A "Royal" Honeymoon

Although our honeymoon was a month ago, Ben and I wanted to share our trip with everyone! As most of you probably know, Ben and I took a 7-day cruise to the Mexican Riviera on Royal Caribbean cruise lines. We had an absolute blast! We stopped at 3 ports: Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. The weather was so gorgeous! It was so incredibly hot though! We can't imagine a more perfect vacation for a couple. The food was phenomenal, the staff treated you like royalty, the views were breathtaking, the sealife was amazing... we could go on for hours! :)

Our first port of call, Cabo San Lucas, Ben and I decided we were not going to book any excursions through our cruise line. Instead, we wanted to see as much of the city as possible. We ended up going on a water tour around the Sea of Cortez where we saw the famous rock arch and Lover's Beach. I've seen the arch many times in movies, but there's nothing more beautiful than seeing it in real life. The water in Cabo was also the most beautiful blue I think I have ever seen. It was just amazing!
After our tour, Ben and I walked around the city for a few hours. It was so incredibly hot though (over 100 degrees), it made it hard to enjoy the breathtaking views. We had to stop at a Burger King and buy 4 bottles of water, in which we drank in no time. :P We then drank more water and ate at a delicious authentic Mexican restaurant, "The Giggling Marlin", where they try to hang you from your feet. Ben and I avoided that though.. ha ha!! From there, we walked around the city, went in a few shops and returned to our boat. It was a great day! Below are a few more pictures of Cabo!

Our next port of call, Mazatlan, was probably my most favorite. Ben and I went on an "Island Getaway" excursion, where we swam in the ocean all day long and had unlimited drinks, a pinata party and another delicious lunch! What can get any better than that?? :) The ocean water was so warm and we had an absolute blast surfing. Throughout the day, I kept getting pounded by the ocean waves, while Ben pretty much held his own. After a couple near death experiences, I eventually got the hang of it (with much help from Ben)! This, for me, was a memory of a lifetime. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard! :) Here are a couple of pictures of Stone Island.Our last port, Puerto Vallarta, was one of the most memorable. Ben and I went on another excursion called the Canopy Tour. We drove quite a ways up into a tropical rainforest where we "swung" from tree to tree on top of platforms that overlooked the entire rainforest. I think this is the closest thing to Tarzan, although we were attached to ziplines! This was one of the most amazing things I think I have ever experienced! Unfortunately, do to the nature of the excursion, we weren't able to take any pictures.

On top of the all of the fun at the ports of call, our ship had so much to offer. Ben and I spent hours on the top deck, overlooking the water and watching all of the sealife. We saw sea lions, dolphins, a hammerhead shark, "flying fish", whales... We also spent a lot of time eating! I bet I ate at least 30,000 calories a day (literally equivalent to 6-7 meals a day, plus dessert)! haha!!! Somehow we were extremely active and didn't gain one pound. Here are just a few pictures of some of the food aboard the Vision of the Seas.... The picture below was taken at our formal diner. Ben and I ate in the formal dining room every night. We met a wonderful couple who sat with us at our table. And yes, the picture below shows 8 desserts and 4 people... sooo yummy! :) ha ha!!