We got to the Bahamas the early the next morning. One of our activities was going swimming with the Sting Rays. This was pretty cool. They were in a secluded part of the beach which was a really nice beach area. We got to feed and hold the Stingrays. We were told we needed to grasp the squid or fish and tuck our thumbs in or it would suck hard to get the food and get our thumbs. Scott didn't hear that part and was surprised at the suction power of the Stingrays. He actually got a little cut on his thumb because he didn't tuck it in.
There were quite a few Stingrays in this area that we got to snorkle in and swim with. In the shallow end some of the locals would catch a Stingray and help us so that we could hold them. Naturally I had to try this and it was pretty cool. The time we had went way too fast, unfortunately.

The deck was a pretty good size, and had a nice pool. It was an amazing ship. The food selection on the different areas of the decks were amazing. The first night we skipped the dining room and just ate on deck. There was a grill in one area, a salad bar in another, an area that had a pizza and pasta bar, and the midnight buffet was unbelievable!

The ship had the best layout with pool and the decks as well. As I said, Carnival is our favorite!

The next day we drove down to Miami to board our ship ~ Carnival's ~ The Fascination. It was the best cruise ship we had been on. We had been on the Norweigen Cruise Lines to Cancun, Cozemel and Talum Xiou Ha (sp.), then Cayman Islands, and last the Bahamas, and then we went on the Royal Carribean to San Diego Harbor, Catalina Island, and then to Encinada, Mexico. Carnival is our favorite ship.

We were at sea the first day, and just laid out in the sun on the sun deck. It was nice and relaxing just laying there, reading, and enjoying the fresh air. I was disappointed that I did not see any dolphins jumping or swimming along side the ship when we sailed out.

While Scott laid on the lounger and napped, I walked along the ship and went touring. Of course I found the topless area at the top of the ship and went on up. Thank heavens there were hardly any people up there as most were probably at dinner in the dining room at that time. I waked around the deck, and then went back down to Scott. He was awake when I got back and when I told him about going up to the topless deck, naturally he had to go see it.

This guy is crazy!

When we got off the Airboat ride, we went into a small area that was like a mini zoo. There was a guy that did shows with an Alligator. This dude was crazy! Take a look, would you do this?

Is this a Crock or an Alligator?

Here are some pictures of what we saw while on the ride.....

This is Scott waiting in the shade for our Ariboat to arrive. The next few pictures are while on the ride and some of the birds and crocks we saw. I was sitting on the outside edge, and once crock came right uo to the boat. Luckily they can't jump!

I am starting with our trip to Florida and cruise to the Bahamas. This was about May of 2003. We went for our anniversary, which is usually around Memorial Day weekend. We spent a few days in Fort Lauderdale where we spent 1 day touring Time Share units and listening to the sales spheil. It was actually fun to go look at these really nice areas.

The next day we went on an Airboat ride in the everglades. It was pretty fun. I had always wanted to try one out since they looked pretty cool in CSI Miami, Miami Vice, and some other shows I'd seen. This first group of pictures is from the Airboat ride. It was pretty warm, but a little cloudy.

There were a few peacocks and other birds running around the grounds when you first walk up to the front of the building for the Airboat ride. They seemed pretty used to humans.