respects...he was a lovely orange cat.

  A cat, just cuz...

It was, once again, a very entertaining and informative tour.







And before we leave, here is an obligatory photo of the ship docked at Key West.









My photos are all jumbled up, but no matter; this is our snorkeling day at Seven Mile Beach, Cayman Islands. It was a perfect day for it--clear water, pretty fish, fun boat ride. We also saw the Kittiwake Ship Wreck, where we swam with a school of very pretty purple fish and watched scuba divers get up close and personal with the retired ship below. The bubbles coming up from their tanks were as fascinating as the fish....








I know my mom wants to see a couple photos of us, dressed up, so here they are...the one on the top was taken in the library. The ship was adorned with many trees, very decked out. Heh, decked out...




See the butterfly in this picture, sitting next to a nice rust spot? It was vivid lime green and black. Some kind of swallowtail, I think. It didn't look real, but it was--I saw it fly.

Unfortunately, I'm having some trouble finding all my pictures; the computer did some kind of update, and...so yeah, it's not my fault. Actually, I don't take the best pics, anyway.

We had a great time--on Costa Maya, we went to a water park, and on Cozumel, we went to the beach.

The food was wonderful, as usual--wait, wait, I have a dessert picture. I never do this, but Sari, an assistant waiter, goaded me into it. She was way too cute..



This is what I'm going to be attempting to burn off in the weeks to come.

It's a hard knock life, getting off the ship and then having to fend for oneself.

Happy Holidays! Whatchaupto?