2011 Cruise
During June 2011, we went on our second cruise as a family. This was Mike and Susan's fourth cruise together. 
We left Miami, FL, on June 19th. We were on the ship, the Carnival Valor. Mike and Susan actually sailed on the Valor previously, but with a different itinerary. It was overcast in Miami, but the rain held out for us. Our friend Dan Bell traveled with us. We enjoyed seeing South Beach on our way out to sea.
On day two, we anchored at Half Moon Cay, Bahamas. Half Moon Cay is a private island that Carnival purchased a few years earlier. The island was very nice. Susan and Mike spent the day lounging at the beach. Brian and Aaron spent the day hanging out with their new friends.
Carnival brought food out to the island to feed us lunch. At Half Moon Cay, Mike purchased another Del Sol frisbee since his other one was getting worn out from use. To the left is a photograph of Mike and Aaron standing near the beach with the Carnival Valor in the background.
Our second stop was at St. Thomas.
At St. Thomas we boarded a ferry boat and rode to St. John. Mike and Susan decided to visit St. John since they have been to St. Thomas before. We took a short truck ride at St. John to Trunk Bay Beach. We snorkeled around a natural reef at Trunk Bay Beach. We saw a lot of fish. There were schools of lane snapper that swam around us. Many of the snapper would come within an arm's lengths. Mike saw a four foot tarpon while swimming back to shore. Aaron almost caused the family to miss the ride back to the ferry boat. When it was time to leave, he was about 150 yards from shore snorkeling. 
Mike had to swim out and get him (without any gear as it was all turned in). Fortunately, our truck driver waited for us. To the right is a photograph of Susan and the boys on the ferry ride from St. John to St. Thomas. The photograph on the left is of Mike and Susan with Harass Island behind them. This photograph was taken from the Carnival Valor while leaving St. Thomas.
Our third stop was in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In San Juan, we hung out with Dan. We grabbed a cab to the Bacardi Factory.
At the Bacardi Factory, we enjoyed two free drinks made with Bacardi. We toured some of the facilities. We learned a lot about the history of Bacardi. After our free tour, our cab driver, Susanna, drove us around San Juan. We saw the beach front and downtown San Juan. Susanna dropped us off at the port, where we shopped for some liquor. There was no limit on liquor purchased in San Juan since it is a U.S. territory. 
The photograph to the right is of the boys at the start of the Bacardi Factory tour. The photograph on the left is our family with Susanna He was a very nice man. He was a retired fire fighter.
Our fourth, and final, stop was Grand Turk. At Grand Turk, Susan and the boys went on a catamaran sailboat for a snorkeling excursion.
They snorkeled near the "wall," which was a location where the ocean floor dropped off quickly. Susan and the boys could see a lot of fish. Most of the fish stayed about 30 feet away though. Mike went on a certified scuba diving excursion. Mike's excursion first stopped at the "Rolling Hills" reef. The reef was natural. The reef was near the wall. Mike dove to 75 feet. During the dive Mike saw many fish. Some of the fish looked like colorful trigger fish, which Mike is accustomed to seeing in the Gulf of Mexico. 
On the second dive, Mike dove at the sight called "Coral Gardens." Mike saw a barracuda with a fish in his mouth. On the way in from the dives, Mike saw the boat Susan and the boys were on. The photograph on the right is Susan and the boys with the crew from the catamaran snorkeling excursion.
All of the family thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. Mike and Susan enjoyed having their friend, Dan, join them. Brian met a friend, Jordan. Brian and Jordan usually hung out together while on the ship. Aaron met several good friends as well. As with the previous cruise, Mike and Susan had to force the boys to spend time with them during the days at sea. Brian and Aaron always joined Mike and Susan for dinner in the formal dining room. To the left is our latest family photograph, which was taken during the beginning of the cruise.
Click on one of the pictures to view the entire album of photographs.