Running out of (major) Caribbean islands that she's yet to visit, Tanya was able to find a cruise that took her to 3 islands she was yet to see!
Relive her amazing cruise adventure in August 2018!!
Relive her amazing cruise adventure in August 2018!!
CRUISE DAY 1
Take a look at these yummy eats from Tanya's meal at Create Your Nature, before boarding her Cruise Ship!!
Photos from her first day on board the ship.
Photos from her first day on board the ship.
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CRUSE DAY 2
AT SEA
Guess who's at sea today?
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CRUSE DAY 3
AT SEA
AT SEA
Greetings from sea!
We are currently somewhere off the coast of Haiti, still heading over to Aruba.
It’s another day floating at sea for me. Well, for us..
We are currently laying back, lounging deck side and in a couple of lounge chairs.
I’m still dealing with some minor electronic issues, that I hope to figure out once we arrive to Aruba. But I’m making due and hopefully I manage to get up to date with the postings.
For now I apologize with my tardiness. I honestly cannot even get onto the blog from here, but there are a few sites that I have access to and that I can communicate through.
And this is how Elisa and I are making it “work”.
I believe that as soon as she receives all of the information and data from me that she is adding the links to the dates/blogs that might have been missing. But enough about that.
Dave just lost his glasses. We think they went overboard!! Hopefully he’ll be able to get by and even find a replacement pair in one of the atrium shops on-board.
Today is definitely a bit more windy than yesterday was, but not compared to as windy as it was last night in which my hair was seriously all over the place!
Last night happened to be our first “dress up” night of the cruise, which is always a fun one for us. As is I tend to bring more than just one outfit per day while cruising and on the “Elegant” nights we not only change out of our day clothes into evening casual, but take it to another level and dress up in heels and all (yup high heels on a moving sea vessel. LOL) It is all so much fun.
The cruise line sets up backdrops for a variety of picture opportunities and the photographers pose us in all sorts of amusing stances. We are certainly a bunch of suckers for the pics and have quite the collection from all of our past cruises back at home.
Now let’s talk about food. Cruising and eating seem to go hand in hand for most. But us vegans don’t quite have as many choices. But being a most seasoned vegan cruiser that I am and learning the ropes along the way, I definitely know my way around and how to eat while on board.
NOTE that I am quite the expert on the subject and that our very own travel consulting services might come in handy for you or that special vegan in your life when the interest comes along to start planning your next trip!!
We were very satisfied yesterday with most of our meals, as they were pretty tasty; until dinner...
Which I suppose was our fault since we left up to the chef to come up with some vegan surprise - and let’s just say that we now have got the feeling that he’s not exactly the most creative when left on his own without any direction from us.
Oh well, we gave it a whirl. And the reason we did is because of some wonderful past experiences where the chefs have seriously wowed us!
For breakfast we placed an order for sautéed tofu, grilled tomatoes, hash browns and grits - all made vegan - some off the menu and some straight from the cupboards of the ship’s galley.
We also had a plate of sweet and juicy fruit as a starter. So simple and yet so good.
Being that breakfast was mighty tasty and we enjoyed it so much that we reordered it again this morning with the addition of grilled mushrooms. I’m pretty sure this will be our breakfast every morning.
Lunch for us tends to be sticking to the salad bar. And then since I know from past experience just how great the pizza is on board this cruise line, I make sure to save room for some after lunch and before dinner pizza! It’s really that good. But perhaps you just don’t realize how very picky I am about pizza and how often I refuse to eat it because I find it subpar.
And as for dinner last night, it was back to the drawing board for for me, but I’ve already sent him ideas.
I’ll let you know how well he executes them! LOL
These cruise lines should actually hire me as their vegan consultant and advisor!! Hook that up for me ;)
Meanwhile, I’m just gonna continue enjoying the Caribbean breeze, watching the flying fish, feeling the Caribbean vibes (that somehow cause me to involuntarily dance - no matter where I happen to be) and staring out into the brilliant blue sea.
Pics on the way!!
Catch y’all back here tomorrow as I arrive and the ship pulls into Aruba,
-Travelin’ Tanya
We are currently somewhere off the coast of Haiti, still heading over to Aruba.
It’s another day floating at sea for me. Well, for us..
We are currently laying back, lounging deck side and in a couple of lounge chairs.
I’m still dealing with some minor electronic issues, that I hope to figure out once we arrive to Aruba. But I’m making due and hopefully I manage to get up to date with the postings.
For now I apologize with my tardiness. I honestly cannot even get onto the blog from here, but there are a few sites that I have access to and that I can communicate through.
And this is how Elisa and I are making it “work”.
I believe that as soon as she receives all of the information and data from me that she is adding the links to the dates/blogs that might have been missing. But enough about that.
Dave just lost his glasses. We think they went overboard!! Hopefully he’ll be able to get by and even find a replacement pair in one of the atrium shops on-board.
Today is definitely a bit more windy than yesterday was, but not compared to as windy as it was last night in which my hair was seriously all over the place!
Last night happened to be our first “dress up” night of the cruise, which is always a fun one for us. As is I tend to bring more than just one outfit per day while cruising and on the “Elegant” nights we not only change out of our day clothes into evening casual, but take it to another level and dress up in heels and all (yup high heels on a moving sea vessel. LOL) It is all so much fun.
The cruise line sets up backdrops for a variety of picture opportunities and the photographers pose us in all sorts of amusing stances. We are certainly a bunch of suckers for the pics and have quite the collection from all of our past cruises back at home.
Now let’s talk about food. Cruising and eating seem to go hand in hand for most. But us vegans don’t quite have as many choices. But being a most seasoned vegan cruiser that I am and learning the ropes along the way, I definitely know my way around and how to eat while on board.
NOTE that I am quite the expert on the subject and that our very own travel consulting services might come in handy for you or that special vegan in your life when the interest comes along to start planning your next trip!!
We were very satisfied yesterday with most of our meals, as they were pretty tasty; until dinner...
Which I suppose was our fault since we left up to the chef to come up with some vegan surprise - and let’s just say that we now have got the feeling that he’s not exactly the most creative when left on his own without any direction from us.
Oh well, we gave it a whirl. And the reason we did is because of some wonderful past experiences where the chefs have seriously wowed us!
For breakfast we placed an order for sautéed tofu, grilled tomatoes, hash browns and grits - all made vegan - some off the menu and some straight from the cupboards of the ship’s galley.
We also had a plate of sweet and juicy fruit as a starter. So simple and yet so good.
Being that breakfast was mighty tasty and we enjoyed it so much that we reordered it again this morning with the addition of grilled mushrooms. I’m pretty sure this will be our breakfast every morning.
Lunch for us tends to be sticking to the salad bar. And then since I know from past experience just how great the pizza is on board this cruise line, I make sure to save room for some after lunch and before dinner pizza! It’s really that good. But perhaps you just don’t realize how very picky I am about pizza and how often I refuse to eat it because I find it subpar.
And as for dinner last night, it was back to the drawing board for for me, but I’ve already sent him ideas.
I’ll let you know how well he executes them! LOL
These cruise lines should actually hire me as their vegan consultant and advisor!! Hook that up for me ;)
Meanwhile, I’m just gonna continue enjoying the Caribbean breeze, watching the flying fish, feeling the Caribbean vibes (that somehow cause me to involuntarily dance - no matter where I happen to be) and staring out into the brilliant blue sea.
Pics on the way!!
Catch y’all back here tomorrow as I arrive and the ship pulls into Aruba,
-Travelin’ Tanya
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CRUSE DAY 4
ARUBA
ARUBA
Enjoying the island of Aruba!! (ADD TEXT AND PHOTOS)
CRUISE DAY 5
CURAÇAO
CURAÇAO
Tanya enjoying the island of Curaçao.
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CRUISE DAY 6
AT SEA
AT SEA
GREETINGS FROM THE SEA!
AND
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO MEEEE (and Dave)!
After a very fun (and busy) couple of days exploring the ABC islands, we are here again at sea and pretty much taking it easy.
Lounging on deck starboard side, enjoying the breeze (okay so it’s a little bit more than a breeze) and staying entertained watching the frigate sea birds sail right along side us and nose dive into the water. They are catching flying fish midair amongst other swimming fishy munchables that they seem to enjoy so much! Food and staying fed just seems to make all walks and flights of life quite happy. Lol
Speaking of which...did you see the Daily Dose of Travelin’ Tanya video that I took while visiting Curacao yesterday?
I was sure hoping for the surprise guests to be right there on the beach at Porto Marie.
AND
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO MEEEE (and Dave)!
After a very fun (and busy) couple of days exploring the ABC islands, we are here again at sea and pretty much taking it easy.
Lounging on deck starboard side, enjoying the breeze (okay so it’s a little bit more than a breeze) and staying entertained watching the frigate sea birds sail right along side us and nose dive into the water. They are catching flying fish midair amongst other swimming fishy munchables that they seem to enjoy so much! Food and staying fed just seems to make all walks and flights of life quite happy. Lol
Speaking of which...did you see the Daily Dose of Travelin’ Tanya video that I took while visiting Curacao yesterday?
I was sure hoping for the surprise guests to be right there on the beach at Porto Marie.
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And I was not in the least disappointed.
Heck even if they weren’t there I don’t think there was anyway anyone could be disappointed.
What an amazing spot! Freakin’ GORGEOUS. Just ABSOLUTELY beautiful!!
The waters were pristine, a crystal clear and sparkling aquamarine. Oh so very inviting!
It takes a whole lot to get me eager and excited to take dip and splash around, but this had certainly did the job.
The weather was perfect. And the temperature of the surf ever so refreshing.
While there I had even spotted a big ol’ Iguana strolling about, of course I had wanted to take a few snapshots of the local and in doing so I had made an arrangement with him to not chase after me and I agreed not to chase after him. LOL
Because we all know which of the two of us would be more freaked out by the other coming in our direction!!! Just in case there is any doubt or you still don’t know me well enough - that would be ME!
So back to the snout. Those sweet furry wild pigs that so enjoy laying in the sand relaxing, take no hesitation the minute they sniff something to eat. They are led by their long sniffer and go straight for the food!
This time the food happened to me mine. It was unopened and tucked away in my beach bag, but there was no way of stopping a hungry pig as he went straight into my sack to search out what goodies he might find.
Luckily Dave and I were on top of the situation and caught him in the act. I was nearby and to the amusement of other beachgoers, all laughing the entire time while I managed to kindly shoo the piggy out of my bag.
Ahhh I was having the time of my life. And I thoroughly acknowledge the fact that I’ve made a life for myself that I can and have said that statement on a number of occasions.
Eventually we made our way back towards Willemstad and because of our well tipped and happy cabbie who knew that I was out and about to take photos, he was kind enough to stop along the way at where the local flock of Flamingoes hang out.
Next up was strolling along the historic walk to the Rif Fort UNESCO World Heritage site as well as the highly anticipated Willemstad. Being one of the most beautiful and photographic cities in all of the Caribbean - if not all of the world!
We stopped and shopped and snapped away. But since I have a very limited connection, I can only share a small fraction of these pictures with you until my return to the states. Not to worry or fret, because I will be sharing these with you. You just have to be a bit patient with us for the time being.
We toured and explored, having a absolute grandiose time. But to be honest with you (which just happens to come with the package, but I just like to say it anyway) after visiting Porto Marie anything else that filled our day was just gonna be the icing on the cake or the cherry on top of my vegan ice cream sundae! And Willemstad was in fact way more than that.
With all of the touring I was getting fairly low on energy and rather peckish. But then I turned a corner and found an adorable quintessential fresh smoothie bar that seemed to be quite popular with both the locals and other tourists. La Boheme Cafe makes delicious fruit and vegetable smoothies that totally hit the spot. YUM.
We were due back on board before sunset and had made our way back across the
Queen Juliana swinging bridge...which we apparently timed right and caught it just as it was about to swing open for a sail boat needing to get through. How interesting that was. Guess I have yet another thing I can say that I’ve experienced! LOL
We had a lovely evening on board and some fun conversation with the folks at our dinner table.
As noted earlier, today is our anniversary and we started to reminisce about past anniversaries.
Since I’d like to share via show and tell, this will be something that you can also look forward to once I return.
And I was not in the least disappointed.
Heck even if they weren’t there I don’t think there was anyway anyone could be disappointed.
What an amazing spot! Freakin’ GORGEOUS. Just ABSOLUTELY beautiful!!
The waters were pristine, a crystal clear and sparkling aquamarine. Oh so very inviting!
It takes a whole lot to get me eager and excited to take dip and splash around, but this had certainly did the job.
The weather was perfect. And the temperature of the surf ever so refreshing.
While there I had even spotted a big ol’ Iguana strolling about, of course I had wanted to take a few snapshots of the local and in doing so I had made an arrangement with him to not chase after me and I agreed not to chase after him. LOL
Because we all know which of the two of us would be more freaked out by the other coming in our direction!!! Just in case there is any doubt or you still don’t know me well enough - that would be ME!
So back to the snout. Those sweet furry wild pigs that so enjoy laying in the sand relaxing, take no hesitation the minute they sniff something to eat. They are led by their long sniffer and go straight for the food!
This time the food happened to me mine. It was unopened and tucked away in my beach bag, but there was no way of stopping a hungry pig as he went straight into my sack to search out what goodies he might find.
Luckily Dave and I were on top of the situation and caught him in the act. I was nearby and to the amusement of other beachgoers, all laughing the entire time while I managed to kindly shoo the piggy out of my bag.
Ahhh I was having the time of my life. And I thoroughly acknowledge the fact that I’ve made a life for myself that I can and have said that statement on a number of occasions.
Eventually we made our way back towards Willemstad and because of our well tipped and happy cabbie who knew that I was out and about to take photos, he was kind enough to stop along the way at where the local flock of Flamingoes hang out.
Next up was strolling along the historic walk to the Rif Fort UNESCO World Heritage site as well as the highly anticipated Willemstad. Being one of the most beautiful and photographic cities in all of the Caribbean - if not all of the world!
We stopped and shopped and snapped away. But since I have a very limited connection, I can only share a small fraction of these pictures with you until my return to the states. Not to worry or fret, because I will be sharing these with you. You just have to be a bit patient with us for the time being.
We toured and explored, having a absolute grandiose time. But to be honest with you (which just happens to come with the package, but I just like to say it anyway) after visiting Porto Marie anything else that filled our day was just gonna be the icing on the cake or the cherry on top of my vegan ice cream sundae! And Willemstad was in fact way more than that.
With all of the touring I was getting fairly low on energy and rather peckish. But then I turned a corner and found an adorable quintessential fresh smoothie bar that seemed to be quite popular with both the locals and other tourists. La Boheme Cafe makes delicious fruit and vegetable smoothies that totally hit the spot. YUM.
We were due back on board before sunset and had made our way back across the
Queen Juliana swinging bridge...which we apparently timed right and caught it just as it was about to swing open for a sail boat needing to get through. How interesting that was. Guess I have yet another thing I can say that I’ve experienced! LOL
We had a lovely evening on board and some fun conversation with the folks at our dinner table.
As noted earlier, today is our anniversary and we started to reminisce about past anniversaries.
Since I’d like to share via show and tell, this will be something that you can also look forward to once I return.
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CRUISE DAY 7
GRAND TURK
GRAND TURK
ADD TEXT
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CRUISE DAY 8
AT SEA
AT SEA