I've never been on a cruise, never really had any desire to go on a cruise... but this Bahamas cruise was one for the books, and one of my 2017 highlights so far; even though it was supposed to be a cruise elsewhere....

In my Uncle Cory's prime 30's, he was full of spontaneity, loved to travel, loved to ski, loved going out with his friends, loved enjoying so many things in life. Then, he was in a terrible car accident in 2001, was in a coma for 15 days, miraculously came back to us, but was left legally blind in addition to several other impairments for the rest of his life. As you can imagine, after that kind of trauma, things were never the same. Because of his impairments, he was unable to keep his job, in which he also took great pride in. For years, the only thing he has really been able to do and takes joy in now is rescuing rottweilers. Because he always has had 1 or 2 rottweilers in his home over the last 15 years, he really hasn't left his house and is always unavailable to go on any family vacations with us. However, sadly his last rottweiler passed away in the fall, but I took it as an opportunity to get Uncle Cory traveling again!

I said "Uncle Cory, let's go somewhere. I'll take you anywhere you want." He said Belize. I said, "we're going to Belize!" So, him and I, being the only ones with a flexible schedule and the rest of our family with normal jobs, we sought out options for a Belize vacation for the two of us. When it came down to it, it seemed to be that a cruise might be a good option, stopping in Belize, Cozumel Mexico, Roatan Islands, and Grand Cayman. We booked it and were excited for months leading up to it!

Out of 15 years that my uncle hasn't traveled, the one cruise that he books would of course get canceled. 2 Days before we were set to sail, we got an email from Carnival Cruiseline saying there were some ship maintenance issues, and our anticipated itinerary would be no more; since our ship was unable to go maximum speed. What they could do for us - A) Give us our money back and cover flight costs or B) Give us 50% off and still take us on a cruise, but only to the Bahamas to get the ship fixed, and give us 50% off of a future cruise as well.

I was so peeved, I couldn't believe the ONE cruise we perfectly planned because of the destinations, fluked on us 2 days before travel! I was already on my way to Denver to fly out with Uncle Cory when we received the news, so we sat in Denver for a day contemplating the options.. both of us irritated with the situation, and really leaning towards not going at all. Then, we ultimately decided to make lemonade out of lemons and just go for it. After all, neither of us had been to the Bahamas before, so that would be another check off the ole list... and being on a cruise, unlimited drinks, in the sun, surrounded by sea, we really couldn't complain... Plus I thought, we would be surrounded by such positive people, because the only people going on the cruise would be people doing the exact same thing we were: making lemonade out of lemons.

My first cruise experience was very unique. We pretty much sat at port in the Bahamas getting fixed for the majority of the time... but it was still SO wonderful! Warm sea breeze, lots of sun, lots of drinks, new friends, fun evenings, great shows, amazing food, Uncle Cory and I had a blast. Most people had to ask us two or three times, "Wait, he's your uncle? she's your niece? you guys are traveling together, just the two of you?" Hey - I highly recommend an Uncle-niece trip if you have an awesome uncle :)

Anyways, I took this week to really spend time with my Uncle and make sure he had a great time and I really didn't bring out my camera all that much. It was more about the relaxation and living in the moment. But, of course I took just a few pics, so enjoy the little bit of Bahamas that I did capture: